Shadow1980 said:
The market isn't necessarily shrinking as it is seeing a reduction in the number of multi-console households from last-gen. The PS4 and XBO's libraries are so similar that I doubt many gamers feel the need to own both unless they really want the exclusives of both, and the Wii U is obviously no Wii sales-wise. That being said, adoption rates of "conventional" consoles are well within historical norms, at least outside of Japan. LTD PS4 & XBO sales in the U.S. are very strong compared to combined sales of their predecessors, and in Europe the PS4 may be outpacing even the PS2. |
I very much agree; this gen is not really representative of yesteryear's console wars: exclusivity has become a very limited factor. Given the amount of chest-beating on the forums over exclusives, you'd think that there are many AAA exclusives. In actuality, there are very few AAA exclusives and far more A and AA exclusives. Beyond that, there is pronounced console library overlap. If the customer is only able to distinguish between two platforms (PS4/X1 and WiiU), then they are most likely going to only acknowledge them as two real options. The PS4 has been so comparatively successful to the X1 by leveraging the PS brand and more powerful hardware (The game libraries are basically the same.). Additionally, the stupendous success of the Wii lied at the intersection of a low pricepoint and a casual appeal. The WiiU is very much neither of those things, catering more to their dedicated fanbase. In comparison, it looks like the market is shrinking, but I think we are simply observing the effect of catering to a smaller section of the market.
