Luring casual gamers across the hardcore divide

With the incoming console generation sure to help the industry, Sony and Microsoft’s upcoming consoles won’t lure in the casual gamers, according to analysts.

“While Wii U, Xbox One, and PS4 hold the promise and technological prowess to transform gaming in the living room, this may only benefit core gamers,” stated David Watkins, Director of the Connected Home Devices service.

“Casual gamers are sufficiently happy with cheaper gaming options on more ubiquitous devices like smartphones, tablets, Smart TVs, and Digital Media Adapters, which will naturally depress the highs the industry achieved with the Nintendo Wii.”

The report refers to the console market already taking a hit, as Nintendo (often a significant player in the market) only managing to sell one million Wii U systems in the first nine months of 2013. That said, the value propositions for PS4 and Xbox One are markedly different and Strategy Analytics expects solid early demand from hardcore gamers for the new console platforms in the 3 to 4 million unit range each.

The analysts suggest that PS4 will take the lead due to the “PR errors” that Microsoft caused when announcing the Xbox One, but feel that Microsoft will claw back in time.

“In the long run, however, we expect Xbox One to make up some lost ground against PS4 as consumers begin to realize the full range of multimedia capabilities the device has to offer. While we expect Xbox One to outperform PS4 in the US market, we don’t anticipate a significant loyalty shift away from PlayStation in Japan and Europe,” said Strategy Analytics analyst Eric Smith.