Surprisingly good stuff, Kwaad. You're right. People benefit from a monopoly, not from competition, because they get to get all the good games on one format. This is true of publishers too; they only want to invest in one console. Going multi-platform is not the ideal for publishers, and in fact increasing multi-platform gaming and increasing multi-console ownership are trends at odds with one another, though they're caused by the same fierce competition. At this point in time, there's no need to be worried about the monopoly either. With the industry having proven itself, there will always be a new company waiting to disrupt the market with an amazing new product if the current monopoly falters (like Sony knocking out arrogant, misguided Nintendo in the mid-90s). With the ever plumeting price of technology, something new will always come along and be implemented by a newcomer which improves and fundamentally changes the experience of gaming. The cycle has become more self-sustaining than it was in 1983.
"[Our former customers] are unable to find software which they WANT to play."
"The way to solve this problem lies in how to communicate what kind of games [they CAN play]."
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo President. Only slightly paraphrased.
