| puffy said: No it won't happen. Gaming has gotten too big and another competitor would take a stab at the market. Another thing is that if it did happen then guess where EVERY game would go. I mean every single third party game would be going to Nintendo's next generation system and with no competition Nintendo could definately make a more expensive more powerful machine as it wouldn't have to worry about the 'cheapest console' card. I think if it did happen, it'd probably be the best console the gaming market has ever seen in terms of library. Again. It won't happen. |
I would argue that the bold would not happen. Nintendo succedded partly because the price was low. Many people equate monopolies with the Industrail Revolution of the United States. This happened for Oil, Steel and Railroads becuase these were necessities. Entertainment isn't. Nintendo's fight is not against Sony and Microsoft, but disinterest. If there console becomes too costly, then consumers may become disinterested and find another form of intertainment. Expensive entertainment is very prone to extiction. Pinball surivied and florished during the depression, but Oprea didn't. The former was cheap, but the latter was expensive. A console that is too expensive would suffer.
Also, I assume Nintendo will have a strong dominance over the market soon. Sony has been hurting more then expected due to the economic downturn (as many disrupted companies are) which means they may be quicker to pull out. Microsoft will throw in the towel once Sony is gone.
Now, I beleive in this day and age it is impossible to have a monopoly (at least not for very long). Due to disruption and technology, I think, eventually, someone will come in. However, it won't be anyone. Apple, for instance, would be whipped by Nintendo. They are not a content oriented company. They could not be able to form internal develope and obtaining developers would not be strong enough against Nintendo with it's unique DNA and experience in making games. It would have to be an existing game company. I would look more to the Japanese companies as the western developers are ingrained to much in hardcore*. I don't think it will be Sega sadly.
*The western developers were strong during two periods. The first was the gameing crash of 1983 and now. During the former, consoles died and gaming moved to the computer. Western developers made games for the hardcore of the time. The western developers have excelled at making games for gamers. The Japanese developers would beat them out when Nintendo revived the console market with the NES. Now, the developers are doing the same thing, but now on the consoles. Despite the "rise" of western developers, none of them have broken into the best sellers; however, Nintendo has beaten most of their own records. As the PC and hardcore consoles begin to shrink, so will western developers. I don't think many of them will embrace the expanded market.
