Despite the fact that the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have begun selling out at various retailers, indicating consumers' excitement over the next-gen, a research firm believes neither will match the sales success of their predecessors.
ABI Resarch expects combined Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U unit sales to reach 133 million within the first five years of launch — down 5% from the 140 million unit sales for previous console editions.
“Without solid titles and first-party franchises, platforms will have a difficult time finding traction. Streaming media is not enough when low-cost STBs are readily available,” said Sam Rosen, practice director with ABI. “While we don’t anticipate a drop-off in game console households, barring significant changes to less developed console markets in Asia and Latin America there isn’t a great deal of growth opportunity beyond the current installed base.”
Senior analyst Michael Inouye added, “With many of the casual gaming segment embracing mobile devices for gaming, without a shift in strategy and pricing the Wii U will likely fail to match the success of the Wii, which will impact future console shipments."
The research firm believes the new consoles "push to market online video access… is undermined by the availability of cheaper streaming devices from Roku, Netgear, WD, Apple and Seagate, among others."
Personally, I think the next-gen consoles will do just fine in comparison. What ABI fails to mention are the other new features of next-gen systems — an emphasis on the social aspects of gaming, a larger shift towards digital, the ominous cloud, things of that nature. And that's not even including the upgraded visuals and hopefully more innovative gameplay. Yes, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will be just fine; the Wii U on the other hand… wellllll…..
