In other news, 2nd is the new 1st.

[jackofallgeeks]

Sony says that PS3 is not
in
competition with Nintendo's Wii, dismissing the Wii as "an expensive
niche game device." Which is a convenient stance to take seeing as Nintendo
sold more than double the number of Wii's this year as Sony has sold PS3s --
2.8 million Wiis to 1.2 million PS3s. The 'race' still looks like a race if
you only count PS3 and the XBox 360, which only sold 1.12 million units this
year. I guess when the other guy is beating you so much it's better to just
pretend he's not your competition.

Now, I will admit there's a little truth in the claim that Sony isn't
competing with the Wii -- they have DRASTICALLY different game sets and
audiences. Nintendo has always had a reputation as a family console with
kids' games, where as Sony's bread and butter are the "more adult" RPGs and
FPSs like Final Fantasy and Metal Gear. The XBox, with flagships like
Halo3, it much more directly competing with Sony than the Wii is. Still,
with Nintendo putting out bits like Super Smash Brothers and Metroid Prime,
maybe they're fighting for the same market more than Sony is willing to
admit.

Comments

[naughtjennifer.livejournal.com]

So... Sony is dismissing the Wii as expensive? Does that mean that cheaper than the competition is the new expensive?

The Neo Geo was "an expensive niche game device." Looking at its place in comparison to the competing home game systems of its time, it has far more in common with the PS3 than it does with the Wii.

But still, it must be acknowledged that they are attempting to target different markets. Sony seems to be marketing entirely toward the classic 18-35 male market, seeing as they're by far the biggest spenders. Thus, they work on being the biggest, fastest, and best. Well, maybe just biggest and best, but that's another story. PS3, by the numbers, far outpaces the competition in power. It is quite possibly held back rather severely by this, though. Higher power means higher development costs. Most third parties, if not given a strong incentive, will design it for cross-platform purposes. That means that the PS3 version won't outstrip the XBox 360 by all that much. Thus, you have PS3 and XBox360 fighting over the biggest piece of the pie, but still only a single slice.

The Wii, on the other hand, seems to be going for a more scattershot approach. They have a modest collection of more mature and graphically fancier titles for the 18-35 crowd. Also quite a selection of stylized titles, taking advantage of the fact that stylized stuff thrives in the comparatively lower powered environment. They're also targeting the nostalgia market, attempting to corner it now more than ever with a rapidly expanding virtual console, and, recently, honest forays back into the mists of time, returning with the 2-D platformer and Adventure games. Finally, they're targeting EVERYONE. Games are spread from the practical(WiiFit and Big Brain) to the tactile (Trauma Center, WiiSports) to the ... slightly touched (WarioWare).

So, when it comes down to it, calling the Wii "expensive" or "niche" is to choose two of the least appropriate words possible. They may not be in direct competition with Sony's PS3, but that statement smacks of hardcore denial.