British research firm Screen Digest recently analyzed the videogame console battle and came to the conclusion that Sony will "step up its game" next year.
"Christmas 2007 will be the first time that Sony's PlayStation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii have competed on retailers' shelves side-by-side in all major territories,†said the study. "One of the market shifts to watch out for in 2008 will be the continued evolution of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 from games consoles to multi-media hubs. 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."
Screen Digest's Senior Games Analyst Piers Harding-Rolls predicts the 2008 the market climate will change dramatically and Nintendo might be left in the cold. Whereas in 2007 Nintendo succeeded in expanding the appeal of the Wii to different consumers, including more chicks and older folks, Sony's offerings of exclusive content and the launch of multi-media services could result in a big year for the PS3.
"Next year we expect to see shifting alliances, and with such a delicate stalemate, it's only going to take one major player to swap sides and the market will shift seismically," explained analyst Richard Cooper. "We believe this will happen over the course of 2008, with major players moving to format-agnostic or format-exclusive positions. Both formats must start to make an impact on the HDTV viewer next year if hi-def is to become more than just a niche market – we have seen hardware prices drop in 2007, but the battle over content in 2008 will be the year this storm breaks."
2008 will also be a pivotal time in the movie format war, says the study, as either HD DVD or Blu-ray goes enters the battle.
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"Christmas 2007 will be the first time that Sony's PlayStation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii have competed on retailers' shelves side-by-side in all major territories,†said the study. "One of the market shifts to watch out for in 2008 will be the continued evolution of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 from games consoles to multi-media hubs. 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."
Screen Digest's Senior Games Analyst Piers Harding-Rolls predicts the 2008 the market climate will change dramatically and Nintendo might be left in the cold. Whereas in 2007 Nintendo succeeded in expanding the appeal of the Wii to different consumers, including more chicks and older folks, Sony's offerings of exclusive content and the launch of multi-media services could result in a big year for the PS3.
"Next year we expect to see shifting alliances, and with such a delicate stalemate, it's only going to take one major player to swap sides and the market will shift seismically," explained analyst Richard Cooper. "We believe this will happen over the course of 2008, with major players moving to format-agnostic or format-exclusive positions. Both formats must start to make an impact on the HDTV viewer next year if hi-def is to become more than just a niche market – we have seen hardware prices drop in 2007, but the battle over content in 2008 will be the year this storm breaks."
2008 will also be a pivotal time in the movie format war, says the study, as either HD DVD or Blu-ray goes enters the battle.
link