It’s a bit of a stretch to describe a piece of kit that’s sold (uh, shipped) 11M units as “niche”.

If i’m included in that remark, you’re way off track, I think all the consoles have something unique to offer, I just think it’s poor journalism end of.

Let me first state that i’m not a fanboy, I generally end up owning all the formats but I stopped being an early adopter some years ago.

I’m pleased that Nintendo are having so much immediate success which I think most everbody would agree is attributed to the motion sensing controls and the price, but I doubt if they will be able to maintain the head of steam that they’ve built up since launch.

The Wii’s wow factor is in the controls more so than it’s games but making it a kind of fad phenominer, (no offence to Wii fans, i’m planning on buying one) where as the 360’s wow factor is in the ever improving games library, and will spur on console sales as better titles are constantly being released.

On top of this another will that bodes well for the 360 is it’s attach rate, if MS can continue to expand it’s healthy attach rate it will not have to sell as many units as the Wii to become profitable.

Also given the production time for true next gen platforms, this xmas will be the first holiday period where the 360’s top franchises will be delivering that wow factor and selling consoles.

MS have held off price cuts for some time but with the new 65nm model hitting the shelves already and a 45nm in the works, their ability for further price cuts in the future should keep it competitive.

Which ever consoles you choose, enjoy and take this kind of weak journalism with a large pinch of salt.

I think Wag is being way too hard on the 360. Selling 10m consoles at a distinctly non mass-market price is good going. And the potential market is way bigger than that.

I work as a middle school teacher, and trust me, no kid wants a wii. Their little 6 year old brother might have one but middle school kids want the 360 first and the ps3 second. Nintendo has done a brilliant job of finding a new market but they have not reduced nor are they affecting the group of gamers that will buy the 360 and ps3. This is the same 120 million+ gamers that bought an xbox or ps2 and will now look to a 360 or ps3, even if they get a wii to.

I own both a 360 and a wii, I lot of people I know do to.

This is how it breaks down. People buy a 360 for the manly games, FPS etc. They then want to keep the Mrs happy and then go and buy a wii. The wii is great but its not a console to play fps etc on.

If titanic was to be used in reference to any of the current consoles I would say the PS3 is a perfect fit. In fact I think its sinking faster :p

However I think MS missed the boat here, they should of just taken a massive hit from their cash reserves and put it out at $200 and it would have killed sony out right.

“Half of all next-gen video games (PS3, Wii, and 360) sold are sold for the XBOX 360″ – paraphrase from Microsoft

This holiday season the Wii’s and PS3’s game lineup is not impressive. Sure the Wii has a lot of exclusive titles. They’ve gotten niche games with their input device. However, Microsoft’s holiday lineup is the biggest in next-gen history.

Uh…there are more than two video game systems in the mix. Where is your commentary about the PS3? Why do you only mention the Wii? Microsoft announces a $50 price drop for their video game system and you fail to mention SONY and how it factors into the equation. In instead wave your hand and cite Wii sales figures.

I know 5 or 6 people that will be buying an XBOX 360 for the first time in September for the release of HALO 3. It will have some kind of impact on sales. But I don’t think anyone is expecting the 360 to catch up to the Wii in sales/week.

But it will help.

Microsoft knows how to partner well. There channels program for partners are some of the best in the world. An under the radar but crtical area for business execution. They will continue breaking other company’s exclusives as well as creating/ acquiring their own.

And in these days of Web 2.0 lets not forget the frighteningly successful LIVE service. Is it not possible that in three years online subscriptions and not the number of consoles sold will be the real measure of a gaming faranchise’s success?

Methinx the news of XBOx’s relegation to anonymity are greatly exaggerated.

What are you smoking, James, and where do I get some? This isn’t “irrelevance”, it is simply not “total market dominance”. In a couple of years, if there are 50 million Wii’s and XBox 360 is still at 10 million, I suppose you might have a point. But that hasn’t happened yet and seems improbable. And if you are looking at current trends and expecting those to continue indefinitely, I would respectfully suggest you are really out to lunch.

I’d expect that, in a couple of years, there will be 25 million Wiis, and perhaps 15-20 million XBox 360s. A “win” for Nintendo, but not “sinking of the titanic”. The Wii is great for a) folks who treat Mario Kart and other bobble-headed arcade platform “heroes” as a religion; and b) party games. That’s a broader niche than the XBox 360, but a niche none the less.

I personally don’t like the “wave your arms around like a spastic chimp” Wiimote controller, nor am I a fan of the types of games that Wii attracts. I’m happy it is doing really well, though. I believe a healthy market is one where there is strong competition. Particularly when the competitors can shake each other up. The Wii took a totally different approach from Sony and Microsoft, focusing on simple and involving gameplay rather than sophisticated graphics and advanced technology. The fact that they are doing so well should make both Sony and Microsoft stop and think.

You are ABSOLUTELY right!

My 10 yr old son wanted a gaming console for his birthday, and guess which one he wanted – a Wii and only a Wii. It didn’t matter to him what it cost, it didn’t matter who made it, he just wanted a Wii.

And I got him one. And we don’t plan on buying a 360 – price drop or no price drop.

The Wii has everything going for it: - The coolness factor - A unique product - A shortage (there were only 15 Wii boxes delivered to the store we bought it from, and they were delivered at 10:00AM on a Saturday – and they were sold out in 10 minutes).

Microsoft really needs to go back to the basics in Sales if it’s serious about gaming.

Good post, Wagner!

Nav you have an excellent point. And in all likelihood, Wii will wind up with the highest console install base. But on the other hand, the mainstream press has a tendency to grab hold of trends that don’t always live up to the hype.

If it werent for a gift card that was about to expire I wouldnt have gotten my xbox360 until October of this year.

This is just wishful MS bashing on Au’s part. Its funny he doesn’t mention a lick about the 360’s true competitor which is the PS3. Both when all said is said and done will be the market leaders.