On the verge of new Xbox/Playstation, casual gamers not ready.

I was recently having a conversation with a friend of mine that enjoys gaming but does not really take an interest in what is happening in the field. His PS3 is on the way out and he was tempted to buy a brand new one. When I told him there was no point because we are edging into new console territory he couldn't believe it.

Thinking it was only him I told another one of my gaming friends that by Christmas next year we are likely to see a new Xbox, and possibly know about the PS4. He couldn't believe it either and said that it would be a couple more years, stating that the hardware would be difficult to be pushed further.

I know that this generation has prolonged further then others, but are the next gen consoles really that out of mind for the everyday consumer?

It worries me, that if consumers feel like their consoles at the moment for fill their needs and have no interest in looking to replacing them anytime soon, how new consoles will sell. We all know that the "Xbox720" will be the safest of the new releases, and maybe Sony will add a new "gimmick" like Bluray was for the PS3. The WiiU in my eyes, looks like a struggle to sell to the everyday consumer, who bought a Wii and now watches it collect dust in the corner.

Love to hear your views on this, and yes I know that this is a gamers forum, but think about your friends and family point of view.

@Vivek said:

It worries me, that if consumers feel like their consoles at the moment for fill their needs and have no interest in looking to replacing them anytime soon, how new consoles will sell. We all know that the "Xbox720" will be the safest of the new releases, and maybe Sony will add a new "gimmick" like Bluray was for the PS3. The WiiU in my eyes, looks like a struggle to sell to the everyday consumer, who bought a Wii and now watches it collect dust in the corner.

No one said that they have no interest in replacing them. Average consumers will still buy them if they offer enough features and make them want them. That's the whole point of advertising. Microsoft and Sony's job will be to make people want the system whether they are contempt with their current system or not. Of course people that are into gaming will get the console at the start and there will be supply issues like there always are and the casual gamer will continue to see commercials and sales will continue like they always do.

I think everyone is in general agreement that the coming year will be the first one to really show that gaming is being scretched thin on consoles, at least graphically. Some gems with massive budgets are still looking better and better (Halo 4) but overall things are topping off.

I don't know what my none-gaming friends thing about games cause that topic never comes up around them, most people seem happy where things are right now though. Only people that really invest themselves in games seem to be wishing for something new (me included). I just want a damn SSD in my new xbox.

I guess the casual gamers will be more than ready for a new generation when the marketing departments fire up the hype train.

Also, replacing your dying PS3 now instead of waiting for over a year for a system that probably won't play PS3 games might not be that silly.

but are the next gen consoles really that out of mind for the everyday consumer?

As of right now? Yes. When the next Xbox and PS4 come out, the people to first buy it will be a lot of the people who really want the new consoles and are well aware of how out of date current ones are. The next group, I'd bet, will be the wealthier group that sees the prettier graphics and better framerate and then jumps straight into the new ones.

It's like HDTV's. If you would have told average Joe that his CRT TV is nothing compared to these new fangled HDTV's, he would have just looked at you funny because hey, his CRT TV still looks great to him. He doesn't know any better. But as soon he saw how much better that HDTV could look, man, he was wanting for one pretty badly. And look at current TV's - CRT's are barely made or sold anymore. Game consoles are going to be the same way.

Or I might be entirely wrong and the 720/PS4 will completely fail because average Joe doesn't see any reason to buy a new console when Call of Duty 10 looks just as good and still runs at 60 FPS on his old console.

Doesn't matter anyways, imo. Casual gamers might be a nice big chunk of money but I don't think you can build on them as sustainable fanbase who will support you throughout a generation. As you've said in your post, his wii is just collecting dust as my wii and it won't to farfetched for me to say that most wii's are at the same state.

@Vivek said:

The WiiU in my eyes, looks like a struggle to sell to the everyday consumer, who bought a Wii and now watches it collect dust in the corner.

Yeah man, how is that thing going to sell to casual consumers when the basic concept is so damn hard to wrap your mind around. When they first revealed it, it seemed like just the tablet thingy was the whole console, but it is just an accessory/controller. The Wii-mote made sense. You could easily show your grand mother how to swing it like it was a golf club but what the fuck is up with Wii U and 2 screens and 2 controllers? Damn complitated, man. And given the current state of the gaming market, it seems likely that this thing will fail big time.

It's not surprising. I can tell you that given human nature, many people would be perfectly happy if there was never another generation of game consoles... that is until they actually SEE what's coming, then the "Gee whiz" "I gotta have it" factor kicks in. Most regular people aren't very imaginative. They can't imagine anything better or cooler than what's in front of them, or more precisely, they won't put forth the effort to try to envision new possibilities.

@Grissefar said:

@Vivek said:

The WiiU in my eyes, looks like a struggle to sell to the everyday consumer, who bought a Wii and now watches it collect dust in the corner.

Yeah man, how is that thing going to sell to casual consumers when the basic concept is so damn hard to wrap your mind around. When they first revealed it, it seemed like just the tablet thingy was the whole console, but it is just an accessory/controller. The Wii-mote made sense. You could easily show your grand mother how to swing it like it was a golf club but what the fuck is up with Wii U and 2 screens and 2 controllers? Damn complitated, man. And given the current state of the gaming market, it seems likely that this thing will fail big time.

Do people have problems comprehending the 3DS? No. So statements like this always sound ludicrous to me.

@Thoseposers said:

@Grissefar said:

@Vivek said:

The WiiU in my eyes, looks like a struggle to sell to the everyday consumer, who bought a Wii and now watches it collect dust in the corner.

Yeah man, how is that thing going to sell to casual consumers when the basic concept is so damn hard to wrap your mind around. When they first revealed it, it seemed like just the tablet thingy was the whole console, but it is just an accessory/controller. The Wii-mote made sense. You could easily show your grand mother how to swing it like it was a golf club but what the fuck is up with Wii U and 2 screens and 2 controllers? Damn complitated, man. And given the current state of the gaming market, it seems likely that this thing will fail big time.

Do people have problems comprehending the 3DS? No. So statements like this always sound ludicrous to me.

Sarcasm, man.

@Thoseposers said:

@Grissefar said:

@Vivek said:

The WiiU in my eyes, looks like a struggle to sell to the everyday consumer, who bought a Wii and now watches it collect dust in the corner.

Yeah man, how is that thing going to sell to casual consumers when the basic concept is so damn hard to wrap your mind around. When they first revealed it, it seemed like just the tablet thingy was the whole console, but it is just an accessory/controller. The Wii-mote made sense. You could easily show your grand mother how to swing it like it was a golf club but what the fuck is up with Wii U and 2 screens and 2 controllers? Damn complitated, man. And given the current state of the gaming market, it seems likely that this thing will fail big time.

Do people have problems comprehending the 3DS? No. So statements like this always sound ludicrous to me.

Perhaps because the main function is in the actual name and people know the DS? Now go and try to explain to a person, the purpose of the Wii U. It's pretty hard since it's not clear, man. It's sort of a hardcore console, at least for a year or two. But then it also has this other controller with a large touch screen, which can then be used maybe some of the time to control what is going on on the touch screen and perhaps also on the TV, if the game requires it, or just display game information on the side maybe, while you use the regular ass controller and perhaps a 2nd person can support with the large controller while you play on the regular controller, who knows. Not exactly straight forward how it's going to be used, especially considering how a regular controller is foerign to a whole lot of people.

Joe average has never known about a console launch until their flyers and TVs get slammed by ads. No different this time around dude.

Consoles sell over their entire life span. Not everyone goes out and buys them day one. For your friends and most average consumers it will be another 3-5 years before they do actually buy one.

Was Bluray a gimmick? It ended up beating out HD DVDs.

Marketing is entirely aimed at the average consumer.

I think people who want the latest and greatest, gamer or non-gamer, will always want to get in on the latest and greatest. The rest of us need not apply. We'll get dragged in/convinced once games we're interested in appear on these new platforms.

My personal experience has been the exact opposite of the OP's. I'm pretty much that gaming and non-gaming friend. I bought a PS3 when GTA4 came out. I bought a 360 when Shadow Complex came out. And I recently got a Wii, just a few months ago, so that I could play Last Story. I had other friends who wanted to stay on top of the curve, so I played Halo 3 and Castle Crashers at their places. And I give similar advice to friends looking to get new tech. "Do you really need that iPhone 5? You already have a 4S, what could you possibly do better on the 5? Just wait until you can upgrade without the hit."

I wouldn't be worried. As long as the hook is there for people who want to get the newest thing on the market, whether that be 4K output or an integrated Kinect or whatever else they can dream up, those consoles will sell.

You know what no consumer knew they wanted six months before release? The iPad. The thing has little to no practical value. It can't do anything I can't do on a computer or a smartphone. It is expensive and generally pointless for the vast majority of people that own it. But a couple years later tablets are one of the largest markets in electronics. Apple did a fantastic job (as they always do) of convincing people they had to have something they didn't even remotely need. Now Microsoft and Sony are no Apple, but with some smart marketing campaigns they can easily drum up enough hype to make new consoles sell well.

I think part of the problem, especially for more casual gamers, is that the graphics right now are pretty close to good enough. Things look real enough that it doesn't bother most people. Very few ideas have to be shelved these days because it is just technically impossible. I mean, Assassin's Creed 3 has battles with hundreds of realistic, decently animated characters on screen. Halo 4 has a lighting model that seems like something out of the next generation. You look at something like Frostbite 2, which will probably run a fair share of early next gen EA games, and you have to wonder how much better it looks on PC. It does look better, in fact it looks quite a bit better. But the 360 or PS3 versions of Medal of Honor or Battlefield 3 don't look bad on consoles. They look good enough for most people. This sentiment is held true even among many hardcore gamers. The reason we need a new generation is actually not because we need the new technology but because we need a way to reset the game, i.e. a chance for new ideas and IP to find traction among an audience looking for new ideas on a new system. It's really a matter of audiences just being a bit too content with what they have, and publishers unwilling to take a 20-50 million dollar risk on a new IP in a market that doesn't seem to want them. Of course the graphics next gen will be better. Estimates are saying the new consoles will have upwards of 8 GB of RAM and 1 GB of dedicated graphics RAM. That alone will make everything a ton easier on developers. DX11/OpenGL4 (I believe we are on) effects will allow for some new visual bells and whistles and everything will obviously just be 5x-10x faster. But the difference between this generation and the next just won't be nearly as noticeable as previous generational jumps. I honestly expect this to be the last major console generation because the need for more advanced tech just doesn't seem to be there.

@Nonapod said:

It's not surprising. I can tell you that given human nature, many people would be perfectly happy if there was never another generation of game consoles... that is until they actually SEE what's coming, then the "Gee whiz" "I gotta have it" factor kicks in. Most regular people aren't very imaginative. They can't imagine anything better or cooler than what's in front of them, or more precisely, they won't put forth the effort to try to envision new possibilities.

You make us sound like a group of fantasy "chosen ones" who are the only people who can truly understand these sorts of things.

...I like the way you think.