Screen Digest: 2008 to be the year of the PS3

There’s no arguing that Nintendo staged a remarkable recovery in 2007 to emerge as the overall gaming champions at the expense of rivals Microsoft, and in particular, Sony – but analyst firm Screen Digest says 2008 could prove to be the year of PS3.

Citing the growing number of exclusive titles heading to the machine, and upcoming multimedia services like recordable TV and PS3 Home, Screen Digest’s Piers Harding-Rolls stated: "One of the market shifts to watch out for in 2008 will be the continued evolution of Xbox 360 and PS3 from games consoles to multi-media hubs.

Now that these multi-media services, online video, IPTV, digital terrestrial TV and PVR functionality, are now available or poised to come on line in different markets, this ‘hub’ strategy is emerging as a key console battleground for Microsoft and Sony."

Even throughout the recent period of Wii dominance, Screen Digest has always backed PS3 to win through. But with Wii forging such a large lead in global hardware sales, there will be many who remain to be convinced that Sony can play catch-up.