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Game makers aim for sales
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February 4, 1997: 1:38 p.m. ET
Nintendo's European launch highlights boom time for game makers
From Correspondent Bill Dorman
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TOKYO (CNNfn) - The rules are changing for Japan's top video game makers, and the battleground shifts to Europe next month when Nintendo's next-generation game system hits store shelves.
In other corners of the video game universe, a shake-up is brewing as Sega and its Saturn game player are tying up with toy maker Bandai in a $1 billion merger. And Sony's Playstation is pushing ahead with a software library of 800 titles. (1.9MB QuickTime movie)
"This market is in a critical situation now," Nintendo Co. President Hiroshi Yamauchi said at a news conference. "There is a flood of game software, but most of it is boring."
Yamauchi said he isn't worried about the Sega-Bandai merger, and both companies are suffering a bit.
Bandai's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are no longer the mighty child-magnets they once were. And while Sega's entertainment centers are doing well their biggest hit lately has been photo-stickers, which are popular with high-school girls in Japan. (1.5MB QuickTime movie)
Despite the shifting marketplace, analysts say investors can score gains by jumping into the newest generation of video games.
"For the next two to three years, all these companies will grow significantly," said Reinier Dobbelmann, senior analyst at SBC Warburg Japan. "I think Nintendo's probably the most attractive investment opportunity from that point of view.
"It's already eating up the lion's share of the profits in the business," he said.
But with overall video game sales last year topping $3.5 billion, analysts say there may well be enough profits to go around. 
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