”This could be the time for the [PS3] to shine,” says DFC Intelligence, business analysts. We’ve all come to this conclusion with the drastic revamp of system and price point, but the more startlingly disclosure by the analysts is perhaps something we had in the back our minds; just no one has said. The Wii paved the way for a PlayStation 3 comeback.

 ”The video game [sic] console market is a marathon, not a sprint. Keeping a game platform around for the long term is an ongoing and difficult task. The main danger Sony faced was that the Xbox 360 would become embedded as the system of choice. Instead consumers flocked to the Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360 had solid sales, but they have not been enough to give Microsoft anywhere near a breakout market position,” said DFC.

 In other words, Xbox didn’t sell enough to edge out the PlayStation completely. The Wii market is saturated, so who’s on first now? Perhaps what is really startlingly is not this cause and effect, but rather how saturated the Wii market became; and how that will undeniably affect all of the big three. Sony must be smiling, however, that every child has a Wii. Now those same children with a PlayStation 2 are nipping at their folk’s wallets. “People who purchase a PS2 are more likely to purchase a PS3 in the future. Consumers, believe it or not, are pretty loyal,” contends DFC. Now the PlayStation 3 is within their reach, costing half of an initial launch model. Was the original price point a tease while Mario bounced back?

 Finally, the report says Nintendo and Microsoft are preaching to the choir this holiday season. “There is nothing new for these systems that would attract users that have not already purchased the system.” In contrast, the PlayStation 3 offers a high-spec Blu-ray player and has quickly ratcheted up its first party software support to coincide with the price cut.

 While DFC does not mention Sony’s upcoming motion controls, surely they owe a debt to the Wii as well. Nintendo’s Wii made motion controls a household affair, and now Sony may well need to thank the brand. “Now is the time for Sony to shine…or else.”

Read the DFC report here

Even with a temporary spike in Wii sales, the PlayStation 3 continues to overrun the Wii in Japan. Nintendo stock remains static as other troubling financial news points to Nintendo’s short-term failure at hitting back against an overly saturated market with a late-in-the-game price cut. One could argue price points do not matter in Japan and a spike in sales means the whole affair was a success. However, everything behind the scenes paints a different picture. The company’s projections are poor, even with time to let the price cut matter state-side. It seems the money-men aren’t buying a Wii price cut as a cure-all to recession and saturation woes.

On the back of last week’s headlines railing Wii sales; there is the silent intrigue of stocks and analysts’ predictions, and the loud booming of week-to-week console wars. While sales have increased, the price cuts for the other machines have netted gains and assembly fine-tuning that far outweighs the Wii console’s current sombre performance. Nintendo had its 12-month share price estimate cut to 29,000 yen from 40,000 yen by Morgan Stanley analyst Masahiro Ono, speaking to Bloomberg news. Annual profit looks to lessen for the first time in six years due to the fall of Wii console sales and a stronger yen.  Net income at Nintendo could lessen 11 percent to 249 billion yen (£1.6 billion) this year, the first drop since March 2004.

Even with a two-year low in PlayStation 3 sales, the price-cut helped bounce the global video game market’s month-to-month slump. Sony’s US$100 price cut boosted the U.S. video game market, ending a six month decline in revenue. Console price cuts all the way around boosted sales, but Nintendo lags behind their success. The addition of motion-control cameras and Wii remote-like devices to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 may leave Nintendo in the dust-bin, at least by the numbers.

Nintendo’s shares have lost a quarter of their value over the past year.  The high tech quality of the Wii console’s rivals could force Nintendo to re-evaluate their hardware decisions. Analyst Yusuke Tsunoda, of Tokai Tokyo Securities, said the Wii has sold so well, that it may take a totally new machine to boost Nintendo sales. “The price cut on the PlayStation 3 was effective because people are getting a high spec Blu-ray disc player for a good price,” he said to AFN news. Tsunoda wonders if Nintendo’s software announcements will be enough for the Wii to pick up the pace.

Nintendo faces a lot of challenges in the months ahead; a strengthening yen, a saturated market, effective rival price cuts, and a global slowdown that has especially hit their biggest market, the United States. Nintendo faces a double-edged sword with holiday sales, boom or bust. Nintendo still contends the industry is recession proof, but perhaps they’re just fooling themselves.

The PS3 Slim looks like it could be a big hit for Sony

It looks like Sony have scored a hit with the new PS3 Slim. Sales in Japan are up to over 150,000 during the week ending 6^th September. (Source Eurogamer) With sales of only 1,040 the previous week, it looks like gamers were holding off until the much rumoured release of the Slim PS3 model, before parting with their hard earned cash.

Sales in the US and UK were equally buoyant with US sales apparently up 300% and the UK up a staggering 999% over the previous week.

In similar news the Xbox 360 got a 43% boost last week due to the price cut on the Elite model of the console.

So it’s all good news going into the holiday season. It remains to be seen whether Nintendo will follow the lead of the HD console manufacturers with a similar price cut.