Console game
The so-called console game is generally understood as a professional game console. Now there are three people left, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.
(This definition is not very accurate. In fact, in addition to playing games, current game consoles can also watch movies and surf the Internet)
According to statistics from Niko Partners, there were fewer than 11 million console game users in China in 2019. It is incomparable with Japan, Europe and the United States. Annual revenue of 6.5 billion, accounting for nearly 0.7% of the game industry revenue. And this data includes parallel imports. The sales volume of parallel imports is more than twice that of the licensed ones (the annual sales volume of parallel imports is 1.18 million units, and the annual sales volume is 460,000 units).
But globally, the console game market share is 32%. Mobile and PC are 45% and 23%.
Therefore, almost all masterpieces on the PC platform have a host version. In other words, many games have a console version before a PC version.
Therefore, the first question to ask is, why is there such a thing as a game console? With a computer and a mobile phone, why do I need a game console?
Actually it is not surprising. Just like there is a PC, Mac can also exist. Where there is a general market, there is a professional market. The console designed for games is cheaper, more durable, more convenient, and better optimized for games (think about the compatibility issues of previous Windows for games, in fact, most people really can't figure it out). What's more, the game console market was formed earlier than the PC game market, and there are historical factors. Before the iPhone came out, there were no competitors in the handheld market.
But in China, the mainframe has not been developed. In the early years, the country did not introduce them, and all imported goods were parallel imports. After 13 years of letting go, computers have already become popular, unlike Japan, Europe and the United States, where mainframes were popularized earlier than computers. Although the console has been introduced, the number of games approved for listing is pitiful. For example, in 2019, only 23 console games in China received version numbers. Among them, 9 domestic games and 14 imported games were reviewed. PS4 has 13 games, Xbox has 8 games, Switch has only 1 game, and NVIDIA Shield has 1 game reviewed. Buying a Switch, only one new game will be released a year, are you kidding me? And also locked the area, forcing players to buy parallel imports.
Therefore, console game players in China are definitely hardcore players. And it is concentrated in first- and second-tier cities (more sinking markets, fewer opportunities to contact the host). Personally, it should be mainly male.
In the early years, the mainframe can be divided into two categories: home and handheld. With the powerful functions of mobile phones, the handheld market has gradually shrunk. Except for Nintendo, Sony has given up (in fact, it has been beaten by 3DS and Switch). Microsoft has never really done it. The era of PSP in the subway is gone forever.
In the home console market, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft stand out as a tripartite. Nintendo has the highest playability, Sony has the best performance, and Microsoft Car Gun Ball. Atari, Sega, SNK, and 3Do have all worked before, but unfortunately they all failed. Atari, SNK, and 3Do all broke their own games. Sega had to merge with Sammy, a Pachinko manufacturer.
The evolution table of the hosts in the past generations is as follows: The
above information source: Laoshoucun web game http://www.laoshoucun.com/ web game network
In addition to these mainstream manufacturers, the first game console invented by Ralph Baer, Odyssey, Ping-Pong, VES, Atari 2600 developed by Atari in the Age of Enlightenment, and Channel F developed by Fairchild in the Age of Enlightenment, 3Do developed by 3Do (contemporary of N64), NEOGEO developed by SNK (contemporary of SFC), NEOGEO CD (contemporary of N64), and NEOGEO 64 (contemporary of NGC), have also caused a ripple.
In terms of handhelds, Nintendo is Game&Watch (1980) → GB (1989) → GBA (2001) → DS (2004) → 3DS (2011) → Switch Lite (2019)
Sony is PSP (corresponding to DS) → PSV (corresponding to 3DS)
SNK also developed the handheld NEOGEO Pocket (corresponding to GB), but it did not cause waves at all.
(By 2020/9, PS4 sales have reached 113M, Switch 65M, Xbox one 48M)
It can be seen that Sony is very strong in the home machine market. Except for Wii, Xbox360 and the PS3 (Sony’s most failed generation), which can barely fight, other generations of consoles, Sony is far ahead.
Of course, in the handheld market, Nintendo is a crushing existence. The most sellable PSP has only half the sales of the DS at the same time.
At present, Sony and Microsoft's consoles are launched almost at the same time, and Nintendo is 3 years away from them (almost half a console cycle).
Game console manufacturers basically sell hardware at a loss, relying on software commissions (30% for all three, including licensing fees) to make money. Therefore, there are so-called first-party developers (own subsidiaries), second-party developers (associated/participated companies that only develop exclusive games for one platform), and third-party developers (independent companies that develop games for platforms, exclusive or Non-exclusive).
It is not easy for Nintendo to rely on games to be on par with Sony, a big business, and Microsoft, which is not bad for money.