Kotakuite Kurt, a chap who studies at Chicago IIT-Kent Graduate School of Business, sent us in this quote from his business professor:

In the past, consoles all fought for the same market share. Many people had multiple consoles. Now, when the market is at it's biggest, the Big 3 have each chosen a different audience. Sony is a differentiator, they charge the most, but they promise the most in depth experience. The PSP falls in this category. It's success is questionable and may a sign of things to come with the PS3. Nintendo is a cost-leader. They don't offer the most power nor do they claim to. They do offer, by far, the best price. This will attract many people. Did it work for the GameCube? Also debatable. Lastly, we have Microsoft. From a business stand point, they are the most at risk. Historically, trying to be both a cost-leader and a differentiator is very difficult because they have to appeal to two completely different target markets. The usual result is failure but they've done well so far. Really, the deciding factor, as always, will be games. The upcoming titles look strong and a gamer would be hard-pressed to find a system that they wouldn't want to play.

The PSP's success as a differentiator isn't questionable: it failed. Meanwhile, the Nintendo DS, which is both a cost-leader and a differentiator is wildly successful. We're a bit skeptical that Sony is really offering the most in-depth experience, either. What are they promising that isn't covered in any of the other consoles, really? It's pretty much just Blu-Ray. Florian Eckhardt