Sony’s chance to once again dominate Nintendo, or could it be Microsoft?

industry enthusiast Joseph Digrado writes: "Nintendo has gotten this generation started with their Wii U console but by the looks of it they have left some vital machinery vulnerable for Sony and Microsoft to attack. Market share was greatly lost this generation for Sony, as well as Microsoft, by this console-eating beast of a corporation, Nintendo. Now is their chance to expose Nintendo of their...

[Thirty3Three]

"We're gonna win!" - Sony

"Hold my purse, I'm going in! Also, I'm releasing an iPhone-type thing that will outsell said iPhone. It's called the Zune." - Microsoft.

[otherZinc]

1st, M$ didn't lose market share, M$ gained significant market share from XBOX to 360.

Wii U, is going to have a very tough generation this time around.

[Dno]

M$ was selling the most and had the higest install base till wii killed it and now ps3 also has more. M$ lost its lead in one gen. thats what they are talking about.

They released 1 year before wii and ps3 and is now in 3rd place.

[MaxXAttaxX]

If PS4 delivers and if the Wii U continues this way, it might end up being another N64/GameCube generation.

[Lvl_up_gamer]

How is the Xperia doing?

[CalibriSerif]

xperia z is doing great. was sold out in many many countries.

[Gimmemorebubblez]

Doing tremendously well, the Xperia Z caused Sony's Online Hardware Store to crash after incredible demand. Sold out in many countries.

[KingofGambling]

@CalibriSerif that phone looks nice. Looking forward to that phone.

[Clarence]

Lol nice try. I see what your doing.

How's 360 market share going? How's Zune doing, oh wait how's that surface tablet doing?
http://www.japantimes.co.jp...
M$ first out this gen now last this gen.

Keep on hating. Sony is set dominate next gen.

[3-4-5]

Why do things have to dominate ?

Such a perverted way to look at things.

Why would you want to dominate something or somebody ?

Let it be.

[PopRocks359]

Winning is success though, and success does not necessarily mean you have to do better than your competition. The Playstation 3 spent the better portion of its generation in last place, but it's still a successful platform in the end.

[2pacalypsenow]

In this world coming out 1st is winning

[Blackdeath_663]

couldn't care less about the world. as a gamer the console with the best games wins and that was by far the ps3, the last significant xbox exclusive that is not halo,gear or forza was released like 5 years ago or something as for nintendo i don't want to keep playing games i have out grown 10 years ago the fans who have enjoyed the orginal mario and zelda games are no longer children they are in their thirties you can't keep expecting to sell these games to them.

[Shadow Flare]

This generation was a first in that all the consoles won. That's quite rare

Nintendo won because after the GameCube and n64, the Wii was a gamble but they sold tons of the consoles and gained a lot of consumers through it

Microsoft improved greatly on their last console and gained a massive marketshare

For Sony, a lot would think they lost out this gen. But this is the first generation that they've had excellent competition, not from just 1 but 2 consoles. After a hard start they've turned it around and are currently the top selling console in the charts globally, and on course for their 3rd 100 million selling console. Which is a huge success and unprecedented.

They've also been a success for consumers for producing the best and most advanced hardware this gen and showing the most support to their fans through games and services like ps+

Who would have thought 3 consoles could have co-existed so well this generation? That alone shows they've all been a success

[TongkatAli]

The idea of the Wii was a risk, but it wasn't really a risk cause the specs were so weak compared to the PS3 and 360. If the Wii had similar specs to the 360 and PS3 and was selling the whole motion control shtick being sold at a loss that is a risk. How is it risky selling your brand new console at a profit with gamecube like specs ?

The Wii was a half assed risk, truth. Yeah, I'm floating in shark infested waters not losing a single dollar on every console sold : / the F ?

[Shadow Flare]

Yeah Nintendo tried exactly the same tactics with the Wii U, and look how that's turning out. It was a risk

[TongkatAli]

Ummm, its not turning out that bad it was just born : / the Wii wasn't a risk. The PS3 was $600 and the 360 was I think 300$, doesn't look like a risk to me.

Edit: Hold up! The Wii U is losing only 21 dollars per unit sold and you think its doing really bad ? XD no, Nintendo does the least risk taking out of the three.

[Shadow Flare]

Trying to sell consumers old hardware at a premium price is risky. Because consumers might turn around and say no. That's the risk. And the risk is then the console might not sell and it will be dropped, and that makes Nintendo no money at all

With the Wii, it exploded with success. With the Wii U, it's currently tanking hard. Same tactics Nintendo used, but one worked and one hasn't so far

[DragonKnight]

The risk with the Wii wasn't how much they would lose in selling the console, it wasn't the tech put into it, it was Nintendo's focus on the casual market and forcing the Wiimote on every game. Nintendo took a completely opposite direction, gambling on the casual audience to back their success, and their gamble paid off. It won't again though. The casual audience is unpredictable and fickle.

[tristanwerbe]

How did xbox grow

[fluffydelusions]

They released xbox and people purchased it?

[Kaneda]

They released broke xbox and people purchased it... really, they haven't grow. 4 of my friends owned xbox. All of them on their 2nd system... If you count users base.. they haven't grow that much...

[JRivera92]

I really wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo wins next gen. Sony really won't have a good start w/ the Ps4 since they'll definitely be at a loss.. and stay at one for at least a short while.

[doogiebear]

Lol

[NastyLeftHook0]

sony

[Bumpmapping]

Easy Sony

[largerock]

SONY.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

Damn it! All three already have a big fanbase. I buy consoles depending on the exclusive titles. BigN for Zelda/Mario/Pokemon stuff and Sony for Uncharted/OnePiece, etc...

[RTheRebel]

Next Gen Consoles Price
Or Wii U Price
Whoever has the correct price range = Winner

[Donnieboi]

Not really. The Wii U is way overpriced for console containing tech that is comparable to current gen. The price of ps4 will reflect upon the fact that we are paying for REAL next gen technology. If I want current gen technology, I can just buy a ps3 or 360 for less than the cost of the Wii U, plus it will come with a much larger harddrive, better 3rd party support, better online, a LARGE library of games already available, and ps3 has a blu ray player. Wii U is lacking in all those areas and people will pay MORE for that? Hell no.

And don't even get me started about the onslaught when ps4 & Gaikai, NeXtBox (720), and Steambox come out. It looks like it's gonna be curtains for Wii U.

[truechainz]

Sorry but the Wii U is not overpriced, the cost of the console just isn't in what you value. The gamepad has a bit of cost which is why it is at 300-350. Nintendo could have invested in better hardware and no gamepad, but the gamecube taught them that there is no real value in that (even though I loved that system). So that is why they at least try to do things differently. I personally see the value in the gamepad for asymmetrical gameplay and some possible two screen uses that have a ton of potential, but not much is available with that right now. If nintendo can capitalize on this (and for God's sake market their product better) then that along with their inevitable first parties will have great value. I don't think it will sell as much of the Wii by any means but I will definitely have gotten my money's worth. There will of course be a price drop, but if they get their good titles out then the price drop won't come for a while still. To say it is overprice, just because its funds aren't allocated in the way you would like shows no knowledge of finances. Then again I don't live in a world where gamers are limited to one or even two consoles. That's just me though.

[showtimefolks]

Succes mean different to different gamers. Ps3 was in last place but its a successful console. In the end having competition is great for innovation to happen

Cell processor hard to develop for
Sony made ps4 more developer friendly by taking feedback from developers

Cross game chat added to pan since its available on VIta and will most likely will be free compare to paying for it on xblive

You can bet your 401K that ps4 won't cost anywhere close to $600 bucks, sonys world wide studio president said ps4's price is felixable because they didn't have to spend money on R&D. Also take into account many thought VIta would cost $299-349 yet it was launched at $249 so I am expecting a great launch price

Ps3 didn't have a lot of games at launch and that's gonna be fixed this time around for ps4

End of the day Sony did a lot wrong early on and had to start a brand new PSN store from scratch and had hat whole hack issue so now they don't have to start a brand new store front and can actually work on improving the service instead of actually starting it from scratch

Xbox360 came out early and dominated in the USA yet ps3 still outsold it from day one with a higher price point and not a lot of games early on, this time ms doesn't get a year ahead start and Sony has learned from its past mistakes so I see Sony grabbing the bull by the horn and never letting it go this gen.

Next Xbox will be a success too along with ps4. What will suffer is wiiu since it will become a last gen system the Moment ps4 and next Xbox hit the market. Right time for Nintendo was back in 2010 and should have actually called it wiiHD or wii 2. This wiiu is a stupid name and doesn't get the straight message across to consumers

It's like Nintendo didn't learn anything from ms or Sony and are starting from scratch with wiiu.

BTW: ps3 is on ace to sell 129 million systems which will make it 3 straight gens sony's system has been the most sold

[Karpetburnz]

Sony seems to be doing everything right so far with the PS4, Im guessing PS4 will win next gen.

[Realplaya]

There doing everything right?
They haven't released it yet.
So i think when it comes to smoke and mirrors your right they are doing everything right.

[MasterCornholio]

1.Sony
2.Microsoft
3.Steambox
4. Wii U
5. OUYA + other android consoles

IMO

[solidboss07]

And, as the most capable machine of its generation, the PS3 is still to release top gaming titles to ensure it keeps selling.

[Eyeco]

Do people still care about who "wins" ? has that really changed the way you play/enjoy games on your current consoles ?

[Nicaragua]

yes it has.

Who wins is essentially competition, competition drives innovation and products. Most of the games we play today have benefitted from or have been the direct result of competition.

Where would PS+ be without Xbox Live
Where would Forza be without Gran Turismo
Where would Killzone be without Halo
Where would Move/Kinect be without the Wii ?

[pandaboy]

All these people underestimating microsoft are going to be eating their words. PS4 is going to be the hardcore gamers console of choice but the casuals will flock to microsofts next gen console if the rumours are true. Sony and especially Nintendo should be very weary of what is to come.

[nukeitall]

I think we will have to wait and see what MS has to offer, but I don't think most core gamers are strictly gamers.

They all consume a lot of other content through movies, and music as well as games. Heck, they might even game on their phone. I know I do!

[RogueStatus28]

Too bad today's sony is nowhere near as glorious. Huge step-down from where they previous were.

[Realplaya]

It's funny people are so impressed buy numbers they fail to see the truth. Sony is still struggling. They announced there new system and there stocks still fell. Nintendo struggled and still is but they have great upside. Say what you want about there games but they sell and that's why the company makes a profit. Microsoft Did ok but they like sony have there hands in to much. To be honest the next gen of gaming is going to come down to who have the best original games. With next gen gaming so far looking barely better than current gen gaming I don't see people running out and buying new games right away. But I guess we have to take the wait and see approach.

[Vickistheman]

The PS4 will be a success no matter what, So will the X720, and Wii U.

This gen proved 3 consoles can and will co-exist. Why would that change next gen? Given how Sony's designed PS4 they'll be way more profitable and at a faster rate. MS has proved they can make money with their Live subscription.

[lema008]

Sony will come out on top, then MS, then the Wii U.

Sony has come back strong with the PS3 and are on the right track with the PS4.

MS is looking strong. Have to wait to get all the facts in on next720 but it should be good.

Nintendo's Wii U is going to be another Gamecube, N64 in sales.
They need and can afford a price cut.

[messedupworld]

If Sony charges for online with the PS4 they will not dominate anything.

[SDF Repellent]

There is only one winner in all of this, the gamers.