Gaming Forums => General Gaming => Topic started by: toddra on September 05, 2013, 12:40:39 AM
Title: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: toddra on September 05, 2013, 12:40:39 AM
Alright by the end of this year the next gen will be on full swing, Wii U will have had a whole year on the market, PS4 and Xbox One should theoretically be out by then, so lets have a place to share everyone's predictions on how things will, or should, turn out. You can be bold, realistic, or just wildly off the mark it is your choice. I will get things started since it is my thread.
Consoles
I think by the end Ps4 will be in first place buy by a much smaller margin than previous generations. I am thinking somewhere around the 50-60 Million somewhere in that area.
I think Wii U will come in second place somewhere around 35 millionish by the time it is all said and done. I do think that Nintendo will pick up sales with their games as they look to be gearing up to give it a serious push but I think it will be N64 for third parties for the most part, there might be a few cross gen stuff and EA might stay away the entire run but someone will step up to take their place, I suspect Take 2 maybe Sega Sports will make a come back. Midway might make some headway in that area if they can forgive Nintendo for their past sins.
Xbox One will struggle, coming in at a distant third place around 25 million tops. I foresee them losing the third party support they have grown to enjoy and Steam rising up to take their place in the market.
I think Steam Box will be a moderate success, somewhere between Saturn and N64 numbers, probably around 15 to 18 million tops. I think it will appeal to a certain breed of the PC gamer who wants a more traditional console experience but with PC gaming quality. I also think that once they get going they will shake things up in the industry.
Mobile
I think 3DS/2DS is going to surpass Game Boy numbers once it really takes off. I suspect that after a while Nintendo and other companies will start releasing regular apps for the device that make it a semi-useful Tablet type device for certain consumers. I am figuring total hardware of 3DS compatible branded machines in the 120 million life time it will have a little longer life than Game Boy because I suspect Nintendo is going to continue to marry 3DS to Wii U in the future.
Android
as a gaming platform I think Android will fade away in the next five or six years. I think once Windows RT and Phone get going things will turn around for them and Android will slowly fade into obscurity at least for gaming especially once Steam makes it way onto phones/tablets that are of good quality and a fair price.
iOS
I am biased but I will still predict the end of Apple, they will slowly wind down and they will lose their expanded user base, reverting back to rely on their hard cores who will not be enough to keep things going with the fractured market and increased competition from Microsoft in their areas. I also think eventually ipads will become a fad and fade away, same with iPhone, i Pod might stick around as a media device for a while longer but I think by the end of the decade Apple will = Commodore.
Microsoft
I have faith in Windows I really do, I think now that they are getting the kinks worked out and addressing most consumers concerns with Windows 8 and RT they will start to get their tablet market share up to their PC market share forcing Google to buddy up to them and Apple to go away. I think with their recent investment into Nokia that shows they are taking the mobile industry more seriously than ever and they will bounce back. I am predicting by 2016 Windows Tablets will be up to about 80% of the market or in that area.
GAMES
Sony will fair pretty well this gen with more exclusives and strong third party support. I also think they will be the place for the dumping ground of anything and everything like PS2 was. I don't think they will get as many big new franchises as before, but I think they will get all the major sequels.
Nintendo will bounce back next year for sure. They will win back their core crowd and then their expanded crowd will start to consider the console once the games they want hit. I doubt they will ever get third party support back like SNES days so I am expecting them to either license games directly, or rely heavily on 2nd party and indie devs to pick up the slack. But I have faith their next Mario, Zelda, and Smash Bros. will surely be worth getting the console at for most fans once the price gets to their comfort zone. They can forget the casuals and try to get them onto 3DS because the gamepad is not near as casual friendly as the remote was.
Microsoft is going to be in trouble, they will start to lose support mid way into year two, similar to Gamecube, and it will be all downhill from there, moneyhats will get thrown around but I think they will have fewer third party games than before and will slowly reconsider their position in the game.
Steam with the rise of the Steam Box Valve will have more bargaining muscle to push more devs into releasing more games for the service especially the digital and catalog games which will pull people away from Microsoft.
Fanboy fantasy wishful thinking, Sega will release a REAL next gen console in 2015 and blow everyone away forcing Nintendo go to third party and make games for Sega for a change, MS will go bankrupt after buying out Apple only to discover it was a lost cause and Sony Playstation will just limp along as the second console people buy for PS2 compilations and HD Remakes.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: broodwars on September 05, 2013, 01:07:11 AM
I expect that PS4 and Xbone will spend the 1st year or so basically neck-and-neck, with the PS4 having a slight advantage for most of it by virtue of Sony having more and far superior 1st party studios than Microsoft. The media will gravitate towards Xbone coverage, as they've been conditioned this generation to be Microsoft gamers. Barring an unexpected studio purchase by Microsoft, I expect Sony to lead in console sales at the end of the generation, followed closely by Microsoft. Microsoft will continue to receive at best token support from Japanese 3rd parties, not helped at all by them waiting till 2014 to even release the Xbone in Japan.
The Wii U, meanwhile, will flounder, especially as Wii U holiday 2013 sales underwhelm against the PS4 and Xbone launches. Mario Kart and Smash Bros. will sell quite a few consoles...until everyone realizes that Nintendo just ran out of games and they've chosen to not have the infrastructure to get more out in the near future. The Wii U will continue to receive some 3rd party PS3/360 ports for the rest of 2014. However, once 3rd parties stop supporting the current gen consoles after holiday 2014, the Wii U will solidify itself as the platform for Nintendo games only as no one else wants to make games for it. It will have a decent lineup of Nintendo titles between long periods of drought for those that care about it, and even a few stellar titles, but in the face of total apathy it will fail to gain ground on the PS4 or Xbone.
Nintendo will, of course, weather this failure to a decent degree, as the 3DS will continue to be the dominant handheld platform and a solid software lineup out of Japan keeps Iwata's job safe from the angry investors.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: azeke on September 05, 2013, 01:55:06 AM
More scam DLC and more developers going out of business.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: broodwars on September 05, 2013, 02:01:54 AM
More scam DLC and more developers going out of business.
This is a business. If companies can't compete in that space, we're probably better off without them, especially given this coming generation's emphasis on the smaller, Indie titles.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Shaymin on September 05, 2013, 07:41:16 AM
Sony followed by Nintendo and Microsoft, who get their stuff wrecked by people realizing what NUADS (http://doddscientifics.com/2013/09/04/kinects-killer-app-isnt-for-gamers-its-for-advertisers-welcome-to-the-age-of-nuad/) do and rejecting the platform wholesale.
No platform outsells the 3rd place platform worldwide (the 360) this generation, and everyone freaks out, calls gaming doomed, etc.
Handheld gaming basically looks like it does in Japan - 3DS dominant, Vita has a profitable niche.
Mobile gaming dies once national governments start regulating the F2P games as what they are: gambling. It leads to the big-IAP abusers bailing on the system, leaving a bunch of $.99 games from developers who will make fine developers for console download services. By the end of the gen, phone development is considered to be the equivalent of AA baseball.
PC is there, and their zealots continue to use "PC gaming master race" without a trace of irony.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: broodwars on September 05, 2013, 08:14:00 AM
Handheld gaming basically looks like it does in Japan - 3DS dominant, Vita has a profitable niche.
Mobile gaming dies once national governments start regulating the F2P games as what they are: gambling. It leads to the big-IAP abusers bailing on the system, leaving a bunch of $.99 games from developers who will make fine developers for console download services. By the end of the gen, phone development is considered to be the equivalent of AA baseball.
PC is there, and their zealots continue to use "PC gaming master race" without a trace of irony.
I didn't care enough to write anything about mobile or PC gaming, but that sounds right to me as well. With the rise of stories about children racking up hundreds of dollars in IAP purchases, it seems inevitable that that bubble's due to burst soon. As for PC gaming, that audience has been essentially the same since I was a kid.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 05, 2013, 08:15:03 AM
The PS3 will get out to a significant early lead based on Microsoft's forcing Kinect and making the console $100 more. Microsoft may or may not catch up.
Nintendo will be standing off to the side, for better or worse ignoring those two and having a relatively small but steady and profitable install base consisting of Nintendo diehards and being the second console for XB1/PS4 owners who want to bask in the glory of EAD Tokyo and Retro's endless parade of Donkey Kong games.
3DS will outsell every other platform but still get little to no attention from non-indie Western developers. Vita will sell decently well, but unlike the PSP will do well in terms of software too.
The market for games on mobile phones will still be there, but not to the extent it was at its peak. There will still be gems to be found if you can wade through the endless sea of freemium titles.
On the PC, developers will all abandon Windows and move all software support to Mac OS X, causing a massive suicide streak among the so-called "Master Race."
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: ShyGuy on September 05, 2013, 09:14:35 AM
AAA publishers will decline, AAA developers will continue to crash and close their doors. EA will shrink to fourth, maybe fifth place behind Activision, Ubisoft, Take-Two, and Warner Bros.
DLC and F2P will be exploited to ridiculous levels, causing a further decline in the industry.
Kickstarter will be abused as a direct pre-order system by publishers/developers who do not need to fund their game that way.
Multiple Indie developers will mature into mid-tier developers by the end of the generation.
Unity will be THE game engine of choice by the end of the generation.
Microsoft will change its company focus to business instead of consumer and Xbone may be the last true console by Microsoft.
Sony will do well, but it's financial gains will be mediocre due to the mire they are currently in.
Nintendo will keep doing its own thing, making money and enraging core gamers.
Steam will increase market share, Steam Mac and Linux will grow thanks to many more cross platform games.
Android and iOS will never dominate gaming due to their default control interface and incredibly low game prices.
Game industry as a whole will shrink due to aging fanbase and regurgitating cycle of hard core pandering. See the comic book industry over the last 20 years as an example.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Ceric on September 05, 2013, 09:48:45 AM
Though I, have to say, Video games are a lot easier to walk into a store and buy then comics are now days.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Ian Sane on September 05, 2013, 01:40:55 PM
I think the Wii U's fortunes took a major nose dive when MS backed out of their original XB1 plans. The Xbox brand was pretty much going to commit suicide and Nintendo would end up number two by default but now the Wii U is clearly the least in touch with what people want out of a videogame console in 2013. The PS4 has the edge on the XB1 due to not having a major PR gaffe on its reveal and not costing more money for inferior hardware.
So I predict the PS4 will win but the XB1 will do fine in second place as it no longer has anti-consumer features that would tank it. The Wii U will finish last and I'm not sure it will last the whole generation. I figure it will either get replaced early like the Saturn or Nintendo will switch to just handhelds.
I could see the whole generation just flopping though. To justify the costs of development publishers have become more and more safe and need every game to be a big hit. So they're catering to the mainstream and making works more derivative and generic. But the mainstream doesn't need dedicated videogame systems. They can make due with games on their tablet or smartphone. The mainstream appeal of dedicated videogames systems is going to diminish more and more as this generation goes on. As the industry seeks mainstream approval the audience will ironically become more and more hardcore. Perhaps in such circumstances the cheaper-to-develop-for Wii U will do better but Nintendo is after the mainstream as well and won't appeal to hardcore gamers. We could see the PS3 and Xbox 360 continue on while everything else flops. Better for the Wii U, I guess, but Nintendo will still flounder against the established userbase of the older consoles. Nintendo's current image is poisoned with all but the mainstream gamers that no longer have any need for consoles.
I could see indie devs leading a grunge-like upheavel of the dinosaurs currently running the industry, who seem unable or unwilling to say anything new anymore. Or videogames will become so mainstream and dumbed down that anyone that gave a **** about them before 2006 will lose interest.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Ceric on September 05, 2013, 01:57:51 PM
The problem I have with the XBox One being 2nd is that it will share a vast amount of its library with the PS4 while the PS4 will have more library that is not shared and a cheaper price point. WiiU will have a vastly different library, a cheaper price point, and, if Nintendo would get off their lazy butts and put Harmony style remote function and fix TVii, a different gimmick then the other two. I honestly think that its going to be Sony then Nintendo then XBox One Worldwide. Here in the States XBox One may take second.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on September 05, 2013, 05:19:45 PM
The next generation, powered by the cloud, will culminate in Skynet coming online.
Video games will be a thing of the past.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: azeke on September 05, 2013, 09:10:09 PM
The PS3 will get out to a significant early lead based on Microsoft's forcing Kinect and making the console $100 more. Microsoft may or may not catch up.
the PS3 already has a significant lead on the xbone. by 7 years now i believe :smug:
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Wah on September 05, 2013, 10:54:09 PM
M'lord i predict that xbox will fail! and that thee ps4 will soar with our humble nintendo in the middle!
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: toddra on September 06, 2013, 07:49:52 PM
I don't know how this fits into the equation but I realized something today, Playstation is in a far better position by default.
Playstations first generation on the market out sold Nintendo's first generation on the market, their second generation on the market outsold Nintendo's second gen and same with their third gen. It is no stretch of the imagination to expect their fourth generation on the market to be better than Nintendo's fourth so I got to thinking, in roughly two years Playstation as a brand will be 20 years old, Sony could easily capitialize on not only that milestone but all the nostalgia that have built up and wipe out the competition easily.
Think about it, all those millions of PS1, PS2 gamers who grew up on Playstation have the same fond memories of Ratchet and Clank, Crash, FF7, etc, as we do Mario, Zelda, DK, etc. Every gen Nintendo's core market shrinks and then when you take into account the Playstation will also be 20 years old imagine what type of campaign Sony will pull out to get warm fuzzy feelings out of their gamers. Nintendo did it heavily with Wii, relying on Virtual Console classics to get people all nostalgic for their system while they waited, and waited, for the games that never came. Now Nintendo has lost their mind, their marketshare, and a large portion of their supporters are now backing away I realized something, I was still pretty young when Playstation came out too. I was only 13 or so when it launched so it reaches back to my childhood also or damn near it.
And as I was playing some PSOne classics today on the PS3 I realized that I have almost as many nostalgic memories of Playsation games as I do Nintendo and I am thinking if sales numbers and current internet attitudes are any indicator I am thinking Nintendo's troubles are far deeper than they can ever hope to fix. I am going to let this be my last post as I need to once again leave this place before I bring up too many of my old bad habits.
For those who were in the dark, I was animecyberrat, oh and segagamer12 in case you didn't knnow that also. I am now of the mind that this place is never going to be welcoming for me.
So long and good riddance I say. Whichever mod has the power to ban please do me the honors of making sure I never return to this cesspool to have to straighten out those hopeless fools who continue to put their faith in a return to glory that will never come, Nintendo is not going to be the next Sega, they are going to be the next Atari and I am now more convinced of that than ever before.
TJ Spyke only wishes he could have caused as much trouble as I have so with that I leave you with these words,
YOU can call me THE RAT thank you very much.
PS Nintendo can go **** themselves.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Ceric on September 06, 2013, 08:04:31 PM
I don't really get people like Toddra.
Seriously enough Sony is in a good place Brand Wise. Now if they can keep it profitable. Nintendo isn't in a good place Brand Wise but, they know how to keep it profitable. Microsoft well... In the US the Brand is ok. Profitability I don't think they'll be able to start there.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: nickmitch on September 06, 2013, 11:15:36 PM
My prediction is that Activision releases their own box with one game: Guitar Hero.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Oblivion on September 07, 2013, 02:57:41 AM
If he still didn't realize that not everyone here sucks at Nintendo's teat, I'm glad he's gone.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Adrock on September 07, 2013, 07:39:56 AM
PS4 will probably sell the most units, but One will get most of the same games. From a consumer perspective, it's a wash. You're basically choosing which first party games you like more. Personally, I like PS4's overall unit more though One's controller looks more comfortable. After a strong launch with early adopters lapping up both platforms, sales will slow (though not drag to Wii U levels) because most people realize that all the best games are still coming out on PS3/360.
Wii U will probably end up a close third since Nintendo failed to capitalize on their year head start. Then again, maybe it will come in second since it makes more sense as a second console even one that people only use occasionally. Third party support will improve, but it will never be considered comparatively "good" even to the happiest optimist. In any case, Wii U definitely won't continue to sell as poorly especially with some strong software finally coming out soon. I think there's a possibility that Nintendo releases a new model with a larger SSD or even a regular (non-removeable) hard drive. I'd bet on the former. Nintendo will finally unify the eshop wallet, but I'm not sure they'll do the same with Virtual Console games on Wii U and 3DS. That seems like a Nintendo move. If they do, they'll offer partial eshop credit to people who have the same game on both platforms.
3DS will continue to crush Vita. In fact, it will probably outsell all the others this generation. Sony will release a new model with better battery life. I don't think iOS/Android are really treading on Nintendo's territory here. Nintendo has already ceded some of the casual market, not all. There will always be a place for portable dedicated gaming platforms with physical buttons because there's no way to replace that.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Pixelated Pixies on September 07, 2013, 09:34:28 AM
Without wanting to pontificate (I'm actually pretty terrible at making predictions), I might anticipate the following; none of which is particularly revelatory.
I expect Playstation 4 to sell more systems than Xbox One over the course of the next two years, with the cheaper price point being of particular importance. I do, however, have more faith in Microsoft to deliver a robust online platform, and I might, therefore, expect that over the course of the next couple of years Microsoft will once again re-establish Xbox as being the premier online console. When all is said and done I expect Playstation to sweep mainland Europe and Japan, while Xbox (with a continued focus on the tastes of it's home market) will find it's foothold in North America and the UK. Playstation's initial success is likely to be driven by those 'core gamers' who feel placated by Sony's cheaper price point, it's stance on second hand games, and it's perceived outreach to prominent indie developers. I expect Xbox One to lose it's position as the lead development platform, but with a sharper focus on providing an all-in-one entertainment hub I expect that this will matter little to Microsoft, and that in fact the Xbox might ultimately be more profitable than it's rival.
As development resources are diverted away from PS3 and 360, the Wii U will see a slow, agonising stagnation, but the platform will continue to see high quality releases from Nintendo, who through their own studios and in partnership with over developers will manage to eke out enough software to keep dedicated Nintendo fans from committing hara-kiri.
As the generation goes on I would expect console sales in general to tail off as Steam continues to grow in prominence, bolstered by the inclusion of a Steam client in various home devices and the inevitable Valve produced box.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: shingi_70 on September 07, 2013, 12:35:35 PM
why was toddra banned/left?
PS4>Xbox One>Wii U
or
PS4>Wii U>Xbox One
Its two early to tell anything but the Playstation 4 having a decent lead by next spring. I think Nintendo has the advantage that they don't share the same types of games as the other two and that could propell them to second place in sales once the software starts rolling.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: UncleBob on September 07, 2013, 12:41:23 PM
So long and good riddance I say. Whichever mod has the power to ban please do me the honors of making sure I never return to this cesspool to have to straighten out those hopeless fools who continue to put their faith in a return to glory that will never come, Nintendo is not going to be the next Sega, they are going to be the next Atari and I am now more convinced of that than ever before.
...he did specifically asked to be banned.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: NWR_insanolord on September 07, 2013, 07:20:20 PM
I banned him for circumventing his previous ban. I didn't see that he asked to be banned.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Ymeegod on September 08, 2013, 12:54:56 AM
PS4--clear winner. 2/3 of the market will head to PS4 while MS makes a little headway early on but finds itself without the European and Japanese markets and developers. The WII U will end up another GC, E rated titles will sell but the hardcore titles won't.
Sony would have to do something really st00pid at this point to lose the race IMO. The vita will continue to bomb in the US and only pick up a bit in Japan.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: UncleBob on September 08, 2013, 01:08:51 AM
I don't know what Nintendo's going to do, but I agree with Ymeegod. I foresee PS4/Xbox One doing similar next gen as this gen. PS4 will rule in Japan while the Xbox One shows that Microsoft knows how to cater to American audiences. Sure, MS pulled some blunders before the race started, but I think most folks won't hold a grudge once the MS exclusive moneyhat titles hit.
As for Nintendo...Would it be crazy to predict a fairly close three-way race in world-wide sales? I don't see Wii U picking up Wii-esque numbers, but I can honestly see it being the in-demand family console for first party titles and the go-to second choice for gamers with what Nintendo is trying on the indy scene.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Luigi Dude on September 08, 2013, 04:08:07 AM
As for Nintendo...Would it be crazy to predict a fairly close three-way race in world-wide sales? I don't see Wii U picking up Wii-esque numbers, but I can honestly see it being the in-demand family console for first party titles and the go-to second choice for gamers with what Nintendo is trying on the indy scene.
Nintendo still has the strongest lineup of family oriented games so it's not crazy to imagine the Wii U doing that. They sold 100 million Wii's off the backs of nothing but families, so it's not hard to imagine that once the Wii U price drops and more of their major series start showing up then the Wii U will start achieving much better sales.
Even though some people love to say the Wii's audience has left Nintendo, there isn't a single shred of evidence to support this. The same people said the DS audience left Nintendo for smartphones, and yet the 3DS have proven that false. So it's not hard to believe that in the coming months with a cheaper price and more major titles, the Wii U will finally start appealing more to many of current Wii owners since it'll have the newest installment for many of the Wii games they loved.
Something like Mario Kart Wii doesn't sell 35 million copies only to have most of the people who played it never care for the series again. The fact that Mario Kart 7 is already over 8 million on a handheld system where Mario Kart is less popular, shows just how huge Mario Kart 8 will be when it's released on the Wii U next year.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: ThePerm on September 09, 2013, 07:31:03 PM
yeah, I knew he was animecyberrat, but like a gasoline soaked towel on fire, I knew he would run his course.
predictions. Wii U will actually be successful, just not initially. It will take time. In fact they really wont ramp up until the 3rd year. A number of things will happen that will make people really want a wii u.
1 the price will be very low 3 years from now. The first price drop will create a small boost in sales, but the second price drop will create a BIG boost in sales. By then Nintendo will have its game development back together and will be pumping out more titles than it had previously. It will get in the groove so to say. I predict that this next e3 that the good stuff won't be coming from the western subsidaries as we thought, but straight from the source. There will be a big Zelda game, but the with X, the RPG train will have kicked in. There may be a new RPG renaissance. I don't even like RPGs, but I predict this.
Eventually a couple of things that haven't really been represented on a Nintendo platform in a while will become again very Nintendo. I can imagine Square Enix will jump ship for money reasons. Either Nintendo will money hat them, or they will find Super HD games to high cost(considering they overspent). If square jumps ship, Konami probably will too. Capcom will still be confused. It won't matter though because Capcom will eventually be bough by Shinji Mikami's company.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Stogi on September 10, 2013, 07:22:23 AM
The Wii U will be profitable. The Xbox One won't, at least for a long time. The PS4 will dominate.
Sadly, almost all games will play just like they do today. They will be more expensive. More companies will collapse, but indie titles will take off but become unprofitable because of a crowded market.
All-n-all, this generation might be one of the worst in history.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Ceric on September 10, 2013, 10:09:50 AM
Sony doesn't seem to really be looking to target the PS4 for Japan. I think thats what the Vita TV is really for. Sony knows that the Western market is now more lucrative and just a look at the Weekly sells charts for Japan shows the utter domination that Nintendo has over Japan. Nintendo really needs to leverage that in the west to be the niche machine.
Now XBox as a brand plays well in the US and thats about it. Playstation as a brand plays fairly well in all of the West. This gives them an advantage. Couple that with a few strategic price drops, whenever the XBox One drops or the Wii U Drops, I think its their race to lose predictively. This may all change once we have our hands on actual hardware but I don't think so.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: broodwars on September 10, 2013, 12:16:31 PM
The way I see it, both platforms will start off strong because both have sold out their pre-order shipments. Once we roll into 2014, though, it's Sony's game to lose. Infamous Second Son is probably going to sell a lot of PS4s in those first few months of 2014, and Titanfall will sell some Xbones as well. However, Titanfall won't be a huge Xbone system-seller because it will also be out on the 360. Looking further ahead, Sony has a good track record of supporting their consoles with software (something Nintendo could learn to do). Microsoft does not, and their studios can't compete with Sony's either in terms of numbers of quality of output. Undoubtably, Microsoft will have a Halo for Holiday 2014, so it'll be interesting to see how the two systems shake-out for end of year 2014.
Overall, I think Sony will hover between "decent" and "strong" for most of 2014, whereas Microsoft will hover between "poor" and "decent" in that same period until they inevitably release a Kinect-less SKU for $400.
Title: Re: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.
Post by: Ceric on September 10, 2013, 12:34:07 PM
I don't think the Kinect-Less SKU is going to happen. I do see a drop in price but they are really betting Kinect to be the true Differentiator to PS4 and WiiU.
