Industry News | More Next-Gen Analyst Prediction

Yet more analysts have put their thinking caps on, rolled their magic balls in their professional posse and predicted the future of the gaming industry yet again. Consulting firm Strategy Analytics have released a study entitled "Games Consoles for the Digital Home Assessing the Prospects for PS3, Xbox 360 and Revolution." The report details their predictions for who will dominate the industry, which won't along with some startlingly precise figures to back the claims.

Whilst the report and statistics presented by the company are predictions and again have the element of bias, the results are an interesting read. The reports suggest an early and successful start for Microsoft's Xbox 360, the first new console circulating the globe. Whilst perhaps not so groundbreaking in Japan and Asia, the 360 is said to take a lot more presence than rivals Sony and Nintendo would hope. "Microsoft's Xbox 360 will present a serious challenge to Sony's dominance of the games console market." Whilst the hype for Microsoft's next machine is evident in the online and offline community, the first option doesn't necessarily do the best as "the PlayStation 3 (PS3) will eventually pull ahead if Sony ensures that its online experience matches that of the Xbox 360, and that its Cell processor technology meets its full potential to transform gaming into a near-video quality experience."

As for the various percentages of market shares, the report predicts:

Sony Playstation 3: 121.8m (60.9%)

Microsoft Xbox 360: 58.8m (29.4%)

Nintendo Revolution: 18m (~9%)

From their release until 2012, i.e. seven years approximately 200m next-generation consoles are said to be sold with ~ $47billion retail revenue. Without much official information or consumer testing for all three consoles, the figures are bound to shift, especially with Nintendo having not fully revealed their next generation offering.