Nintendo Wii Fanboy

You see that chart right there? That's the predicted outcome of the console war this generation, courtesy of CNET. Aside from the hate in your heart caused by those black bars cruising past those lovely blue ones around the year 2012, what else do you see? Grim future for that Xbox 360? According to CNET, it will be.

What do you all think about this projected outcome? Do you think the Wii's popularity will sustain at such a high level for the next 4 years (it does have a lot going for it)? Do you see the demand dying down a bit soon? Also, what are all those people of the future buying PS3s for? Is it a prediction of the future for some kind of alternate universe where the PS3 has games worth playing?

[Via NeoGAF]

Michael Pachter, the man who makes a living predicting sales trends and corporate decisions in the gaming industry, is saying that Nintendo should cut Wii Sports out of the package and sell the Wii for a cool $199. "I think that if Nintendo were to do so and cut the price to $199, it would still sell a piece of Nintendo software to 80% of new Wii purchasers, and would end up effectively lowering revenues per console by only around $10," he explained in an interview with Gamasutra. You see, Pachter thinks this is not going to be that great of a year for the Wii.

Pachter further explains that the high-definition features of the other consoles make them "more likely to end up in the living room, which could relegate the Wii to the playroom." He says this could be bad for the Wii, as if it "is not at the center of the home entertainment system, software sales could suffer as a result."

We can't say we particularly agree with Pachter. We're not sure we'd see Nintendo cut the price on the Wii anytime soon, and if they did, we would hope it didn't involve losing one of the best experiences one can have on the console, let alone the best Wiimote trainer we've ever had time with. What do you folks think?

We only ask because the company has revealed its thoughts on the current hardware cycle, and come to the overly diplomatic conclusion that ... they're all winners! Every one of them! Hurray!

"Previously, a single home gaming platform [PS2] was the market leader worldwide, but that pattern has changed," the company said in a statement. "Whichever platform best caters to users' preferences in a particular country or region, in terms of the games available to be played on it, is now the one that will dominate the local market."

Being the well-informed readers that you are, you'll be well aware that the Wii snagged first place from the Xbox 360 back in September, and apparently continues to be hugely desirable to consumers. And although Konami is correct to point out that the race is more finely balanced than in the last generation, there's still a distance to go yet. If anything, we'd bank on Nintendo to stretch its lead.

We've been laying down some predictions -- albeit ridiculous, silly predictions -- for quite a while now, and while we may just get serious later ('cause E3 is serious business), we thought it might be a good time to take a break and ask you what you think will happen at the new show. Tragic game delays? Hot new announcements? New channels? C'mon, share!

UBS Investment Research analyst Benjamin Schachter recently spoke with GameDaily.BIZ about his firm's 92-page report on the video game industry (that's a lotta reading!) and, more importantly, his view on the current state of the console wars. Gathering all of his mental powers, Schachter made the very tough call of predicting who will win the fight this generation and determined that by 2010, the Wii would be in the lead, with the PS3 trailing behind. Of course, they aren't the first to try and predict this generation's console war.

With Nintendo doing so well in both the handheld and console market with their hardware (let's not forget their software), month after month, it's easy for anyone to see that the company is doing well. Will their business model hold up for the next 3+ years, however, as UBS is stating? Personally, we'd like to think so, but the future is a dark and choppy ocean. We just hope Nintendo has enough deck hands to ensure a safe and prosperous voyage.