CNN article on handheld consoles

[LightPhoenix]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/10/22/hln.game.handhelds/index.html

Um... I'm not really sure where this guy gets the idea that Nintendo is third in the console wars right now. X-Box is doing terribly in Japan, which is the primary market, followed by the US, where it's doing alright. Certainly not well enough to make GameCube third. Especially with GameCube's new lower price.

And I really have to doubt how much the guy knows about consoles when he actually considers the N-Gage or PSP a serious threat to the Gameboy. I mean, seriously? Who here really expects Nintendo to lose their dominance in the handheld market?

 

[trancejeremy]

Well, I don't think there is a "primary" market.

The Xbox is doing horribly in Japan, but it's doing fairly well in the US & Europe. And in terms of number of games being released for it, it is second to the PS2.

The N-Gage will probably flop, but I wouldn't write off the PSP.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Well, I don't think there is a "primary" market.

The Xbox is doing horribly in Japan, but it's doing fairly well in the US & Europe. And in terms of number of games being released for it, it is second to the PS2.

The N-Gage will probably flop, but I wouldn't write off the PSP.

Actually, it is generally agreed upon that Japan really is the primary market - it's like trying to win an election without California, New York, or Texas. Possible, but generally very difficult. The US is generally considered a tier below Japan as far as importance goes, and AFAIK we're second only to Japan as far as spending on video games goes.

The N-Gage has by all accounts flopped... 500 units out of 6000 stores in the UK? That's just terrible.

I don't write off the PSP, but quite honestly Nintendo's huge stranglehold on the market has lasted so long that Sony's gonna have a tough fight ahead of them. Sony doesn't have any advantage in this market. They're gonna need everything they've got, and then some.

 

[Welverin]

Actually, it is generally agreed upon that Japan really is the primary market - it's like trying to win an election without California, New York, or Texas. Possible, but generally very difficult. The US is generally considered a tier below Japan as far as importance goes, and AFAIK we're second only to Japan as far as spending on video games goes.

Any good sites with actually numbers, because I bleive when it comes to sales numbers the US is the bigger market.

Japan sets the direction of the market because the big companies are primarily Japanese and has long been dominated by them.

I don't write off the PSP, but quite honestly Nintendo's huge stranglehold on the market has lasted so long that Sony's gonna have a tough fight ahead of them. Sony doesn't have any advantage in this market. They're gonna need everything they've got, and then some.

Well Nintendo ruled the 8-bit era, was tied for the crown of the 16-bit era (though they are generally viewed as having won it), and has been lagging behind ever since. So the GB's dominance assures nothing, especially since the PSP will have good 3d capability, which the kids are all ga-ga over these days.