web analytics

JerseySmarts.com

Who Won The Console Wars in 2008?

Posted on by

Thanks to Martin Hawrysko of WithReason.net for sending me this link to a Yahoo! news article talking about which home video game console won the war in 2008. According to the article, many people thought that the PlayStation 3 would be the big winner in 2008 (Really? Who thought that?), but as you might imagine it was the Nintendo Wii that dominated the competition last year.

And not only did the Nintendo Wii win the home console wars, but the Nintendo DS continued to destroy the Sony PSP in the handheld video game market. The year-end tallies at VGChartz.com shows that, to date, Nintendo has sold some 94.7 million DS units worldwide while Sony has only sold 42.3 million PSPs. Granted, selling 42.3 million of any product is nothing to scoff at, but when your competition is doubling you in sales you have to wonder if you’re even competition any more.

The Yahoo! article gives a somewhat bleak outlook for Sony in the new year:

As for Sony, well, they just can’t catch a break. The company scored a major coup when Blu-ray officially trounced HD-DVD in the hi-def format war, but few believe the technology will catch on with consumers. Strong sales of big-time exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4 were promising, but the troubled launch of their ‘Home’ network coupled with relatively weak holiday sales (only Resistance 2 cracked the Top 10 list in November, all the way back at number 9) cramped their style. The once-promising PSP is getting whomped by both the DS and Apple’s surging iPhone. Did a witch cast a spell on these guys or what?

Many people forget that the iPhone is out there and competing in the handheld space. Further, the iPhone directly competes with the PSP since both are generally purchased by the “core” users of high-end electronics. The same group of core gamers are currently stifling both XBox 360 and PS3 from breaking out and really competing against the Wii. Nintendo is laughing its way to the bank!

Finally, VGChartz.com shows 43.8 million Wii consoles being sold worldwide (with more than 20 million in the United States alone). This compares, worldwide, to 26.5 million XBox 360 units and 18.8 million PS3 units. Yeah, you might say that Nintendo is firmly on top of the console wars!

Checking in on Mt. Arlington’s Election Results

Posted on by

As an engaged voter, I always like to take a look at the election results in the small town where I am registered to vote – Mount Arlington, New Jersey. The following election results are from the Roxbury Register (my comments below):

Republican Borough Councilman Bill Doran easily won re-election to the council Tuesday, and first-time Republican Dr. Stephen Sadow will also be joining the council in January.

Both Republicans bested Democrats Robert Silkes and David Karpman in Tuesday’s election.

Doran received 1,052 votes, while Sadow garnered 1,068 votes. Silkes received 920 votes while Karpman received 834 votes.

According to Borough Clerk Linda DeSantis, there were also a total of 513 write-in votes, which were not tabulated Tuesday night because they did not add up to enough to denote a winner. Republicans Steve Lardiere and Christopher Kelley both waged unsuccessful write-in campaigns, posting signs around the borough urging their election to the council.

Sadow will replace Republican KerriAnn Mulligan on the borough’s governing body. Mulligan did not seek re-election to the council.

In the race for U.S. President, Sen. Barack Obama received 1,034 votes while Sen. John McCain received 1,449 votes.

Of about 3,600 registered voters, a total of 2,483 cast votes Tuesday. That’s a voter turnout of about 69 percent.

Nice to see a voter turnout of 69 percent – that’s not bad in America, though I expected it to be higher given that this is a Presidential election year and given the historic race where both a woman and a black man were on opposing tickets. As is usual, Mount Arlington voted decidedly Republican in this year’s elections. I find it interesting that write-in candidates for Borough Council received 513 votes. That’s nothing to scoff at and since the write-in candidates were both Republicans, they certainly helped to close the gap between the Republicans and Democrats in this race. In fact, the Democrats only lost one of the elections by 149 votes – a very impressive vote tally for the Democrats in Mount Arlington.

Anyway, with all of the posts and discussion about the Presidential election I just wanted to comment on the local election, too!