Kotaku: screen digest

Analyst: The Year Of The PlayStation 3 Unofficially Delayed To 2009

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:40:00 MST

The BBC has weighed in on the year in gaming, surveying the console war casualty count, highlighting the Wii's success and the dead heat between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But what about 2009?

One analyst, Piers Harding-Rolls from Screen Digest says that his firm thinks that next year could be Sony's year. "We always felt that 2008 was the year that PS3 kicked off - but we think that will now be 2009," he says.

Yes, this is the same Screen Digest that projected that the PlayStation 3 would dominate, with the Wii slipping to third by 2010. That was extremely early in this console generation and, obviously, things have changed.

"When we looked at the 360 at the beginning of the year we didn't think it was going to do as well as it has done," Harding-Rolls tells the BBC. The analyst firm probably also hadn't taken into account Sony's reluctance to embrace price drops in favor of breaking even on hardware.

Crowning the king of the consoles [BBC]

Analyst Sees Multimedia Hubs Dominating in 2008

Mark Wilson — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:40:17 MST

Piers Harding-Rolls not only has a name way cooler than yours will ever be. He's also a senior analyst at media (analyst) firm Screen Digest. And he thinks that 2008 will belong to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Now that these multi-media services - online video, IPTV, digital terrestrial TV and PVR functionality - are now available or poised to come on line in different markets, this 'hub' strategy is emerging as a key console battleground for Microsoft and Sony.

Hmm, most people thought the PS3 struggled because it lacked games, not multimedia features. And unless Sony will be bringing that sweet PS3 DVR functionality to the US, there's massive hole in their plan for the time being. As for the 360, aside from DivX, their multimedia functionality has gone quiet as of late.

PS3 Primed for 2008 Comeback - Screen Digest [nextgen]

89% Of Japan To Own A DS By 2011

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:20:51 MDT

Analyst group Screen Digest has issued a report plotting the hardware futures of the Nintendo DS and Sony's PSP into the next decade. The group predicts, in their report republished at Gamasutra, that the Nintendo DS will reach sales of 112 million by 2011, with the PlayStation Portable lagging behind at 67 million units worldwide.

The most staggering figure? Ed Barton of Screen Digest foretells that, in Japan, the Nintendo DS will be in 89% of Japanese households within four years. That's huge. My prediction is that we'll start to see the first Japanese babies born without vocal chords by 2023, as all communication in the nation switches to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Also, fingernails will become more stylus-shaped and Iwataism will become the prominent religion.

While the Screen Digest report doesn't seem like wild speculation, especially if you pay heed to Media Create and NPD Group sales reports, these are the same analysts who forecast the PLAYSTATION 3 to lead, with the Wii in third place by 2010. Anyone with a time machine willing to confirm any of this for us? Michael McWhertor

Screen Digest: DS To Dominate By 2011 [Gamasutra]

Analyst: PS3 First, Wii Third By 2010

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 18:40:39 MST

It might not have been the best day for Sony in terms of news and reception from gamers, but at least one research firms backs them up. Gamasutra spoke with research group Screen Digest's Ed Barton to get the skinny on why even though Barton thinks PS2-level success won't be seen in this generation, the PS3 will still come out on top.

One reason why, in a list of very long reasons is:

We also have a lot of faith in the ability of, in particular, Sony, which we see has really got a huge amount of development resources, and they are backing the PlayStation 3 to enormous unprecedented levels for a first party publisher.
One of our core beliefs is that no one buys one of these plastic boxes on technical specs alone, people tend to buy them for content. Our forecasts at the moment are based on the belief that PlayStation 3 has this level of support. The numbers that we're seeing now for the Nintendo Wii, they've come out of the blocks fantastically strongly - no one would deny that - however it's incredibly early in the hardware cycle. There's still another five or six years to play out on this one, and the first big battleground will be Christmas of 2007.

It's an interesting perspective, one that makes me want to read the full report. However, I don't have $3260 lying around for the PDF and I don't think I can expense this one. Michael McWhertor

Screen Digest: PS3 To Lead Through 2010, Wii 'Great Unknown' [Gamasutra]