14 DAY TRIAL // The handheld gaming market is currently dominated by two Japanese products, Nintendo's DS and Sony's PlayStation Portable. While both may seem pretty similar, meaning that they focus only on gaming, their target markets are very different. While the PSP tries to lure in hardcore gamers with popular titles, the DS is aiming at casual gamers, who want a different type of experience.
That is why the DS has experienced huge sales ever since it was launched. The small dual-screen device has been backed up by Nintendo for quite some time, with first- and second-party games, but also new versions, like the DS Lite and the DSi. But although sales are still very good for the handheld console, a lot of critics have expressed their worries that the market will get saturated in the upcoming period, resulting in the ultimate fall of the DS.
But such a thing isn't true, says Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, who recently revealed the financial earnings of his company. The DS will continue to grow, as the executive predicted a worldwide install base of over 152 million units, even though the current one is at 84 million units. Also, it seems that the Wii has still plenty of room to grow, Iwata comparing it to the PlayStation 2, which recently sold 50 million units in North America alone.
“Especially in the case of DS,” said Iwata, “when you apply this five-year cycle theory to a platform that has been through its 5th holiday season since its 2004 launch, a concern that DS business may slow down in the next fiscal year may appear to be logical at first glance. I don't think it is appropriate to conclude that DS is reaching its final stages on the market and that the market will be saturated in the next fiscal year. With new customers acquired by the gaming population expansion efforts, it is not impossible for Wii's total sales to exceed the final install base of PS2. Wii still has much more room for expansion.”
Iwata sure is confident in his company's two major products, and with the current sales figures still showing growth, that confidence is justified. Hopefully this won't mean that the company will slow down the current development of games and that we will see new and very interesting titles from the Japanese corporation.