Gaming Consoles – The Race to the Top
The video game industry seems to be no longer only dominated by Sony’s Playstation PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox360 but has had to recognise the gaining market share of the Nintendo Wii.
One could argue that this development is mainly caused by the pricing policy of Sony. The PS3 manufacturer positioned its’ game console in the upper price segment and justified the pricing strategy with the multi-purpose of the PS3. Unlike the pure gaming consoles - Xbox360 and Wii, the latest generation of the Playstation can be used as well as a Blu-ray DVD player. Even though this new DVD technology is a subject of high demand in general, video game enthusiasts hesitate to see a justification for the far higher product price. They’d rather renounce the advantage added by this cutting edge feature and seem to be happily satisfied by the pure gaming action offered by the competitors’ consoles.
In terms of sales, the Nintendo Wii currently sells the highest number of units followed by the Xbox and the PS3. Despite the fact that the Nintendo Wii has entered the competition comparatively late and against the two ultimate gaming leaders Sony and Microsoft, it quickly conquered the hearts of a worldwide customer group resulting in repeated sales records and constant market share growth. Unlike the Xbox and PS3 which target gaming enthusiasts and those people going crazy for video games, the Nintendo Wii found a broader fan group and concentrates more on the casual gamer and families than the enthusiastic individual.
However, latest sales figures published in spring 2008 revealed a neck and neck race between Microsoft and Sony in terms of sold units whereas Nintendo was able to take the lead. The success of the Nintendo Wii wasn’t expected to this extent, this phenomenal level, but weighing the facts, it might be traced back to the considerable low product price and the brilliant features this console offers the user.
It might have been a strategic reaction to the lower product price of the Nintendo Wii or just a pricing curve effect that Microsoft reduced the price for its’ Xbox in Europe to an average of £160 since spring 2008. The potential customers were grateful and the price slump positively influenced the sales figures of this game console. The overall amount of Nintendo Wii units sold was also supported by the release of the latest games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit which offer interactive and more social gaming action.
Handheld game consoles like the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP outsold again the bigger models. The obvious reasons are on the one hand the cheaper product price and on the other hand the minimal space and component requirements for these smaller handheld consoles. In addition to this, recent trends like Brain Training additionally supported the increase in sales of the Nintendo DS and DS Lite resulting in the company’s current market leadership. In the past years, Sony’s PSP could maintain a significant advantage above its’ handheld rival but the sales slumped since 2007. This decrease in market share and sales is mainly due to the gain of Nintendo.
In terms of sales, the Nintendo Wii currently sells the highest number of units followed by the Xbox and the PS3 .
Handheld game consoles like the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP outsold again the bigger models.
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Print Article | Download PDF | 30 views | Sep 16 2008
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