orcishgamer: They actually are competitors for a lot of games that used to fill up the DS library (most of us would call it shovelware or crapware, but it still paid the Nintendo license, think Horse Land and crap like that). Some of the best games on the DS and 3DS would play fine in iOS, for example, actually they'd be a lot better, Pokemon would be amazing on there and would play fine, so would all the Pokemon Ranger games, for that matter. Most of the hard core JRPGs would, Fire Emblem would, etc.
Yes, technically it works, but i doubt it would really work. I'm pretty sure the audience on iOS and Andfroid wouldn't swallow 40 bucks price tags, which are the norm for AAA portable titles. Heck, iPhone users complained a lot about the prices on Squenix games at the App Store, which are usually U$15. Casual gamers want to spend as least as possible on gaming, which is why F2P is the norm on mobiles now. Not to mention the insane piracy rates. If people pirate 1 dollar iOS games, they'll obviously pirate such expensive games even more. The traditional model is not working on mobiles.
I do agree that the "casual appeal" of the DS has been lost now with mobile games, especially for stuff like Nintendogs and Brain Training, but the hardcore market is still there. If look into the 3DS library, there are less shovelware casual titles than on the DS. For me that's a good thing, the DS had way too many HORRIBLE games.
orcishgamer: So yes, mobile can be competition for Nintendo handheld. Not for every game but for a large swath of what made up their palette of games.
I disagree. Ipads, Iphones and Android phones just can't compete with dedicated gaming handhelds on the games department. They are different machines. It is exactly the same as saying that PCs will kill consoles because it can play the same games. For how many years have consoles and PCs existed simultaneously? There is market for both.
Yeah, casual gamers have moved to the mobile market, so what? Casual gamers don't buy many games anyway, as proven by the extremely low attach rate on the Wii. Not a big deal, if you ask me.
Also, smartphones and tablets are MUCH more expensive than a 3DS or a PSVita. For people looking for a gaming device, it's not a good deal to get a smartphone or a tablet. Not to mention the compability issues, especially on Android. Smartphones and tablets have the same issue as PCs: each one has a different hardware, and you need to upgrade constantly if you want to play the newest games. But differently from PCs you can't just upgrade your phone or tablet, you have to buy a brand new one. In the long run this makes phones and tablets a terrible deal.
I have an iPod Touch 4th generation and there are already games that don't work on it, and let's be honest, it isn't even that old, i bought mine when it was released by the end of 2010. In contrast my PC from 2009 can still run any game with everything maxed out. For gaming alone smartphones and tablets are ouf of question.
And don't get me started on the controls. Oh boy, what a fucking pain in the ass it is to play action games (especially FPSes) on that damn touch screen. I also have an Xperia Play, which has physical controls, making things slightly better. But the analog sticks still SUCK, i don't even know if it's harder to play Dead Trigger on the touch screen or those horrible analog sticks. Dead Trigger represents mobile gaming very well. The game itself is pretty good, the graphics are on par with what you can see on a 3DS and the mechanics work. But there is absolutely no depth at all, the game is just a collection of fetch quests and pointless missions that never take you anywhere. It's just pointless grinding to get better guns. It's good for a quickplay session when i'm in college or at work, but not for a real gameplay session.
Also, even my Xperia Play is not compatible with some newer games on the Google Store. I mean, seriously? The Xperia Play was released in 2011 if i recall correctly, what a fucking joke. You see, for gaming purpouses smartphones and tablets are a bad joke, especially for those like me that don't want to buy a new smartphone or tablet every year (or every 6 months, in the case of the iPad).
orcishgamer: I own an iPad revision 4 and multiple DSes, my daughter has a 3DS which I have used. It's inferior in just about every way BUT having the physical buttons and the D pad. Any games that don't need those to be extremely precise and responsive is a candidate for moving to mobile. Mobile and handhelds fill the same niche: on the go gaming in quick bursts. And for the outliers who are willing to sit on their home couch and play their handheld for hours at a stretch, they won't have any problem doing the same with their iPad.
I don't really think they fill the same niche. I don't know about you, but i never carry my handhelds with me all the time. My phone, however, is always with me, which makes it great for a quick gameplay session. I only ever take my handhelds with me when i'm away from home, like on a trip.
