Microsoft ready for Wii "graduates"

Microsoft hopes that gamers who want to "graduate" from the experiences offered by Wii will look to buy an Xbox 360 as their second current-gen console, according to MS exec Jeff Bell.

Bell speaks positively of Wii's mass-market achievement, saying that he's "thankful that the Wii has been able to open up a lot of people's minds that gaming is fun for everyone."

But Bell admits that the hope is 360 will benefit from this extended gaming appeal, by position 360 as the ideal second console. "We're positioning ourselves to be ready if, in fact, gamers find they're ready to graduate from a certain experience potentially with the Wii, either because it's limited on the type of gameplay that's available or the technology in that box."

[Joey Gladstone]

PS3 = NEXTgen Console .....Simply the Truth.....its Future Proof
.....
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...."The JOEY has Spoken"

[eddierivera]

I got a feeling that Wii owners dont wanna pay for online. I dont know, but I thinking that they would probably buy the ps3 now cause its cheaper, and its a good year to buy a ps3. I looked at gamespot new release list and I didnt see any good games out for the xbox that wouldnt be on the ps3. I got both systems and I think both has its perks. I think the ps3 with a price cut will be the victor on this subject. Its actually cheaper than the xbox now.

[TheSadTruth]

Are you trying to get banned? I don't know the new policy exactly but why don't you leave the Xbox 360 smearing in the open zone or keep it confined to PS3 articles.

[InYourMom]

Why don't you stick to the topic at hand vs trying to make this a 360 vs PS3 discussion. Take yourself to the short bus (Open Zone).

[superman]

The wii is limited on gameplay..... wow.... i didnt know that. I guess you can play the xbox 360 in different ways right .

[Monteblanco]

Considering that I originally planned to buy a PS3 or a 360 but then choose to buy a Wii, I think they are too optimistic. Curiously, some of my friends who never had any interest in videogames brought a Wii after playing with it at my place. They -- and that includes some women -- think the Wii is cool, whereas the 360 and PS3 are just the old boring gaming machines for young males with plenty of time to kill. I don't believe many casual players will move to their band. The 360 is not the kind of machine that will add anything to their gaming experience.

[permutated]

Yes but you're forgetting one important thing:

Most gamers who buy a Wii are casual gamers, or even parents, that just want something clean and safe for their children.

I don't think that 'graduation' is the right term, I think it's more 'migration' that he's speaking of, when they run out of titles on the Wii they'll upgrade to a 360.

Nothing wrong with that, and the Wii offers some really fun games.

[wiizy]

lol. is that a joke.. wii owners want nothing to do with x360 nor ps3.. its always funny with microsoft and sony. ..since they are losing they are always hoping for a miracle

[power of Green]

If MSFT can get the price down and get some family friendly games, maybe.

They need to figure out how to compete with the wiimote which they have said they're doing so who knows.

[power of Green]

As gamer out grow the Wii it could happen if there is enough games that will appeal to many demographics later on.

[IntelligentAj]

Yeah I seriously doubt most of the Wii owners will want a 360 or a PS3 for that matter

[Zhuk]

Jeff Bell is an award winning marketing guru and genius and a great asset to the Xbox team as Corporate VP of Global Marketing. I for one agree with his sentiments of a "Wii60" approach, that many people that have bought a Wii will eventually go for an Xbox 360 as their gaming tastes become more sophisticated and as the Xbox 360 reaches a mass market price point the appeal to Wii owners will grow even larger.

[ravinash]

The main problem with the 360 for most people coming on to the market fresh from the Wii is the selection. It has a big Library, but most of the big titles are FPS....not something the Wii is known for.
IF either MS or Sony for that matter want to try and catch any of this market, their going to have to make a bigger range of games.
There are a lot of smaller games on MS Live and PSN that might appeal to these people more, but whos going to know about them until you get the console and log on.

[IzKyD1331]

a person cant "graduate" in gaming, the Microsoft execs are just being their usuall stupid selves, and although i hate the Wii with a passion, i do have to admit that playing the wii exerts a "different" type of experience that the 360 or PS3 cant do. i can bet that 97% of wii owners dont want to upgrade and are happy with what their system can perform, and microsoft is just trying to bank on another consoles success

[sajj316]

With you folks that graduation is the wrong term. I just don't see how much more different the Wii is outside of the Wiimote. I think there are things you could do with the Playstation Eye that are revolutionary and rival the experience of using a Wiimote. It was marketed well and it sold well. You are still playing a game when it comes down to it. The only difference is that your grandma doesn't buy Mario or Zelda.

[JohnRico]

As much as I enjoy my XBOX 360 & XBOX Live I can not see Casual Gamers wanting to go from a Free Network to a Pay to Play network.

[power of Green]

I moved on from Nintendo after I no longer cared about Zelda and Mario. All people graduate many chose the PS and some hung on untill they could no longer stand it hense the xbox fan I am now.

[Boink]

I think both MS and sony may benefit from the wii, it got a lot of people gaming, and a lot of them will crave something more, especially when they start seeing wii graphics on their new HDTV they got for xmas.

I know quite a few people with a wii who have already went and purchased a 360 or ps3, and the ones who haven't yet are always drooling over my 360, so they can't be far off, although MS and sony MUST drop the price soon to start attracting those people.

[kewlkat007]

lets not forget.. one of the biggest enticements to the Wii is it's great Market-Price.

Besides Nintendo keeping it simple and being intuitive with the way you actually do play the games, I think the console (360/PS3) that is the quickest to the Wii's price point, may get Wii gamers thinking about buying it.

360 will never come close to having the same types of games, I mean that's what they should strive for, to get more casuals "jumping in".

As far as the Wii-Mote you can't copy that one.

[Iron Man 2]

PSWii is the only way to go!;)

[darkshiz]

1 System for people who don't want to waste money on multiple consoles.
Not everybody can afford more then 1.

There's no point in owning them all if 1 system has way more games you bought for it then the other.

1 - 2 system ftw.
All 3 = waste of money.

[InYourMom]

for the casual gamers, and if they get the fever I believe they will start seeking out a more rich experience. The 360 can fit into this well. They do have a lot of hardcore games, but the arcade is full of family friendly titles and if you look at the library there are a lot of children's games both first party and third party.

They need to get their price point down to the Wii in order to do this. I don't think they need a Wiimote type of device, just get their machine down to the right price point, show off their parental settings more(they are the most complete you can find on any gaming platform) and show off their kids titles.

Still it won't be easy and hopefully it doesn't come at the expense of the hardcore gamers.

[Dark_Overlord]

and before anyone starts flaming me my reason is this

we can all agree the xbox is aimed at the hardcore market, I can't see many people changing from casual gamer to hardcore gamer overnight. However the PS3 will attempt to cater for all like the PS2, with the PS2 you've got your games for the hardcore market, games for the kids, family games etc, which one would expect Sony to continue with on the PS3. This is the area where I think the xbox at the moment is failing, it just doesn't cater for everyones tastes. Then at the other end of the spectrum you have the wii, loads of casual games and not many hardcore games. Where'as the Playstation brand has made an effort to have all different types of games available for their consoles, so unless Microsoft start making their game line up more diverse I don't see many people going from wii to xbox

[hotrider12]

you hit the nail on the head...not everyone is a hardcore gamer as you guys is. thats why msoft 360 will never ever be appealing to casual gamers. gamers with family (kids) dont want to expose their children to games thats way to violent. blowing people heads off, blood spattering all over the place. I got kids myself and I'd sure as hell dont want them to see crap like that.so its best to diversify all games so everyone can enjoy gaming. like nintendo did with snes thats why ps3 not selling well, to many damn hardcore games not enough diversified casual games for ps3 yet. and thats the main reason why I have not bought one yet
ratchet and clank T.O.D and need for speed "prostreet".. and that sucks big time, and grand terismo 5 is not enough games to buy a 500.00 console yet. maybe 50 casual games along with hardcore games might help consumers buy a ps3.

[hotrider12]

we choose what console that fit us the best and go for it.
nintendo kept it simple for all to enjoy and experience gaming.
360 and ps3 I think is for hardcore gamers I perfer nintendo over the other 2 console. as you guys can see Im not a hardcore gamer but if I had to pick a next-gen. console it would most deff be the ps3
Im sure one day some of my old favorite games will eventually come to ps3 like gradius 6 space shooter game. or hopefully a new contra 5 game thats a casual game its a shooter but no blood splatter all over the place and no heads blown off

[Eretik]

AT the end, our beloved Microsoft understands who is the primary console(Wii, of course) and who is the secondary(XBOX360 or PS3) and waits humbly for market decision about second place in video gaming.

[Ashira]

Ah, but I don't think gamers will be leaving the console because of the technology! The technology in Rev is superior to Xbox 360, but Xbox 360 has beefier specs, so there ;)