Console Wars: Who Won '08?

Necuno

Necuno

Court Jester
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
Messages
58,566
Reaction score
3,437
Despite early predictions that 2008 would be the year Sony regained momentum in the bitter video game console wars, it turned out to be false hope. Industry leader Nintendo stayed ahead of the pack all year, thoroughly dominating both the home console and handheld hardware markets with their Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS systems, respectively.

According to NPD Group, Nintendo flat-out owned the all-important month of November by selling over 2 million Wiis, better than twice as much as the next closest competitor, Microsoft's Xbox 360 (836,000). And at over 1.5 million DS systems sold, Nintendo tripled the output of Sony's PSP (421,000). While those numbers weren't nearly that high through most of 2008, the general order -- Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony -- held strong throughout.

But this was hardly a banner year for Nintendo in terms of software. The biggest games -- Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and of course Wii Fit -- came relatively early in the year, and their biggest holiday release, Wii Music, has been labeled something of a dud. Miffed that the company was focusing too heavily on catering to its relatively new mass-market audience, the usually loyal Nintendo fans complained about a lack of core games. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Sony enjoyed a wealth of blockbuster games all year long, including top-sellers Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3. So how did Nintendo compete, much less lead the way?

By finding a new niche, of course. While gamers lament the deluge of cheaply made games (dubbed "shovelware") aimed at capitalizing on the Wii's mainstream popularity, many of those titles speak to their broad audience and support the company's new directive. Nintendo knows on which side its bread is currently being buttered, and while Microsoft and Sony battle for the hearts and minds of the core gamers, Nintendo is content getting their moms to play, too. And their moms often have a lot more money.

Microsoft, on the other hand, found itself in second place by keeping its eyes on the prize: core gamers willing to shell out for great downloadable content. The recently released "New Xbox Experience" system update has nearly tripled sales over Xbox Live Arcade, while huge releases like Gears of War 2 and Fable II cemented their status as the go-to console for most gamers.

As the newest kid on the block, Microsoft is less concerned with catching Nintendo than they are with kicking Sony's butt, which is pretty much exactly what they're doing. Take, for instance, the November NPD numbers for Activision's best-selling first-person shooter, Call of Duty: World at War. The 360 version of the game sold an impressive 1.4 million copies -- over twice that of the PS3 version (597,000). It's hard to play catch up when you're getting beaten that badly.

As for Sony, well, they just can't catch a break. The company scored a major coup when Blu-ray officially trounced HD-DVD in the hi-def format war, but few believe the technology will catch on with consumers. Strong sales of big-time exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4 were promising, but the troubled launch of their 'Home' network coupled with relatively weak holiday sales (only Resistance 2 cracked the Top 10 list in November, all the way back at number 9) cramped their style. The once-promising PSP is getting whomped by both the DS and Apple's surging iPhone. Did a witch cast a spell on these guys or what?

Hopefully next year will bode better for the one-time king of the consoles, but for now, they'll have to get used to the view from the back of the pack.
Click to expand...
http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/console-wars-who-won-08-/1276642
 
Can't consider Wii an actual gaming console for serious gamers.
Its just a family/kids fun toy
 
boramk said:
Can't consider Wii an actual gaming console for serious gamers.
Its just a family/kids fun toy
Click to expand...

i agree, but its fun nontheless. I would however suggest to get it with an xbox with it to have both "serious" games with "not so serious" games :)
 
You know what I mean, highly anticipated titles with spectacular graphics etc.
 
We all know that the Wii sells the most. I'm not retarded.
I was merely stating my opinion why the Wii can't be compared to Xbox 360 and PS3.

By your logic barbie dolls are a console because of their sale
 
looking at the market target; wii did sell more because of the childs/teen ratio vs the norm players- those going for triple aaa titles on next gen over fun factor as per wii.
 
In truth,

Nintendo pwn3d & Microsoft wins because they're both declaring decent profits. Sony is the only Loser because they're making a loss.
 
Just a question not bashing :) Does the profit of a company determine which is the better gaming console or does it show which is the better company in general removing the fact that the said company may be involved in other activities other than gaming?
 
Honest answer, I think the profit makes a HUGE impact, since it will aid in drawing the top calibre development talent for the best games... since that console obviously is the one that is doing the best in the market.

Come to think of it, IIRC Nintendo is the only purely "gaming" company.. the other two have v diverse business interests.
 
Exactly.

Profitability for everyone is everything. The fact that the 360, and importantly 3rd parties on the 360, are making money is the very reason Square Enix, Namco, Capcom etc etc have all gone 100% cross platform, and why they rather focus on 360 than Wii.
 
But to maintain that profit MS had to sell or reassign nearly all there first party developer even bungie which was the developer which really got the first xbox off the ground with Halo. I'm not bashing but I don't foresee too many xbox exclusives in the future but maybe it's the right bet at the right time to go with the 3rd party developers :) just hope it doesn't come back to bite MS later they are good competion for Sony and you never know Sony might do the same in the future but we'll have to wait and see :)
 
Info Guy 101 said:
But to maintain that profit MS had to sell or reassign nearly all there first party developer even bungie which was the developer which really got the first xbox off the ground with Halo. I'm not bashing but I don't foresee too many xbox exclusives in the future but maybe it's the right bet at the right time to go with the 3rd party developers :) just hope it doesn't come back to bite MS later they are good competion for Sony and you never know Sony might do the same in the future but we'll have to wait and see :)
Click to expand...

I still don't get why some of you harp on about exclusives ...... I don't care if my game is available on every platform under the sun, as long as it's played on mah cheaper console, it's stunning and I enjoy it .......
 
^^

I actually somehow agree with you...

You bought the Xbox because it's cheaper, and you enjoy the games on it.

That is ACTUALLY what it's all about.

You bought it because it is cheaper, and you love it.

I respect that - shows you not some pitiful fanboi.

:)
 
As far as sales go, Nintendo won HANDS down.

*And yes I am a Xbox 360 owner and I am man enough to admit that another console at times is better, gaaar I cant stand fanboi's *
 
Mephisto_Helix said:
I still don't get why some of you harp on about exclusives ...... I don't care if my game is available on every platform under the sun, as long as it's played on mah cheaper console, it's stunning and I enjoy it .......
Click to expand...

+1 for helixboi
 
Im not that big a gamer, mostly use my xbox as a media center. Got Guitar hero lately and now started playing more. What I like about the xbox is that its not only a gaming console but more a entertainment platform. If telkom someday introduce IP TV the xbox can even be used as a setop box for IP TV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X