Gamesindustry.biz on "The Phoney War"

Saw an article on Gamesindustry.biz talking about the console war – and seeing as it gave me a chance to use the word "phoney" in a Title, just had to call your attention to it! Actually, in all seriousness, I thought this was one of the first articles I've seen this holiday that summed up the current state well. Simply put: nobody knows.

Take their comments on Xbox and Microsoft as one example:

In a few years' time, if Microsoft has done well in this generation of consoles, 2006 will be seen as a pivotal year in that success, and we'll write things like "Microsoft's strategy of launching a year in advance of its rivals proved decisive, as it built up a significant head-start which convinced third-parties to weigh in behind the system." On the other hand, if Microsoft fails to build on its market share over the coming years, we'll regard 2006 as equally pivotal – except that in that case, we'll write things like "Despite giving itself a full year head-start, Microsoft failed to exploit this opportunity – and a dearth of AAA software for the Xbox 360 during 2006, including a period of over six months with no first-party releases and a Christmas with only one major title on the shelves, negated much of the company's effort in delivering its system to market early."

 Or Sony, as another:

The same applies to Sony – I can imagine, in 2010, writing about this year as being a turning point which saw the tide turn against the PlayStation brand after long delays, a high price point, and a leaking of negative attitude over the firm's well-documented arrogance and cringe-worthy marketing slip-ups from the specialist press and blogosphere into the mainstream press and public consciousness. Equally, I can imagine dismissing 2006 as a blip on the radar, a set of particularly painful teething troubles which were all but forgotten within a year of launch and did little to stop the Japanese giant from striding forward to victory.

All-in-all, it's a good reminder of that fact that we're early yet. Take a read – it's a nice change from the usual "game/system/gaffe of the year" sort of article you'll be reading over the next few weeks.

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3. U.S. Video Game Console Online Shopping Demand
4. Xbox 360 Holiday Sales Spike
5. Nintendo Rules February NPD Numbers