E3 is going on right now, which means that there are liveblogs from presentations by Nintendo, MS (XBoX), and Sony (PS3). There isn't a lot of analytic writing in the gaming community. Mostly, it's "Look what's around the corner!" Let's take a quick look back, shall we?
A year ago:
- Wii is greeted with skepticism by competitors. Users, on the other hand, can't get enough of them. That's partly demand, and partly planned scarcity on the part of Nintendo.
- PS3 is derided as a HUGE, EXPENSIVE messianic platform that wasn't. Critics thought it was simply a huge vehicle for Blu Ray and didn't offer much of an advance in the gaming console department.
- XbOX was experiencing the "Ring of Death" debacle, wear three red lights would appear on your xBox - the console's version of "check, please!"
Today:
- Wii is still as hot as the day it hit shelves. It is still hard to get one and the new version isn't making it any easier. Wii fit is even more experimental...and just as popular. Gaming has come back to the masses and gaming during a party (other than a geeks-only LAN party) is born.
- PS3 turns out to be the messiah, but not for games. Blu Ray killed HDTV thanks in large part to the ready-made console market. Sony is laughing all the way to the bank.
- xBox. Hm. The system is not dying any more and there is an external HD. It is the most popular Rock Band and Guitar Hero platform, so that gives you a sense of its market penetration...but that's only because the games weren't released on xBox until recently and xBox gamers either own, or want to own, a Wii.
No comments:
Post a Comment