Analyst Sees Nintendo Crushed in Next Gen
It's early days yet, but some are laying their apparently-well-reasoned guesses on the table.
The next generation may not have even started yet and already analysts are predicting the winners and losers. One analyst, Strategy Analytics, has predicted that total console sales for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Revolution will double that of their predecessors, according to a report at GameSpot.
The company also wagered a guess at the breakdown of the 200 million consoles it predicts will be in living rooms in 2012.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the company has its money on the PlayStation brand coming out tops for a third time in succession with a 60 per cent share of hardware sales for PlayStation 3.
Microsoft and Nintendo will continue to fight for the scraps, not unlike what they're doing now with GameCube and Xbox, but this time Microsoft will have a 30 per cent share - three times as much as Nintendo's sliver of the market.
Sony's prophesied trouncing of Microsoft is, however, dependent on developers being able to get the most out of the Cell processor that drives the PlayStation 3 and also on Sony putting in place a more cohesive online plan - something more like Microsoft's 2 million-rich Live service.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games