gaming consoles decline :: chipmakers in trouble?

[gerbick]

warning: geek news...

And after years of sizzling growth, the game-console market is projected to be flat in 2003, with a 10 percent decline in 2004, according to a new report from iSuppli Corp. of El Segundo, Calif. This could have a negative impact on several chip makers that sell into the game-console market, such as ATI, Cirrus Logic, Conexant, Focus, IBM, and Nvidia, according to the report.

read the story here

[pooon]

An easy fix to that problem would be to have companies stop churning out crappy games.

[CNO]

Wow, could that article be full of any more rhetoric and FUD?

There will be a slowdown in console sales, as is to be expected in the period right before a new set of systems launches. Don't forget that we have systems like the N-Gage and Phantom coming out shortly - surely someone is developing the internals for those.

Flat gowth means steady sales, in an industry that is booming.

This guy is practically declaring the implosion of the entire video games industry - which is currently more profitable than movies and music.

[gerbick]

It's happened once. Remember Atari's glut into the market? Same can be said about all of that cannon fodder that Acclaim put out not too long ago.

Right about now, I agree with portions of that article. Especially after seeing how Nvidia and Microsoft fought over profits and what not for a while pertaining the Xbox.

anyway, it's no more FUD than the "everything is gonna be ok" hype at Nintendo.

[CNO]

From that perspective, I think a bigger threat to the current marketplace is the flooding of the market with cross-platform titles, which lowers overall quality (like when the same games were being developed for Atari 2600, Intellivision, Colecovision).

There's lots of cash flowing into videogames right now, tho, so I don't see it faltering like the pre-NES crash. Crappy colsoles (a la the Phantom) will just drop out of the market the same way systems like the 3D0 and NUON have.

The slowdown may affect some chipmakers, yes. ATI will be hurt more by the slowdown than Nintendo, but Nvidia just got socked in the nose by the "no way Sony would allow anyone else to develop the PS3 graphics chip" denial of rumors floating that they would.

I can't re-emphasize often enough that Nintendo is the only console company currently turning a profit.

[gerbick]

what was that game that had the strippers on BMX bikes?

I blame that.

[CNO]

Originally posted by gerbick
what was that game that had the strippers on BMX bikes?

I blame that.

BMX XXX. No relation to the Vin Diesel movie, not that that would have made it any better or worse. Distributed by Acclaim.

Acclaim claimed earlier this year that they no longer plan on making games for the Gamecube. I'd like that in writing, just to make it official.

Remember all those great Acclaim and LJN games from way back when? Or the recent spate of brilliant stuff coming out of Acclaim? No? Neither do I.

[PAlexC]

Originally posted by CNO
Crappy colsoles (a la the Phantom) will just drop out of the market the same way systems like the 3D0 and NUON have.

I own a Nuon enhanced dvd player.

[CNO]

Originally posted by PAlexC
I own a Nuon enhanced dvd player.

I was developing a community web site for them way back when. It had potential, but failed premise and no developer support. Kind of like the Phillips CDi.

Had a cool logo, tho.