A Nintendo Home Console Back on Top

Some time last year Nintendo said that they will release their system before the PS3. If they can get the Rev out there and have people buying a cheap system and having lots of fun with it could serioulsy disrupt the PS3 launch.

Not to mention, Microsoft has plans to release Halo III for the 360 on the PS3 launch date.

No word on if they’re actually going to do it. I doubt they’ll have it even close to finished.

Remember all of the Halo II delays? I do.

GDC: 4 days and counting.

It is not how much of the market you hold, it is how well you do.

Take music

There are bands that do not have the highest selling album rates, but their concerts sell huge and they make tonnes of money from constantly selling out venues.

Bands with a cult following where people DEMAND their merchandise, and they see money from that.

20 percent marketshare isn’t what matters here, it is how successful you can be WITH that 20 percent.

Losing a few billion on the other hand IS a problem, but MS can hold that… albeit anyone who buys the DRM laden Windows Vista…

What I am wondering, mr anon… is in a post about how Nintendo has a chance why would you bring up an X360 vs PS3 argument? THe X360 is a piece of crap, but you dont know what the PS3 will be like. I personally am boycotting it since every sony console I have owned has needed replacement, so it isnt like Sony is on some glorious throne.

He said Apple beats sony in mindshare, which is definitly different from meaning it in the literal sense. But I have to admit, within the past year Nintendo has made great strides in this department! Actually an amazing amount they’re marketing has been on overdrive, especially their viral campaigns set out to get the heart of the gamer. They got me 🙂

FRiSBY, I have a Mac and a Nintendo as well and I have to say that life is good.

Sony systems breaking down? bollocks!!

I suppose I have to defend a few of my statements.

Apple Vs Sony:

Yes it’s true that Nintendo’s mindshare, particularly in Japan is growing at a rapid rate, thanks to some innovative devices and designs and some unbelievable underground marketing (don’t market your treasures and your fans will do it for you by guessing). However, I’m talking about the slightly larger consumer electronics context here. Think of every other tech magazine cover, every movie with someone that listens to music, every news story reference to the music industry, and somewhere in there you’ll see a reference to the ipod alone. In the last few months, sales not widthstanding, we’ve seen the exact same thing with the PSP, and not with the DS or any other Nintendo product. Have you seen the DS on the cover of any Non-Video game magazine?

I heard a poll once that found something like 80% of people would pay more for a SONY product than a rival’s who when asked “Why?”, couldn’t give an answer. The mere announcement that there was actually gonna BE a PS2 killed the Dreamcast almost overnight, and this was a phenomenon amongst serious gamers. What do you think laid back gamers, the same ones who have bought the PS1 and the PS2 will do when there’s a PS3.

LSSLAVE: I bring up the 360 basically to show that in my opinion playing Sony’s own game will fail. It failed when MS had a superior product, now it will fail when MS has an inferior one. Nintendo has finally realised this and created an Alternative product. Of course it’s easy to say this, but the industry has become so stuck in its ways that it actually took a stroke of genious to do something different. I sort of liken it to how Nintendo practically invented the concept of Jumping in Mario, and so many games incorperated it that it took real vision to ‘uninvent’ it with Zelda tOOT.

And yes, you’re right. Sensible companies aren’t about market shares, they’re about profits, which is the basic reason Nintendo’s not going away from consoles any time soon, despite what EA and other morons think. But I also know that for companies who can manufacture their own parts (that only leaves Sony), massive sales will eventually turn into massive profits.

It actually doesn’t matter what the PS3 will be like, in the exact same way it didn’t matter what the PS2 was like. The power of encombancy, mystical Sony mindshare powers, track record and 3rd party support is all they need. Being better than the direct competition is a bonus. PS3 is the first playstation that actually IS tempting me (as a relatively cheap do it all system). I predict PS3 will sell well, very well. And it will eventually be profitable, very profitable. And the idea that MS or Nintendo could displace them at this point is almost silly. Nintendo have now got that. MS haven’t. And the money doesn’t seem to help. Nintendo seeks to sell to different people and to the same people alongside PS3’s. I predict they will sell well. And they will be very profitable.

Morningstarrinsing: They’re 5 months late in Japan. That and PSP are the sum of their PS troubles. No, March isn’t looking more and more liekly. 360 went from announcement to launch in 6 months. Sony should have exactly the breathing space they need. With a 25 GB GTA they actually can take over all of gaming, because they did already. Check out the sales of that series, factor in the money spent by competitors on clones and you realise how potent it is. But GTA was just an example. Almost every game will be portable from 360 to PS3, but many will not port the other way. As for Mario 128: Mario 64 was also revolutionary, and PS1 still beat N64 to a sales pulp. Nintendo may steal initial sales from Sony as the hardcore eat up the first shipments, but in the long run they are now (not) competing for different markets. You don’t want just one “Year of Nintendo”.

In conclusion, 6 year sales predictions out of the Arse-o-metre:
PS3: 90 million systems – $3 billion profit
360: 35 million systems – $3 billion loss
Rev: 50 million systems – $2 billion profit

PS Any references to Sony’s wider financial woes, are in a large part Apple’s fault. They out cooled them, and maybe in the future, Nintendo can do it too. But not yet. Sorry for the long long post.