Update 2: According to iTWire, Microsoft has denied the Smarthouse article, which claimed that the Xbox 360 was "dead" in Australia. Mariana Cidade, PR Manager of the entertainment and devices division for Microsoft Australia, noted that over 2 million pieces of Xbox 360 software have been sold in Australia and New Zealand, which is "nearly double [the Xbox 360's] next-gen competitors combined." Also noted was the Xbox 360's attach rate of 7 games per console in Australia, hardly the kind of sales garnered by a dead console. The data comes from GFK, a market research firm, and puts something of a damper on Smarthouse's already dubious (and anonymous) claims. Find our original post after the break.
Update: Added a link to the original Smarthouse article.
According to a recent news channel survey of 10 different Australian video games retailers (with over 2000 stores spread across the continent): "The Xbox 360 is dead. We are stocking it because of our relationship with Microsoft ..." If that's not a big statement to you, just wait, we've got more. The same retailer claims that the other two consoles are succeeding due to the appeal to children/women, and Blu-ray, respectively. They think the 360 brand can't really be redeemed after the RROD, and that the value proposition offered by Microsoft did not seem equal in comparison to the competition.
Furthermore, the Australian retailers are considering dropping the console from stores entirely: "We are stocking it because of our relationship with Microsoft, however all our energy and marketing is going into the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii unless Microsoft come up with something new or additional marketing dollars,." "Halo 3 was big on the Xbox but that was about it." "They have tried discounting and value add offers and even that is not working. We are even thinking of dumping the console all together."
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
4-07-2008 @ 10:19AM
stinger503 said...
What about Men at Work?
4-07-2008 @ 10:28AM
Phylicus said...
What about them? ;)
4-07-2008 @ 10:10AM
Gabriel said...
I'm sure there retailers where the 360 is failing but I don't believe this article has proper sourcing and it should be pulled right away. One thing I'm seeing where I live is this: I walk into Gamestop in a mall in my area and the second I walk in the door I'm being assaulted with, "Wanna buy a PS3? Why don't you pre-order MGS4? Resistance 2 is coming out this year." The guy won't leave me alone. He follows me to the XBOX 360 section, where I'm clearly only interested in XBOX 360 at the time and he's rattling off "Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Playstation Home, Motorstorm, etc." What's worse, he's the manager, so he's telling his employees to push PS3, as well. There's only one person I trust and he only works on Thursdays. He tells me corporate has been telling them to push PS3, because it makes them more money. He says he's smarter than corporate, because he treats sales more personally. Everyone has deifferent tastes and he plays to that. Besides, if he sells an XBOX 360 Elite with a wireless internet adapter and takes advantage of 360's larger game library to sell more games with the console, he's made more money than just selling a PS3. I go not ten minutes away to another Gamestop where nobody listens to corporate and every sales person is making up his own mind what to sell. There's an even spread of PS3, Wii and 360 supporters there. This store is actually the more successful off the two. Every sales person there has also taken a more personal approach and only pushes their favorite console when a customer asks which one they should buy. The 360 is selling very well at this location and selling poorly at the store that pushes PS3 all the time. If any of this article is true, it's a result of the more expensive product being pushed on customers. For game retailers, it is a stupid practice to push the PS3 too hard. A lot of people are buying PS3 for Blu-ray. You can't take advantage of software sales when people are buying the PS3 to watch movies. It's a good strategy for stores like Best Buy, but when you sell games, you've got to sell a game machine that has a good attach rate to produce long-term sales. Even in Europe, 360 has a high attach rate. Overall, 360 is the more successful gaming machine, so don't let anyone fool you.
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4-07-2008 @ 10:16AM
gsolid said...
Australia POV
I own a 360 (had a Wii and pissed it off because it was s*** for games to relax to, to much effort). Most of my mates have one and the others are getting one. I know not one person with a PS3, I want one for BlueRay not games, as the PS3 controller is just wrong (thumbstick are in the wrong place and the L2/R2 are not triggers). My local retailer haven't moved jack PS3s there way to $$$ ($700AU) whereby a 360Pro you can get for as little as $480AU.
NOTE: I'm buying another 360 for HDMI, I have gen1.
PS: I wouldn't buy a PS3 if blueray was on the 360... We don't have video market place to get HD video, sucks to be a Aussie gamer.
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4-07-2008 @ 10:23AM
Gabriel said...
Wow, I'm sorry. I didn't realize my post was going to be that long. Oops.
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4-07-2008 @ 10:56AM
Vcize said...
So X3F, I'm sure you guys remember the recent Fox News/Cooper Lawrence fiasco where the network passed off and reported what anyone who had ever played the game knew to be a lie as fact.
Well X3F, contratulations on being the Fox News of Australian game news.
The sales number completely contradict what's being reported here, every person that's posted from Australia has confirmed that this whole article is completely bullsh*t, and the source of the article has been shown to be completely incredulous.
WHY IS THIS ARTICLE STILL UP?
Look at all the poor fools posting comments without reading them first and still thinking this article actually holds a shred of truth to it. Kind of like all the foolish 50 year old mothers that watched the Fox News report on Mass Effect and banned it from their house.
So I guess the real question is, do any of the X3F guys have any books for sale on Amazon that all the misrepresented Aussies can pelter with 1-star reviews?
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4-07-2008 @ 11:39AM
AlecM2012 said...
They are probably doing this because they are such big crybabies about having an edited GTA IV!!!
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4-08-2008 @ 8:56AM
Kane said...
Why is anything from David Richards even considered news, or even reposted here? He is already known for inacuracies, and plagiarism.
Read an articel here
http://www.jasonunger.com/2007/12/19/david-richards-technology-journalisms-biggest-plagiarist/
and here
http://danwarne.com/david-richards-digs-his-hole-a-little-deeper/
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