In Europe, forget GTA IV: Report says Nintendo is poised to take over

Today, many gamers are raptly following news of the Grand Theft Auto 4 launch for the PS3 and Xbox 360, but an item that caught my eye concerns the supposedly huge potential of Nintendo's Wii console and the DS portable in Europe. DFC Intelligence, while remarking on the global success of Nintendo, says it believes "Nintendo will be the leader in Europe over the next few years."

Considering Sony's recent dominance of the European market (the PS2 once had an 80% market share) this forecast comes as a bit of a surprise. But DFC notes that Nintendo is actually emulating Sony's earlier strengths:

"The Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii are enjoying tremendous success in Europe. In large part this is because Nintendo is following the mass market design philosophy that made Sony Worldwide Studios such a success. In 2007 sales of the Nintendo DS in Europe nearly doubled and the installed base soared past the 20 million mark. Meanwhile, the supply constrained Wii managed to pass the Xbox 360.

With the recent success of Nintendo, DFC Intelligence is now forecasting that over the next few years Nintendo’s systems will supplant Sony’s systems as the leader in most major European markets. Of course, the DS is already a smash hit in Europe and this is expected to continue. More significantly, DFC Intelligence now forecasts that, over the next five years, sales of the Wii will outpace both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3." 

DFC goes on to point out that Wii has already scored some important early victories over the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with a soccer title (Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008) and stands to attract more adherents as European PS2 owners retire their old Sony consoles and look for replacements. The Wii's interface, low cost, and mass market appeal make it a natural, reasons DFC. Long-term, the PS3 may gain a lot of ground, but the Xbox 360 will have a tough time on the continent, according to DFC. The exception is the U.K., where FPS titles are very popular -- this is one area in which the Xbox 360 "is clearly the leader."

Ian Lamont is the author of The Social Enterprise blog on TheStandard.com. Comment below, or email Ian at ian@thestandard.com. Follow Ian's updates on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ilamont, or visit his personal blog. Ian's bio and disclosures are located here.