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IDC says 2 million netbooks sold in Europe, Middle East and Africa in Q3
We've seen plenty of evidence of netbooks' impact on computer round here (like the image above), and market research firm IDC has now found that the situation is much the same in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (otherwise known to market research-types as EMEA), and it has some numbers to back it up. According to the firm, it estimates that there were more than two million netbooks sold in the EMEA market during the third quarter of 2008, which is a hefty chunk (more than 7%) of the 27.9 million laptops and desktops sold during the same time period. Of those, IDC found that ASUS and Acer had corned a hefty 80% of the market, with broadband-equipped netbooks offered by cellphone carriers also helping to boost those two companies in particular. Not surprisingly, it only sees things going up from here, and it estimates that sales could potentially double to a full four million in the fourth quarter of this year.[Via Register Hardware]
Wii success may lead to cheaper next-gen?
Looks like the popularity of the Wii might not be beneficial to just Nintendo, as industry insiders are beginning to think that it would be the one to pave the way for console manufacturers to adopt a similar strategy in the future. With the big fancy features of the PS3 and Xbox 360, Sony and Microsoft have been losing out on dough from sales since day one. But, the same cannot be said for Nintendo. They've been making profit since they sold their first Wii.And others may follow suit in the next generation of gaming. At least, analyst Billy Pidgeon with IDC thinks so, as he commented to Next-Gen that "the results of this cycle will have a strong influence on the next cycle, in that cheaper consoles will be expected." He goes on further to say "Microsoft and Sony will attain successful business on this generation, but catering to the early adopter hardcore gamers with a technology leader strategy will be difficult in 2011."Any way you look at it, Nintendo proved playing is believing and showed that graphics aren't all there is to a successful game. No matter what we see come the next generation of gaming, we think Nintendo's success here, and now, is going to have a big impact on it. Until then, we'll just get back to playing No More Heroes.[Via CVG]
Lies, damn lies, and marketshare statistics
There are two conflicting reports on US marketshare out from Gartner and IDC. While both agree that Apple has moved solidly into the #3 slot in US marketshare (behind Dell and HP), they disagree about the actual numbers. Gartner gives Apple 8.1% of the US market with an estimate of 1.3 million Macs shipped, while IDC has our favorite fruit company at 6.3% with 1.1 million Macs shipped. Whatever the exact numbers it's clear that Apple is on the move and Dell is falling. With the Leopard launch right around the corner you've got to think that the bean counters in Cupertino are anticipating fourth quarter sales with glee.[via electronista]
Apple rockin' up the US marketshare charts
Lest we forget in all the iPhone hoopla, Apple does still make computers, and they've been moving them too. According to IDC, In the second quarter Apple moved into a virtual third place tie with Gateway at 5.6% of the US market (though Gateway did ship about 5000 more units). The particularly good news is that Apple's shipments grew 26% year over year versus 7.2% growth for the industry as a whole. Other "small" vendors did well also, however, with Toshiba and Acer posting even more impressive growth numbers than Apple. Nonetheless, considering the relative lack of hardware bumps on the Mac line this year, these kind of numbers must warm hearts in Cupertino.[via Engadget]
Sony won't lose money on PSP, says analyst
Prices for PSP have been dropping worldwide, and some have been asking why the price drop wasn't more significant. According to IDC's Billy Pidgeon, Sony will never price the system lower than its manufacturing cost. Unlike PS3, which Sony sells at a loss, PSP will bring profit for the publisher. "[Sony] will continue to lower price as they gain economies of scale, but it's not likely that the company will price below its marginal cost of production to move a few more units."The price drop should not be seen as a move of desperation as some people have been painting it. It's undeniable that PSP sales have been lacking compared to the DS. However, comparisons between the two simply are not apt: "I don't think Sony will 'beat' the DS, nor do I think that they aspire to do so." Pidgeon blames the media for encouraging the PSP-DS debate, a crime which we can admit to. "Games for the two devices are different, and the gaming experience is quite different. I think that the only people who care about the DS-PSP sales battle are the media."[Via GI.biz]
Until 2008, Wii shall outsell everyone else
Hah! What a fantastic subject line. Man, using Nintendo's new console as a pun never gets tired. You know what else never gets tired? Analrapists Analysts. Another Arrested Development reference for you (insert smiley face). They can say something, then another one will say something else and people will listen. Sort of. Anyway, this market analysis comes from market research firm IDC and it sounds pretty believable, if not something we could have conjectured based on common sense.The firm released these statements: "IDC believes hardware shipments of Nintendo's Wii will capture a little more than a third of the worldwide market by 2008, rising slightly above Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360...Nintendo is the only one of the three manufacturers working to grow its accessible market for its hardware and software by broadening its audience beyond the traditional market." They go on to talk about how the hardcore market is split between Microsoft and Sony -- that market is smaller, too. Obviously. This all makes sense, really. The Wii is definitely being reported as the "it" item not just for gamers but for those outside the typically targeted demographic. It may lose some steam after next year, but by that time it might have a huge lead over the other systems. What do you guys think?
Finally, someone predicts a Wii win
It looks like the analysts are coming down on our side at last. IDC, a research firm based out of Massachusetts, has come out in favor of a Wii lead over the next two years. This talk of Sony and Microsoft fighting it out over the core market while Nintendo works (successfully) to expand that market sounds like a lot of those reports we heard last year -- the reports that were predicting another third place finish from Nintendo. The wild card? No one knew exactly how successful the Wii would be at breaking into new markets, and when it comes to the analysts, it looks like that success is turning the tide back in favor of Nintendo.
