The Video Game Industry - a Case Analysis

Graham Simpson

9/8/11

Case 1: The Video Game Industry

The video game industry is one that has picked up a lot of steam in the past decade or two, but video games have existed for several decades. Some of the most recent main competitors are Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Before that, there were several others including Sega.

Each of these companies have their own strengths and weaknesses, some shared while others are not. Some of the strengths for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 are compatibility of first generation xbox games giving the system a larger video game catalog, a completely online system that allowed users to buy games, interact with other gamers, watch movies, etc., and a lower price than its most comparable competitor the Sony Playstation 3. The Microsoft Xbox also has its weaknesses though. For example, the Xbox hardware and games are quite expensive to the consumer. Also, their direct competition with Nintendo due to an equally large customer base could be a weakness.

For Sony’s Playstation 3, strengths include integration of the Blu-ray player into the game system, compatibility with previous Playstation 2 console games, and a free online system similar to Microsoft’s Xbox Live that allows gamers to play/buy games, watch movies, interact with other gamers, etc. Some of its weaknesses are recent declines in profits and expensive hardware and games. This might be a little more of a weakness than it is for Microstoft’s Xbox 360 because of Sony’s integrated blu-ray player into each system. The blu-ray player is thought to be the future of the HD-DVD format. Not to mention each blu-ray disc has about five-times the capacity of a normal DVD.

Nintendo is one of the oldest and most successful players in the video game industry dating all the way back from the late 1970’s–early 1980s. Some of its strengths are the uniqueness of its motion detection hardware, its low cost system and games to consumers, and its variety of uses from gaming to fitness. Its...