New study shows Wii is the console of choice

Mike Bantick
Monday, 17 September 2007 06:10

Opinion and Analysis

Game console sales are higher than ever, with each manufacture claiming victory, or at least success within the carefully defined parameters of various PR teams.  In cold facts however, it seems the ‘fad’ is not waning, Nintendo has won the hearts, minds and bodies (!) of today’s consumer.

It is a new golden age of video gaming , on the whole, quality of game titles ranges from good to very good, albeit with some homogenisation of the genres – you know, the sequel psychosis that can grip big budget entertainment industries.

Furthermore, the next-generation group of gaming consoles continue to plough into living rooms around the world.  Many homes carrying the electrical burden of multiple consoles, feeling that one box-o-goodies is just not enough to capture their gaming, or perhaps multimedia requirements.

In the U.S video game sales, software and hardware have leaped by 46 percent from the same time last year – at that time the Xbox 360 was the only ‘next-gen’ console in the game, but the PlayStation 2 was still powering along.

With the advent of the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3, a resurgence in the market was almost guaranteed, still an almost 50 percent is impressive for the industry.

Being the U.S. the Madden NFL 08 title from Electronic Arts is dominating the software charts across all platforms.

The Nintendo Wii continues to somewhat confound the experts by selling well, despite a lack lustre (in terms of numbers) stable of games a definite ‘fad’ or ‘gimmick’ feel to the features on offer and a lack of processing power when compared to the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3.  The little white box quite simply has captured the broader demographics imagination.

A consumer report by Brandintel confirms that the Wii is high on the buying public list of wants.  Compiled from the views of more than 400,000 social networking forums and blogs, the study found the Wii was the console of choice for those yet to enter the market.

"As the console war heats up again for the holiday season, Nintendo has been able to successfully target a new audience of casual gamers which has opened up new revenue opportunities for the company," said BrandIntel vice president Alan Dean.

The Xbox 360 still featured high, but the PS3 suffered from a perception problem; "The PS3 generated high levels of discussion regarding its processing power and hard drive, but was perceived more negatively than the Wii and Xbox 360 due in part to its high cost and lack of attractive games."

Meanwhile a new study conducted in my own suburban street does indeed reinforce the industry one. 

There are around 50 houses with a broad demographic range, from young families to retirees.  At times, representatives from the majority of these households have been inside my own, checking out the gaming consoles or just drinking my beer.

Every single household in this street with kids of primary school age now owns a Nintendo Wii.  People are simply drawn to the unique physical game-play that the Wii offers.

Just about every household containing a ‘young adult’ has a Microsoft Xbox 360, and just about every other household would like a PS3 if they could afford it.

Many of the households own a PS2, PSP or Nintendo DS as well.

This small suburban street in a major Australian city, pretty much sums up the game console hardware market as it stands today.  The good news is that the video game industry is still burgeoning, and even better news as console sales increase is that my beer stocks are raided less.  Now I have an excuse to go over to other peoples homes and attack their fridges.