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[olimpia84]

I think for once he might be right on something

 

[flyinpiranha]

I think maybe he's referring to iOS as a gaming platform. I remember when there wasn't an app store.

It wasn't really presented as a gaming platform at first though was it besides the "And developers can create new and exciting gaming experiences with Apple's iOS and the new Apple iPhone by Apple ... Apple" rhetoric. At least not that I remember. I could be wrong though.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

So your assertion is that dedicated gaming devices are going the way of the Dodo?

im not really asserting anything. im in general agreement with what pachter said. convergence devices are increasingly more attractive products than dedicated devices.

The iPad wild success alone proves that the convergence devices, AKA the iPhone 4, aren't the end of all. You can't even take pictures with the iPad.

this is true right now but these products are relatively new, as is the "casual" tech crowd. the success of those devices, whether theyve already hurt the success of handheld gaming or not (yet), just supports what hes saying. imo though, not enough time has passed for us to know. if i had to guess though, my guess would be in line with pachter

 

[Rollo Lawson]

But you said "simply because the ideas of carrying around multiple portable devices and requiring wifi to get online are both starting to look pretty archaic." Those "advantages" doesn't apply to the iTouch and iPad...

they apply more to those devices than they do to handheld gaming devices. way more

 

[Father_Brain]

Well, on this, I have a hard time disagreeing with him. If not 'dead on arrival,' it certainly has a huge uphill battle.

I would consider it all but DOA if 3DS had launched this year and at under $250, as many had expected. Nintendo has given Sony more of an opening than seemed likely to be the case a few months back, but yeah, anyone who'd deny that they have a vastly stronger hand to play here is downright delusional.

 

[Lonely1]

they apply more to those devices than they do to handheld gaming devices. way more

They don't, since they are extra devices that I need to carry around (along with my cellphone) and they need a wifi connection in order to do any kind of networking. They either apply or they don't. Now, if you say is more "hip" or "productive" to carry around an iPad instead of a PSP2, that wasn't part of your argument.

 

[see5harp]

It wasn't really presented as a gaming platform at first though was it besides the "And developers can create new and exciting gaming experiences with Apple's iOS and the new Apple iPhone by Apple ... Apple" rhetoric. At least not that I remember. I could be wrong though.

I don't even remember any talk at all about third party apps at launch. It was just an amazing phone with access to the substantial iTunes library for music/podcasts/video. I do love my iOS devices. I bought an iPhone at launch as well as the iPad...I still see plenty of room in the market for a dedicated gaming device-it just has to do the stuff aside from gaming much much better. Sony hopefully understands what they need to do, because both the PSP and PS3 were massive disappoints in my eyes.

 

[charlequin]

Whether or not Pachter is wrong here, he is right about one thing. Apple will continue to erode and eat into both Nintendo and Sony's handheld marketshare.

How can Apple "continue to" erode Nintendo's handheld marketshare when they have yet to actually start to erode Nintendo's handheld marketshare?

 

[Vinci]

im not really asserting anything. im in general agreement with what pachter said. convergence devices are increasingly more attractive products than dedicated devices.

But here's the problem with this notion: People buy gaming systems based on the software available for it. As long as the iPhone and other mobile devices do not offer equivalent control options as dedicated gaming systems do, it is impossible for the convergence devices to offer all the same types of software without serious modification from what makes those pieces of software what they were in the first place.

I could conceivably see convergence devices eventually being the dominant forces in gaming software sales, but I cannot imagine a future in which this drowns out the dedicated devices due to the hardware compromises necessary for convergence devices to reasonably handle all their different functions.

 

[Emitan]

How can Apple "continue to" erode Nintendo's handheld marketshare when they have yet to actually start to erode Nintendo's handheld marketshare?

He's probably one of those people who thinks the DS is dying because sales are dropping. And completely ignoring the fact that it's reached saturation point and there's a successor coming out in a few months. But I'm sure neither of those two reasons are important and handheld gaming is DOOMED.

 

[test_account]

PSP2 dead on arrival? Maybe, but it is likely to be resurrected a few seconds later after arriving

Seriously though, we know nothing about the PSP2, so it is too early to say anything about this for sure. It would be like saying that the Wii was dead on arrival because the Gamecube wasnt selling that great worldwide.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

But here's the problem with this notion: People buy gaming systems based on the software available for it. As long as the iPhone and other mobile devices do not offer equivalent control options as dedicated gaming systems do, it is impossible for the convergence devices to offer all the same types of software without serious modification from what makes those pieces of software what they were in the first place.

I could conceivably see convergence devices eventually being the dominant forces in gaming software sales, but I cannot imagine a future in which this drowns out the dedicated devices due to the hardware compromises necessary for convergence devices to reasonably handle all their different functions.

of course you might be right, but i see a future where consumers are going be choosing sides...a future where dedicated gaming devices will be too specialized to compete

 

[gofreak]

There's no way to directly link a fall in the DS market with a rise in the smartphone market. But I think it's bold to say that there aren't people out there who're spending less time and money with their DS or PSP since they got a iOS or smart device - that the market, to one degree or another, has not been affected. The question is how many such people there are, and how many there will be going forward.

I would agree that whatever erosion is there will increase. I don't know what that will mean in absolute terms, but I certainly think that, for example, there's a certain segment of light DS user who is quite likely to find themselves with a smartphone sometime in the next 5 years, and said device might well completely satisfy whatever itch the DS was scratching for them previously, much more cheaply. Some types of user may become very difficult to reach with a premium dedicated device as smart devices continue to spread.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

3DS vs PSP2 will turn out exactly like DS vs PSP.

 

[Vinci]

of course you might be right, but i see a future where consumers are going be choosing sides...a future where dedicated gaming devices will be too specialized to compete

And all I'm saying is that none of these devices is so inherently appealing that it overrides the actual reason people want them - what applications they offer. So long as there are appealing applications appearing on platforms that cannot be modified or ported to mobile convergence devices, there will always be support for system which run them.

It's always been about the software. Always.

 

[Skilletor]

3DS vs PSP2 will turn out exactly like DS vs PSP.

That's fine by me. Both systems are amazing.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

That's fine by me. Both systems are amazing.

I agreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[Azih]

People buy gaming systems based on the software available for it

What if what people want is Angry Birds and Farm Story?

 

[FoneBone]

3DS vs PSP2 will turn out exactly like DS vs PSP.

It depends on just what Sony announces come January or so, but I think that's overly optimistic... for PSP2.

 

[Tobor]

I don't even remember any talk at all about third party apps at launch. It was just an amazing phone with access to the substantial iTunes library for music/podcasts/video. I do love my iOS devices. I bought an iPhone at launch as well as the iPad...I still see plenty of room in the market for a dedicated gaming device-it just has to do the stuff aside from gaming much much better. Sony hopefully understands what they need to do, because both the PSP and PS3 were massive disappoints in my eyes.

That's because there were no third party apps at launch. The App Store didn't exist until the launch of the iPhone 3G, one year later.

 

[MrFortyFive]

Kids also like shiny new things and pretty graphics. I'm sure it'll do just fine.

 

[Sipowicz]

patcher seems like a nice guy, but much of what he says does not seem to have any relation with the reality

-in reality the DS is outselling everything by a fair margin
-in reality the DS is the best selling system ever, never mind nintendo system/handheld
- in reality the PSP has a larger install base than his precious PS3 and 360

credit where credit's due, he was right about wii sales dropping off. but that was after 4 fucking years of banging the same drum.

 

[Vinci]

What if what people want is Angry Birds and Farm Story?

Where did I suggest that people didn't want those things? It's obvious that they do. What I'm saying is that it's illogical to suggest that those are all that they want.

 

[Lonely1]

As much as Angry birds have sold, is still behind NSMB.

 

[marc^o^]

There's no way to directly link a fall in the DS market with a rise in the smartphone market. But I think it's bold to say that there aren't people out there who're spending less time and money with their DS or PSP since they got a iOS or smart device - that the market, to one degree or another, has not been affected. The question is how many such people there are, and how many there will be going forward.

I would agree that whatever erosion is there will increase. I don't know what that will mean in absolute terms, but I certainly think that, for example, there's a certain segment of light DS user who is quite likely to find themselves with a smartphone sometime in the next 5 years, and said device might well completely satisfy whatever itch the DS was scratching for them previously, much more cheaply. Some types of user may become very difficult to reach with a premium dedicated device as smart devices continue to spread.

This is a bit too rational:
3DS will offer 3D games, pictures, movies.
As seen during E3, people will get crazy when they see it. The wow factor will be huge, and the lineup covers all fronts.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

And all I'm saying is that none of these devices is so inherently appealing that it overrides the actual reason people want them - what applications they offer. So long as there are appealing applications appearing on platforms that cannot be modified or ported to mobile convergence devices, there will always be support for system which run them.

It's always been about the software. Always.

yes, for people who care that much about the software. again the choices that people have now are relatively new

i think gofreak really just nailed it and explained it better than i did

 

[Grampa Simpson]

I've agreed with Pachter on a few things in the past, but I think that his point of view has gotten more and more myopic as the years pass. Maybe his regular eyesight too.

 

[Gram Negative Cocci]

That's not strictly true (or even loosely true). Although they tend to be the exception, there are plenty of 500MB+ games on the app store, and a couple that weigh in over a gig. I see no reason that a game possible on DS or PSP wouldn't be possible on iOS. Lego Harry Potter is a good example of a recent game that would have been perfectly at home on a 'traditional' handheld as a 'traditional' £25 release. It was £2.99.

I bet the controls are terrible though.

 

[nextgeneration]

It's not just Apple that both Nintendo/Sony have to contend with here. It's smartphones also. The installed base of smartphones/iphones far outnumber ds/psp, and the games are much cheaper as well. So, what he says does make some sense.

 

[FoneBone]

I would agree that whatever erosion is there will increase. I don't know what that will mean in absolute terms, but I certainly think that, for example, there's a certain segment of light DS user who is quite likely to find themselves with a smartphone sometime in the next 5 years, and said device might well completely satisfy whatever itch the DS was scratching for them previously, much more cheaply. Some types of user may become very difficult to reach with a premium dedicated device as smart devices continue to spread.

Not that I claim to be psychic, but I don't think that Nintendo's oblivious. It's telling that 3DS seems designed to be less casual-friendly (no 3D in book mode means that most games won't use it; 3D only on the top screen means that very few games will use the touchscreen as the primary gameplay field.)

 

[Azih]

Where did I suggest that people didn't want those things? It's obvious that they do. What I'm saying is that it's illogical to suggest that those are all that they want.

Sure but we're in uncharted territory here as bite sized experiences like that are brand new for the mobile space (brand new as in DS and PSP didn't have to worry about them when they were designed/launched). The contention is that there are people who will be satisfied by spending their time on these flash game like experiences who otherwise would have bought a 3DS/PSP2. Of course those people exist, the question is *how many*? There is a reason that Nintendo has publicly stated that Apple could hurt them more than Microsoft.


The 3DS is Nintendo aiming for a blue ocean again to get away from Apple. It's interesting that while their blue ocean in the home console space was the casual friendly Wii, the blue ocean they're gambling on for handhelds is the more hardcore 3DS.

 

[Lonely1]

It's not just Apple that both Nintendo/Sony have to contend with here. It's smartphones also. The installed base of smartphones/iphones far outnumber ds/psp, and the games are much cheaper as well. So, what he says does make some sense.

It doesn't make sense since non smartphone devices, like the iTouch and iPad are growing. Even the DS is still pulling good numbers. And, although there's tons of smartphones out there, they hardly make for an unified platform.

 

[Vinci]

yes, for people who care that much about the software. again the choices that people have now are relatively new

i think gofreak really just nailed it and explained it better than i did

And I have no problem with gofreak's assertion that convergence devices will eventually overcome dedicated gaming devices for a large number of software types; in fact, I agree with that. What I'm saying is that evolution isn't simply happening on one side of this equation: As convergence devices continue to evolve, they will likely take over certain genres entirely - but it's just as likely that companies like Nintendo, Sony, etc. will continue to evolve what dedicated gaming systems can do and allow for the creation of products that are either impossible or very difficult to reproduce on a convergence device due to its inherent design limitations.

Specialization, contrary to popular theory nowadays, is not inherently a disadvantage.

Sure but we're in uncharted territory here as bite sized experiences like that are brand new for the mobile space. The contention is that there are people who will be satisfied by spending their time on these flash game like experiences who otherwise would have bought a 3DS/PSP2. Of course those people exist, the question is *how many*? There is a reason that Nintendo has publicly stated that Apple could hurt them more than Microsoft.

There have always been bite-sized experiences on mobile devices. What did you think Tetris was? And I've never suggested that there aren't people who are satisfied by what convergence devices offer - the issue I have with this assertion is the dramatic extension of it, that they will automatically have no need for dedicated gaming devices. I feel this is false because the realm of possible experience isn't so limited as to exist within a specific set of game types that more naturally fit within a convergence device's hardware.

And of course Apple's more dangerous than Microsoft; it's about ten times the company MS is.

 

[charlequin]

Cheap games is well and good, but it also means markets are tiny and your top softwarehouse is going to be measuring sales in tens of millions per quarter not the hundreds of millions.

Yup. The idea that iOS gaming is going to replace dedicated handhelds is essentially saying that $1 games are going to replace $30 games. And well... that may well happen to certain titles. (Or at least force Sony and Nintendo to construct their own cheap download services so they can sell those titles as cheaply as the iOS versions rather than trying to overprice them at retail.) But it's also essentially suggesting that Pokemon will dry up -- that no one will want to play it anymore because now they can play Fruit Fucker HD for $1. I find that premise basically nonsensical, at least in the timescale we're talking about (the next 5-ish year generation.)

What Pachter's agenda in particular is really about is glad-handing the investment decisions of the companies he reports on: the large Western publishers never gave the DS the time of day and fled the PSP like a sinking ship, but they've all increasingly hedged their positions on dedicated gaming devices by getting into mobile development -- so people who've invested in them want to hear that the 3DS and PSP2 will tank, while the iOS systems will soar.

Here's the odd thing. The iphone 4 has a really good camera. It's actually better as a camera than a phone. Heck, all the iphones are shitty phones, but they sell because people can get all these extra features in one device. Now there will always be those who want a device dedicated to one purpose, but from what I've seen this last year or so, that market is shrinking, while devices like the ipad sell buttloads. As a music player, it's superior to a standalone device because of all the music apps.

That's the thing, though. The iPhone is a better camera than the dedicated camera most people already own for snapshot purposes. It's a straight-up better music player than a dedicated device with the same amount of storage. It is not, however, yet a better gaming device than a dedicated handheld, just a different one.

This kind of commentary always has a pretty strong neophilic bias. I'm sure it's actually true that there are tons of kids who wanted DS games (or whatever) for Xmas two years ago who wanted an iPT this year -- because the Touch is newer, more trendy, is being marketed more and more effectively right now, and is something they don't already have. Next year the 3DS will be the hot Xmas present and those kids aren't going to say "oh, I already have an iPod, I don't need one," they're going to say "OMG I WANT THE NEW HOT TOY THIS YEAR," because they're kids.

What did we see?

A fucking huge increase in the size of the protable gaming market.

Right. So far, handhelds got bigger last generation and Apple added their own lucrative mobile gaming market.

I think it's quite likely that these markets will congeal eventually, but not because everyone will suddenly stop being interested in the tier of games you get on a dedicated handheld -- because eventually there will be devices that cover both uses, and they'll take over both markets. But the iPhone isn't such a device, and this generation isn't when it's going to happen.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

And I have no problem with gofreak's assertion that convergence devices will eventually overcome dedicated gaming devices for a large number of software types; in fact, I agree with that. What I'm saying is that evolution isn't simply happening on one side of this equation: As convergence devices continue to evolve, they will likely take over certain genres entirely - but it's just as likely that companies like Nintendo, Sony, etc. will continue to evolve what dedicated gaming systems can do and allow for the creation of products that are either impossible or very difficult to reproduce on a convergence device due to its inherent design limitations.

Specialization, contrary to popular theory nowadays, is not inherently a disadvantage.

well, i did go off the assumption that the psp2 would be as dedicated as the current one...assuming as you do about concurrent evolution would change my whole argument

 

[Gomu Gomu]

It's not just Apple that both Nintendo/Sony have to contend with here. It's smartphones also. The installed base of smartphones/iphones far outnumber ds/psp, and the games are much cheaper as well. So, what he says does make some sense.

People who are buying these phones probably aren't the same that buy portable gaming devices.
I can't see why people think there is only room for one platform on the handheld market space. It's either smartphone OR portable gaming devices. The way I see it, the market is bigger than what you precive it to be. It can hold both type of platforms without eliminating one. This year there were crazy high DS sale numbers, and at the same time, the iPhone 4 did gangbusters. It's obvious these two type of gaming platforms are different enough, that comparing them face to face (sales wise) is useless in my opinion.

 

[Haunted]

3DS vs PSP2 will turn out exactly like DS vs PSP.

That's what they said about GC vs PS2 -> Wii vs PS3!

I'm sure Sony is doing everything in their power to keep that from happening.

 

[rezuth]

How can Apple "continue to" erode Nintendo's handheld marketshare when they have yet to actually start to erode Nintendo's handheld marketshare?

He's probably one of those people who thinks the DS is dying because sales are dropping. And completely ignoring the fact that it's reached saturation point and there's a successor coming out in a few months. But I'm sure neither of those two reasons are important and handheld gaming is DOOMED.

Satoru Iwata, the Nintendo president, is understood to have told his senior executives recently to regard the battle with Sony as a victory already won and to treat Apple, and its iPhone and iPad devices, as the “enemy of the future” .

“Do I think that in the near term [Apple] can hurt us more than Microsoft?” Reggie Fils-Aime told Forbes. “Absolutely.”

 

[Ihya]

Hate for Pachter always cracks me up. Most people's magic 8-balls are just as crappy, but it is cool to hate just to sound pseudo-intellectual.

 

[gofreak]

This is a bit too rational:
3DS will offer 3D games, pictures, movies.
As seen during E3, people will get crazy when they see it.

E3 and its reaction to 3DS does not tell us what the wider market will make of dedicated handhelds over the next 5 years and beyond.

While I think 3D will definitely help them with some parts of the audience, for the type of light user I was referring to, I'd be surprised if 3D would in and of itself motivate them to pick up another machine whose content they'll pay through the nose for, relatively.

As FoneBone says, and I would agree, 3DS if anything appears to represent a reorientation to appeal to the more easily defensible core market. I think Nintendo knows that more and more of its less committed users going to have expanding options that present a value that Nintendo can't, and doesn't want to, compete with. So I think they are trying and hoping to expand the market for more 'dedicated' players - make a device that wears its core credentials on its sleeve, and hope that more people will become 'core' players. That market will be somewhat less vulnerable to other distractions for longer, at least as long as smart devices dither on 'real' gaming.

 

[Lonely1]

Satoru Iwata, the Nintendo president, is understood to have told his senior executives recently to regard the battle with Sony as a victory already won and to treat Apple, and its iPhone and iPad devices, as the “enemy of the future” .

“Do I think that in the near term [Apple] can hurt us more than Microsoft?” Reggie Fils-Aime told Forbes. “Absolutely.”

Hence they change of strategy for DS. Focus on more core experiences. And this is the market we are arguing will not go away.

 

[charlequin]

But I think it's bold to say that there aren't people out there who're spending less time and money with their DS or PSP since they got a iOS or smart device

Well, I mean, obviously. I use my 360 less since I got my Wii too, because I just got it and there's a backlog of games for the system I actively want to play now that I have the opportunity. The question is how it's going to play out when having a smartphone or smartphone-lite is old news and the latest handhelds are the new hotness.

I could conceivably see convergence devices eventually being the dominant forces in gaming software sales, but I cannot imagine a future in which this drowns out the dedicated devices due to the hardware compromises necessary for convergence devices to reasonably handle all their different functions.

Controls aren't actually the biggest problem for convergence. It's not actually all that hard to stick a D-pad and six buttons under a slide form factor like the new Xperia Gamefone, and since people mostly aren't that enthusiastic about hardware keyboards you aren't even making a huge design sacrifice to do so. The bigger issues are in distribution and system architecture -- how do people get the games (especially if they're big and they have to download them over 3/4G)? How does the device handle gaming when you need to be able to instantly switch to core functions like answering calls? How do you balance the power-draw and memory needs of a general-purpose smartphone architecture with the very different needs that are ideal for gaming? How do you balance your revenue model between unit sales and game sales, and who gets to make phones that are on your "platform"?

I honestly do think someone will solve all those problems eventually, just like it took about eight years but Apple eventually figured out how to turn the iPod into a phone. But none of them are easy problems to solve and definitely no one has done so yet.

 

[charlequin]

Satoru Iwata, the Nintendo president, is understood to have told his senior executives recently to regard the battle with Sony as a victory already won and to treat Apple, and its iPhone and iPad devices, as the “enemy of the future” .

So you agree with me that Apple has yet to actually cause any kind of direct negative impact to Nintendo's handheld sales or marketshare?

 

[rezuth]

Hence they change of strategy for DS. Focus on more core experiences. And this is the market we are arguing will not go away.

What has changed in that strategy might I ask? Higher price point?

So you agree with me that Apple has yet to actually cause any kind of direct negative impact to Nintendo's handheld sales or marketshare?

I don't think they have caused a major impact yet but I don't think we can just wave away the fact that they are likely to do so in at least the short term.

Edit: If anyone really should worry about the impact Apple has is Sony.

 

[Vinci]

Controls aren't actually the biggest problem for convergence. It's not actually all that hard to stick a D-pad and six buttons under a slide form factor like the new Xperia Gamefone, and since people mostly aren't that enthusiastic about hardware keyboards you aren't even making a huge design sacrifice to do so. The bigger issues are in distribution and system architecture -- how do people get the games (especially if they're big and they have to download them over 3/4G)? How does the device handle gaming when you need to be able to instantly switch to core functions like answering calls? How do you balance the power-draw and memory needs of a general-purpose smartphone architecture with the very different needs that are ideal for gaming? How do you balance your revenue model between unit sales and game sales, and who gets to make phones that are on your "platform"?

Agreed, which is why I brought up the notion of evolution: As convergence devices take over certain segments of the gaming market, dedicated gaming companies like Nintendo aren't going to sit still and wait to be crowded out entirely. They're going to create hardware that allows them to make software that is distinctive from what either exists on mobile phones or has ever existed in the gaming space. In all honesty, whereas everyone is looking at iOS devices and the like as harbingers of doom for the handheld arena, I see them as catalysts for massive evolution and change. Competition breeds innovation, after all. All that Apple and those to come are doing is bringing a remarkable amount of competition to the table.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

Hate for Pachter always cracks me up. Most people's magic 8-balls are just as crappy, but it is cool to hate just to sound pseudo-intellectual.

Well, Pacther has made a lot of dubious calls (though I concede that some of this arises from cherry-picking the more bombastic quotations that manage to make their way past investors into the realm of gaming enthusiasts noticing them), so I think skepticism of his prognostications is warranted. I know I disagree with a lot of the quotations I see coming from him.

However, I do agree that the vitriol directed at him is odd an unwarranted. I really don't know why he has become a figure that people love to hate so much. At worst, he's a mediocre to sub-par market analyst. Why these quotations evoke the reactions they do here is beyond me.

Then again, I guess these strong opinions benefit him. If he was just a figure perceived by gamers to be a mediocre analyst, he wouldn't have achieved this pseudo-celebrity status that he currently has.

 

[Azih]

So you agree with me that Apple has yet to actually cause any kind of direct negative impact to Nintendo's handheld sales or marketshare?

I don't know if he does but I don't. Apple started very directly negatively impacting Nintendo the moment Apple made the game focused App Store ads. The ones that showed the stupid tilting the Ipod to steer a car arcade game ones.

 

[Lonely1]

What has changed in that strategy might I ask? Higher price point?

As a consequence of being a more powerful and featured device. With modern architecture in order to attract AAA development, Yes.

 

[nextgeneration]

How can Apple "continue to" erode Nintendo's handheld marketshare when they have yet to actually start to erode Nintendo's handheld marketshare?

I remember seeing a chart one time where Apple's market share was growing, and both Nintendo's and Sony's marketshare were decreasing. Where I saw it, I don't recall, unfortunately, but let me see if I can dig it up.

Even if there were no chart, this is just my personal opinion, but I find it hard to fathom that Apple isn't somehow NOT eating into Nintendo's/Sony's marketshare, even as minute as it may be. As an example, my friends' kids, who used to love psp and always played games on it, have stopped playing games on psp because they now play on ipad instead. They rarely touch psp. And when they eventually get an iphone, I'm certain that they'll game on iphone also.

 

[Tobor]

Well, I mean, obviously. I use my 360 less since I got my Wii too, because I just got it and there's a backlog of games for the system I actively want to play now that I have the opportunity. The question is how it's going to play out when having a smartphone or smartphone-lite is old news and the latest handhelds are the new hotness.



Controls aren't actually the biggest problem for convergence. It's not actually all that hard to stick a D-pad and six buttons under a slide form factor like the new Xperia Gamefone, and since people mostly aren't that enthusiastic about hardware keyboards you aren't even making a huge design sacrifice to do so. The bigger issues are in distribution and system architecture -- how do people get the games (especially if they're big and they have to download them over 3/4G)? How does the device handle gaming when you need to be able to instantly switch to core functions like answering calls? How do you balance the power-draw and memory needs of a general-purpose smartphone architecture with the very different needs that are ideal for gaming? How do you balance your revenue model between unit sales and game sales, and who gets to make phones that are on your "platform"?I honestly do think someone will solve all those problems eventually, just like it took about eight years but Apple eventually figured out how to turn the iPod into a phone. But none of them are easy problems to solve and definitely no one has done so yet.

You lost me. How has Apple not solved everything you just mentioned already?

Distribution: small games can be downloaded over 3G, large games over Wifi or synced from a computer. As has been said, there are already quite a few games 500MB+, and a hard cap of 2GB.

Notification: The game saves my place if I take a call, and with 4.0, resumes immediately.

Power: This is the toughest, obviously, but with an iPhone 4, I can easily get 3 to 4 hours(Actually, this sounds low, I need to run a test.) depending on the game, sometimes more. I don't see it as a hindrance, certainly.

Revenue: Who could argue with the way Apple handles this? It's leagues better than any other gaming model, save maybe Steam, which I think is more similar than different anyway.

These are problems Sony needs to solve, certainly.