Japanese gamers, retailers, publishers look at 2006

Last week's issue of Famitsu featured professional analyst predictions regarding the gaming industry and next-generation consoles in 2006. The magazine continued its forward thinking this week by asking for the opinion of others who shape the industry. The most recent issue of Famitsu collected data from 370 gamers, 113 retailers, and 47 game publishers, and collated them into a report that creates a picture of various industry perspectives for 2006.

Gamers and publishers both selected the PlayStation 3 as the likely top-selling product of 2006, followed closely by the Nintendo DS. Retailers, on the other hand, believe the DS will sell more than the PlayStation 3, considering that the machine is currently sold out despite being more than a year old. The Revolution was ranked third by gamers, fourth by retailers, and fifth by publishers.

Famitsu also asked the three parties to predict the prices and release dates for the PlayStation 3 and Revolution. Most retailers and publishers predicted that the PS3 will be priced in the 40,000 yen range ($336), while gamers were split between the 40,000 yen range and 50,000 yen range ($420). As for the PS3's release period, retailers and publishers surprisingly picked December as the most likely timing. Gamers were split between May, July, and December.

The overall price prediction for Nintendo's Revolution was low. All three parties picked the 25,000 yen ($210) range as their top prediction, which isn't surprising, given that the Kyoto-based gamemaker has never released a machine that cost more. As for the Revolution's release date, retailers and gamers were divided between November and December, while most publishers predicted December.