Even if the casuals are of higher number i really don't see them as a direct threat unless of course the hardcore market is wiped out (in another universe perhaps) just from slapped together casual games, but yeah your right on the handheld's not dying out anytime soon.Saltyk said:
Xbox Exec Thinks Handhelds Are a Bad Bet
- Thread starter Logan Westbrook
- Start date
for those of you definding the life and honour of dedicated handhelds, saying 'this isnt where we want to invest our money at the moment' does not mean anyone is saying hand held gaming is dead, eventually when dedicated devices fade out completely it wont be because you were swallowed up by smart phones and the casual gamer crowd, but because the core gaming crowd as a whole embraced integrated tech, its a while away so you got time to get used to it.
And yet they publicly announced the other day they plan to ride the same XBox tech for the next 4-7 years. So they aren't spending money on handhelds, they aren't pushing new console tech. They are just sitting back and being reactionary instead of innovative.
They should be pushing the next gen by now, but instead they are stagnating the market and community.
They should be pushing the next gen by now, but instead they are stagnating the market and community.
Sounds about right. 360 is still going strong and will for a long while. Handheld gaming on the other hand, with the current economy, there aren't many parents who can afford to replace their kid's handheld game device twice a year. Nintendo is making a mistake by shitting out a new handheld every few months, a big one, and it's gonna come back and bite them. This economy is the time to be conservative as a business, not the time to launch 3 new hand-helds and a new console in a year and a half.
People can throw their hats in with smart phones and Mobile devices if they want too, but it really is a shame that they are stubbing their own toe for their own enjoyment. Sure you can find some entertaining games for a good value on your mobile platform. However Quantity does not mean quality and I am just not seeing the titles for mobile devices keeping pace with their dedicated game device counterparts.
There are some Extremely good games for the DS, if your just a casual gamer with a low budget I can see where you are coming from. However if gaming is becoming more of a passion for you, then I dare say you are going to be a thirsty man in a very large desert if you stay in the mobile crowd.
Games like infinite Space, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Kirby, Devil Survivor, The world Ends with you, Mario Kart...the list kinda goes on with strategy games, Role playing games and the like.
It could be argues that some of the best games in their Genre are at home on the portable console. The same can not be said about most Mobile games. they lack the proper interface, power and developer support.
Some say that's changing. I don't see it, I see big company's sniffing for the money, trying to conform really great games to a platform not designed for them to make a buck. Smart phones are great.
But they are just a phone...you don't do stock racing in a ford Focus, yes its a car...but you get a car built for stock racing. As of yet, the same holds true for video games. You CAN game on your T1 calculator...but you would probably take a game boy any day of the week.
There are some Extremely good games for the DS, if your just a casual gamer with a low budget I can see where you are coming from. However if gaming is becoming more of a passion for you, then I dare say you are going to be a thirsty man in a very large desert if you stay in the mobile crowd.
Games like infinite Space, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Kirby, Devil Survivor, The world Ends with you, Mario Kart...the list kinda goes on with strategy games, Role playing games and the like.
It could be argues that some of the best games in their Genre are at home on the portable console. The same can not be said about most Mobile games. they lack the proper interface, power and developer support.
Some say that's changing. I don't see it, I see big company's sniffing for the money, trying to conform really great games to a platform not designed for them to make a buck. Smart phones are great.
But they are just a phone...you don't do stock racing in a ford Focus, yes its a car...but you get a car built for stock racing. As of yet, the same holds true for video games. You CAN game on your T1 calculator...but you would probably take a game boy any day of the week.
Reminds me of the old Aesop's fable of the fox trying desperately to get at a bunch of grapes but couldn't so he declared they were probably sour anyways.
The similarities are uncanny.
The similarities are uncanny.
Handhelds are a great market (if you're nintendo). I don't know what Microsoft is talking about.
I'm inclined to agree with Microsoft, at least in my case.
I still play my DS, but I haven't brought a game for it that wasn't pre-owned since...well I can't even remember. I've brought brand new games of my console, mainly because of the extra's and that they looked worthwhile. However I have friends who are loyal to Nintendo and such and will buy their games new.
Also, mobile gaming has had an effect, not as uch as made out here though. Generally speaking those who play games on a phone aren't going to ignore other handhelds, or weren't interested in them in the first. Again I'm going on this by what I have seen.
Bottom line, fanbase is important.
I still play my DS, but I haven't brought a game for it that wasn't pre-owned since...well I can't even remember. I've brought brand new games of my console, mainly because of the extra's and that they looked worthwhile. However I have friends who are loyal to Nintendo and such and will buy their games new.
Also, mobile gaming has had an effect, not as uch as made out here though. Generally speaking those who play games on a phone aren't going to ignore other handhelds, or weren't interested in them in the first. Again I'm going on this by what I have seen.
Bottom line, fanbase is important.
Handhelds are still a much better idea than smartphones, and what's this? Windows Phone 7? GTFO and come back when you have a handheld device that doesn't cost something insane like $50 a month to keep working just so I can play some crap that could have been submitted to Newgrounds.
He's covering his ass with PR Spin: Microsoft has already barely dipped their toes into the Handheld market and failed as a result.
Simply put: They privately know that the Handheld market is and has been successful, but they are rationalizing their business decision to avoid looking inept (which they are in this case).
Fun fact Microsoft: The 3DS's sales aren't as strong because of a lack of software; yet, rather than shorting the supply of hardware (as is typical with so many console launches in the past) Nintendo is getting enough systems into the market BEFORE they launch their planned Christmas blitz of software.
It's a very sound business strategy, and is likely to make far more profit than what Microsoft is implying with their claims.
Simply put: They privately know that the Handheld market is and has been successful, but they are rationalizing their business decision to avoid looking inept (which they are in this case).
Fun fact Microsoft: The 3DS's sales aren't as strong because of a lack of software; yet, rather than shorting the supply of hardware (as is typical with so many console launches in the past) Nintendo is getting enough systems into the market BEFORE they launch their planned Christmas blitz of software.
It's a very sound business strategy, and is likely to make far more profit than what Microsoft is implying with their claims.
So in other words Microsoft isn't going to make a handheld.
Like that's news, and I have no idea what he's talking about. The only reason the 3DS is doing poorly is because it has a gimmick attached to it and it lacks 'need to have games', and the Vita? Does he come from the future or something? No one knows how that will do so unless he's making a very fantastically bad PR spin, he doesn't know what he's talking about.
Like that's news, and I have no idea what he's talking about. The only reason the 3DS is doing poorly is because it has a gimmick attached to it and it lacks 'need to have games', and the Vita? Does he come from the future or something? No one knows how that will do so unless he's making a very fantastically bad PR spin, he doesn't know what he's talking about.
I actually LIKE that MS has this stance. Nintendo is going in a weird direction that I absolutely hate. I was wary about the Wii, but after a few years and some promising upgrades to what it is meant for / capable of, it's grown into its own and I am very happy with the one sitting next to my TV right now... But the Wii U is to the Wii what your girlfriend suggesting a big black strap-on is to her getting squirrelly with her finger once in a while. I have absolutely zero desire for it and seeing it with its stupid buttons below the control sticks literally makes me want to scream. I never scream in outright rage, even at video games, but that piece of shit makes me violently angry. It's like that one guy you know - you don't really know what you hate about him, but you know you hate his stupid jerk face and his stupid jerk attitude and his stupid jerk clothes.
Anyway, I gave handhelds a try, but considering I never fly anywhere or take trains or something that requires me to sit in one place that isn't my home for an extended period of time, I just get BORED with handhelds. I ended up selling my DS because I'd be playing Super Mario 64 DS or Metroid Prime Hunters and end up just playing a similar counterpart in a more fleshed out way on a console.
Nintendo can do what it likes. I don't care. As long as Microsoft understands that console gaming with an actual goddamn controller is like the BASE enjoyment of video gaming and should never ever go away, I am happy.
Anyway, I gave handhelds a try, but considering I never fly anywhere or take trains or something that requires me to sit in one place that isn't my home for an extended period of time, I just get BORED with handhelds. I ended up selling my DS because I'd be playing Super Mario 64 DS or Metroid Prime Hunters and end up just playing a similar counterpart in a more fleshed out way on a console.
Nintendo can do what it likes. I don't care. As long as Microsoft understands that console gaming with an actual goddamn controller is like the BASE enjoyment of video gaming and should never ever go away, I am happy.
Call me close minded, a knucklehead or even a jerk, but I don't think that cellphones or an iPod Touch / iPad / iPhone (included in cellphones) could ever, ever replace a good ol' handheld. I mean, yeah, the appstore games are stupidly cheap and incredibly accesible, but I've yet seen a game that really, really takes advantage of the system beyond it's graphics or sliding your finger for something stupid.
Heck, Infinity Blade is just Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! dressed with a different coat of paint.
I even dare to say that everything that's being made for the iDevices so far is just gimmicky.
What I mean is that there's nothing yet in the iDevices that's not worth buying it for. Anything that the iDevices can do, the DS, 3DS and even the PSVita can do better.
Heck, Infinity Blade is just Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! dressed with a different coat of paint.
I even dare to say that everything that's being made for the iDevices so far is just gimmicky.
What I mean is that there's nothing yet in the iDevices that's not worth buying it for. Anything that the iDevices can do, the DS, 3DS and even the PSVita can do better.
Well, I kind of have to agree. With phones and tablets and who-knows-what's-coming-next having such a vast library of games, handhelds devoted exclusively to gaming are going to be going by the wayside.
Heck, look at the sales of the 3DS compared to the DS. Granted, the launch library isn't so great for the 3DS, but you'd expect sales to gradually increase as more titles get released for it...but that hasn't happened nearly as much as Nintendo was expecting. And honestly, I think developers and publishers are beginning to see this as well. Square-Enix already is working on iOS versions of their older titles, with more surely to follow. Who knows what other publishers are going to work on when they catch on as well?
Heck, look at the sales of the 3DS compared to the DS. Granted, the launch library isn't so great for the 3DS, but you'd expect sales to gradually increase as more titles get released for it...but that hasn't happened nearly as much as Nintendo was expecting. And honestly, I think developers and publishers are beginning to see this as well. Square-Enix already is working on iOS versions of their older titles, with more surely to follow. Who knows what other publishers are going to work on when they catch on as well?
Oh, nobody is denying that the devoted handhelds can do it better. But that's not at all the point. iOS and Android development is much cheaper than developing for handhelds, for one. There's also such a greater prevalence of users - everybody and their mother has Angry Birds, and you can bet that if someone says "oh, you like Angry Birds? Check out this game!" then they'll do so. And so on and so forth. Plus there's a tremendous amount of overlap between the two audiences. In broad terms, people who purchase handheld gaming devices are also likely to have a smart phone. Yes, there are exceptions, monetary concerns, etc. but generally speaking this is the case. So if you make a successful transition from one to the other, you not only get your already-existing audience but you also get a very large untapped one as well.SupahGamuh said:
You're also looking at it the wrong way if you think the goal is to make something that makes the iDevice worth buying it for. It's not like the 3DS where Ocarina of Time had everyone all excited and made people want to get the handheld just for the game. It's more a matter of getting the people already there.
And honestly, games not taking advantage of the platform isn't the fault of the platform itself, it's the fault of the developers and publishers. Look at the Wii - how many games took adequate advantage of its motion controls? The only ones I actually liked and thought did a good job were the Metroid games. Everything else was essentially "normal" game with the motion controls tacked on. But is that the fault of Nintendo or the fault of the developers who weren't creative enough to take advantage of it and the publishers who wouldn't dare risk money on something that did more than require an occasional waggle? Infinity Blade was an example of what's possible graphics-wise with the mobile platforms. And they made more money off of that than they did with Shadow Complex, a fantastic XBLA Metroidvania-style game. Shadow Complex is undeniably the better game, but it also took more time and money to produce and made much less money in return.
It'll get better as more people take advantage of it. Square-Enix has already announced they're going to bring some older titles to it, and I for one am really, really hoping that they release FF Tactics for the Android - they already said they're going to bring it to iOS. More people will jump ship simply because it's more cost-effective to do so, and once they do then we'll start seeing better and better titles.