[casual_games] The Escapist: Analysts Fear For Nintendo

[Andrew Lum]

I don't buy this analyst's predictions. Here's NPD data on Wii Sales for the
month of November. Nintendo's Wii continues to outsell all non Nintendo
platforms combined and has been the leading platform in sales since its
launch. Software sales aren't always the highest but profit margins on
hardware and software are much more favorable for DS and Wii Games then
next-gen games. 

 

If anything I see publishers shying away from funding $15-$25 Million
budgets for AAA console titles. Why build a AAA game when a Cooking Mama or
Carnival Game can sell over a million units? Seattle is already seeing
layoffs from next-gen developers who are not getting as much work as they
used to.

 

Andrew Lum

The NPD Group on Thursday released videogame software sales results for the
November timeframe and while all platforms saw significant spikes,
Nintendo's two systems soared through the atmosphere, out of this solar
system and into the next galaxy, a faint, echoing "ka-ching!" left behind
for Microsoft and Sony to consider. Wii was far and away the best-selling
console for the month with 2.04 million units sold, easily the biggest month
the platform has enjoyed since its release two years ago. And let's just
repeat: 2.04 million units. Not a typo. DS, meanwhile, was the second
best-selling platform with 1.57 million units sold. Xbox 360 sold to another
836,000 people; PSP 421,000; and PlayStation 3 another 378,000. 

Wii outsold PS3, 360, and PSP combined for the month. And Wii and DS
together had almost a two million-unit lead on all of the other consoles
combined. 

 

From: casual_games-bounces at igda.org [mailto:casual_games-bounces at igda.org]
On Behalf Of oscar is oscar
Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 2:21 PM
To: Casual_Games at igda.org
Subject: [casual_games] The Escapist: Analysts Fear For Nintendo

 

Will Casual Gaming as a whole see declines due to global economic downturns?


http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/87929-Analysts-Fear-For-Nintendo

Market analysts in the UK have warned that Nintendo is likely to suffer in
the current economic climate.

Nintendo's shift towards the casual gamer market has undeniably put the
company in the lead in the current generation of consoles, but now market
analysts fear that this may put the company in an unfavorable position as
the global economic situation worsens.

Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst for media business research company Screen
Digest, expressed concerns at the sustainability of the casual gaming
market. "We are not sure how the recession will affect the buying habits of
these new, more casual mainstream consumers. These consumers are more likely
to view gaming as a discretionary luxury," he said.

Nick Gibson of Games Investor Consulting, echoed Harding-Rolls predictions,
adding, "As the market has become more casual-gamer focused, then it will be
more susceptible to the economic rhythm...I would say that Nintendo
therefore would be the most susceptible."

It was not all doom and gloom however, as consoles sales over all are 15%
higher than this time last year, suggesting that, while the gaming industry
is by no means recession-proof, it is certainly in a good position to
weather the oncoming storm.

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