Content King for Games Consoles

Some US consumers will be willing to buy a next generation (next-gen) video game console as soon as it becomes available, regardless of price, based on 'must-have' features, according to a new study by The NPD Group.

Next Generation Purchase Intent is based around an online survey emailed to a representative sample of 16,670 members of NPD's Consumer Panel, aged 6-44. Among the 'must-have features, appealing game titles is a comfortable no.1, with 87% of respondents citing it. Backwards compatibility is next with 68%.

'Price is definitely a factor, but not as much as is content,' says industry analyst Anita Frazier. 'I've long been a believer that it isn't any particular technical capability that will win this next console battle.'

The report provides an in-depth analysis of the purchase dynamics surrounding the next-gen systems, principally Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the upcoming Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) and Nintendo Wii.

Predictably perhaps, Heavy Gamers - those who spend the most time and money on video games – are the most likely to emphasize the importance of game titles, backward compatibility, wireless controllers, Wi-Fi capability, and the ability to play online, as opposed to concerns such as price. Other categories - Infrequent and Secondary gamers, and 'Prefer Portable' gamers, also show strong interest in purchasing a next-gen system – more than 40% of each category for the PS3 and Wii. Heavy Gamers show a slightly stronger interest in purchasing a Wii (79%) than a PS3 (70%).

Responses from those aged ages 6-12 were captured via surrogate reporting, with respondents having more than one child in this age range asked to answer the survey as it relates to only one randomly selected child. Final survey data weighted to represent the U.S. population of individuals ages 6 to 44. Fieldwork was conducted from July 11-28, 2006.

The NPD Group is online at www.npd.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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