Digital Lifescapes

Last year was very troublesome for the video gaming console vendors. After shipping over 3 million Wii U units during the 2012 holiday season, Nintendo’s next generation console is now facing a challenging market. 2012 saw just under 30 million game consoles shipped from Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony (excluding PS2) -- that's roughly 10 million fewer than the previous year. Despite these results ABI Research looks at 2013 and beyond with cautious optimism, but the company expects Microsoft and Sony to determine the future prospects for the game console, not Nintendo. "The Nintendo Wii U’s troubles are not indicative of the expected market reception for the remaining 8th generation of consoles," said Michael Inouye, Senior analyst at ABI Research . In fact, the Wii U will likely prove a closer fit with the current generation than the next. The software released to date also bears out this assessment with many cross-platform games that were previously available fr...

The freemium online games phenomenon has truly been a welcome distraction for some, but not the manufacturers of traditional game consoles and associated software titles. Hardcore gamers still prefer the superior game console experience, however other people may never graduate to that level of engagement. Overall game console shipments declined by over 30 percent year-over-year through the first half of 2012. Although these results do not signal the end of console gaming, they are surely an indication of a trend that will change the long-term market upside potential. The current seventh generation of consoles is in the twilight years of the usual life-cycle and penetration rates are mature, leaving less room for new growth. Hope for recovery of the market in late 2012 and early 2013 now rests largely on the next generation Nintendo Wii U -- with its tablet-like GamePad capabilities. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, Nintendo’s innovative TVii feature is also n...