A while ago, not too long, just two-three years back – I was doing a paper on Electronic Arts, and I read a comment by an industry-expert that a few years down the gaming industry will supersede the movies industry. I was wondering, hmmm, may be or may be not – the target market of the gaming industry has always been a niche, while movies – yeah everyone watches them. So, how is it going to happen, and if ever, when! But, then I was also surprised by the amount of money being pumped into the gaming industry, be it Sony, or Microsoft, or Nintendo. It did seemed like it is a winning bet, in coming years, the games are going to be a strong contenders in the entertainment space along with movies.
HALO-3 does 17o million on its launch date, Spiderman-3 did 59 million on its 1st day (so far the biggest opening-day boxoffice hit). A game does 3 times more than any movie! Sounds like, yes the games are bigger than movies now. But, this is not the final verdict, because its a different matter altogether, that how much money a game and a movie make in its total lifespan, and if we also count the pull-through sales for games like consoles and peripherals etc. But still, games-vs-movies-battle …is an interesting one.
And, Team-XBox vs Team-PlayStation…
The gaming industry itself is burning with fierce competition, Microsoft XBox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii are the main players. Nintendo with Wii has carved its niche in cute, easy to play, just for fun, family entertainment type of games. So the real ‘battle’ is between PlayStation 3 and XBox 360, who is making money yet – not everyone! …well its a challenging market – trying to squeeze out money from the pockets of gamers who are still living out of their parents wallet, or summer jobs, is not easy. Microsoft claims that there will be profit next year – at least a dollar. Lets leave that battle into the corporate boardrooms, here is what I am thinking…
What is more interesting is that the players themselves have a clear affinity with each of the brands, rarely I have seen hardcore gamers switching loyalties. Each side claims that their console, games, online experience etc is the best, but finally its the gamer who decides by him/herself. If the gamers are the ultimate jury, then why not create ‘an ultimate battle’ – a game that brings XBox and PlayStation gamers face to face in livespace, and let the battle begin. Let the best gamers, armed with best consoles win!
Let Team-XBox battle against Team-PlayStation!
Microsoft, Sony, interested?