Microsoft
Microsoft and Sony introduced their own versions of motion technology this week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. They are meant to erode the novelty that helped Nintendo expand the market and become the top-selling console.
Sonys prototype wand immerses PlayStation 3 players in a three-dimensional field and will be ready for sale by next years U.S. spring. Microsoft didnt say when its technology, whose 3-D cameras do away with the need for an Xbox controller, will be available. Nintendo doesnt intend to go down easily.
“Whether the experience is fun matters, rather than whether the technology or demo appears to be interesting,” Iwata said yesterday in an interview. “Nintendo is the only company which is already providing the customer with the real- life experience.”
Microsoft and Sony have long targeted the game-playing base with graphics-rich experiences — shooting, sword fighting and sports. Nintendo, based in Kyoto, Japan, has outperformed its rivals, selling more than 50 million Wiis compared with more than 30 million Xbox 360s sold and 22.7 million PS3s.
Developers including Electronic Arts Inc. and Ubisoft Entertainment SA have shifted resources to games made exclusively for Nintendos system.
Ditching Buttons
To broaden their audience, Microsoft and Tokyo-based Sony are exploring ways to ditch button-crunching controllers that can discourage non-gamers from learning how to play. The push comes as Wii sales in the U.S., the industrys biggest market, fell for two straight months, the first monthly declines since its introduction in 2006.
The PlayStation 3s stronger processing capacity will keep the machine in the market for at least 10 years, said Kaz Hirai, head of Sonys games division. The motion-sensitive controller is part of a strategy to appeal to a broader audience after first attracting game enthusiasts.
“That is the secret sauce that allows us to have a 10-year life cycle,” Hirai said in an interview. “If you do it the other way around where you appeal to the casual gamer first, then you really dont have a core of the real hard-gaming audience who are really your evangelists.”
No Price Cuts
Sony doesnt have any current plans to cut the $400 price of the PS3, Hirai said. Such a move would spur industry sales, retailers and game developers have said.
“Sony and Microsoft got caught off-guard by Nintendos success,” said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Kirkland, Washington- based Directions on Microsoft. “At the same time, they do a lot of things Nintendo doesnt even attempt to do. Nintendo is a simple gaming device and the Xbox and PS3 have all these entertainment features.”
Microsoft isnt trying to compete against Nintendo, said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of strategy and interactive entertainment. The motion-, face- and voice-recognition software will present new opportunities for game developers, he said.
“This is completely different,” Kim said in an interview. “Its going to appeal to people who dont even respond to Nintendo today.”
Microsoft, Sony
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, rose 33 cents to $21.73 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading yesterday. Nintendo declined 310 yen to 25,480 yen at the midday break in Osaka trading. Sony fell 10 yen to 2,645 yen in Tokyo.
The moves by its competitors should sharpen Nintendos thinking on what to manufacture after the Wii, said Paul Jackson, an analyst with Forrester Research Inc. The consoles appeal as an alternative to button controllers could diminish if Sony and Microsoft are successful, he said.
Nintendo is working on a new console and will be ready to introduce it whenever game developers say they can no longer improve games for the Wii, Iwata said. “None of our developers is making that kind of complaint.”