Possibility of a new console brand coming into the market

[Pabstblueribbon]

back in the day, when i was like 11, I surely thought that because of Nintendo, Sega, and Playstations domination of the market, it would be impossible for anyone else to even break in. Hell, I heard my dad rant and rave forever about the Atari jaguar he read about that was sooo awesome and was going to destroy Nintendo 64's sales (in his opinion) due to price and it being just as powerful. Clearly, this is not what happened...

as far as i know, the newest console brand to come out has been the Xbox (if i am wrong, please correct me). I remember thinking at the time there was no way that it would survive, because Nintendo and Playstation had everyone on the market. Boy was I wrong, the Xbox came in is now one of the 3 big condenders in the console market.


Two very big console makers have gone down since ive been into gaming: Sega, and Atari. Both were able to float themselves and still be around today, but they do not make gaming consoles.

I'm wondering what everyone on here thinks the odds of a brand new console making it on the market are, no matter how good it is. Could a new company realistically pull this off? I don't think so. An exsisting company would have to put the money and resources down to get it done. But would a big company put enough time money and resources into a project like this, or would they half-ass it and have the console end up sucking? Could a company like sega or Atari feasibly be able to make a comeback with a new console?

thoughts? opinions?

[Gamerforlife]

I think people were surprised when both Sony and Microsoft initially entered the gaming market. They both succeeded, though with Microsoft it didn't happen immediately. Theoretically, any big company could enter the industry and be a success just like Sony and Microsoft did, but it should be a company that is already full of money from other ventures, as both Microsoft and Sony were. A new company however, would certainly be fighting an uphill battle to make it

We could see an already big company enter the market. It's not impossible that something like that could happen. Maybe Apple perhaps? Toshiba? Samsung? Who knows

[Pulsar_t]

I'm not sure the Sega and Atari of today resemble their original selves other than the inheritance of their older franchises.

[final fight cd]

I'm wondering what everyone on here thinks the odds of a brand new console making it on the market are, no matter how good it is.

mattel hyperscan - production stopped in 2008. i remember i saw handful of these games at a flea market once

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperScan

[enderfall]

Does OnLive count as a new console?

Anyway, assuming OnLive does not count, then the only company with the name brand clout to enter the market within the next 5-10 years is Apple. With the "success" of the Pippin, it'll be tough for them to pony up the dough to enter the market. The iPad could be considered a great gaming platform, but Apple isn't going to push it like Sony and Microsoft with 1st party support. And so far, the games have been underwhelming ports of iPhone apps...

[TheyCallMeTheSwede]

I would say Apple, since they released the iPhone and having the ability to download apps, they "unofficially" dominated the portable market.

[winds]

Yeah I could definitely see Apple entering the gaming market at some point in time. Also, for some reason I could see google getting more involved in the gaming industry down the road.

[JohnBaxterly]

I think I would shit myself if Apple came out with a console. Toshiba, too. Samsung... meh. Take 'em or leave 'em.

As for the topic at hand, there's always room for another contender in the gaming market. After all, Sony did it back in the 90s, and Microsoft did it in the 21st Century. We could see the rise of something new in this coming century, definitely. I personally would love to, to be honest. Always looking forward to a fresh face.

Hell, even someone coming out with a new handheld would satisfy me.

[Harvey]

I could see Activision coming out with a console at some point in the future. Lots of franchises that people want to play are under their umbrella.

[Gooseberrysoda]

Philips forever