Semicon opportunities in video game mkt

USA: Japanese video game giant Nintendo has witnessed some truly remarkable sales for its game hardware over the past few years. Total shipments for the Wii hit 18.6 million units for the fiscal year ending March 2008, and more than 5 million units were shipped in the latest quarter. However, Nintendo’s greater success story is the sales recorded through its portable game unit, the Nintendo DS.

With over 77 million units sold worldwide since it was introduced in 2004, the Nintendo DS has easily become the most popular handheld video game platform of all time. Despite Sony’s PSP telecommunications ability, the capacity to play special DVD movies, and its upcoming GPS function, the DS has continued to outsell the Sony hardware more than two to one.

The gaming phenomenon has driven innovation which now extends beyond the console itself to companion electronics, such as handhelds, wireless nunchucks, controllers, and wireless guitars. Along with the consoles, the peripherals, handhelds, and displays, such as LCD TVs, the bill of materials value is growing, providing more opportunity for the merchant semiconductor suppliers. While much of the circuitry is still proprietary, significant design wins from the merchant market are proof that the OEMs are opening up more to outside sources for chip technology.

Databeans estimates that the served available market for semiconductors in the video game market will grow from $7.5 billion this year to over $12 billion by 2013. Major product categories include ARM-based processors, Flash memory, battery management, and wireless transceivers (analog). Motion sensors and touch screen controllers are also growing significantly in all segments for video games.

All together, providing ample opportunity for suppliers, at whichever level they choose to play at, “Easy, Medium, or Expert”.

Worldwide Video Game Semiconductor Revenue Forecast by Product

Source: Databeans