Gamers leaving DS/PSP for Smartphones

[BydoEmpire73]

According to this analysis:
http://www.industrygamers.com/news/gamers-abandoning-ds-psp-in-favor-of-smartphones-says-interpret/

Certainly fits for me. I sold off my entire DS collection and have been happy w/ my iTouch ever since.

[Todd1780]

Try as I might, I just cant get into playing that many games on my droid (Angry Birds being the exception). I did sell my PSP but I still play the hell out of my DSi.

[Dhalamar]

Angry Birds only RUNS on my phone. :\ The frame rate isn't all that great, probably because I've got the lowest end phone they had in the place.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

My DS has been dead since I got an iPod Touch two years ago. Too bad too because it's a great machine. I can't quite part with it but I don't play it anymore.
Maybe Okamiden will bring some life back to the DS for me.

About the only reason I would play a DS these days is for battery life (for example on a long airplane flight).

[miner2049er]

I was using my DS as an eBook reader more than for games recently, until i got my Kindle 3 anyway.

[Burgertime]

A full touch screen isn't going to replace a D-pad and touchscreen combo in my opinion. Most of the games I've played on the iPhone that require traditional controls just aren't as playable. Plus anything that needs accurate stylus control won't be as playable either. Try playing Ghouls & Ghosts and Trauma Center on an iPhone.

Dhalamar, you bring up a good point. If you want to play the games on smart phones the way they were meant to be played, you have to upgrade. When are these upgrades? Almost every other year. I've had my DS since launch, and even though they've released many variations to system, a game released today on the DS (unless it has DSi exclusive content) is fully compatible with a launch day DS. Angry Birds on a launch day iPhone....no. Smart phone gaming could be the equivalent to PC upgrading to the casual gamer.

That article doesn't take into consideration the types of games being played, if the game was free or not, or if the game is actually still being played. I've downloaded some games on my iPhone, but I've barely played them, with the exception of Texting of the Bread.
preteens, parents and grandparents downloading $1 apps and maybe playing them once are going to throw the market out the window for the actual gamers? The numbers are being looked at all wrong in the article.

[BydoEmpire73]

A full touch screen isn't going to replace a D-pad and touchscreen combo in my opinion.I agree, but it simply doesn't matter. There are some gamers (myself included) who only play portable games occasionally, and the iTouch (or others) have enough good playing stuff to satisfy. I don't care if I can't play Ghouls and Ghosts on the run, I just like to play something good for a few minutes in the waiting room or on the plane. Arkanoid on iOS plays better than the DS/GBA/PSP and it was $6. There are more than enough games that play just fine w/ a touch screen to fit my portable gaming needs because I just don't play portable games that often.


Dhalamar, you bring up a good point. If you want to play the games on smart phones the way they were meant to be played, you have to upgrade. When are these upgrades?Fragmentation of hardware has always been a problem for the phone game market, which is what makes the iOS devices great for gaming. The iPhone (and iOS) spurred on phone gaming not just because of the business model, but because pretty much any iOS device can play pretty much any iOS app (exceptions for the mic/camera stuff not supported on the iTouch). That's key for developers and consumers. Android apps to a lesser extent. Other phones, yeah, forget about it. Which is why phone gaming has been "coming" for years and years but never really hit until iOS.


preteens, parents and grandparents downloading $1 apps Um... unlike the preteens, parents and grandparents buying DS software (even if the older ones are buying games for their preteens)? I think I'm probably an "actual gamer" and I've played the heck out of a lot of $1 apps. There is a lot of crap out there and that's a problem for developers trying to spend the time and money to make better games, but it's a similar problem for the DS market. It was similar on the GBA, too. How do you cut through the clutter?

Two other plusses: games are waaaaay cheaper and everything's downloadable. I love cartridges for my consoles, but I don't like having to carry around carts for portables. I'm just not going to do it. I also don't see myself ever spending more than $10 on a portable game.

Also keep in mind this analysis is just saying a significant percentage of gamers, not a majority. Smart phones don't fit the bill for everyone's needs, obviously, but for some gamers they're great. Let me reitersate: I'm not saying smartphones are killing the DS or PSP, but it is stealing a sizable chunk of the market.