Will Mobile Nintendo Games Kill Portables?

HuskyGlazier

HuskyGlazier

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Obviously, Nintendo is going to release games on mobile phones over the next few years. The question is if these mobile games will eventually replace Nintendo's portable consoles. Smart phone games tend to be pretty cheap, and smart phones themselves are becoming cheaper and cheaper, while becoming more powerful at the same time. Since a portable console cannot update as fast as frequently as the mobile market can, Nintendo's best bet to stay relevant may be to stick completely to mobile phones.
What do you think?
Personally I think the New 3DS is Nintendo's last portable console update. If mobile games prove profitable, which I think they will, then I think this will hold through and Nintendo will carry the next few years on the back of the NX, a few more 3DS titles, and some mobile games.
 
That's a really good question but I don't think so. I think some people will always want that handheld console specifically for gaming and not necessarily use their cell phone. But like you said, if mobile games are a huge hit for Nintendo they might decide not to bother with making their own portable console. We will have to wait and see what happens when the first Nintendo game hits the mobile market.
 
I don't know if mobile Nintendo games will kill portables, but they will definitely shrink that market. I think the handheld market is already shrinking because of the wide adoption of smart phones and tablets. However, handhelds will always provide a superior gaming experience due to the fact that they've got these magical things called buttons. Unfortunately, most folks seem to be quite happy with their one finger touch experiences which I believe is bad for gaming.
 
@Damien Lee Yes! The magic buttons! But you're absolutely correct, sir. There's definitely no comparisons to a physical button and either analog stick or keypad. No touchscreen, no matter the small vibrations or whatever, will ever give you that tactile satisfaction that a handheld or controller gives you.
 
I do agree that buttons provide a better and more responsive experience. But, there are already lots of gaming controllers on the market for both iOS and Android. If Nintendo fully dives into the mobile market, I think it's a possibility that Nintendo makes their own controller, and at that point, dedicated handheld gaming could be replaced. But, like I said, this is all speculation.
 
@HuskyGlazier although there are controllers for iOS and Android, it kind of feels silly to me to buy a controller for my phone. I don't know why, but I feel that I'll just buy a portable console instead. Unless Nintendo sees that people would prefer to get a controller for their phone instead of buying a portable console, I just don't see them going that route. Like you said though, it's all speculations and we will have to wait and see when the first games hit.
 
It would be a good idea for Nintendo to make their own controller. Not only would that be an excellent controller but get more mobile users to adopt tactile controls for playing games. The touch screen just doesn't cut it for most action and twitch games, you just don't get that level of accuracy that is required. Considering how many 2D games are available on mobile devices, it just feels wrong to play them without a controller.
 
I wouldn't count on that. Mobile and Handheld gaming are two completely different ball games, IMO. There have been attempts like Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on iOS, and I want to say it works, but it didn't run on my iPhone 4 so I can't say. There's just "something" about having a dedicated handheld gaming device. I think it's just a quality thing. Nintendo DOMINATES the handheld market. They wouldn't throw that out the window.
 
Considering how well the Vita sells in Japan atleast, I really doubt that the handheld market will go off anytime soon.

I think Nintendo is better off doing their own thing instead of going third party and developing games on mobile.
 
In a word no. and it hasn't done either. Mobile gaming such as on smartphones and tablets as no doubt increased in popularity, but I think it's aimed at a totally different market. People who play games ion smartphones and tablets only play games to pass the time or when thy're sat on public transport, sat in a doctors waiting room and things like that. People who play portable video games are more gamers who actually care about the games they are playing.
 
Well I think that it really depends on whether the consumer, the user, will think that the consoles or the portables are unnecessary. Now that I think about it, though, I do remember hearing something about the companies not really making money on the consoles but rather the games are where the real money is, so I guess this would make sense for Nintendo from a business perspective. I am not sure if that is the case, though, but it is interesting to think about nonetheless. If it does end up killing portables, I think that it will take some time and we might not even notice.
 
Microsoft and Sony haven't really put much effort into portable gaming for a while now, and while I wouldn't say that the increase in mobile gaming as led to that, it won't have helped the market, that's for sure. Nintendo seem to be the only gaming company now that are still selling their portables with any sort of success, and they seem to be selling side by side with the mobile games at the moment, but ho knows what the future holds and with the Nintendo NX being just around the corner, we'll have to wait and see if Nintendo continue to support the portable gaming industry like they have done up to now.
 
@pwarbi Sony did portable gaming for the PSP and Vita. Granted, they failed to compete unlike DS & 3DS but they still tried nonetheless.

I feel that Nintendo nails the handheld department side of things being their best part. So as long as they do well there, I don't think they will change/dismiss portables anytime soon since well, portable gaming is another best form of playing games.
 
I would not say PSP failed to compete with DS. It sold 80 million systems. Sure it's far behind the 154 of DS but it made a dent.
 
I don't think that it will ever come to a situation where mobile nintendo games kill portables, I think that people like the feel of a console in their hands and you can't really get the same from a mobile phone. Yes someone might prefer to play both but the handheld will always have to be an option.
 
Well this is something that I think that we are just going to have to wait and see about. I know that for me personally, I just cannot get used to playing games on the phone so I will still find room for my portables. That is not to say that this will not change though. It is also not to say that everyone else is the same, and if all others can be okay with it, then they will probably just stop making the portables so I will be out of look. It should be interesting to see how it goes.
 
Artwark said:
@pwarbi Sony did portable gaming for the PSP and Vita. Granted, they failed to compete unlike DS & 3DS but they still tried nonetheless.

I feel that Nintendo nails the handheld department side of things being their best part. So as long as they do well there, I don't think they will change/dismiss portables anytime soon since well, portable gaming is another best form of playing games.
Click to expand...

That's why I said they didn't put much effort in, instead of saying they didn't try at all. Nintendo had and still have that corner of the gaming market covered and I think it will be hard for anybody now to release a portable gaming system that can compete with the Nintendo systems. As @Segata say's though, 80 million sales is still a decent amount, just nowhere near the amount that Nintendo sell so comparatively they will see it as a failure I guess.
 
I think could kill of consoles in the long run, or better yet Nintendo could join the mobile market, but that would be in the long run. For now Nintendo has this market cornered and the best thing they can do right now is do what they have been doing but keep an eye on the future.
 
Well, I personally think that these mobile games are already killing portable consoles, it's actually cheaper to buy a phone for playing some Nintendo games using an emulator than buying a Nintendo DS or a Game Boy, technology has definitely advanced drastically, there's no more room for Portable consoles anymore, that's my opinion though.
 
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