The Microsoft Xbox 360 has been out for almost three years and they are just now starting to realize there are more consumers and game players than the “hard core” audience. Microsoft can look at the Nintendo Wii and see how viable the casual games market can be.

David Hufford, Microsoft’s director for Xbox product management, quoted by the New York Times, said it loud and clear. “For the last few years we have consciously and continuously fed the core gamer audience, and now we are reaching that inflection point where we have to reach out to the mainstream consumer and bring them into the Xbox 360,” Hufford summed up the new Microsoft strategy.
Besides introducing its “new” strategy, Microsoft unveiled a series of services and games that are intended to lure the casual gamers to buy the Xbox 360.

Microsoft is trying to rope in the casual gamer by offering avatars to gamers. The avatars will be similar to the Miis that gamers can create on the Nintendo Wii. The avatars will be used in the arcade games. The arcade games are the avenue for Microsoft to reach the casual gamers. The first game announced was Lips, a singing game that allows gamers to sing songs from their own music collection.

It is nice for casual gamers to have multiple options to attain their gaming fix. Microsoft has some good arcade games available to play. If Microsoft takes this market serious, it could be a win win situation. Casual gamers have another avenue for games and Microsoft hooks in more consumers.

Thanks eFluxMedia