Kotaku: Prediction

Analyst Predicts Death Of 360 In Japan

torif — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:00:04 MDT

Sony may be worried following the 360 price drop in Europe, but according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, they don't have much to be concerned about. In fact, Pachter predicts that the PS3 will beat out the Xbox 360 in Japan ("killing" it) and Europe (by 20%-40%). He also says that the PS3 may pull ahead of the Xbox 360 in month-on-month sales:

"In the US, I think it will be close all year, with 360 outselling PS3 most months due to its lower price points (at least as long as it remains lower priced)," Pachter told videogaming247. "Sony gains a huge competitive advantage when HD monitor sales pick up at holiday, as I expect retailers to push PS3 as a Blu-ray player to anyone buying an HD monitor. By year-end, I think PS3 will outsell the 360 in the US by a little."

Seems to me that 2008 is shaping up to be an interesting year in the battle of the consoles! Now, we just have to wait and see if Pachter is on the money...

Pachter on late 2008: "PS3 will likely outsell the 360 in Europe by 20%-40%, and will kill 360 in Japan" [videogaming247, via GamePro]

Analyst - Handhelds Outselling Consoles Within Four Years

Mike Fahey — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 12:20:31 MDT

I know the DS is selling like limited edition gold-plated hotcakes across the known universe, but could it propel the handheld market beyond its console cousins? DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole seems to think so.

"Under the right scenario, by 2011 the combined installed base of the DS and PSP could exceed that for the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360," said Cole.

Under the right scenario I could be a cross-dressing belly dancer living in Bolivia by the year 2011. Gotta love the analyst speak. "If everything happens in such a way to bring it about, this could happen." Brilliant.

I suppose it could happen, especially with some real gems being released for the PSP lately and the rumored redesign in the works. DFC already has the handheld market reaching over $10 billion by the end of this year alone.

Cole also states that the DS "has the potential to be the best-selling interactive entertainment platform ever," which would almost...almost...make up for the Virtual Boy. Michael Fahey

Handhelds to out-sell home consoles by 2011 - DFC [GamesIndustry.biz]

Wii Gets eZiText

Mike Fahey — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:40:28 MST

Zi Corporation yesterday announced that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Nintendo to provide eZiText predictive text input technology to the forthcoming Wii console. Widely used in cell phones and PDA devices to facilitate text messaging, eZiText works by trying to guess what word you are typing as you type it.

This sort of technology makes me feel like I have a horrible stuttering problem and an impatient friend who always tries to second-guess what I am saying to speed things along. When I use my pocket PC I often imagine it yelling the suggested words at me in frustration, which makes the whole process that much more entertaining.

Zi has worked with Nintendo in the past, having provided their Decuma handwriting recognition technology to the DS, making them directly responsible for my low Brain Age score. Michael Fahey

Predictive move by Wii [Virgin.net]

PC Mag: Nintendo Loses Console War, PC Heading Out

Brian Crecente — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 09:33:52 MST

PC Magazine uses this year's trends to predict next year's major events. The piece, which touches on everything from a Google crash to a PC shake-up has three items that deal with gaming.

Editor-In-Chief Jim Louderback predicts that Nintendo will come on strong in the Spring of 2006 with Zelda and then fade quickly as the Xbox 360 and PS3 take front stage to duke it out for home console superiority. Louderback goes on to say that he says gamers buying both systems and dropping the PC.

Not all of his predictions are bad for Nintendo. Louderback sees Nintendo winning the handheld game market (something that I think happened when the original Game Boy hit). Louderback sees this latest Nintendo victory coming from the DS and Micro helped along by the PSP's lackluster titles.

Finally, Louderback sees HDTV taking off with the assistance of price drops and HDTV compatible gaming systems.

The only thing I really disagree with is the death of the PC. He doesn't call it that, but it really is just another way of saying the PC is heading out. I don't disagree with the fact that PC game market share is dropping because of consoles, I just don't see people buying two consoles instead of one PC.