Media analyst predict that Sony still has a good shot at being the global market leader in the console gaming industry by 2010, despite the negative buzz its PlayStation 3 console often draws. The competition will certainly be closer this time around, but the clout the PlayStation brand name enjoys cannot be discounted.

"While the previous generation was quickly dominated by Sony's PlayStation 2 across all major territories, this time we anticipate a more competitive situation where market share is likely to be split on a territorial basis.

"Xbox 360 has a 12 month advantage, but whilst it has built a strong position in the U.S., it hasn't been able to achieve the traction needed in Japan, and Southern Europe remains a challenge. Nintendo's Wii has attracted an impressive level of third party support relative to its predecessor, but must maintain momentum into 2008 or risk declining levels of publisher support. We believe that a combination of Sony's investment in next generation games content and a strategy to position PS3 at the heart of the broadband enabled, high definition living room will enable it to build the largest global user base by 2010."

Their report cautions that "only a tiny proportion of next generation titles are likely to achieve profitability in the near future", with return-on-investment not likely occuring on next-gen game development until next year. Sony is expected to combat rising costs by doubling the size of many of its 14 internal studios, and focus all but one of them on PS3 software development. Microsoft's own strategy meanwhile is to secure exclusive third party content for its Xbox 360, while Nintendo will continue to push for "game play innovation" over high-def graphics through "accessible hardware and software designed to appeal to a wider range of consumers, such as young women who would not usually consider gaming to be part of their lifestyles."
Screen Digest believes Nintendo could stand cement the merits of the Wii, but it must still prove itself capable of securing the publisher support needed to push the console into the shimmering spotlight alongside their already-proven DS.

"...we need to see publisher support going forward and over 2007, going into 2008, maybe there'll be various tipping points with publisher support on various big exclusives. We've already seen things like Dragon Quest going exclusive on the DS, but if we see those kind of tipping points on the Wii, we'll have to amend our view, clearly. But at the moment, this is the view we're taking.
"This is the massive positive point for the Wii, that it's basically cheaper to develop games for. As to whether more cheaply developed games can continue to drive Wii sales momentum, when you put it against the kind of games pipelines we're seeing for the Xbox 360 and PS3, I would argue that the jury's still out."