Next
Generation Games – Launch Comparisons
Now that all 3 of the so-called next-gen consoles are available in Australia,
and the dust has settled around who broke what record, perhaps it is time for us
to look at the respective launches and see how much money the consumers were
willing to part with at each launch. Looking at the first 2 weeks of each launch
(10 days for PS3 and 11 days for Wii and X360) and assuming that one console was
purchased in every transaction, we should be able to see who was able to take
advantage of add-ons (both games and accessories) and who succeeded in getting
the customer to purchase over and above the console itself.
23rd March 2006, saw the launch of Microsoft’s 2nd generation Xbox.
The Xbox 360 launched in 2 versions, an AU$499 Core Pack that shipped without an
internal hard drive, and the AU$649 Premium Pack that shipped with a 20Gb drive
and a DVD remote. Combined they sold 30,421 in the first 4 days and 36,627 over
the first 11 days. Less then 2% of the consoles purchased at launch were the
Core Pack. The average consumer spend in the first 11 days of the Xbox 360
launch was AU$921.36 per purchase, with 32%, or an average of AU$291, spent on
additional games and accessories, which is slightly higher than the original
Xbox launch 4 years earlier.
The Nintendo Wii (SRP AU$399) was launched in
Australia
on 17th December 2006, and sold a record 32,901 units in the first
week and a total of 41,369 in the first 11 days. Although the SRP of the console
was significantly lower then the Xbox 360, a comparable 31% of the consumers’
spend went on additional games and accessories. This figure equates to AU$174
per purchase, and is low compared to the Xbox 360 average for games and
accessories. This was due to the Wii Play / Wii-mote bundle available at launch
(SRP AU$79.95) and the relatively low price point of the Wii’s other
accessories such as the ‘Nunchuck’ (SRP AU$29.95)
The Playstation 3 was
launched on 23rd March 2007 for an unprecedented SRP of AU$999.00.
Even at this price point, 27,083 units sold in the first 10 days of sales. The
average value per purchase was AU$1222.16. PS3 consumers, on average, spent an
additional AU$230.83 (19% of the total purchase price) on games and accessories
equating to an attach rate 0.5 less then the Xbox 360. The overall average price
of the PS3 games and accessories were slightly less then Xbox 360 games and
accessories at launch.
So, back to the original
question: who capitalized the most in the first 2 weeks of the next-gen consoles
launch?
The Xbox 360 had the best
launch in terms of getting the consumer to purchase additional products over and
above the console. Given the fact that one of the easiest add-ons (a DVD remote)
was bundled with over 98% of the consoles, each console transaction registered
an additional 2.3 games and 0.8 accessories, for a combined additional spend of
AU$291 per purchase.
The Nintendo Wii offered by
far the best value for the consumer. In
addition to the actual console price, the average additional spend was
AU$174.72, with the average customer walking away with 2.78 games and 1.35
accessories per console. However,
1.63 of those games had nil value as they were bundled with pieces of hardware.
Whilst the Playstation 3
generated more revenue at retail then the other 2 formats (in the first 10 days
of sales) perhaps then, not surprisingly given the price of the console, the
average PS3 customer only spent 19% (AU$230.84) of their total purchase on games
and accessories. This pushed the average purchase price past the AU$1200 mark
and left the PS3 with the attach rates of 1.8 for games and 0.7 for accessories.
For
further information please contact:
Daniel
Morse
GfK Australia
02 9900 2834