The Console Wars
Posted by Norlander on November 29 2006 14:11:07
Nintendo sold 600,000 units of its new Wii video game console in the first eight days after its release in the Americas, as the company vies with rivals Sony and Microsoft for gamers' hearts and wallets.
Extended News
Nintendo sold 600,000 units of its new Wii video game console in the first eight days after its release in the Americas, as the company vies with rivals Sony and Microsoft for gamers' hearts and wallets.


http://news.com.com/Nintendo+says+600,000+Wiis+sold+in+eight+days/2100-1043_3-6138994.html

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So it seems that the new Nintendo like the Xbox360 is selling quite well, which is quite surprising since it is directly competing with the new PlayStation 3 (which had it's US launch in the same week).

Some analysts fear that it is in fact Sony that will miss out in this battle with Microsoft and Nintendo. The reasoning is as follows: The PS3 is technically superioir to it's rivals, much in the same way as the Sony Betamax was superioir to JVC's VHS, but like the Betamax it is also costs a lot more.

Personally I think it will come down to the content provided by Sony, if they can make the PS3 into the node of home entertainment they will have won. If they cannot, and if MS and Nintendo keep turning out great games for their respective consoles, Sony and the PlayStation might be going the way of the Betamax (even if they have good games on the PS3 it still has to overcome the price disadvantage). Added to this mix is the PC and Notebook market.

Personally I think that one has to keep a watchful eye on the notebook market in particular as it has a good chance of simply overtaking the consoles as the preferred platform for all forms of digital home entertainment, in which case the PlayStation 3 will become the BetaMax of the 21st century.