Sales of Sony's upcoming PS4 console are expected to "edge out" those of Microsoft's Xbox One this holiday season, mainly because of the PS4's lower price.
A new report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that, overall, the number of console bundles shipped worldwide in 2013 will be marginally higher than the 2012 total of approximately 33 million bundles, ending a four-year slide that began in 2009.
According to the analyst group, prepaid full-game, micro-game, and add-on download revenue from connected console channels (Xbox LIVE, PlayStation Store and eShop) will beat that of worldwide PC-based prepaid full-game, micro-game and add-on download sales from digital PC games distributed through companies including Steam, Origin, and Amazon.com for the first time this year.
Connected console subscription revenue is also rising this year, largely from Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus, while subscription-based PC game revenue from the likes of MMOs such as World of Warcraft is in decline.
Lewis Ward, IDC's gaming research manager, noted that the Chinese government's recent decision to lift the ban on games consoles should lead to millions of additional hardware bundle sales for the likes of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony within three years.
The forecast also considers the outlook for gaming-capable smart TV, microconsole, and set-top box gaming. IDC expects that video game software sales generated on smart TV, microconsole, and gaming-capable set-top box platforms from cable and telecom companies will rise quickly, but will still represent less than 10% of all TV-centric, digital game-related spending in 2017.
Ward added that it "appears unlikely" that Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony will be driven out of the living room from a gaming perspective by 2017 as result of non-console competition from the likes of Valve/Steam, OUYA, cable/telecom companies, or related hardware and web service providers.
Andoid Games
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