It was more than a decade ago when both Sony and Nintendo dominated the video game industry. It used to be both Sega and Nintendo that dominated the industry, but that was before Sony entered the picture, and quite literally knocked out Sega as a video game hardware manufacturer, leaving them with creating software titles only.
It was because of that incident that led many to believe that the industry was only capable of holding just two major consoles, tops. That changed, however, when Microsoft entered the scene in 2001 with their Xbox. That just proved that the industry was capable of holding more than two gaming systems. This changed everything.
Once this happened, more video games were being created than ever before. So the options, in terms of software titles, had expanded for the consumers. So, the industry was starting to expand. More and more people started to play video games.
Fast forward to today, and we have three gaming consoles to choose from - the great thing is that each system has something different to offer. We have the Xbox 360, which has solid online gaming, with more and more people joining the online community. We have the PS3, which is a really powerful console, and has some really good exclusives. Then, we have the Nintendo Wii, which offers motion-based controls, and has many software titles that the whole family can enjoy.
Because the gap, in terms of hardware, between each new console release has decreased, this means that the consoles of previous generations will still be legit for many people. This means that there is still a lot of life left for those consoles. This is really good for consumers, because now, you can buy a system of interest for very cheap prices. On top of this, the software titles for those specific systems can also be found for very cheap prices. This doesn't even include the used game sections of your local gaming retailers.
So, what is the state of the video game industry? By the looks of it, it's looking really healthy. Also, if you look at the statistics for the past five years, it shows an industry growth, as more and more people are starting to play video games, and people that used to play and stopped, are now re-entering. It's not far from when video games will be looked at as a legit form of entertainment.
Andre Garcia is a fan of the video game industry and has been keeping track of it for over a decade. Check out his guide on
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