Week 2 BCG Video Games

According to the Boston Consulting Group video gaming products fit into 4 separate quadrants (Star, Question Mark, Cash Cow, Dog). Apple continues to position itself within the marketplace, with the introduction of the new iPad petite. The petite version even with its higher price point of it’s closet competitors will continue to dominate within the marketplace based on Brand and reliability. The Apple brand is so strong that consumers will overlook the shortcomings that have recently plagued the new Iphone5." Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu claims that a release of a petite version of the iPad by Apple could be "the competition's worst nightmare". http://www.zdnet.com/ipad-mini-will-be-competitions-worst-nightmare-says-analyst-7000005557/ There shouldn’t be any surprises that as consumers enjoy the new free games that are found on portable devices within the marketplace that this is causing undue competition to games that typically would cost from $15-$70. The decline of profits within other players in the marketplace is already being felt. Former industry gaming leaders Xbox 360 Microsoft Corp. says it sold 1.1 million Xbox 360 consoles, down from 1.7 million a year earlier, in what it calls a soft console market. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/video-games-industry-faring-205534711.html . Nintendo Co. says it sold 710,000 Wii units in the April-June quarter, down from 1.56 million a year ago." Nintendo is coming out with a successor, the Wii U, this year. It is forecasting 10.5 million units for the full fiscal year, which ends in March 2013". http://finance.yahoo.com/news/video-games-industry-faring-205534711.html The creation of Facebook has also taken time from gamers who would normally be spending their free time playing video games they now are spending time chatting, looking at pictures, liking and friending those whom they have come in contact with. Socializing on social networks sites have also played a part in the demise of video games and the interaction that gamers would spend on those games is now taken up by networking time.