'E3 to remember' leaves analysts optimistic about next-gen

Analysts have expressed "a renewed confidence in the upcoming [console] cycle" following the various E3 reveals this week, with optimism well and truly on the table. Doug Creutz at Cowen & Co described this year's E3 as "one of the better in our memory," noting that as long as the proposed software drives the new hardware, "next-gen should do just fine." Looking to those games which were announced for both current gen and next-gen consoles, he added, "We think gamers will want to play them on the new boxes to take the fullest advantage of next-gen graphics and interactive capabilities." Colin Sebastian at Baird Research agreed, noting that he is "cautiously optimistic" about the next generation of consoles. "We continue to believe there is enough pent-up core gamer demand, as well as ancillary benefits of a hardware refresh, to maintain an elevated level of consumer and investor interest in video games," he said -- although he added that Microsoft and Sony "still need to demonstrate a compelling value proposition in order to drive an installed base beyond core gamers." Both analysts believe that both Sony and Microsoft have the chance to be competitive with their respective consoles, although Creutz had some sobering words for Nintendo. The analyst says that if the upcoming first-party Wii U titles that Nintendo is betting on (such as Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World) do not cause a notable acceleration of Wii U hardware sales, "we think Nintendo will face increasingly acute pressure to back away from the hardware business and become a pure IP company."