We all saw it coming, but it took longer than expected. First, there were predictions that the Xbox 360 would be the dominant force in the console races. Then we heard predictions of the PS3 ultimately claiming victory. Now, Nintendo’s Wii has finally joined the ranks of the "what will be the top selling next-gen console list," with the release of a report from research firm IDC.
IDC’s gaming program manager, Billy Pidgeon, says that Nintendo’s focus on targeting the non-gamer has paid off handsomely and will propel the Wii to superior sales than the Xbox 360 or PS3.
Pidgeon thinks that while Sony and Microsoft are competing directly with each other, Nintendo will quietly take the lead away from the both of them by appealing to a broader gaming audience.
"With the Wii, Nintendo is abdicating the specification war, leaving Sony and Microsoft to slug it out between themselves for the hardcore market, we believe concerted efforts to broaden the appeal of videogames beyond the traditional enthusiast/hardcore base will deepen the industry’s penetration. This is good news for an industry that seemed to be receding last year due to over-saturation of the core base."
IDC says that the Wii will assume "a little more than a third of the worldwide market by 2008, rising slightly above Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360."
