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Friday, March 02, 2007

The Console War Winner: Nobody

The games industry has long been acknowledged as a lucrative business to be involved with, which is why reports from market analysts on the prospects for new consoles command such attention.

The latest, from respected analysts IDC, comes to the conclusion that none of the next-generation games machines currently on sale is likely to lord it over the others.
-- Analysts predict no dominant next-gen console

This seems to me to slowly be the most likely outcome within the next few years. I've said in the past the labelling anyone a "winner" is getting more and more myopic. Sheer numbers, however, are trending in Nintendo's favor for the near future. Sony and Microsoft will do better as HDTV adoption rises (and Sony will dominate over Microsoft in Japan and fight for ground elsewhere). It's a pretty jigsaw picture that doesn't exactly spell doom for anyone.

Of course this is horrible news. With no clear winner or loser - fanboys of every stripe will likely begin to riot. Web forums probably won't be safe to travel until 2010.




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1 comment:

Unknown said...

I think Europe will be a goldmine for Sony. My sources say that no one really cares for the Xbox 360 there, which leaves the Wii and the PS3. Given the dominances that the PS2 there, I think they'll choose the PS3 over the Wii.

Of course, the price makes a big difference, but Europe has regrettably always put up with all consoles and games being more expensive there...