THE CONSOLE GENERATION GAP Wait losses
WHEN NINTENDO revealed that it is to unveil the Wii’s successor at E3, it was the first indication that the longest ever wait for a new static console in the history of the modern games market is coming to an end.
Between the introduction of the Sega Mega Drive in 1990 and the launch of the Sony PlayStation 3 in 2007, the UK benefited from the introduction of a new format, on average, every 17 months. They were the adrenaline shots that got the heart of the games industry pumping every time it threatened to flatline. The longest gap had been between the debut of the original Xbox in March 2002 and the Xbox 360, rushed out in December 2005 – a barren spell of just three and a half years.
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The industry is in the middle of the longest console drought. There have been new add-ons and handhelds, but no new home console since 2007. Dave Roberts looks at how the market is coping
There have been shifts in the games sector, which has been impacted by a decline in hardware formats. Rod Cousens, Codemasters
There’s also the question of whether or not a new console from Nintendo will actually represent a new technological high watermark for the market.
Whatever the firm comes up with may well be revolutionary, it could quite conceivably change the way people play, but it won’t necessarily be a whizzier piece of kit than the 360 or the PS3. Launches are traditionally about leapfrog, but Nintendo always plays its own game.
MARKET GROWTH The ever-positive Rod Cousens, CEO of Codemasters, has more historical perspective than most, and doesn’t see the gap between home consoles as a huge problem. “In the period we’re talking about, the overall global market has grown,” he says.
www.mcvuk.com
“There have been some local and regional shifts in the traditional games sector, which has been impacted by a decline in specific hardware formats and a reset after the spike in rhythm action software. But there is noticeable growth on HD consoles as well as
opportunities in digital offerings, which are extending franchises on traditional consoles and opening up new segments, emerging regions and high margin business models.” At retail, certainly within the traditional retail sector, there aren’t so many positives to fall back on. Digital distribution, social gaming, micro transactions, subscription models – none of these are sops to counter balance the ongoing absence of a new platform.
June 3rd 2011 57
Nintendo will announce details of its next home console at next week’s E3 almost five years after the Wii’s 2006 launch
UK UNIT SOFTWARE SALES (MILLIONS)
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