Month: December 2010

The XBOX Kinect is the latest and greatest – just ask Canadian Consumers! 2.5 million units were sold in just 25 days, which is an amazing feat. The cool thing about the XBOX Kinect is that there is no controller? The players themselves are the controllers. How does this work? Well I had a chance to try out the new console and boy, is it a fine piece of technology. The character I was controlling (with my own body), stood the same way i stood, and when my arms moved, its arms moved! I was totally in control! This all works because of a camera that is placed to track your every movements

A marketing strategy on Microsoft’s (the maker of Xbox) part is that they released it just in time for the holidays. With Christmas, Hanukkah and other holidays just around the corner, XBOX takes advantage of consumers who are looking for a cool new present that they can put underneath this year’s Christmas tree. As shown above, the purchases of gaming consoles exponentially increases during the December-January period.

Wtih 2.5 million units sold already,  the XBOX Kinect will be able increase its overall market share, and also steal away buyers of the Xbox’s competitors: Playstation and Nintendo Wii. The above graph outlines 2007’s market share of gaming consoles.

Looks like this is a going to be a profitable Christmas for Microsoft!

To Read More:

XBOX’s official website: http://www.xbox.com/en-ca/kinect

The Daily Mail News: http://dailymailnews.com/1210/05/Snippets/index.php?id=3

The MMOROG business has proven to be a very lucrative business. After creating an addicting game, MMORPOG games usually rely on the constant subscription of users to feed their company with dollars upon dollars.  This may sound lucrative, however, it does raise questions dealing with ethics – at what extent will MMOROG’s go to addict their users to the game? As shown on the graph below, the rate of MMOROG is growing heavily…

I have been addicted to MMORPGs in the past, so I know how addicting they can be. However,  I’ve never been addicted to the degree that my other friends have been.  Presently, the most addicting MMORPG is World of Warcraft.. which single-handedly controls over half of the market share of MMORPGs! (you can see this below!)

What exactly is it about World of Warcraft that keeps its subscribers paying the monthly fee? Well, yes, I assume the game play is extraordinary.. however, I believe it also has to do with a strong business plan on their creator, Blizzard Entertainment’s part.

One of Blizzard Entertainment’s business strategies is to make sure that it is difficult for existing users to quit the game. I have heard stories of people quitting, then subsequently coming back to play within a couple of days. One of the ways in which this happens is through Blizzard Entertainment’s offer of a free week of play to people who have stopped subscribing. Though this may seem harmless, once a player that previously had been addicted to World of Warcraft begins playing again, the possibility of them becoming addicting again (and therefore renewing their subscription)  is very likely.

This method is very effective for Blizzard Entertainment, as they do not lose anything, and therefore can only gain from offering previously addicted users a chance to play World of Warcraft for free. This may be a good business model, however, is it ethical to benefit from addicted users who have quit? I believe this is unethical because I have seen firsthand people whose lives have spiraled downhill from the addictive nature of World of Warcraft.

Clearly, more and more people are playing World of Warcraft.. What do you all think? Ethical or unethical?