Video Game Console
Market Study
Jon Peddie Research
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Video Game Console Market Study
Table of Contents
Console gaming hardware market ...............................................................................4 Microsoft ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Nintendo......................................................................................................................................... 6 Sony ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Steamy with a touch of Linux ........................................................................................................ 8 Android Based Consoles .............................................................................................................. 10 Amazon Fire TV .......................................................................................................................... 10 Nvidia Shield ............................................................................................................................... 11 Ouya, Gamestick, GamePop, and Madcatz Mojo ........................................................................ 13 Ouya ......................................................................................................................................... 14 Gamestick ................................................................................................................................ 15 MadCatz Mojo ......................................................................................................................... 15 Gamepop .................................................................................................................................. 15 Other Consoles ............................................................................................................................. 15 Playstation Vita TV.................................................................................................................. 15 Nvidia Shield ........................................................................................................................... 16 Comcast X1 DVR .................................................................................................................... 17 Console shipments ....................................................................................................................... 17 Console introductions .................................................................................................................. 18 Consoles vs. PCs ........................................................................................................19 Price advantage with Consoles .................................................................................................... 21 Exploitable visual magic features ................................................................................................ 22 Multiple and S3D displays ........................................................................................................... 22 Gesture input ................................................................................................................................ 22 Development costs ....................................................................................................................... 22 The triad ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Environmental issues ................................................................................................................... 24 Installed base................................................................................................................................ 24 What do we think? ....................................................................................................................... 25 Consoles vs. mobile devices ......................................................................................25 Appendix ....................................................................................................................26 Hardware Feature Comparison .................................................................................................... 26 Page ii of 31
Copyright 2014 Jon Peddie Research
Video Game Console Market Study
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Magnavox-Odyssey game console circa 1978 ................................................................... 4 Figure 2: The market for non-PC gaming machines .......................................................................... 5 Figure 3: Microsoft Xbox One ........................................................................................................... 6 Figure 4: Nintendo Wii U .................................................................................................................. 7 Figure 5: Sony PS4 ............................................................................................................................ 8 Figure 6: Steam box with controller .................................................................................................. 9 Figure 7: Valve CEO Gabe Newell shows list of Steam box suppliers ............................................. 9 Figure 8: Amazon Fire TV with controller ...................................................................................... 11 Figure 9: Sony’s PS Vita TV (Sony) ............................................................................................... 16 Figure 10: Console market over time............................................................................................... 18 Figure 11: Comparison of GPU performance between consoles and PCs over time ...................... 20 Figure 12: Total GFLOPS comparison of all Consoles and gaming PCs for 20 years .................... 21 Figure 13: Elements of a game development ................................................................................... 23 Figure 14: Comparison of installed base ......................................................................................... 24 Table of Tables
Table 1: Life-to-date of the gen 8 console shipments (Company data) ............................................. 8 Table 2: Cumulative sales of consoles ............................................................................................. 19 Page iii of 31
Copyright 2014 Jon Peddie Research
Video Game Console Market Study
Console gaming hardware market
Magnavox’s Odyssey ,introduced in 1972 ,is generally considered to be the first commercially
available home video game console, a device that could be connected to a TV (to use it as a
display) and a game played on it.
Figure 1: Magnavox-Odyssey game console circa 1978
The Odyssey is the first digital gaming console. However, the Odyssey used hard-wired logic
and was not programmable. The games were supplied in a cartridge and when introduced came
with six games (cartridges).
Since then seven new generations of consoles have been introduced, as well as handheld devices.
Arcades, which prompted the idea for a home gaming machine, have steadily declined.
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Copyright 2014 Jon Peddie Research
Video Game Console Market Study
Figure 2: The market for non-PC gaming machines
The recession and ageing generation seven consoles dragged down the market. With the eighth
generation consoles introduced, there is renewed interest from gamers; however, this interest
comes when the casual side of the console user base has turned to mobile devices. It is likely the
number of users will never reach the levels of generation seven. Also the new consoles won’t be
more advanced than the PC as they were in the past and so we expect the PC will take market
and mind share from the console gaming segment. These concepts are discussed further on in
this market study.
Microsoft
Microsoft entered the console in late 2001 with the Xbox. It was a sixth-generation class device,
competing with Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast (which stopped American sales before
the Xbox went on sale), and the Nintendo GameCube. About 25 million were sold. Microsoft
discontinued production of the Xbox in 2007.
In 2005, Microsoft introduced the Xbox 360, a seventh generation device to compete with Sony's
PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.
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Copyright 2014 Jon Peddie Research