Which Nintendo Rival Poses the Greatest Threat?

Nintendo is currently the top video game company in terms of hardware and software sales in the growing industry. The Nintendo DS is handily beating the PSP in the handheld market while the Nintendo Wii has a sizable lead on the home console side. Furthermore, Nintendo-published titles just keep selling years after their initial release. However, things can quickly change in the video games industry. For example, Nintendo went from last place with the Nintendo Gamecube to first with the Nintendo Wii. So which rival pose the greatest threat to Nintendo's reign in the gaming industry? Let's take a look at the competition.

Microsoft
Although they are relatively new to the home console market, Microsoft has quickly grown to be a major force in the industry. This is especially true when it comes to the online component. The game company changed the gaming landscape with Xbox Live. As a result, Microsoft easily has the best online service in the home console market.

Furthermore, they also captured a good share of the hardcore market, especially in North America. In order to reach the next level and threaten Nintendo, however, Microsoft would need to find a way to popularize the Xbox brand in Europe and Japan.

Sony
Nintendo dominated the video game industry until the arrival of the Playstation and Playstation 2. The first two video game systems produced by Sony managed to easily crush Nintendo products. Recently, however, Sony has fallen into rough times with the disappointing sales of the Playstation 3.

Even so, Sony remains a big threat to Nintendo, especially in the handheld market. The PSP managed to build a strong install base. Although it lags behind the Nintendo DS in sales, Sony's first handheld system also took a big chunk of the market share away from Nintendo. Sony has also quietly built a strong development core that could threaten to overtake Nintendo's in the near future.

Apple
Although Apple may not be directly in the video games industry, they are showing aspiration in jumping in. Nintendo should feel threaten based on that alone. After all, both companies are remarkably similar if you look at their history.

As of right now Apple is indirectly competing with Nintendo in the handheld market with the iPhone. In fact, some believed that Nintendo created the Nintendo DSi (with the ability to download games) to counter the iPhone and the App Store from Apple. So if Apple decides to jump in the gaming industry at full force, they will pose a threat to Nintendo.

In the end, however, Nintendo should only feel threaten at themselves. History has shown that business blunders can quickly lead to a quick downfall for a game company. As long as they don't make any mistakes, they would stay on top.