Xbox 360 to shed "hardcore" gaming image: MGS head
''I think we can do this without losing the hardcore gamer.''
Shane Kim, MGS
"I think in some respects Viva Pinata is the most important title in our portfolio this year. In order to win in this generation (of consoles), we know that we have to expand beyond the core gaming audience. We did a great job with the core gaming audience with Xbox version 1, and I think we're off to a great start with 360. But if we are to win in this generation, we have to reach a much broader audience," Kim said.
"The significance of a title like Viva Pinata is not just because we think it can be a huge title in and off itself, but it demonstrates to retailers, to third parties, to customers and to journalists that we are very serious in developing this segment of the market."
Kim also flagged moves into the peripheral-based gaming space made popular by such games as PlayStation's EyeToy, Singstar and Buzz series, and more recently titles like Guitar Hero.
"There's a lot of focus on that (peripherals). That clearly was an area we didn't do very much with in the first generation of Xbox--but that's changing. Certainly we see the success of what Sony had with EyeToy and a bunch of others, particularly in markets outside of the US," he said.
"We have to be careful about taking too much of a US-centric view of content. Buzz, Singstar, and those other games aren't really big in the US. But in Europe, which is a very important market for us in this generation, those kinds of titles and peripherals that go along with them, are very important. We have a lot of activity going on in that area--I'll put it that way."
|
)
