iOS, Android Game Sales Surpass DS, PSP Combined

Gaming on a phone is not the same as a dedicated handheld, I really wouldn't like to see Sony and Nintendo disappear (from the mobile gaming sector). Plus these reports come at the very end of both handheld life, I think the 3DS will still sell well over the next year and the Vita will do OK, maybe better? . .

Is very interesting how the iOS and the Android has changed the market for the big guys, now near to disappear but i hope not. As says dillonpeterliam is better a dedicated game platform.

As far as I know, the DS and PSP aren't connected to a market place via the internet.

This research only suggests that people who are capable of spending money within 5 minutes are going to do so and the companies that program for those people are going to make money.

"Analyst group estimates..."

I stopped reading there. I'm tired of "analyst" making assumptions about markets they don't understand.

Android/iOS is a overcrowded market for cheap apps that cater to pick-and-play gaming. Dedicated systems are far more pricey in both hardware and software, but cater to the exigent player that needs a higher quality experience.

The problem with 3DS is that it currently lacks a killer app. DS had Brain Training, New Super Mario, etc. almost right from the start. 3DS had none of that at launch, and the 3D effect makes some people sick.

I agree with Iashabane being able to have people make impulse buys is a huge deal. I personally know what its like I cant tell you how many times I saw some thing in an IOS market and just thought that's interesting and the ease of getting it made me take the risk of buying it. I also feel like developers are catching on to some thing other company's have known for years if you break payments up in to smaller amounts even if they add up to the same amount consumers see it differently . I think the IOS market is a good example of this seeing almost 70$ after tax for a game on disc feels different to people then buying a 1.99 or even 3.99 game even if they end up spending 70$ on them in the long run. Not to run on but their is also the advantage of when your prices are this low you are less likely to have people be burnt when they don't like some thing some one buys the new 60$ ps3 game and they hate it they aren't gonna be happy and if this happens 3-4 times in a short time they might be less willing to pay 60$ again but at 3.99 its easy to just say o well. * or easier at least*

I have hundreds of games apps, and a handful of Nintendo cartridges. Guess which I spent more on and play more often. Yet another group of analysts spelling the doom for dedicated game consoles. How come nobody's researching/writing about how these cheap games actually broaden the market for video games, how the iOS devices actually pique the interest of people to actually purchase home consoles?

ios and android devices overtaking dedicated handheld gaming devices was inevitable. average people don't like to carry around two (among other) devices - one only for gaming.
dedicated gaming handhelds will soon become niche products or merge themselves into smartphones/superphones. predicting death of dedicated handheld consoles is easier than predicting death of pc/console gaming. long hardware cycles, underwhelming product launches, lack of interesting titles to attract enough customers all attribute to slow handheld console death.

I always thought the handheld console market was primarily aimed at kids.

Do 9 year olds have iPhones these days?

As far as I know, I haven't found any good games on iOS or Android that's better than the old NDS or PSP games. Not to mention next year upcoming 3DS and NGP games... Btw I still don't like Vita's name, so I keep calling it NGP

Well, yeah, dude. Have you looked at the released games on the PSP for these 8 months or so? And is the Nintendo DS still selling after they announced the 3DS? Probably not so much, no.

iOS and Android are taking off probably because of tablets. They're the "fad" now - and it will pass, trust me, just like pagers and tamagochi's (remember those? Yeah, me neither).

The PSP Vita will quickly change the market again once it's released. i might even get one.

ps vita is almost a phone with all the stuff it can do. also with the hole playstation suite that will be on it for apps and games. only think ps vita can't do is emergency calls. it has skype so it can make normal calls.

It would make sense that iOS and Android devices are selling more games than just a regular handheld device, for one thing, most people will carry their smartphone with them. Also, games on smartphones cost much less for casual gaming then a dedicated platform.

This trend will continue once third party vendors start designing control add-ons to smart phones.

Sony Android phones are basically PSP phones, they saw this trend coming miles away and did something about it. Nintendo don't have a foot in the smartphone market so Nintendo may suffer a lot more from this.

If Android/iPhone stop with the 99 cent shovelware and start produccing quality titles then they probably will overtake the portable gaming sector.

OTH, if the dedicated portable consoles continue their quality, except, lose the proprietary media (UMD, cartridges) and embrace digital distribution and SD storage, then slap a basic phone and data plan onto their device then they will stay competitive. My daughter already watches Netflix on her 3DS -- one complaint she has is she can only do it in the confines of our house (within WIFI range) and not anywhere like on Daddy's phone (3G range). Games are still better on consoles.

However if Android/iOS games continue this "free" but nickel and dime you via in-app (read hidden price) purchase, then trust will be out the window and proprietary media will be back i the picture (at least you know you are paying for a "complete" game)

That kind of swing in a market is nothing to scoff at. I understand everyone here is all about real hardware, but you can't ignore a 36% market share swing and blow it off as a fad. Some of this is sheer volume of phones being sold, and Nintendo not having a rock solid game for the 3DS, some of it is a trend toward a new game format. Consider this though, $1.4 billion in traditional mobile games at $35 a game is 40 million games where as $1.9 billion mobile phone games at $1.99 each is 954.77 million games.

This could be a fad the smart phone could peak next year and then fall flat, but the numbers show steady and somewhat amazing gains over the industry giants.

Oboy, let's see how Kevin predicts the end of console gaming this week.

"The report goes on to point out that Nintendo is facing its first fiscal year loss since the company began reporting profits in 1981 thanks to the slumping sales of the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii console."

Yeah, I'm sure a company that's been doing it right for 30 years doesn't know what they're doing. I guess you just have to trip once for the wolves to catch up with you.

"Beyond 2011, if Nintendo continues to face financial hardship, it may be forced to consider difficult choices such as divesting its hardware business and distributing its content, for the first time, across non-proprietary platforms,"

This shows how clueless these people are. One of Nintendo's greatest assets over the years has been their tight grip on popular licenses. Let's take Pokemon for example. Remember when people called that a fad? It's still going strong today, and Nintendo makes money off of all of it. They own the devs, they own the merchandise division, they get a piece off of every game, spin off, cartoon, card, movie, Tshirt, poster, and Pokemon brand Kleenex. They can sell handhelds off that alone, why would they throw away that leverage and license the games out to other hardware? These talking heads can tell me the doom and gloom of Nintendo in a couple months now that Skyward Sword and the 3D Mario game are out just in time for the holidays.

Holy crap i did not ever think this was going to happen. I love Nintendo but their to old school they need to support Android and Apple if they did this many people will be buying their games on it. They only have to support N64 games and before. Why would Nintendo want to pass that up their is a lot of people who get it for free and play, Mise well sell it. If people are going crazy over Sony games they will go nuts over playing Super Mario world on a 4inch Phone.

I'll keep buying Nintendo and Playstation Portable systems until they give me a highend android phone that has dual joysticks and shoulder buttons (read, not the Xperia play since it is not high end and can't hold up on the GPU end)

My wife can play angry birds and cut the rope all day long on her iPhone. Still doesn't make it a true gaming system yet. Just a casual game hangout for people like my wife.

While gaming on a phone is a good way to reach out to the millions of smartphone users without dedicated hardware, it just isn't the same as using a standalone system. Touchscreen controls are good for some things but they can't be the jack of all trades, and that same limitation applies here.

Add to this issues with battery life in smartphones and a mobile gaming system looks attractive still.

I think the easiest thing for Nintendo and Sony to do would be to open there Portables up to the same third party apps the IOS and Android apps enjoy. I mean if I can get Windows live Messenger on an Ipod Touch or get a $0.99 game then on a phone then why can't Nintendo do it too. It sure would make there portable systems that much more appealing if they broadened the market for what they are capable of. I mean then Nintendo fans wouldn't have to complain that there is a lack of games or apps or whatever. That way they could still enjoy buying cheap dinky games and still get there high quality games too.

You can portray figures how you like but I don't think that these 3rd rate "games" have "crushed" but instead FILLED an EMPTY gap between console lifespan aswell as find new customers who like the convenience.

The 3DS is not doomed as the media want you to believe, it just has not taken off yet. With the release of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 plus Christmas we should see the % start to reverse and furthermore when PS Vita hits.