Semico Spin

The console wars are still going strong. Despite optimistic forecasts by Microsoft their Xbox 360 console is still lagging behind PlayStation 2 sales, and will not meet their original projected sales forecast. This is an indicator that even though the Xbox has quite a lead on the competition, it’s still anyone’s game, including Nintendo’s.

Another indicator is that game software sales fell 10.2% in May, showing people still aren’t quite sure which console to throw their weight behind. Currently, the best selling games are for the DS Lite and PlayStation 2, both of which sell for $129 in the US.

Nintendo released their upgrade for the DS on Sunday, June 11th in North America at $129.99. The DS Lite competes against Sony’s PSP and other Nintendo products, such as the Game Boy series.

The DS has been said to revolutionize game play, as it is the first handheld console that includes dual screens, one of which is a touch screen, along with free wifi and a microphone for voice recognition. The DS Lite repackages the original in a sleeker, smaller design along with a brighter screen that is brighter than the competition’s.

The current available color is white, with other colors available in the future, including black. Though we don’t expect this to hinder sales, as this is the hottest selling handheld console on the market.

The DS Lite will be available in Europe June 23rd.