| wfz said: With all of these different aspects of the gaming world colliding, driven by major corporations, something is going to give. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo will not all be able to survive this generation in a healthy state. |
My take:
Apple/Google will enter strong and do well based off of what they have learned already from their various products. They will have all the service content as that comes by default for them and they will gain a significant amount of 3rd party AAA content. From streaming to content delivered directly to their many devices.
MS is going to be fine, mostly. They already have the peices in place with a suitable OS across all of its platforms and a strong gaming/TV connected presence.
Nintendo is going to be fine as 3DS proves that it can survive strong encroachment into its markets through its strong and unique first party content combined with a relatively low priced approach.
Sony is the only one with a bit of grey area here. From all accounts it seems like they are going to put out a well-designed peice of hardware that should be able to not only provide quality console gaming but also all of the TV based smart/entertainment services a mass consumer might want. However, what is yet to be seen is exactly how they will approach these services, if at all, and at what price the hardware will come to market. If they limit their approach too much and/or cost too much, they will be swamped by the others. I think Vita best illustrates this concern as it is being swamped by a healthy 3DS and a surging Apple/Google phone/tablet market. Vita is a solid peice of hardware, but its price and limited services are overshadowing its game content.
