Everyone seems to have their own next-generation console predictions and the Yankee Group is no different. Most analysts’ predictions seem to be pointing the same way: a lead for the PlayStation 3, though dramatically reduced from the nearly 4-to-1 lead the PS2 has over the Xbox and Nintendo GCN separately this generation. This particular company believes that the market will narrow overall, with fewer consoles sold this coming generation than the current 128-bit generation.
“Microsoft will put significant price pressure on Sony during the PS3’s lifecycle. In addition to starting at a lower price than the PS3, Microsoft is well positioned to make a large price cut in the spring of 2007 and each year thereafter–putting significant price pressure on Sony,” the report says. They dismiss Nintendo’s Wii as a third place console, concluding that the Wii will come in with 16% market share in North America at 11 million units, compared to 30 million PS3s at 44% and 27 million Xbox 360s at 40%, several million more than the total number of units sold globally for the Xbox.
