Analyst: PS3 Will Dominate... in 2011
Take note, because in five years time this company will be saying "I told you so." Sigh.
As Sony and Nintendo prepare to enter the next-gen fray, analysts armed with their spreadsheets and crystal balls are peering into the future, desperate for a glimpse of the winner of the console war. Look far enough, says one such firm, and Sony is the one smiling.
By 2011, Sony will have sold around 30 million units of the PlayStation 3 in North America and have hold of nearly half the games market, says the Yankee Group, a Boston-based research firm, putting it well ahead of the Xbox 360 (27 million units) and the Wii (11 million).
Part of the reason for this (as suggested by the catchy title of the firm's latest research report, Can Sony Hold Off Microsoft as Video Game Consoles Emerge as a Platform For Digital Distribution?) is the increasing importance the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will see as platforms for digital distribution.
Another finding in the report is that console sales on the whole will be down relative to the current generation, mostly because the new batch of consoles are too expensive.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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