The Console Wars and your Wallet

(Note: Your sensei Johnny is a huge Nintendo fan; information may be more biased than usual.)

Nintendo Ticker Symbol: NTDOY.PK

I told my little cousin I would give him $500 to invest if he came up with some stocks. He had 5 companies on his list and the top three were Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. I asked him why he allocated half his money to Nintendo and he said “because everybody at school used to think PS2 was better than Gamecube and now everybody thinks the Wii will be better than the PS3.”

As you can see, the Console Wars are in full swing and I predict Nintendo taking market share away from Sony and Microsoft and expanding the video game market to include people from other generations and demographics. Nintendo has already had massive success with innovative and strange new titles such as Brain Age and a game that teaches office workers business English.

Sony and Microsoft have banked their success on upgraded graphics cards and powerful processors while Nintendo has recognized the demand for new and innovative game play and responded. The Wiimote, introduced earlier this year is designed to look like a television remote, and allows players to manipulate game elements simply by moving the control.

I wish I could say there was going to be a winner in the console wars but, I can say there is going to be a loser. Nintendo will likely gain enough market share to be in the Sony and Microsoft league, however, Sony is going to lose a great deal of market share to Nintendo and possibly Microsoft because Sony has made no real improvements to it’s console, aside from the impromptu dual shake controller, and token graphics enhancements.

PlayStation and X-Box are also significantly more expensive systems. The Wii will be debuting at $249.99 including a game while the X-Box 360 sells for $299.99 and the PS3 sells for an arm and a leg plus $399 or more! The price of the PS3 alone is going to be enough for PS2 owners to look elsewhere for their gaming fix.