Nintendo DS may be best-selling platform ever, says marketing firm

An independent research firm estimates that the portable games market may exceed $10 billion in 2007, with the popular Nintendo DS effortlessly leading the way to its success.

By Eugene Huang

DFC Intelligence, a video game-based research and consulting firm, recently released a report predicting that the the total global revenue derived from the portable games market is expected to exceed $10 billion within the 2007 calendar year. At the forefront of this revenue explosion is the Nintendo DS, which, according to DFC's David Cole, "has the potential to be the best-selling interactive entertainment platform ever."

Although DFC notes that the success of the DS has mostly depended on games that fully utilize the system's unique features, Cole maintains that the number of titles from third party publishers will more than likely continue to grow. Not just for the DS, he adds, but for all portable systems. The handheld games market will no longer be relegated to the casual games industry, but will even offer opportunities for publishers of high-end PC games.

But Cole believes that the Sony PSP, chief rival to the DS, also has an opportunity to reap a sizable chunk of the worldwide market share within the next few years. The DFC report indicates that it has been found possible to make over $100 million in revenue from a single PSP title, depending on whether it is based on the right franchise.

However, ultimately, the PSP's success will depend greatly on how much emphasis Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. places on marketing their handheld system. The unpredictable nature of this variable has led DFC to forecast two possible scenarios for both the DS and PSP. Additionally, the firm has also taken into account the possibility for new entries into the portable war by the year 2009.

All in all, Cole is excited about the growth of the handheld industry, predicting that, "Under the right scenario, by 2011 the combined installed base of the DS and PSP could exceed that for the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360."

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