Friday, October 21, 2016

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group Videogames

     Wii U, PlayStation3, Xbox 360 and the Oculus Rift all have one thing in common; they all have low growth potential. The demand for these consoles is at a low and is decreasing every day. They aren’t valued except by those who already have one and this makes them obsolete. These consoles are dogs because no one wants them.
     The Xbox One is a Problem Child because it was popular at first and many loyal Xbox fans want a new console from them. Unfortunately, the Xbox one is not doing so well in sales which leads me to believe the demand is high but sales are low as well as many fans being disappointed by other elements. Chris Reed from The CheatSheet, a gaming website, stated in his article discussing the Xbox One “Not only did the Xbox One lose out to its rival, the PlayStation 4, during the quarter, but overall sales and revenues are down from the same quarter last year. That happened despite a $50 price cut”.  It can’t compete with the PlayStation 4 which is still in demand and making great sales.    
     The PlayStation 4 is in high demand. Many adults and children alike are wanting for the newer PlayStation console. I can only imagine how much sales will rise over the holiday. Although the PS4 is a Cash Cow I anticipate that the newest Nintendo console which was featured in a trailer only yesterday, October 20th, will be a success. The innovative design which is due to be released in March of 2017 will allow gamers to take all their games with them on the go as well as play them at home. Although a good few fear that the Nintendo Switch will be a flop like its predecessor, the Wii U, others believe it has great potential. There are major concerns with the design elements as well as the practicality of it. One major issue is storage space. One author from Forbes, David Thier writes, “Storage space is already at a premium for full living room consoles like the Xbox One and PS4, and one wonders how much we can squeeze into a portable device. In order to be viable, it’s going to need to comfortably store at least five or so games, and ideally more”. Other issues David has with the Nintendo Switch are the battery life and third party support.
     The real star of gaming is unexpected and quite often overlooked. The best market for videogames today are smartphones. Apps are in constant demand and consumers are buying any and every game that looks moderately interesting. “Finland’s Supercell reported $829 million in revenue last year”, reports Ewan Spence, another Forbes writer.



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