Screen Digest: Publishers flock to Wii as PS3 falters in 4th Quarter

Media analyst publication Screen Digest has launched a new service, the Game Bulletin. The service is aimed at the game industry and will feature data, demographics and trend-forecasting, with the first edition focusing on software publishing and platform support in the final quarter of 2007.

In its first analyst report, the Game Bulletin states that publishers are backing Wii with the greatest number of titles – 86 in total, compared with 47 for Xbox 360 and 38 for PS3. A quarter of Wii releases are exclusive, compared with eight for Xbox 360 and five for PS3.

Publishers are attracted to Wii's rapidly growing installed base as well as the lower cost and relative ease of development compared to Xbox 360 and PS3. Wii's library will surpass Xbox 360's in early 2008 at current release rates. Given present publishing activity levels and hardware sales rates, the new generation of consoles will move out of transition and into the mass adoption phase by year end.

While the Game Bulletin forecasts Wii and Xbox 360 will have strong end of year sales, its outlook for PS3 is less positive...