DS vs Smartphone

[SirPsycho]

And the insane increase in "casual" gaming sales in general?
Meanwhile "real" gaming companies are going out of business left and right and major franchises can't save sinking ships.

Companies going out of business? Quick! Somebody inform the press!

[blcklblskt]

People are looking to save money.  Phones are more of a "necessity" today than a dedicated handheld.  Plus, people love free games on their phones.  I think many casual gamers today get their fix from solitaire or sudoku on their phones.  It is much cheaper to buy free games for a phone you're going to own anyway as opposed to spending hundreds of dollars on a dedicated game machine and games for it.

[techwizard]

i don't think smartphones are going to outright kill off handheld gaming, but they're definitely putting a dent in it. in the past if you wanted video games on the go, your one and only option was a dedicated handheld gaming console. so back then, anyone casually interested in playing games on the go, or parents looking for something to occupy their kids on long road trips would look to the gameboy (or gamegear, or lynx etc). now, when nearly every adult and every kid over 10 (and sometimes younger) has a smartphone with access to thousands of free to $5 games, why would someone who is only looking for a distraction or casual experience instead choose to pay at least $160 for a new handheld plus $20-40 per game?. this is assuming of course that they buy the smartphone not with gaming in mind but as a phone, and the gaming is "cheaper" on it in the sense of "well i will have the phone whether or not i play the games, so if i'm going to buy games it may as well be on the phone."

i'm not saying smartphones are better or a replacement for the quality of games a dedicated system can offer, but i'm saying that for the casual gamer, or even non-gamer, a smartphone will always win out. that being said, i say i doubt they will kill off handheld gaming because there will still be lots of people who enjoy those games, either grew up with handhelds or can see the value of a deeper experience in their game than a 5 minute time waster on a phone. the industry will most likely just scale back whatever they can to save costs and games won't be released as often. not as good as it used to be, sure, but not gone.

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

In the short term all it's going to take is more developers moving their games to mobile. I mean, I have freaking Max Payne and Vice City on my iPhone and they're awesome...All that the app game developers need is to work on quality and stop chasing microtransactions so desperately. Give me some good platformer games for iOS and I won't even remember that handhelds exist.

In the long term, all devices are going to be one and the same anyhow.

[Cobra]

The phone app store has really changed things. I remember when there was no such thing as free games for your mobile, and the game prices were set by your mobile carrier so every game was around $7 (here in Australia anyway). Now you can get great quality games for $1 or even free. I don't think handhelds are going anywhere just yet, but it is very hard for them to compete. I don't take my DS anywhere since getting an iPhone and don't see myself buying another handheld from this point forward.

[bombatomba]

Apple has been drinking Nintendo's handheld milkshake for years now.  I thought everyone knew this.  For a couple of years (especially before the big 3DS price drop) many of the gaming "journalism" podcasts talked non-stop about it.  The homogenization of video gaming, I think they were calling it.

[Tynstar]

The mobile market is not affecting the handheld market at all...

I dont look at sales numbers or any other BS that you guys I talking about. What I see when I am out is kids are on smart phones and i-Pads no DS/3DS/Vita. So I would say that phones are hurting the handheld market.

But that's not to say they don't already own a Vita/3DS at home and just didn't bring it with them. Let's face it, you bring your cell phone everywhere you go. I own an Android phone and I bring it with me when I go out, that doesn't mean I play a whole lot on it. I have downloaded about 6 or 8 games from the app store, mostly Angry Birds/Fruit Ninja etc. I kill time with them when I am out, 5 mins here, 10 mins there. And then I go home and play my consoles/handhelds. I just don't see why the phone market is a threat to the handheld market, phones aren't capable of running the games that handhelds are. And oddly enough there is Gunman Clive that had good sales on both Android/iOS and then it came to the 3DS eShop, and the 3DS eShop version was the best selling version to date. I see both markets existing alongside each other. But the differences between them are night and day, the phones can't do what the handhelds can, and the handhelds have no features like a phone has.

I am not talking about adults. I am talking about young children. I use to see kids with GBA's then the DS. Now it is phones and iPads. I agree they most likely have a DS at home but if they are happy with the phone why would they buy the next handheld gaming system?

[Link41]

The mobile market is not affecting the handheld market at all...

I dont look at sales numbers or any other BS that you guys I talking about. What I see when I am out is kids are on smart phones and i-Pads no DS/3DS/Vita. So I would say that phones are hurting the handheld market.

But that's not to say they don't already own a Vita/3DS at home and just didn't bring it with them. Let's face it, you bring your cell phone everywhere you go. I own an Android phone and I bring it with me when I go out, that doesn't mean I play a whole lot on it. I have downloaded about 6 or 8 games from the app store, mostly Angry Birds/Fruit Ninja etc. I kill time with them when I am out, 5 mins here, 10 mins there. And then I go home and play my consoles/handhelds. I just don't see why the phone market is a threat to the handheld market, phones aren't capable of running the games that handhelds are. And oddly enough there is Gunman Clive that had good sales on both Android/iOS and then it came to the 3DS eShop, and the 3DS eShop version was the best selling version to date. I see both markets existing alongside each other. But the differences between them are night and day, the phones can't do what the handhelds can, and the handhelds have no features like a phone has.

I am not talking about adults. I am talking about young children. I use to see kids with GBA's then the DS. Now it is phones and iPads. I agree they most likely have a DS at home but if they are happy with the phone why would they buy the next handheld gaming system?

For the games that you can't play on a phone. Like I said, you can't play the same level of games that you would on a handheld. But as great as iPhone is for Angry Birds/Fruit Ninja/Minecraft etc, it can't play Uncharted/Killzone/Resistance/New Super Mario Bros./Pokémon/ etc. And while some franchises are trying to go to mobile, it has mixed results. I played Splinter Cell: Conviction on 360 and then trying to play on a phone was embarrassing, the controls were horrible. While it was nice to see them try a game like that, the frame rate was an issue and the analog to touch screen controls sucked. Like I stated, touch screen minigames and casual ware are the biggest sellers. And while everyone has a cellphone nowadays and brings them around, that doesn't change the fact that they already have a handheld to play real/meaningful games when they get home. I have Angry Birds on my Android, and its great while I have ten minutes to kill, I don't really sit at home and play Angry Birds when I have hundreds of other games to play. Case in point, I don't see why phones are killing handhelds as sales don't reflect this(unless you count Vita).
Software typically determines what system you are playing. And if someone wants to play the newest Pokémon game they need a 3DS to play it not an iPhone/iPad/Android etc.

[Tynstar]

With time the games will get better on the phones. Hell I dont care one way of another. I have never liked handhelds and the only reason I play games on my phone is achievements.

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

Actually see eye to eye with Scott for once. It's just the way things are going to go. Almost everyone has a smartphone now and devs know this. So, as someone trying to sell a product are you going to target a massive smart phone owning demographic or a niche handheld community?

This isn't to say they won't linger on awhile, but when we're all carting around computers in our pockets that can run GTA: Vice City, make phone calls, text, email, surf the web, etc. I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest the end is nigh for a device that only offers gaming.

[Tynstar]

This isn't to say they won't linger on awhile, but when we're all carting around computers in our pockets that can run GTA: Vice City, make phone calls, text, email, surf the web, etc. I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest the end is nigh for a device that only offers gaming.

Like the pocket organizer, calculator and cheap digital cameras. They are still around but nothing like they once where.

[Leynos]

Tablets make TV sales go down! No.
Phones take sales of 3DS. No
Console steal PC sales.No
MP3 Players going to kill stereos. No

Not to mention every phone has different specs and they change every 6 months.
Handheld is there for at the very least 5-6 years. So developers have some stable ground.
Despite what you think the smartphone is still a luxury item and many people like me still have a feature phone.

Handhelds are fine despite what cynics say

[Tynstar]

Tablets make TV sales go down! No.
Phones take sales of 3DS. No
Console steal PC sales.No
MP3 Players going to kill stereos. No

Not to mention every phone has different specs and they change every 6 months.
Handheld is there for at the very least 5-6 years. So developers have some stable ground.
Despite what you think the smartphone is still a luxury item and many people like me still have a feature phone.

Handhelds are fine despite what cynics say

Tablets make TV sales go down! No. - WTF are you talking about? Who said that would happen?
Phones take sales of 3DS. No - Explain?
Console steal PC sales.No - Steal PC sales but gaming on the PC has taken a hit but it is making a comback
MP3 Players going to kill stereos. No - Again who said that was going to happen. MP3's have killed CD sales.

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

Tablets make TV sales go down! No.
Phones take sales of 3DS. No
Console steal PC sales.No
MP3 Players going to kill stereos. No

Not to mention every phone has different specs and they change every 6 months.
Handheld is there for at the very least 5-6 years. So developers have some stable ground.
Despite what you think the smartphone is still a luxury item and many people like me still have a feature phone.

Handhelds are fine despite what cynics say

Tablets make TV sales go down! No. - WTF are you talking about? Who said that would happen?
Phones take sales of 3DS. No - Explain?
Console steal PC sales.No - Steal PC sales but gaming on the PC has taken a hit but it is making a comback
MP3 Players going to kill stereos. No - Again who said that was going to happen. MP3's have killed CD sales.

Yeah, bit narrowminded to not see all items on the market as interchangeable. In the end all products compete for our dollar, so everything effects everything else. An absolute "no" is impossible even if talking about something as unlikely as cheeseburgers taking away 3DS sales.

[Izret101]

BUMP

http://kotaku.com/nintend...art-from-the-ip-478465787