Xbox Target Audience

After the acquisition of EB Games, GameStop rose as the leading video game retailer in its industry. In an effort to sustain their position, GameStop will have to tackle several technological and sociocultural issues that have arisen from its competitive environment. The strategic objective we wish to accomplish in this analysis is to formulate a viable strategy that will continue GameStop’s growth in the industry to remain as the go to video gaming store for the video gaming enthusiast.

Video games are an ever-growing franchise that is constantly undergoing change. Ever since the dawn of video games, new consoles, games, developers, and teams have come together, fallen apart, triumphed, and failed. What is it that has allowed some to thrive where others failed? Several different factors have changed and influenced the world of gaming, including the history that is continuously being written, the people who have built the games behind the scenes, and, of course, the actual video games themselves. Numerous video games have been more successful than others, but identifying what components set the successful apart from the unsuccessful is something definitely worth observing.

Microsoft targets numerous segments of the population of many countries through advertisements of its Xbox. Microsoft, one of the most successful companies in the world, is using its innovations to take over the machine gaming market. Sony and Nintendo have been the gaming powerhouses for many years now, but are now starting to become overshadowed by the success of Microsoft’s Xbox. As long as gaming machines have been available, teenage boys have been the targets of the companies. One new strategy that Microsoft is using is the targeting of all ages and both sexes of consumers. While other companies continue to stay in the young kids and teenage market, Xbox is revolutionizing the target market of gaming systems.

A hardcore gamer is a player that spends the majority of his/her free time with gaming. The hardcore gamer is very competitive, often owns the latest high-end technology (High-End PC’s, Consoles, Multi-Monitor Setup, 7.1 Sound System etc.), are very technology savvy and often seek out and participate in gaming communities. The hardcore gamer represents only about 5% of the gaming market, but a large part of the earnings for the gaming hardware producers, because the margin of the high-end products are substantially higher than in the other categories.

Now that technological companies all over the world have set most of the seven billion individuals in the world with a computer, smartphone or tablet, it is time for better software to use with them. This is where games come in. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello stated in a recent interview that PC gaming is the ‘fastest growing platform’. This shows the growing interest in gaming bearing in mind that gamers also have the means to play on. The term ‘gamer’ refers to an individual that plays a game or games, typically a participant in a computer or role playing game. The gaming community has grown so wide in the last few years because of the shift from single player games to multiplayer games on the internet

To attempt counteract this cyclical slowdown, EB games have introduced an ever-growing variety of accessories with games to increase the revenue raising capacity of their respective consoles, as well as maintaining the loyalty and attention of a fickle gaming public. Some types of games have been released, with specialty controllers to great success, mitigating the expected lull in sales in the lead-up to new consoles. Recently however, the competition has become slightly skewed. Nintendo’s newfound dominance of the market is causing some headaches for Sony and Microsoft.

GameStop has multiple target segments in which they should focus their attention. The suggested target segments fall into three categories. They have the devoted gamers, who demand the best and newest games. They tend to play video games for long periods of time six to seven days a week. This segment makes up 41% of the targeted consumer, and 52% of dollars spent (2012). This market enjoys to play games in the categories of action, role playing, sports or simulation. They do not care about the price and they value the knowledge and specialized products

With the competition in the video games industry getting more intense, the next steps of the video game companies become more crucial for their positioning on the market. Due to the low product differentiation, the next market leader will be the platform provider that manages to offer an innovative gaming experience and a wider population of buyers that include all demographics. Although the industry is being totally dominated by Nintendo’s console, the industry is still considered to show a

They main intangible factor for Xbox is the joy gained from playing the games thus, if the consumers are not interested in playing games they will not buy it, this is why the product must be further marketed and adjusted to fit segments other than specifically “hardcore” gamers, statistically male. There is also the intangible element of the brand name, Xbox and also Microsoft, both now very big names and just these brands alone will attract buyers away from competition. To gain favourability from a wider group of segments Xbox must augment their product to add features, and in turn add value in the buyer’s eye. At Xbox adding features such as online gaming, influences customers to market the Xbox for them to their friends in a hope they can play against them online, building a relationship between friendship and ownership of the Xbox adds another intangible attribute. To grow their product to include segments such as families, females and the older buyer, Xbox need to continue adding value in this way. By making deals with other companies such as Sky, Xbox attract adult buyers and families who can use the Xbox, not just for the children to play games on, but also as a skybox so the adults can watch movies and television at a small extra fee. Next by designing additional products to be sold as

Microsoft Xbox will continue to market itself as it has been to keep its current Target Market happy, but it will start to branch out and market much more heavily to women and families. There is a huge market out there that Microsoft Xbox has not really touched upon with women and families. There are many gaming systems that are geared towards children that many women buy for there children. If Microsoft Xbox starts to compete in that area and creates games and accessories that younger children can use and be able to continue to use as they grow, parents would be happy to buy one for them to have and grow with. Many more women would be happy to invest into an Xbox for their children and families to use.

By the end of 2006, two game console industry giants, Nintendo and Sony had launched their respective new products; the Wii and PS3. Various marketing strategies were implemented by both rivals and this writing attempt to analyse common and differing elements.

Gaming is becoming mainstream and it’s generating a lot of buzz. It’s not just that we like to spend more time playing games, gaming itself is becoming increasingly lucrative and competitive. This kind of rise in popularity is bound to mean one thing: changes in the industry. New gaming trends are popping up and they will change the future of gaming once more. What to expect?

All these developments have created a new type of market. The video games industry has changed dramatically, from a teenage boy playing in front of the TV to a business man or woman playing on a smart phone, blackberry or tablet. Video games are socially accepted as an entertainment tool and has being viewed positively.

The video game console industry is a very competitive segment. This segment requires a keen eye on product development as well as strategic product marketing and a rather large logistics arm to ensure rapid distribution to targeted areas. Video game industry in the US, which is hugely driven by retail sales of software and hardware, registered revenues of USD ~ million in CY'2012. Even so with the advent of new video game players in the industry, the revenues decreased by 11.7% compared to

Gaming has been such a huge part of nearly everyone’s life growing up as a kid and it’s only getting bigger and bigger every day. Growing up as a kid, online gaming wasn’t as popular as it is today. I started off with a Gameboy and Dreamcast console that later shifted to better consoles like the PlayStation, Xbox, Wii, and Nintendo. Nowadays, almost everyone, including myself, have shifted to the more popular gaming platforms in mobile games and online PC games. More specifically, certain types of online gaming styles like FPS, MOBA, and MMO are distinctly more popular than many others. Not only has the popularity for online gaming platforms evolved but the importance and relevance of