Early study shows more users are likely to buy Natal than Move

OTX, a global consumer research and consulting firm recently conducted a study about the motion controllers that are likely to be violating our comfort levels of hype in the very near future.  The firm found that only eight percent of the Xbox 360’s current market intends to purchase Natal.  Furthermore, only six percent of the current PlayStation users plan on purchasing the Move.  The tracking study polled a group of 2,000 gamers between May 23rd and June 5th.

Kris Graft expanded on the raw figures by adding:

The low purchase intent figures reflect the current lack of information about compatible games for the devices. Microsoft and Sony are expected to reveal more motion-compatible games at next week’s E3 event in L.A., where the controllers will be a central attraction, after which purchase intent may rise.

The GamePlan Insights study also said that 15 percent of the Xbox 360 market is aware of Natal, while the same percentage of the PS3 market is aware of the Move.

The study showed that Natal intenders have an average age of 25, versus 28 for the Move. Also, 30 percent of Move intenders are female, compared to 20 percent for Natal.

Natal intenders are also closely aligned with core Xbox 360 game tastes, with four out of five saying they like play shooter games a lot.

“While we are still months away from launch, the current data suggests that Natal gamers are definitely Xbox 360 purists, while Move gamers have a stronger interest in other platforms,” OTX said.

Move intenders’ tastes are more varied across genres like action, role-playing and shooters, which rank closely together as the top three preferred genres, OTX said.

The study revealed the top five games that Natal and Move intenders are currently interested in, exhibiting the gaming tastes of these early adopters:

Titles with strongest overlap among Natal intenders:

1. Gears of War 3 – X360 (47%)
2. Fable III – X360 (42%)
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops – X360 (38%)
4. Halo: Reach – X360 (34%)
5. Dead Space 2 – X360 (26%)

Titles with strongest overlap among Move Intenders:

1. LittleBigPlanet 2 – PS3 (42%)
2. Gran Turismo 5 – PS3 (32%)
3. SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs – PS3 (30%)
4. The Legend of Zelda 2 – Wii (26%)
5. Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Wii (21%)

It’s funny when you follow gaming news very closely and just assume that everyone knows as much as you.  Or at least is aware that two such pieces of technology exist and will available for purchase in the very near future.  Though it does make a bit of sense.  The only concrete things we have seen from Natal up to this point, is that people sure do look funny hitting red balls.  Though on the Sony front we have seen quite a bit about what to expect from the device, I’m surprised that the figures are substanially lower than that of Natal’s.