Analysts at EEDAR (Electronic Entertainment Design and Research) stated in their post-E3 report that interest in actually purchasing Microsoft’s Kinect and PlayStation’s Move is “relatively low.” The core gaming community, while aware of the new peripherals, are not currently interested in buying the new technology… at the moment.

EEDAR stresses that this does not indicate that either will have poor sales. They explain that interest will pick up as we approach the release dates, when more games are announced that utilize the Move and Kinect. The closer something comes to reality the truer people’s feelings about it become.

Some gamers may say they aren’t interesting in buying into the tech because they are unsure about the price and others may feel they simply don’t need the new tech. Gamers being more involved in the control of gameplay may also be a turn-off. Some people like the current system of sitting on the couch and using the old-fashioned controller and buttons. Spending extra money on something possibly deemed unnecessary isn’t popular when money’s tight… although Apple’s iPad was a big seller.

Now, you may be wondering where the EEDAR got their data from for this report.

It makes sense to assume the more “casual” gamers would have more interest since that clearly is Microsoft’s intended audience. The PlayStation Move and Kinect for the Xbox 360 were created and have been advertised to appeal to the “casual” gamers. This brings into question the point of the study for both the reason that it may mean nothing this early, and that their sample data doesn’t represent the realistic consumer base.

It should be noted that EEDAR’s report is based on traffic data from IGN.com, which tends to skew “hardcore.” Purchase intent may be much higher among the more “casual” gamers once they’re aware of the products.

Broadening the scope of your target audience is a smart move for both companies, whose consoles are constantly being outsold by the Nintendo Wii. It will be interesting to see how the gaming landscape changes when all 3 systems have motion control.

I believe both the Move and Kinect will prove to sell well. “Hardcore” and “casual” gamers alike will have a decision to make as to if they want this new technology and how badly they want it.

Source: 1UP