Mobile Publisher Believes Nintendo Ecosystem May 'Fall Apart'

Nintendo wll release a 3ds with Mobile phone capabiity - then I can get rid of my android and my friends won't have to put up with Apple Crapphones.

Good for him

I hope Nintendo will continue the handheld market. I'm happy when I'm just playing on the Nintendo 3DS and I don't get disturbed by incoming mail or app updates or app spam.

An interesting idea for Nintendo would be creating a 3DS with mobile capabilities for the future !! They can't deny the future, they WILL have to take such measures in order to stay in the market !

We'll see. As longs a Nintendo continues to output great portable hardware and software I'll be happy.

This argument is dumb. Handheld gaming is not going away or suffering from mobile gaming. I love my android but outside of Kairosoft games I don't game on it since most of it is crap. The mobile gaming crowd is much different from the regular gaming crowd. All the people I know that play games for hours on smartphones are people who AREN'T gamers. This his a whole demographic and you can't compare casual mobile game players with real gamers

Personally I just can't get the same level of intensity playing mobile phone games compared to playing good games on my 3DS. There is a certain race-to-bottom with mobile phone games... there is like 10 version of Angry Birds there on the Android market for example. Making games for the handheld market you know you've got a smaller market... but they are willing to pay and pay significantly more for a good game.

@TrickySx4 said "Handheld gaming is not going away or suffering from mobile gaming."
That must be why Sony has done so well with it's PSP, PSPgo and Vita sales. Even Sony will probably admit behind closed doors what you won't, dedicated handheld systems ARE suffering. It's why Sony is branching out into getting games on phones. And it's why I've been espousing the Sony handheld downfall since Angry Birds domination.
Nintendo and the 3DS are different from Sony though. Sony makes games for teenagers who already own cell phones. Nintendo makes games for pre-teens. Know how everybody always complains when a game is too easy? Well it's b/c Nintendo knows who it's market is, people who are too young for cell phones. And that isn't just a coincidence.

over 6million 3ds already sold in japan after 1 year

how can you call that fail?

Mobile gaming is crap at best. Even when it's free-to-play you get ad spam... oh joy...

When your playing a game on a dedicated games console then I know it'll last me longer than 5 minutes and it'll generally be a better and higher quality gaming experience.

@Hyperstar96 Hehe exactly what I was thinking... like a sony exec saying the Wii U isn't impressive...

What I have always maintained is that the audience for gaming has exploded and where it was only a smaller group of nerds buying gameboys in the past, everyone with a smart phone is now counted as a 'gamer', but they're not. They may play rubbish casual games that idiots like Ngmoco produce but there will always be a group of those who want more out of a game and if anything that group will grow as more people are sucked into gaming. Consider the mobile gaming as a gateway drug which will suck more people in to our world...

I think... I need actual buttons and some traditional control methods to play the variety of modern and retro games I enjoy.

You know why sony's been doing badly in there mobile sales? because so far it's been nothing but bad ideas. PSP Go screwed over anybody who previously had a PSP library as well as retailers, and the vita has gotten NOTHING but console ports, so there's no reason to buy it.Meanwhile the 3DS sells better than the DS did at this point in time. Why?Because phone games aren't games, they're distractions meant to keep you entertained by having the ability to stop playing immediately.

People with phones are no more gamers than the amish.

Except the Vita has games that aren't console points.

I wonder when people will actually realise that, or if they will keep on using incorrect assumptions to prove a point.

For a true gamer mobile gaming is fun for like five mins like Chris above me said. I honestly haven't played a mobile game in well over a year and only got into it because of the 3ds gaming drought. Now I've got more games to play then I can handle and that's the way it should be. I still hope the market turns around for third party developers though. Nintendo can't support the system all by themselves!

Mobile games also have the advantage of not having to go through the extensive quality control tests that are required of traditional handheld games, plus the added fact that they are not subject to the (expensive and lengthy) classification process required of them in most regions. Many downloadable games in the European eShop/Wii Shop have never seen the light of day in Australia as many would struggle to break even once the costs of classification in Australia/NZ are factored in.

The only game I like to play on mobile phone is chess.

I just do not understand how mobile publishers can compare a phone with a 3ds, sure you can play crappy games in your phone, and if you call that gaming you should not call yourself a gamer, angry birds? doodle jump?......please (I know there's more to that....but still), phones are just not designed to give you a full gaming experience, the phone would have to be huge compared to the current average cell phone size, until there are cell phones big enough (which is not what anyone wants...), then and only then mobile publishers can start saying things like this, right now it's just nonsense.

@Aviator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_Vita_games

I'd like you to look at that list and tell me a few must-have titles that aren't available on other consoles. Keeping in mind, of course, that big name titles are the ones that consumers see as pushing a new console, so do realize that pointing out a few highly rated but obscure/small titles isn't going to help sales.

And now the follow-up question: is it worth the $250 + the cost of these games?

I will give you that I am certainly exaggerating a bit when I say nothing, and am more than a bit biased on this subject, but if you can do what I proposed above, then I will admit I was in the wrong.

It is true nintendo has a pretty crappy ecosystem if you want to call it that.

Hell they still have no untied ID between their systems.

Neil Young should stick to music.

@47drift - Damn, you stole my line!

As for his claims...I actually kinda agree with him.

Yes, Hell just froze over.

As big a Nintendo supporter as I am, it would be ignorant of me to pretend that the advent of Android/iOS powered super phones haven't fundamentally altered the gaming landscape - which they indeed have.

I don't think this Neil Young is foretelling the 'doom' of Nintendo; but rather, he believes that their "ecosystem" (i.e markets and main avenues of profit) are in for a hefty fight thanks to the likes of Apple - and it's hard to argue otherwise.

HOWEVER, I also believe that Nintendo will adapt and survive - hell, they've been doing it for 120 years. Iwata recently said that it is imperative for the company to provide unique experiences in order to carve out a profitable niche for themselves - and it's a mantra I find very wise, indeed.

Oh, and as Haywired rightly pointed out - it's ironic to acuse of moble games of not being for 'real gamers', considering it's those kinds of idiotic statements that Nintendo fans have had to endure for the Wii's six years.

There is no such thing as 'casual' and 'hardcore', and there are no barometres that measure a videogame's 'legitimacy'. Games are fore everyone; and if you like to play games - whether it'd be Angry Birds on a mobile or Battlefield 3 on a PC - then you're a gamer.

PS - Yes, and I do know that Nintendo themselves use the term 'casual and 'hardcore', but I always believed that they hate doing so

Keep mining for that heart of gold and shut up Mr Young.

It's guys like this that scare away investors that know nothing about us gamers.

Well I own a 3DS XL, iphone 4, Wii, PC and XBOX 360, and I can tell you that gaming is just that, gaming. No matter on what platform, I would only draw a difference between the people that go for free adfilled apps or free versions compared to others that want to actually SPEND MONEY on their gaming habit. Those might be the only ones relevant in this equation. Besides that I can see many people going for Nintendo Hardware for the games but I think people have different reasons to buy phones and tablets. Someone who buys a tablet for instant messaging and gaming as icing on the cake wouldn't probably have gotten a 3DS in the first place anyways. So... I think mobile games can't kill the dedicated handheld market, only lacking support of said market can kill it.

And the statemant kids being not able to buy a contract for a phone is also valid to a point I believe!

Sure on the other hand its tempting,
release a cheap game (compared to a game developed for 3DS) and release it on android and appstore for like 79 cents and it sells like 500.000 copies in the first few days, huge profit margin. But still I think things are evening out themselves.

I truly believe that nintendo will never go down as long as gaming exists.

@Flowerlark You seem like you're more awaiting the fall with that statement. I see no mention of it, just 'Nintendo will fall' written all over.

I'm not saying you have to be some N goody goody, and it's obvious that nothing lasts forever, but I see nothing pointing to the good in that post. We can't say for sure when the day of it's fall will come, but I hope that they last as long as gaming is around.

I dread the day where mobile games take over. Like has been said before, phones are not meant to offer as deep a gaming experience as a dedicated console. I'm by no means saying that mobile games aren't fun, they just can't fill in the void of a dedicated console/handheld.

Despite them not doing as well either atm, if it came down to it, I'd much rather Sony or MS get the last laugh rather than Apple or mobile gaming.

Mobile games aren't video games.

There's a difference. Even the Vita is WAY better than any smartphone.

@rjejr

Obviously you dont Know what your talking about. Vita isn't failing because of the mobile gaming industry. Vita is failing due to having No support. I have one and I have it on craigslist. PSP is getting tons of new games over in Japan and no developers are supporting the Vita. Even less western devs are supporting it. 3DS is the fastest selling system of all time. Do your research before posting.

Nintendo will probably make a mobile in the future,you never know.

Again, gamers who like to play real games on a handheld, like the Dragon Quests and Zeldas of the world have no interest in your Angry Birds or 99 cent bs titles that require crappy touch controls. IT WILL BE A COLD DAY IN HELL WHEN I PLAY REAL GAMES ON MY PHONE!

@Flowerlark - Dude, that's a pretty sweeping (and obvious) statement. I mean, of course nothing lasts forever...

Except Hiroshi Yamauchi.

3DS already has a phone feature called Heroes of Ruin voice chat you can actually talk and play at the same time and also does 4-way conference.

A true gamer can play any game medium for an extensive amount of time. A true gamer also knows this dev is just spouting nonsense because everyone else is. That card game may be popular, but it REALLY sucks donkey. Mobile isn't going to destroy handhelds any time soon.

Nintendo is in it's own universe. Nintendo has always offered a great experience and that's why people keep buying their systems.

So another mobile phone developer from a company I've never heard of thinks mobile phones will defeat Nintendo? Hilarious.

ipad has 1 button. DS has lots. Why don't they just release a gamepad adapter with a cartridge slot and get it over with? Wait, what was I thinking?

And why isn't Angry Birds available on DSi/3DS/Wii -ware?

You know I bet Nintendo will surprise us with a phone style update to the 3DS pretty soon, just like they did in December with the QR code/Video Recorder, hope it's soon though, and I hope they can advertise it a lot as well.

HA! Nintendo going down the sh*tter, yeah right. Not everyone can afford a 3DS, yes, but look at the games for iPod Touch. They're great for casual play, yes, but serious play? Nah.

$150 for a 3DS or $199 WITH a 2 year contract ...HMmmm...Sorry but my 8 year old has a 3DS not a smartphone.

@TrickySx4: Very valid point right there. Last I checked myself, handheld gaming consoles didn't require contracts. I also like how Apple claims that the iPod Touch is the "best selling portable game device". Uh, it's not a gaming device. It's a music device first and foremost.

I find it interesting that these "experts" trash-talking Nintendo make no comment about the future of Sony and Xbox. I think Nintendo would outlast Sony and Xbox before it crashed. And I think this guy's opinion is a little bias, seeing as how he is a MOBILE publisher.

As someone who owns an iPhone with Mega Man, Final Fantasy, Angry Birds, Jetpack Jack, Sonic, and a slew of smartphone-only games, I came to the conclusion that smartphone gaming sucked! Which was the main reason why I bought a 3DS - I couldn't stand playing games on my phone. Smartphones are NOT gaming devices! That's not what they were designed for! Apps and games were an afterthought; Steve Jobs was even AGAINST games being on the iPhone to begin with! Smartphones were developed to combine Phone - Internet - Music/Movies. They were not developed with games in mind AT ALL! The App Store which was released during the SECOND Generation iPhone is what made the iPhone successful. Apple learned that CONTENT is KING! Without content, your property has no chance for success. And that content was designed and developed by THIRD party companies. Apple "makes" the device and third-party companies make the content.

If all that is separating Apple's success and Nintendo's demise, is that Apple's device can be used as a phone that's not saying much, especially since the iPhone is a terrible phone.

Eventually, Nintendo will add phone capabilities to their devices. I think the main reason they have not add phone to their DS line is because of the PHONE CARRIERS. I don't think Nintendo wants to jump in bed with those parasites just yet. I'm hoping that by the time Nintendo adds phone to their handheld devices it will be at a time when the phone carriers are not the monopolistic gate-keepers they are today. I canceled my At&t account about a year ago, and now I use my iPhone as a wifi phone and couldn't be happier! I hope wifi will replace the need for phone carriers but that will be like the story of David & Goliath.

Apple compteles more with mircosoft than nintedo I hate all these stories that say NINTEDO WILL DIE!

Even if it did die it will still be around around for another 60 years.

@Banjogeek
Death is permanent dude, if it did die, it'd be dead. Not be around for another 60 years..

The odds of Nintendo kicking the bucket in the near future are very, very slim.

I am quite surprised that nobody mentioned the atrocious battery life and lack of a dedicated control scheme that will mar any chances of mobile games ever having any real potential/prospects. The mobile gaming platform simply doesn't have the capacity to threaten nor replace Nintendo's handheld.

I think that there are just two different (successful) business models - Crap at the 99 cents store and quality designer products - both will make there money in their market and neither will completely die... even though I think mobile gaming is a joke...

Nintendo is DOOOOOOMED!!! again....

Don't tell me people are still freaking out over the whole 3DS launch still. >.>

Come back Daniel Patcher! All is forgiven!

Handhelds are here to stay. You can't get the same experience from a handheld compared to games on a cellphone. Price has nothing to do with it. Sure you can get a game that's only a $1 or 2 but it's crap quality, to where as I pay for a game that $40 and it's good quality and lasts me for 40h or more.

People who play games on cellphones AREN'T gamers. The majority of app game users are usually 20-50.

@C7_ You can't justify your statement with something irrelevant. Fact is, you were in the wrong.

Nintendo's market is not the same market as the smartphone's gaming market. It's like saying an upscale restaurant like Morton's is being threatened by Papa John's. They both involve eating, but they satisfy two almost entirely different desires.

The Vita is doing poorly for reasons largely unrelated to mobile phones, and I have a hunch Nintendo is going to be selling millions of handhelds each year for a long, long time.

i'll just simply put that android and phone games aren't true games, I rather have true handhelds and TRUE games, so this guys statement is dumb to me

Phone gaming market is HUGELY different in my opinion to the true video game market.

@Hyperstar96

I my 3ds broke rightnowi can't redownload all my stuff can I.

The way I see it is
99Cent apps are like a candy bar (costs around the same as well)
And the games like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, ect. Are like Lobster or steak
Both can feed you but only one will keep you full for hours

I think the handheld market will always be around. I look at it like the camera market. Just because smartphones have decent cameras doesn't mean that Nikon isn't doing just fine nowadays selling cameras. There will always be a place for specializing in any market.

@EvisceratorX

Well point and shoots have gone down tremendously in sales with the high end delta and micro market thriving.

Expect the point and shoot market to die even more when stuff like the nokia pureview tech becomes mainstream.

"What they're really doing is defeating the Nintendo hardware machine"

If you live in a fairy-world!

Dear Neil, Pachter and co: You can wish all you want, but Nintendo won't die! Please put your attention towards Sony and Microsoft! I guess they love to get pushed by you guys! Go entertain them instead!!

Oh, and dear Nintendolife: Pleassssse stop posting about Pachter or other nutters who shout "Nintendo must kneel to Apple otherwise they die"! It's utter nonsense and it's not even news anymore since they have said it thousands and thousands of times!!!

If the annalists where right, Nintendo would already be dead for several years! Guess what: They are still living!!!

@BestBuck123 I'd rather it he the other way around, I want everything on the go

The thing people seem to miss here is that all of us here ARE gamers enough that we have 3ds' and Wii's and XBOX's and it's a choice we make because we like playing games that much. A few years ago this notion would be ridiculous.

But what people like him are saying is that with the power of Phones getting pretty close to that of a handheld console the games are indeed moving closer to the size and spec of consoles but they are phones; EVERYONE has one for making calls.

When your phone can also give you sometimes impressive games that are cheap (and thousands of options as well as other useful apps for all kinds of things, online, GPS, accelerometers), how can you deny that that is an incredibly powerful paradigm shifting option?

If you don't want to buy a dedicated game machine and have an Iphone or galaxy 3 for making calls (and 50 other things) what games will you get, and probably get into? Mobile games. It's totally ridiculous, now, to act like it won't affect the portable game market. maybe not for us just yet, and Nintendo will not fold for a long time if ever, but it absolutely requires them to rethink things to stay relevant for the long term.
Phones aren't getting any weaker and there are some great ios games already. I'm a big 3ds fan but their backwards online system does worry me. It's slow, expensive, and like some have said - made for kids. They could tap a more adult market, but they just don't want to. If things don't keep looking up, they may have to grow up a little to keep fans like me on board.

I played the WiiU demos and even that is pretty far behind; The Wii has made them over confident and the other machines haven't slowed down. Eventually they may have to do more than put out the next Mario game. I've been playing mario since it was in the arcade and I've just about had my fill of it. Xbox and even ipad games have some fresh ideas that Nintendo is not willing to try, sadly. Why be in denial about it?

Lookin' for a heart of gold~

Phones will kill handhelds just like PCs killed consoles in the mid-90s... Uhh... cuz that happened, right?

Id buy a Vita for the monster hunter that works with ps3, or a Skyrim port.

I'd much rather be playing a game on my 3ds than my phone. Probably because of buttons and a circle pad. That, and the games just tend to be better .

I hate playing games on phones. The thing with handhelds is, that they are dedicated for gaming and the games are 1000000 times better and higher quality.

When easy-to-play (playing a FPS on a phone/tablet feels like crap), fuller, longer phone games, and more large IPs get fully-fleshed-out games on other mobile devices, then we can start talking. Until then, Kingdom Hearts, Resident Evil, Zelda, and more on my 3DS will work fine. Phones will and have shrunk the handheld market, but handhelds disappearing entirely is a bit far off. Not until they are on par w/ my 3DS and the Vita. Not without Nintendo & Sony's IPs backing phones up.

@Madmanonfire
You're absolutely right. And by that I mean half. Because I can't justify my statement with something irrelevant. That's why I didn't.

In fact, that's why when I said nothing but console ports and was called out on it, I stated I was exaggerating, clarified my meaning, and asked for him to prove me wrong.
This of course involved going through a list of games and pointing out console pushers that weren't available on other consoles (ie, find a well-known game that isn't a console port) and then telling me you found enough to invest in the console, which builds off the point that the main article is about as well as my stance on it;
Which is mobile gaming platforms are doing fine, 3DS is selling well and the vita isn't because it doesn't any big-name titles that aren't console ports. The point by saying that last part is by saying if it did, it would sell significantly better, again looping back into my previous argument and therefore not an irrelevant point.

My challenge is still open and my admit of incorrectness on my now twice clarified point is still the prize by the way.

@Bowser908
Right... Well, it seems 10 year olds' monthly salaries have increased a lot recently to be able to afford a smartphone contract. Don't work yourself too hard young whippersnapper...

I'll have to disagree here... it's true, Nintendo is not going to fall anytime soon, but they're going to have to adapt one way or another... phones are not just phones anymore... they're also iPads and machines like the iPod touch. those don't need contracts and can play all the games too. in fact, some types of games work better on tablets like the iPad than on any other type of machine (check out board games on an iPad like Elder Signs, Nightfall, or even advance wars-like games such as Great Little War Game or Outwitters)

Else why would Nintendo copy that style for their Wii U console? (although in my opinion, they failed by not making it multitouch)

And before I got an iPad, I thought that most iOS games weren't too good too but once you dig a little deeper, behind the mountains of free to play and casual crap there are some really good gems. check out Jeff Minter iOS games for amazing arcade action, or Spiderweb's RPGs for excellent and deep old school role playing. Everyone here praised Telltale games, which play really well on the big iPad screen, and the are other amazing point and click adventures like Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP.

And best of all (for me anyway) most of those gems are done by independent developers. Something that, sadly, it seems we're not going to see on Nintendo anytime soon...

Anyway... I'm not trying to bash Nintendo, and I still love many of their games, it's just that there are some really interesting things happening on the mobile space that it's worth checking out... and if you don't like touchscreen controls there are a few options, like the iCade or smaller, cheaper ones that work pretty well...

I have an DS Light, DSi XL , 3DS, iPhone 4 & iPad 3 and i would say comfortably based on DOWNLOAD games that when informed and research done the quality of games on my iPhone & iPad far exceeds that of my Nintendo handhelds, the price of said games im talking about eg 69p, £1.49, £2.99 that come out on other platforms or similar games always cost FAR more, so the value and quality is EASILY in apples corner (again based on download games when researched correctly). PLUS and its a big plus i dont know of any other platform that constantly UPDATES its games adding more content like levels, characters, game modes, better graphics all for FREE like app store games do, on other platforms you almost always have to pay for such content.

I would like to point out 2 things. #1, there IS more than 1 person in this world named Neil Young Duh, this is NOT the one from Crazy Horse fame The one from crazy horse fame is so reich he doesn't need to work and he's NOT in the gaming business, he's in the music writing/perforoming business. sheesh....#2) I have been a long time civilization Player on PC. Sid Meiers who designed that game (and created Micro Prose, 2k gaming and more holds more awards than any other single game designed in the world today,acording to the Guiness Book of World Records Sid has the very same game Civ Rev on the 360, AND Ds & The Iphone. With the exception of cutscenes it is identical in every way. Who says you can't play a real game on an iphone? Many of Nintendo's games (not 1st party) recently have come FROM the iphone FIRST BTW.No I don't own an iphone or any other gaming phone... But Sony and N have different crowds they sell to, how many coin collecting platformers can you buy for the PSP?, How many shooters can you buy for Nintedos 3ds? Are you getting the pic? They serve different demogrpahics altogether, and those demographcis have varied definitions, besides game types, ages and console size.It amazes me how often everyone defines the rest of the world based on what they interpret to be seeing in thier own small community. That's why they're PAID to look at the big picture (big bucks) and you're PAYING to look at the small screen.

The 3DS as a game platform just sucks right now. The game variety that the DS/DSi had is simply not there. But does that mean I'm playing mobile phone games? No. I'm still playing DS games. It's the DS with its superior game library that's fighting 3DS, not mobile phones.

I will keep buying Nintendo handhelds but the future doesn't look to bright for Nintendo in this product segment. Unless Nintendo evolves, but that's not their strong suit.

@Mahe You mean the DS game variety that consists mostly of RPG's, puzzle games, boring casual genres, weird Japanese nonsense, and weird touchscreen controls? You would have had a point with the GBA, but to call the DS's library diverse is just laughable. By the way, you are aware that the 3DS is backwards compatable with DS games, aren't you?

Anyway, I play true handheld games on my 3DS because they're full game experiences with a good amount of content, unlike the shallow smartphone games that you can either beat or get bored with after just 10 minutes, and of course that's the the only way they can make them so cheap anyway. Sure, I could buy and play a whole bunch of them (if I had a smartphone), but quality beats quantity in my book. There's also the whole "lack of button controls" issue.

Errmm, the 3ds isn't trailblazing outside Japan, but its doing ok overall. Its just that companies want it to sell by truck loads upon truck loads.

there is no way to have a full game experience without proper controls. when you put 3ds in your hands you know you are going to play something and have fun. I dont get that feeling with smarthphones.

@BulbasaurusRex its your opinion but you obviously didint give a chance to many games. DS still has the best library of games since 3ds hasnt been here for that many years.

@BulbasaurusRex There's something wrong with a great RPG and Japanese style games?

"Naturally, for fans of Nintendo or dedicated handhelds in general, these are fairly brash and provocative comments. "

You can't compare playing Resident Evil Revelations or Metal Gear Solid SE to playing angry birds or some zynga-esque game. You just can't. Why tell that "the ecosystem might fall apart"?

I own two smartphones (Palm Pre, HTC Evo 4G) and have played these free games and "mobile blockbusters" like the aforementioned Angry Birds (original and Space). I get bored after a while (say, 20 minutes of trying to archieve perfect launches, essentially doing the same thing over and over.) The only good games i see are the ones Square Enix makes, at the end a VG company and veteran. IMHO this is ridiculous.

I would like to add that Mobile App games were originally and many still are internet FLASH games converted over to iPhone/Android. Also the majority of the games have very limited controls, i.e., one tap or one swipe as in Angry Birds or Where's My Water, unlike non-mobile games where you incorporate multiple button commands. The single Swipe command works great for Angry Birds, but a single swipe or single tap technique would not work for Zelda or Kid Icarus Uprising.

Face it, Mobile Games are more simplistic with minimal controls that are ultimately designed for players who would have difficulty playing games that are more complex and require "button mashing". The people I know who are "addicted" to Angry Birds and Where's My Water have trouble using a standard Nintendo controller or DS system, which was one of the reasons Nintendo developed motion-control with the Wii - to make game play more intuitive with how your body naturally moves, so people who have trouble with thumb-based controllers can play games.

wow... so much misinformation! of course those games are there, there's lots of crap games for ios or android, just like there are loads of crap games for Nintendo consoles.

If you care to look past the simple 5 min distractions like Angry Birds and dig a little deeper, you'll find there are great games.

I dare anyone here to play Gridrunners and tell me it's not a real arcade game. try also to break into the top 10 if you can.... and again, if you don't like touch controls, get a real controller. there are many nice options... there's even a joypad you stick to the glass screen and works with almost every game... get informed before dismissing a whole platform based on hearsay...

and btw. one of the things nintendo HAS to do is stop charging ridiculous amounts of money for downloadable games that play just like the 0.99$ equivalents on the app store....

I like the tagline, Here we go again

@maka if your going to say bad things about nintendo then you souldent be on this website and btw they charge the same price for even worse games on adroid, ipod touch.... don't you get board of throwing a bird at a brick and hitting pigs (Angry Birds). Well thats my opinion. I do like angry birds but after like a couple days the fun is gone or maybe even hours and thats the funnest game on the ipod

Personally, I don't think a mobile phone can take the place of a handheld gaming console.

Some might disagree, but most the people who actually want portable gaming hardware would most likely think a mobile phone fall a bit short. On the other side, people who just play games while traveling or waiting for their turn at the doctors office could probably go for a mobile phone to play games on. Since everyone has a mobile phone now, perhaps only the people with an extra interest in gaming would buy a handheld gaming console from Nintendo or Sony. But those people will not disappear, so it's still hope for handheld gaming consoles.

You can tell this guy when to the Michael Patcher school of logic and reasoning. What a clown lol.

@nintendogamer27: While it'd be all rosy if everyone here got along and loved Nintendo to pancaked bits, it has been stated time and again that liking Nintendo is not a requirement to be part of this site's community.

"Mobile Publisher Believes..."

I have yet to come across any mobile publisher that, against all ways of logic and reasoning, doesn't believe that mobile gaming can and will replace handheld gaming. It's absolutely ludicrous on so many levels.

People have forgotten the definition of "mobile". The dictionary states a "mobile" device as anything that can be transported easily. The original Game Boy fits this description very well.

In short, by definition, the 3DS and PS Vita are mobile devices... Just not of the type you can use to make phone calls.