• by Aaron Baar , July 16, 2013

This fall is looking to be a big one for console game platforms with both Microsoft and Sony launching their next generation platforms this fall. But with more casual gamers gravitating to the mobile platforms, capturing more consumers could prove difficult. 

For these so-called “8th-generation” consoles, ABI research is estimating shipments of Xbox One, Sony PS4 and the already available Wii U to pass 133 million during their first five years on the market. Although a huge number, those estimates are down from the 140 million consoles shipped over that same length of time. 

“We’re still projecting them to do well,” Michael Inouye, ABI senior analyst, tells Marketing Daily. “It will all come down to the pricing down the road. It’s pretty challenging to [get consumers to] buy a box for $200 or $300, when there’s a game console out there for $99.”

The $99 consoles that Inouye refers to are Android-based consoles like Ouya, which have a better chance of capturing casual gamers who play similar titles and concepts on their smartphones and tablets. One way the higher-priced 8th generation might be able to entice those consumers is through offering differentiated content through their devices (like some sort of over-the-top television programming). 

Another option would be to embrace the Android market, releasing popular games and/or characters to play “lite” versions of their console games as a way to hook casual consumers into wanting more, he says.

Not offering those options has hurt Nintendo with its 8th-generation console, the Wii U. While the original Wii lured in casual gamers (many of whom may have moved on to mobile games), the new console has not caught on with core gamers, despite offering titles that might appeal to them. “There’s things that could turn it around, but right now the core gamers are focused on the Xbox One and the PS4,” Inouye says.