"No, of course you don't look silly, dear"

EEDAR VP of Insights Patrick Walker has pointed out that the core home console market is bigger than ever, citing impressive launch sale figures for the PS4 and Xbox One systems.

The news flies in the face of claims that the rise of smartphones and tablets has put the console market in danger. However, sales data points out that both Sony and Microsoft's consoles have outperformed their predecessors.

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The obvious exception is of course Nintendo, with the Wii U struggling to emulate the incredible commercial performance of the original Wii.

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Here's Walker's take on the situation:

The data shows how much the "Wii bubble" contributed to the explosive growth in software sales in 2008, the year the Wii really took off as a family and party device. This data corroborates a broader theme EEDAR has seen across our research - new, shortened gaming experiences that have added diversity to the market, especially mobile, have cannibalized the casual console market, not the core console market. People will find the best platform to play a specific experience, and for many types of experiences, that is still a sofa, controller, and 50 inch flat-screen TV.

Walker's assessment is that "casual" gaming genres have simply shifted over to smartphones and tablets, while "core" franchises - such as shooters and action titles - have become even more entrenched on home consoles.

Nintendo was instrumental in creating the new casual gaming market, and therefore suffered the most when casual players abandoned consoles and switched to smart devices.

While the picture is a glum one for the Wii U, it bodes well for Nintendo's next console, as it proves there is still a considerable appetite for dedicated gaming hardware in the living room. If Nintendo can combine this knowledge with a powerful portable component - as the rumours would suggest, NX will do just that - then it could well return to bumper sales with its next domestic system.

[source gamesindustry.biz]