BusinessWeek weighs in on the looming 3-way video game console battle coming this holiday season in their article titled “Console Makers: Move It or Lose It.” The article touches on each console’s pre-battle position in what Pacific Crest Securities senior research analyst Evan Wilson calls “the most competitive holiday season in the history of video games.”
They feel that the outlook for Microsoft seems strong, but there are a few concerns:
Microsoft may be the one embarrassed if it’s not able to solidify its No. 1 position this holiday season. “If this lineup of titles can’t move boxes off the store shelves come January,” writes David Cole, president of gaming research firm DFC Intelligence, “we will have to seriously revaluate Microsoft’s long-term position in the marketplace.” If that happens, Cole believes Microsoft could be in danger of becoming a distant third in the battle for market share in the video game business.
BW points out that Sony may not have enough coming to prevail this holiday:
Although Sony has some noteworthy game launches coming up, including the reintroduction of the classic Warhawk franchise, two of its heaviest hitters—Metal Gear Solid 4 and the next Final Fantasy game—won’t be on store shelves until next year. That could be a problem for Sony and provide a competitive advantage for Microsoft, says Pacific Crest analyst Wilson.
Much like the rest of the non-gaming press, BW doesn’t seem to have much in the way of negative statements about Nintendo and the Wii, but we didn’t need Business Week to tell us that Nintendo is going to have a killer holiday season. What’s more important is that gamers will win this one.
[Via BusinessWeek – thanks, Justin]
