With times being as hard as they are, not only are the small people being affected, but also big business, Including one of entertainments most profitable cash crops in the world, Video Games. Over the years video game system and game sales have taken a big plunge. "Sales of games, hardware and accessories fell 23 percent in August - after a 26 percent drop in July. Sales were $670 million, down from $874 million during the same period last year.” Using the Boston Consulting Group Grid, Let’s go over a few of these, shall we?
Sony PlayStation 3: When PlayStation 3 first hit the scene it was the must have gaming system, in 2006. Now it seems they are beating a dead horse. It’s still a great product but until they update something, anything, it will continue to be a cash cow. “Fiscal Q1 revenues from game hardware, software and online services dropped 11.9% from the previous year to $1.5 billion, while unit sales of the Playstation 3 dropped to 1.8 million compared to 2.4 million the year prior.” This is still BIG money. But people want something more.
Microsoft Xbox 360: Much like PS3, Xbox is probably Microsoft’s biggest cash cow. The only reason im slapping it with a “cash cow” is because of the Kinect. The Kinect re-vamped Xbox sales and brought it out of the “dog” zone. But people are once again losing interest. They need something new as well.
Nintendo Wii: What can I say about the Nintendo Wii? Nintendo has almost made NO advancements since its launch back in 2006. The only advancements were video streaming. “The Wii fell to No. 3 from No. 1 this year, with U.S. sales in the first 10 months down 24% from the same period a year earlier.” For that, I’m going to put the Wii into the Question Mark category. Only because the Wii 2 will be coming out very soon, and with probably a huge demand. But, I don’t think the same can be said for Nintendo’s other products.
Nintendo DS: The DS has been re-imagined many, many times over the past few years and they sell. But not well enough. The whole concept of “Handheld Gaming” (Excluding phones) is pretty much dead in the water. The PSP, DS and the like are all Dogs. People don’t want to lug around bulky game systems that take time to load up and take cartridges. That’s why most people are preferring my next “platform”
Mobile Gaming: In the past 5 years gaming on a mobile phone has completely changed the way people play games. From playing “Angry Birds” in line for the bank to playing “Dead Space” waiting for a movie to begin. “The mobile gaming industry is booming; last year alone (2010) it made an estimated $800 million.” That is HUGE! Considering most games are only 1 to 2 dollars, or even FREE. This “platform” is definitely a Star. It combines a fun game experience, fast, when and where you want and at an affordable price.
Steam: Steam is a new concept that I am giving a question mark. It allows you to download new big budget games as well as small “app-like” games directly to your computer, and sometimes at a cheaper rate than going to a game store and buying a physical copy. It’s a mobile gaming concept on a big platform level and it will definitely be one to watch out for. http://store.steampowered.com/
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