Console transition blues? Blame the Germans

Next Generation's Colin Campbell has a lot of blame to dole out for the lousy state the game industry is in due to the shortages, delays, and generally dull titles filling the market right now. First to finger? Sony's Phil Harrison. Next up? The Germans.

The Germans? Well, Colin dishes out that foreign fault because a German manufacturer supposedly screwed up the component outsourcing that held up 360 production all around the world, which caused financial shortfalls for publishers (and more than a little disappointment for gamers) in the process. Phil Harrison gets the nod because his dreamy E3 presentation for the PS3 only served to exacerbate the drop in current-gen (including PS2) sales while next-gen consoles got delayed or released in all-too-limited numbers. Bad Phil!

Of course, those poor publishing execs get a bit of blame, too, as do used-game stores, developers, investors, members of the press, and other Sony creations like Blu-ray and the PSP. Nintendo is considered, but then dropped as Mr. Campbell couldn't "think of a single reason to blame" the Big N. (Wait, so the DS and DS lite shortages don't count then? Well, they are popular....) In the end, playing the blame game can be both productive (in nudging publishers, manufacturers, and media to do the right thing), and utterly repugnant (as when executives refuse to take responsibility and online flame wars rage unchecked). So does an article like this count as sharp analysis or another instance of passing the buck?

[Image taken from a Peoria Oktoberfest photo album located here]