Console Wars Predictions - 2007
I believe the expensive price of the PS3 is the main reason for its current low sales, not to mention a lack of really solid game titles to entice people to purchase one. To pay $500-$600 plus for a PS3 seems unreasonable compared to the $400 360 main system or the competitively priced $250 Wii. Of course, the price of the PS3 will be cut eventually; it's just a matter of when. I'd like to see a price cut by at least $100 this spring or early summer. The other thing Sony needs to do is release some more exciting games and more exclusive PS3 games. Losing their once-exclusive Grand Theft Auto franchise to Microsoft sucks, because that was a big reason why PS2 sold so well. Right now, there just isn't enough motivation for people to pay so much for the PS3.
Nintendo is really smart. Rather than trying to compete with the technology of Sony or Microsoft, and after their GameCube was obliterated in the last war, they have come out with something completely different with the Wii. Rather than targeting hardcore gamers, they have released a console that is fun for not only real game players but also for people who have never played a video game in their life. They completely wiped the slate clean and invented a new system with a remote completely unlike the other two. Its realistic sale price also set things into motion with a great start in the market, and games such as Wii Sports and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess were good reasons to purchase a Wii.
In order for Nintendo to remain a contender in the console race, it will need to offer online multiplayer gaming, which seems to be the future of console gaming. While offering things such as downloadable classic games is nice, playing games online against other people is something consumers want and something the Wii doesn't offer. If Nintendo does want to offer online gaming in the future, they should at least offer a rough timeline and a teaser for it, which they have yet to do. The other thing they need to do is keep releasing more titles, and more exciting titles that will keep gamers wanting to use the Wii-mote and forget about the competition.
People are skeptical of which unit to purchase, and it's hard to say which console will dominate the war. Consumers like to wait until prices drop, and reports of malfunctioning consoles keep people away from purchasing them soon after they are released.
Adam Brown, Freelance Writer
About every five years or so, a new wave of video game consoles are released to the public. These new consoles usually allow for major leaps in graphics, gameplay, and innovation. Unfortunately, this also leads to an increased cost to develop games for these systems. We have already experienced a price increase from $50 to $60 for Xbox 360 and PS3 games. Companies have also begun to sell in-game advertising to help combat the rising cost of game development. Even with these tactics, game development involves a very large investment and a huge financial risk. To keep from losing money, companies need to sell many copies of these games to break even and, perhaps, make a profit. This has led to the current state of cross platform games.
Sony's PS3 has received a rather temperate response since its launch. Besides its fairly high price point, a serious lack of exclusive games receives much of this blame. With the PS3's installed base being quite small in comparison with that of the Xbox 360, which has enjoyed a one year head start, companies fear that they will be unable to sell enough copies of games that are PS3 exclusives. This has resulted in many games that were initially intended as PS3 exclusives, crossing over and also releasing on the Xbox 360. We have already seen this trend with "Virtua Fighter 5," "Assassin's Creed," and more recently with "Devil May Cry 4." Many games that are thought to be PS3 exclusive may continue to follow this trend.
This leaves Sony in a very un-admirable position. They don't have enough consoles in homes to land exclusive games, but the PS3 is also selling slower because of the lack of great exclusive games. This is a conundrum that Sony will need to find the answer to if they hope to compete with the over 10 million Xbox 360s already in homes. Especially considering that Microsoft doesn't seem to have any lack of great exclusive games. If the PS3 doesn't have any great games that aren't on the Xbox 360, but the 360 has several great games that aren't on the PS3, why they would you buy a PS3? The answer to this question shouldn't be Blu-ray. A movie format shouldn't hold any bearing on which video GAME system you choose to buy for playing video GAMES.
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