Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

There is a wide division in the world of video games as to which system is better or which company has the better games. In the realm of marketing we do not care about the fan boys crazed expression of how much they love killing noobs or how many points they have. We care about who is making the most money and who is selling the best. Let's start with the Nintendo Wii, a very intuitive and interactive system that goes beyond the controller. With its price being lower than Sony's and Microsoft's it made the new console an easy grab for lower budget individuals. Including it's "completely backwards compatible with the GameCube (GC), with four ports to connect your GC controllers, stylishly hidden for convenience. You can play your GC games using the 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube discs, and you can also use your old GC memory cards in the two memory card slots." (http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500397_162-2198343.html) I would put this in the category of Cash Cow because of its ability to go forward and backward with the change in video game times. Next is Sony's PS3; offering a more extreme gamer experience than the Wii and competing with the Xbox 360. With HD graphics and a built in blue ray player it is definitely ready for anything. Also the PS3 has a large step up from the Xbox in it's " access a wide variety of content through Sony's PlayStation Network." (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2411732,00.asp) which is also FREE!!! I would rate the PS3 as also a Cash Cow in that it is still relevant with tech that is still used today. Finally Microsoft's Xbox 360 is up on the stand. With its impressive addition of the Kinect competing with the Wii and lots of games that aren't available on PS3 the Xbox is a hard console to beat. Although its system still has "the infamous "red ring of death" controversy has plagued the system since its launch. The defect can be traced to the system's inability to properly dissipate heat, which in turn renders some of the vital innards unusable." (http://reviews.cnet.com/consoles/microsoft-xbox-360-s/4505-10109_7-34118625.html) I will also rate this system....wait for it....a cash cow in that it is similar to the PS3 in that it is still indeed relevant. There is a very narrow market for video game consoles, they eventually put themselves all on the same platform and no one is beating out the others.