A serious contest
Can Microsoft's clever strategy level the playing field with Sony?
LIKE the combatants in a beat-'em-up video game, the makers of video-games consoles do battle in orderly rounds, one of which occurs every five or six years. The current round began in 2000, when Sony launched PlayStation 2. In 2001 Nintendo, the firm that once ruled the industry, launched the GameCube, and Microsoft made its first foray into the cut-throat market with the Xbox. Four years on, Sony is the clear winner, with sales of 70m consoles, followed by Microsoft with 14m and Nintendo with 13m.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “A serious contest”
From the May 8th 2004 edition
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