A bizarre thought just came to me: Why do game / console manufacturers use 3rd party retailers to sell their wares?

Example: Car manufacturers all have their own unique showrooms. Sony and Panasonic and many other electrical manufacturers all have their specific stores (Ie, Sony Centre). Mobile Phone networks all have their own high street stores as well (Ie, Vodafone shop; O2 shop Etc)

But, these all also use 3rd party dealers. Ie, Sony will also have it's products for sale in Comet / Dixons; Ford will also have it's cars for sale in private showrooms; And Vodafone will have it's products for sale in Carphone Warehouse / Phones 4U Etc...


So, why do Sony / Nintendo / MicroSoft all use retailers (Such as GAME / GameSation) to shift their products? Why is there no "Sony PlayStation Shop" or "Nintendo Store"?

I can understand software being made available in most high street stores such as argos; Woolies; WH Smith; Virgin; HMV etc, but why do they not have their own stores as well? Why is GAME / GameStation the first place we all go to if we want a new Xbox for example? Why can I not go straight to a "MicroSoft Xbox Shop"?


Especially nowadays that each of the three main competitors has enough of a pedigree to do such a thing. Sony currently has three consoles available (Plus variations), as well as a new one on it's way. Likewise, Nintendo has three consoles (Plus variations) on the go as wii speak... After all, Nintendo obviously think Pokemon warrants a store of it's own, so why not one to sell Nintendo only products?


After-thought: Although Sony do have their own stores (Sony Centre), you cannot buy a PlayStation from there. for some reason they do not stock them anymore. Same goes for Sony branded mobile phones.