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Since when has there had to be one player in a market? I love the argument that Xbox will have to fail because Sony just has "such a big lead."
Oh, maybe they'll win because they've got so many games! And Xbox isn't catching up, cherry picking the best franchises first? Or will PS remain dominant just because it's got GTA? I don't think so. Next year's e3 will have more GTA clones than you can shake a stick at. One or two of them could well be better than the original formula.
Personally, I'd happily settle for the number two position in the *world's biggest industry* (outside porn).
What we are seeing here are the early rounds of a much bigger fight. It's all about content, managing content, and having an enveloping relationship with users in their homes.
Sony makes a good games machine, but does it have the power to compete with MS in the bigger game? Not if you look at their stock charts.
There's no way Microsoft will pull out of this race. If they do, they know they'll lose all credibility and never be allowed back in.
Nintendo is the fall guy here. There's no strategic medium-term power there at all, and a plethora of small handheld devices (like mobile phones) will continue to whittle away at their control over the kids' market.
....oh but wait a second, there *is* an example of one company actually dominating a market!
...Ever heard of Windows? My money is on Microsoft, and frankly the world could use the competition rather than tolerating a Japanese duopoly.
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