In the past, console generations have come and gone fairly regularly every five years so we are due a new console generation around now. However Sony and Microsoft seem to be quite happy to milk their current consoles especially with their new motion-sensing peripherals.
So how will things play out?Of the three, Nintendo in particular needs a new console badly. It was always the weakest hardware of the three and its main selling point: motion controls has now been surpassed by its competitors. So could we see a situation where Nintendo launches a new console next year while Sony and MS wait for another year or two. Or will the entire next generation be delayed for 2-3 years?
What features do you think the new consoles will offer? Will they all have blu-ray? Will Kinect-like technology be integrated into the machines?
I don’t know that the Wii is dated. Nintendo’s biggest problem is their reputation as a family company, not a hardcore gaming company, and putting out a new one won’t change that. Truthfully, I had to look up whether or not they even got a port of COD: Black Ops, because I remember when they put out the edited version of Mortal Kombat II and I was surprised that they would allow a game that violent on their console. That’s the kind of reputation they have with me, and it’s quite illustrative of why they don’t do as well as they used to.
Nintendo’s reputation as a family rather than a hardcore gaming company seems to help them, overall.
Most gamers are not hardcore. The biggest growth markets seem to be with casual rather than hardcore gamers. Casual gamers don’t tend to care about Gears of War and Fallout-type graphics. They tend to like bright colors rather than high definition graphics and simple rather than complex gameplay mechanics.
Also, it must be cheaper to make casual game than hardcore games, on average.
The 360 and the PS3 are fighting each other for hardcore gamers while the Wii gets the broader casual market.
In short, the Wii would be a very bad console for you and I but it’s the best one for most people. Remember, the best selling game is The Sims, which is mainly a Barbie+Ken dollhouse simulator. Most hardcore gamers dislike it. That doesn’t prevent it from being a widly successful franchise.
Even if the Wii doesn’t have motion sensor exclusivity, current and prospective owners might look at the price of all consoles as well as the games available and decide the Wii is best for them.
I read that the PS3 and possibly the 360 were sold at a loss. Were previous generations of consoles sold at a loss? If not, that might be why they’re not eager to launch consoles as often as they used to.
Sorry about the double post. My previous post contains a falsehood.
The Sims are the best selling series of the last few years that wasn’t bundled. The point being that you don’t need good graphics, complex gameplay or adult, gritty stories to sell a lot of games. Most people are fine with what I (and most hardcore gamers) would consider insultingly simple mechanics and plot, simple+cute graphics and easy to learn and repetitive tasks. The Wii is best at delivering that.
The eighth generations of consoles will be merged consoles/HTPCs/PVRs, cost $600, and require a $15/mo subscription with addon services for $5 - $10 such as localized TV listings, netflix, Facebook, or cloud-storage. Each console manufacturer will have its own top-level domain and your console will be its own domain that servers as its identify for online gaming and you’ll be able to log-in to it remotely to stream mp3s and program the PVR. You can buy a remote control for the Blu Ray player for $30 or you can get the remote app for iOS/WinMo7 for only $10. No motion controls. Other features are the standard upgrades of the previous technologies: 802.11n, 1080p, SSD.
I can agree with this and disagree. Firstly, the ps3 and 360 were both sold at loss, but have gone into the black by now (the ps3 went into the black a year or so ago, the x360 did it a year before that I believe) but sony/MS expected to sell them at a loss. The console market for the past several generations have sold consoles at a loss when they launched and made money on game licensing and in-house software sales. nintendo, using older technology, saw the opportunity this gen to change that for themselves and they went for it.
Also, for the casual market, it’s dropped off HUGELY for nintendo. The wii was outsold by the 360 this year (according to michael pachter, anyway). Also the Wii’s tie-in rate was horrid as wii owners, the more casual crowd, simply don’t by anywhere near as many games for their system. This leads to their last big problem, casual gamers are going to be the hardest to convince to buy their next console. Had they simply cornered the market on the motion-wand type controller, and then positioned their next system as being more of the same but now for the HD tv, they could have converted some sales. The problem is Sony just stepped in and did that with the Move.
So while Sony and MS are positioned quite well for next generation as they cater more towards the “hardcore” gamer who will want the new console cause it’s the new console, Nintendo finds itself having a much tougher uphill battle for next gen.
Personally I think they should drop out of the home console market and just make software, and keep making portable units cause those are their strongest suits.
Back to the OP: The next console generation is at least 2 years off. That’s my guess anyway. The current consoles are still going strong, and both sony and ms have just invested heavily in new motion control systems.