Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida calls console gaming niche

[mjk45]

Wyrdness said:

mjk45 said:

We can only go on what numbers we have before us both historically and now , yes there are variables but they work both ways, that's why we hear of player numbers mentioned that exceed the ratio of 1 person per console and because we can only estimate, so rather than pulling numbers out of the ether,the prudent course is to look at the numbers of each gen being sold, and the hardware/software revenue they've generated to give us context, and doing  that tells us that gaming is now bigger than movies and music combined and consoles are 25% of that business, so even allowing  for people using the wrong definition it doesn't look that niche.

Numbers by themselves can mean anything but when the factors are taken into account that's when the context of the numbers begins to show the picture because really and truly if the number of platforms moved was the actual amount the industry would generate far more money than it does now. You mention music and movies but don't factor that gaming has DLC models, GAAS, microtransactions, pre-order models etc... this is what I mean by factors behind the numbers the are also factors that when people say films and music they mean mainly western films and music where most of the tracking is done they don't really factor in regions like Africa for example where Nigeria's film industry (Nollywood) generates more profit than the US (Hollywood) despite the latter being the largest in the industry even Bollywood in Asia (India) sells more than the US but that's not really tracked and the are a number of other large countries in the region that generate comparable money.

Gaming as a whole is niche that's just how it is the industry just happens to punch above its weight but it's still niche.

The reason these particular comparisons have been made is because they all represent mainstream western entertainment, sure the revenue models differ but it at the end of the day it all comes under entertainment spending, btw I looked up your Nigerian movie industry claims and found it's revenue is around 800m  and Forbes admitted it's headline was wrong and the Nigerian profit is based on per capita, anyway our discourse has made us forget that he didn't compare console gaming to anything other than gaming as a whole, also I presume you and I are in agreement that the deal has merit , so that only leaves us to debate the use of the word niche and I stand by the standard dictionary definition, that niche besides being a recess is a specialised segment of the mainstream, so unless something unusual happens. I shall take my leave knowing that minds, mine included are rarely changed from their starting positions no matter the merit of the dialogue.

Last edited by mjk45 - on 24 May 2019