Can Nintendo success with Wii & DS last through global recession?

Nintendo is having all the success this generation, with both the Wii and DS managing to completely dominate the home and hand-held console markets respectively. But will the Japanese gaming giant be able to keep this incredible success going through the global recession?
The level that Nintendo has dominated by during this generation really cannot be overstated. The Wii has managed worldwide sales of 35 million units to the end of September, 2008. While the DS has managed an incredible 84 million units sold to the same point.

The Wii is completely decimating the opposition consoles of the PS3 and Xbox 360, and this despite being underpowered and almost last-gen in terms of graphics and gameplay. While the Sony PSP has at least offered some competition in the hand-held sector, the DS has sold double the quantity of its rival.

Nintendo also recently revealed that the Wii had overtaken the Nintendo 64 in terms of sales, while the DS has managed to overtake lifetime sales of the Game Boy Advance. So the question is, with figures as good as these, will the company be able to continue its domination through the economic slowdown or will the credit crunch put an end to the Nintendo surge?

According to Business Week, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata recently predicted that the recession will not affect its business in the near future. He foresaw the company achieving its third straight year of record earnings and told a press conference in Tokyo why.

“In the near term, we don’t expect the gaming business to be affected by economic trends. At the Nintendo store in New York, people are still lining up in the morning before it opens.”

That may well be so but there’s the argument that the recession hasn’t quite reached consumers yet, so while this Christmas may see people spending the same way they have been doing, 2009 may be a whole different matter. If that happens, then would gaming in general, and Nintendo specifically be able to ride the storm?

I think consumer spending will inevitably fall for a period of time but gaming may well be protected due to its unique stature as something which is actually quite a cheap pastime for a family to enjoy together. Compare the price of buying a console and a few games, which could give many people hours of fun, to the cost of going to a sporting event or going on vacation and gaming will inevitably emerge victorious.

In terms of which console people will choose to buy in a recession, Nintendo again seems to be sitting pretty. Not only are the Wii and DS the most affordable consoles available, the Wii has more scope for offering family fun to a wider spectrum of family members than the PS3 and Xbox 360 do.

Nintendo’s hold on this generation doesn’t look to be coming to an end anytime soon, even if the economy is in a mess.

from: GameConsolesStore.com

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Can Blockbuster on PS3 compete with Netflix on Xbox 360?

There is a rumor doing the rounds on the Web indicating that Blockbuster may be making its service available on the PS3 in the same way Microsoft partnered up with Netflix on the Xbox 360. If Sony does indeed partner up with Blockbuster, the service may give Netflix on the Xbox 360 a run for its money.

Last E3, Microsoft made a huge announcement about its new partnership with Netflix to bring Watch Instantly to Xbox Live. Blockbuster recently announced a new service called OnDemand, which is a revamped version of the old MovieLink service. The MovieLink service was Blockbuster’s version of Watch Instantly, where you could stream and download movies via PC.

With the new OnDemand service, users will be able to stream movies through a set-top box. According to MSNMBC, Blockbuster Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Keyes indicated that they are actively seeking an alliance with video game console makers and Blu-ray manufacturers.

There would be only two video game manufactures capable of this service, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3. Since Microsoft already has an exclusive partnership with Netflix, it seems that the PS3 would be the likely candidate.

There are two distinct differences between the Netflix Watch Instantly service and Blockbuster OnDemand. Netflix Watch Instantly does require a monthly subscription to the DVD by mail service. On Blockbuster’s service, users without a subscription can download off OnDemand, א la carte.

Keyes also indicated that unlike their competitors [Netflix], users will be able to download from over 2,000 of the latest movies, such as The Dark Knight. The executive blasted Netflix by indicating that it would take competitors two to three years to even offer new movies like The Dark Knight through their download service.

However, the a'la carte model seems a bit inferior to the Netflix subscription model. I like the idea of paying $20 and getting unlimited movie downloads. Although, I can see the benefits of an א la carte service to consumers who only watch a couple movies a month.

Alas, I have my doubts that Sony will end up partnering with Blockbuster on the PS3. Sony has invested quite a bit into the video section of the PSN store and parenting up with Blockbuster will only provide fierce competition to itself. Sony has been aggressively adding movies to the PSN video store by signing on studios one by one as well as offering its internal library.

However, partnering up with Blockbuster would be a brilliant marketing move on Sony’s part, but considering how misguided I feel Sony’s marketing team is, I have doubts that they have the insight to see the benefits.

from: GameConsolesStore.com

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