Consoles and gadgets

Games consoles and gadgets have enjoyed a huge growth in popularity in recent years as they have moved away from being something of a more specialist hobby to embrace a wider audience.

While Sony’s arrival in the market (when they launched the Playstation) opened up the market to traditional “non-gamers”, it was really when Nintendo launched the Wii, and a range of family friendly games, that consoles and similar gadgets became part of an evening’s entertainment for the parents and children alike.

Before then, consoles like the Xbox, Gamecube and aforementioned had, by and large, been viewed upon as playthings for young males aged 12 to 35.

Now they are played by men and women of all ages, for proof just look at the advertising campaigns orchestrated by Nintendo to support their new gaming titles such as Brain Training.

Handheld consoles and gadgets

It is not just the home console market that has grown, however, as handheld gadgets like the Nintendo DS (which replaced the legendary Game Boy) and the Sony PSP have also grown in popularity.

Recent technological advances have led to these small, portable devices being able to deliver a quality of graphics that is on a par with many of the previous generation consoles into the palm of the user’s hand, and using the correct battery types in these devices means they can be enjoyed for long periods of time – Ideal for those long journeys!

The future is not completely rosy for these two devices, however, due to the threat of smartphones, like the iPhone, which along with their numerous other uses are also capable of running fun, simple games.

Expect the major players in the industry, like Nintendo and Sony, to retaliate with more sophisticated consoles and gadgets which can run games, play movies, act as a sat nav and surf the web.