Is this what portable gaming has become?

Mattroid

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Perhaps this could have gone in the 3DS thread, but I think this comic brings up a good point - the mobile platform for gaming is your phone now. The success of the iPhone and to a somewhat lesser extent Android is proof of that.

There are tons of $1 games that get bought, downloaded, played a few times, and forgotten. And at only a dollar, who the fuck cares? Hell, there are some free ones that are better than a $40 handheld game.

However, I still don't see a cell phone as a good replacement. Especially now with so many touch screen only phones. I loathe touch screen only controls for any game other than Bejewled. Perhaps the NGage was ahead of its time. Would it have survived if all the games had been cheaper and distributed digitally instead?

I guess the difference is that the Vita and 3DS still strive for those games that require you to sit and play for a length of time, vs a mobile phone game that may focus more on short 'pick up and play' type of games.

I seriously hope that the handheld console market never truly dies, but with the way things are going, who's to say?
 
If history is anything to go by it will be the case of what suits the majority will destroy the profitability of the solutions that only suit the minority.

Having said that tho I see a lot of kids out with their parents hands clamped firmly around a DS, kids that are too young to need (or get even if they wanted on) a mobile. So potentially the market for dedicated handheld games will end up going back to the game-and-watch era, simple games for young kids. The mobile phone market will just mop up the rest.
 
I absolutely hate playing games on my phone, and I spend more time playing portable games on the bus each day than anyone else I hang out with.
 
A lot of people play solitaire on their computers, doesn't mean they're gonna stop playing Call of Duty or Warcraft.

It's totally different markets, casual games often appeal to people who wouldn't even have had played games before, where as hardcore gamers will always want something more intense.
 
I was happy when my phone had Tetris on it. Then I was annoyed because I'd have to use flicks. I'm not ready for the new age of portable gaming. Plus I like the actual carts or discs... but I've never been very much of a portable game player. Unless you count Castlevania or Strider on Tiger Electronics.
 
There's also adults like me who think the rest of you playing games and surfing the net on your phone are absolutely fucking SILLY.

My phone is just that...a phone. I'll play my games on a console/handheld meant for them without butchered controls, and surf the net on my PC where it doesn't cost a fortune per MB or a ridiculously overpriced data plan.
 
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I look at mobile phone gaming as just an entirely different platform that shouldn't be dropped in the same category as handheld consoles that are dedicated solely to games/video.

I agree that there will always be a market for handheld consoles whether it be kids who are too young to own a smartphone or adults who want that extra power and controls that mobile phones can't provide.

I barely play games on my smartphone or my wife's iPad. They are fun on-the-go or if you just want to kill 5-10 minutes, but like Mattroid said, there's always going to be gamers who want to be able to sit down and play for an extended period of time on hardware that provides an advanced gaming experience.

As a family man, handheld consoles work for me as I can play if I'm waiting for my wife to finish shopping, waiting for food, lunch breaks, play before I go to bed, etc. I'm not one to stay up late playing video games after my daughter goes to sleep. By that time, I'm exhausted. Haha.
 
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I look at mobile phone gaming as just an entirely different platform that shouldn't be dropped in the same category as handheld consoles that are dedicated solely to games/video.

I agree with you, but is that how the majority sees it? Or more importantly, is that how the developers see it? In the beginning, companies were saying that Apple and iPhone/iPad didn't scare them. Since then, however, I it's clear that there has been some impact. I believe even Nintendo has said they consider Apple a real competitor now.

I feel it's a slippery slope. Some can argue it's the mobile phone platform, some can argue it's the quality of the handheld games and hardware. To me, it's really both. Think about it. Take Android for example (because I don't know about iPhone), you buy a game on Android, if you get a new Android phone later, that same game will (in theory) work on your new phone and be ready to download immediately. This is because the game license is linked to your Google account, which is linked to your phone. I assume this iPhone is similar.

With handheld gaming hardware, there is often backwards compatibility, but it only goes so far. That, combined with a slew of shitty games and dedicated hardware that will eventually be obsolete, means fewer people consider handhelds a worthwhile purchase. Shitty game for a dollar on Android? Fuck it, it was only a dollar. Get on the app store and bitch about it in the reviews - done, delete it.

Granted, this is just my speculation.

What I'm afraid of is what if the Vita fails? If it fails, the two handheld giants may finally give.
 
What I'm afraid of is what if the Vita fails? If it fails, the two handheld giants may finally give.

You make some valid points and I don't doubt that iPhone and Android-based phones are a huge competition for Nintendo and Sony.

People do EVERYTHING on their phones (talk, text, FB, Twitter, email, pictures, video, gaming, etc.). So if they are content with mobile games, why spend the money and create the inconvenience of having to carry essentially 2 handhelds; mobile phone and "Insert handheld console." Plus, like you said, having to buy more games for 40-50X more and no continued compatibility or updates for the most part is not appealing.

For me, it's not an issue to carry both since I carry a murse with me wherever I go. I actually carry my Droid X, 3DS, PSP and Gameboy Micro because I can and it's not much added weight.

I think even if the 3DS and Vita end up being failures, Nintendo and Sony will still try to make the next idea (whatever it may be) work. Or if they give up, that gives Microsoft or even Apple (though I know they are pretty much content and successful with their iTunes market and mobile gaming) a possibility of swooping in and trying to develop their own handheld gaming device that will revolutionize that handheld gaming market even further.

Man, wouldn't it be interesting to see a Microsoft XBox 180 or the iPod/iPhone evolve into a device that has built in controls? Not saying it would be a good idea, but it would be interesting to see. That's another discussion though. :)
 
I don't know. Personally, I don't want to carry more than a phone and laptop at any given time, even on longer trips. It's just not worth the hassle of having to juggle all these devices and making sure you have all the power adapters and stuff.

Also, PSP/DS games are so close in price to console games, and they're trying to push the console experience in a hand held so hard that I might as well play the games comfortably on a nice size TV.
 
I don't see the Vita failing, it has a huge practical advantage over the original PSP with just the 2nd analog stick alone (as well as its other upgrades). I think Nintendo overestimated the appeal of a portable 3d gaming system so it's not really comparable.

Portables have always had competition, the Tiger games, gigapets, cell phones and so on.. they will persevere. And if not Sony's always got the PSP/Android phone ;)
 
I think anything is possible at this point. I do enjoy seeing executives take pay cuts just to lower the price on something, but is it enough? Probably - More than likely just a rocky start for the system, wait for next holiday season - the system will have matured.

I do think everyone in the handheld market should understand there is trouble brewing in the future - Smart phone games for the most part are casual, but like that comic says, they're cheaper games, who do we have more of? Casual gamers or Hardcore gamers?

I don't want to be "that guy" but stack the Angry Birds games against a handheld game, or even a system. It's just one game, but it's one game that has been downloaded 250 million times as of June this year. This has happened in the span of a year? not sure.

Mobile OS gaming is definitely taking a chunk out of everyone's ass, and the bite's getting more infected by the day.
 
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