14 DAY TRIAL // Part of Screen Digest's new Games Bulletin service is a report saying that Nintendo's Wii will triumph during the winter holiday season too. Ever growing publisher support, as well as the high number of exclusive titles, are said to be the main reasons behind the Wii's expected success. Figures never lie and this is how things look for the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 this holiday season.
According to Next-Gen.biz, the report mentions that publisher commitment is clearly shifting Nintendo's way, with a total of 86 titles due out in Q4, while the Xbox 360 has 47 lined up for release, leaving Sony's PlayStation 3 at the bottom of the list with a mere 38 games due out by the end of Q4. But what ensures the Wii's ongoing success are actually its exclusive titles. According to the reporting website, "a quarter of the Wii releases will be platform exclusives."
Another reason why both publishers and developers are stampeding in bringing their stuff onto Nintendo's system is because it's so easy to work with. Developers claim that costs for making Wii games are relatively low, while the development process itself is much easier than with other platforms.
Here's how Ed Barton, Screen Digest Games analyst and author of the first Games Bulletin, sees things for Nintendo's rivals: "Sony's release schedule lacks the firepower to command consumer attention during this crucial trading quarter and it is difficult to see how the catalogue will drive hardware sales in such a competitive environment."
He goes on explaining that even though "Halo 3 commanded the attention of the mass market" they still "expect Super Mario Galaxy for Wii to continue the process of educating the consumer as to the benefits of the current generation of home consoles."
As things couldn't have looked worse for Sony this time of the year, the Screen Digest Games analysis claims that the company has little chance to fend off rivals, having just one option left - reducing the platform's price: "While Wii and Xbox 360 are likely to look back on 2007 with some satisfaction, the same cannot be said for PS3. Given the platform's release schedule this Christmas, it is not a surprise that Sony is focusing on lowering the cost of entry to PS3 platform to maintain parity with its rivals this Christmas."
It's not really something you wouldn't have expected. How can Nintendo possibly lose to its rivals when they've provided developers with an easy platform to make games for and implicitly provided the consumer population with a cheap and easy way of having fun?