The race for top ranks in the gaming console arena is beginning to look a lot like the situation in flat-panel TV; with just a few manufacturers constantly jockeying for top spot (granted there are only three main players in this race, versus many in flat-panel TV!) While Nintendo's Wii has consistently been number-one in Japan, Reuters reports that Sony's PlayStation 3 is slowly closing in on the family-friendly console. While Nintendo was outselling Sony at a ratio of 6-to-1, the gap has now closed to just 1.7-to-1!This is somewhat surprising, especially given the widely successful launch of the Wii Fit fitness game that has undoubtedly seen a rejuvenated interest in the still-hot Wii console. However, the PS3, which attracts a completely different audience of hard-core, traditional gamers, has also seen some pretty enticing new game introductions as well. Arguably the most popular recent releases include Metal Gear Solid 4 and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas. Another factor to consider is Blu-ray having won the high-definition DVD format war: the PS3 has a built-in Blu-ray player, which is certainly an appealing secondary function for its price.
In April of this year, The NPD Group reported that the Wii was the top-selling console in Canada. While the Wii has managed to entice an entirely new group of gamers, the other two consoles certainly have a stronghold on the core group of gamers. It will be interesting to see how each of the three main consoles (Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox) fare by the end of the year; especially after the busy holiday shopping season.
In April of this year, The NPD Group reported that the Wii was the top-selling console in Canada. While the Wii has managed to entice an entirely new group of gamers, the other two consoles certainly have a stronghold on the core group of gamers. It will be interesting to see how each of the three main consoles (Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox) fare by the end of the year; especially after the busy holiday shopping season.
3 comments:
"closing the gap" hahaha
why try so hard to make it seem like the playstation is anywhere close to catching up to the wii?
with kutaragi gone, and profits of the ps3 going into the toilet...
game over, playstation...
you're screwed.
Well although the wii is a very fun gaming console, It comes nowhere close to entertaining the serious gamer, it simply is not designed for that level of graphics and gameplay.
I personally own all three consoles, and all have their strong points and their drawbacks.
With Blu-ray winning the hd prerecorded war, they will be around for a long time to come. At 399 for the ps3 it is by far the most economical, robust, upgradeable and feature packed console.
So its ok to be a wii fanboy, just get your facts straight and youll be alright playing wiifit and helping little Mario save the Galaxy!
Purely as hardware, the PS3 is the best console out there. But it's not really about the hardware... as always, it's about the games. And the indisputable fact is that the Xbox 360 has WAY more games, and way more exclusive games, than the other two.
To be sure, the huge installed base of the Wii is bound to attract strong development efforts, but it will be a while before the results can be judged. That leaves the PS3 struggling to attract developers, despite having the smallest installed base of the three. I'm sure it will hold it's own, but it's hard to see how it could overtake the Xbox 360, no matter how much of a loss Sony is willing to take on the hardware.
Of course, that's assuming Microsoft plays it smart. Given the Vista disaster, that's no longer a certainty.
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