PS3 set to give Wii a torrid 2008
Sony’s PlayStation 3 is set to outperform Nintendo’s Wii in 2008, despite being overshadowed by its rival in the games console market so far, according to a media analyst.
The Wii has easily outsold the PS3 across the globe in 2007, by as much as four to one in the key Japanese market. The gap in sales recently forced Sony to slash the price of the PS3 by nearly £80 in the UK.
However, media analysts Screen Digest predicted that the PS3, and Microsoft’s Xbox offering, will mount a fightback next year due to a raft of exclusive games and the consoles’ multi-media offerings.
While the Wii has been credited with widening the gaming demographic to older people and women, the PS3 and Xbox have an array of ‘Blue Ray’ DVD and online functions their rival lacks.
The PS3 also has several widely-marketed games, such as Tekken and Final Fantasy, set to be popular with consumers in 2008.
Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games analyst at Screen Digest, said: “One of the market shifts to watch out for in 2008 will be the continued evolution of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 from games consoles to multi-media bubs.
“Now that these multi-media services – online video, IPTV, digital terrestrial TV and PVR functionality – are now available or poised to come online in different markets, this ‘hub’ strategy is emerging as a key console battleground for Microsoft and Sony.”
Sony is currently running a series of ads, called ‘This is Living’, for the Christmas period. The spots were created by TBWA.
Nintendo, which has used celebrities such as Nicole Kidman in its advertising, has pulled ads over the festive period as demand for the console is already outstripping supply. Karmarama won the company’s £7 million ad account in August.
| Bookmark with: |
