Week 3 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

The video game industry has gone through many changes in the last decade but none more so than games available on iphones, ipads and android devices. “Last year, Flurry reported that iPhone and iPod touch game sales surged from 2008 to 2009. From a standing start, and in just one year, iPhone games captured 5% of the mature U.S. video game market.”( http://blog.flurry.com). This makes mobile devices stars in the BCG Growth-Share Matrix.
In the console market Nintendo’s Wii had a bad year compared to Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox. “In the year to the end of Q1 2011 Nintendo’s Wii accounted for 37.8% of the value of Internet home console sales. Its share has declined significantly over the year, losing to Sony Playstation and – more dramatically Microsoft’s xBox.” (http://itcandor.net/2011/06/09/gaming-console-forecast-q211/). I believe that the Wii is currently a cash cow but is in danger of becoming a dog.
Sony’s PS3 has been a steady player in the market staying ahead of Microsoft’s Xbox making it a strong cash cow. "The PS3 is dominant in Japan and Korea, and as of June 2008, has begun to outsell the Xbox 360 in Europe. It is also steadily increasing its market share in all other regions across the globe, including in the North American market". (http://www.industrygamers.com/news/ps3-steadily-increasing-market-share-across-the-globe/).
Xbox had a spurt of growth last year and actually out performed the PS3. “Xbox has been able to gain market share despite competition from Sony’s PS3 as well as Nintendo’s Wii and DS. We expect Microsoft will continue to gain share driven by competitive pricing of its console compared to PS3, and popularity of its Halo games. The growth will however be slower than observed in the recent past due to fierce competition among top video gaming industry players.” (http://www.trefis.com/stock/msft/articles/35039/xbox-market-share-could-continue-growth-trend-but-limited-stock-upside-for-msft/2011-01-19). This may move it from being a dog back into the cash cow category.