Recently Peter Moore of Microsoft and Phil Harrison of Sony both recommended the Wii as the companion of choice to either the XBox 360 or the Sony Playstation 3. This has left questions in everyones’ minds as to what Sony and Microsoft are doing, recommending people buy one of “the competitors”. Why recommend someone that could likely take away your marketshare?
The answer is just that – they both can’t afford Nintendo to be part of their marketshare. By Nintendo being considered “a companion” to the Microsoft or Sony consoles, it may no longer be considered in the minds of the consumer as a possible “competitor” to Sony or Microsoft, making the market share 50/50 instead of 33/33/33. This means more money for both companies, and in theory, less money for Nintendo, as people will think of Sony or Microsoft as their “Main Console”.
Now, the main question lies on how Nintendo approaches this moving forward. If approached right, Nintendo could turn this to their advantage, selling the Nintendo as “a companion” to the Sony or Microsoft consoles, focusing on the game elements. This will get them in the game for future competition. Then, once that is accomplished, they should produce a competing “media console” similar to the PS3 or XBox 360 that benefits the consumer when used in conjunction with the Wii. Nintendo will say “Wii” all the way home when Sony and Microsoft get the last laugh. Nintendo – are you listening?
