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Forums - Gaming Discussion - A Third Category of Game Consoles and the Future

ZhugeEX on 07 February 2016
spemanig said:
hershel_layton said:

Would you care to explain?

What Iwata actually said was this:

"Though I cannot confirm when it will be launched or any other details of the system, since I have confirmed that it will be 'a dedicated video game platform with a brand new concept,' it should mean that we do not intend it to become a simple 'replacement' for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U."

And that's it. The key word is simple. As in merely. It's not merely a replacement. It's not simply a replacement. It's more than that. What he did not say was that it is not, at all, a replacement, because it is. It's just not as simple as that. It's not PS3 to PS4. It's not just a rudementary upgrade of one platform. It's a new concept.

And that new concept is, obviously, the unification of both platforms. It's not simply a replacement for one or the other, it's a unified replacement of both at the same time. What it is not, and what it has absolutely never even remotely been purported to be, is some illusory third pillar.


Do you remember how Sony talked about PS3 compared to PS2.......

 

Also handhelds are dead. We're not going to see another majorly successful dedicated handheld console anymore. 



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Frogger on 07 February 2016
ZhugeEX said:

Also handhelds are dead. We're not going to see another majorly successful dedicated handheld console anymore. 

No they aren't, and yes we will with the NX.



zorg1000 on 07 February 2016
spemanig said:
zorg1000 said:

They said it won't be a SIMPLE successor to Wii U or 3DS.

That one word being left out completely changes the meaning.

If I didn't know you weren't an alt account of me, I'd think you were an alt account of me.

Lol I've had to correct people about that quote multiple times, there is one peticular user on this site that I have corrected 3 separate times and they still continue to use the incorrect quote.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

ZhugeEX on 07 February 2016
spemanig said:
ZhugeEX said:

Also handhelds are dead. We're not going to see another majorly successful dedicated handheld console anymore. 

No they aren't, and yes we will with the NX.

If you think handhelds are alive then I honestly don't know what to think. 

The fact that they generated $3 billion in software revenues this year versus $30 billion for Mobile game software is very telling. Especially when handheld games cost $40 and Mobile games are free to play (mostly).

The Handheld games market doesn't even represent 4% of the total video games market at this point. 



hunter_alien on 07 February 2016
ZhugeEX said:
spemanig said:

No they aren't, and yes we will with the NX.

If you think handhelds are alive then I honestly don't know what to think. 

The fact that they generated $3 billion in software revenues this year versus $30 billion for Mobile game software is very telling. Especially when handheld games cost $40 and Mobile games are free to play (mostly).

The Handheld games market doesn't even represent 4% of the total video games market at this point. 

You do know that 3 billion is roughly the GDP of Burundi? And that is just from software sales, from a mostly aging handheld system. When will people learn that to be successfull you do not neceseraly have to be the biggest. Case in point the rivalry between Sony and MS. MS is in a far better position financially yet it strugles in comparison with Sony in the console market.

Mobiles have done as much damage as they could in the dedicated handheld sphere, yet they are still here to stay. Get over it.



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ZhugeEX on 07 February 2016
hunter_alien said:
ZhugeEX said:

If you think handhelds are alive then I honestly don't know what to think. 

The fact that they generated $3 billion in software revenues this year versus $30 billion for Mobile game software is very telling. Especially when handheld games cost $40 and Mobile games are free to play (mostly).

The Handheld games market doesn't even represent 4% of the total video games market at this point. 

You do know that 3 billion is roughly the GDP of Burundi? And that is just from software sales, from a mostly aging handheld system. When will people learn that to be successfull you do not neceseraly have to be the biggest. Case in point the rivalry between Sony and MS. MS is in a far better position financially yet it strugles in comparison with Sony in the console market.

Mobiles have done as much damage as they could in the dedicated handheld sphere, yet they are still here to stay. Get over it.

What does the GDP of Burundi have to do with anything? 

You use the term 'aging handheld' system yet you forget that the DS was selling over 150m units of software per year at this point where as the 3DS can't even sell 50m. Handheld sales have dropped considerably with the 3DS unable to increase sales in 2015 despite launching a new 3DS. Only 7.5m 3DS's were sold in the past year compared to almost 30 million DS's in the same time frame. Lets not even mention PS Vita vs PSP, that's a dire situation. 

It's very clear that sales of dedicated handheld hardware and software have been canibalised by Mobile game sales and that is not going to stop anytime soon. There is no more than a small niche audience that has an interest in dedicated handheld gaming and there is a reason why Sony publicly came out and said they have no plans for a new handheld console. Sure Nintendo may come out with one but to expect it to perform on the same level as the DS or 3DS at this point is not realistic. 

Just for the record, I don't have a single smartphone game installed on my phone and don't like smartphone games. But It's clear that if you want to release a big budget handheld game today it's going to smartphone first. 

 

Also what does Microsoft having multiple divisions have to do with handheld gaming? That's like saying Apple is in a much better position than Dell in the PC market because they sell iPhones.....?



Frogger on 07 February 2016
ZhugeEX said:
spemanig said:

No they aren't, and yes we will with the NX.

If you think handhelds are alive then I honestly don't know what to think. 

The fact that they generated $3 billion in software revenues this year versus $30 billion for Mobile game software is very telling. Especially when handheld games cost $40 and Mobile games are free to play (mostly).

The Handheld games market doesn't even represent 4% of the total video games market at this point. 

When has handheld gaming ever generated $30 billion in revenue? Like ever? It doesn't need to do mobile numbers to stay in the game. They are two completely different markets.



hunter_alien on 07 February 2016
ZhugeEX said:
hunter_alien said:

You do know that 3 billion is roughly the GDP of Burundi? And that is just from software sales, from a mostly aging handheld system. When will people learn that to be successfull you do not neceseraly have to be the biggest. Case in point the rivalry between Sony and MS. MS is in a far better position financially yet it strugles in comparison with Sony in the console market.

Mobiles have done as much damage as they could in the dedicated handheld sphere, yet they are still here to stay. Get over it.

What does the GDP of Burundi have to do with anything? 

You use the term 'aging handheld' system yet you forget that the DS was selling over 150m units of software per year at this point where as the 3DS can't even sell 50m. Handheld sales have dropped considerably with the 3DS unable to increase sales in 2015 despite launching a new 3DS. Only 7.5m 3DS's were sold in the past year compared to almost 30 million DS's in the same time frame. Lets not even mention PS Vita vs PSP, that's a dire situation. 

It's very clear that sales of dedicated handheld hardware and software have been canibalised by Mobile game sales and that is not going to stop anytime soon. There is no more than a small niche audience that has an interest in dedicated handheld gaming and there is a reason why Sony publicly came out and said they have no plans for a new handheld console. Sure Nintendo may come out with one but to expect it to perform on the same level as the DS or 3DS at this point is not realistic. 

Just for the record, I don't have a single smartphone game installed on my phone and don't like smartphone games. But It's clear that if you want to release a big budget handheld game today it's going to smartphone first. 

 

Also what does Microsoft having multiple divisions have to do with handheld gaming? That's like saying Apple is in a much better position than Dell in the PC market because they sell iPhones.....?

But the 7th generation was the anomaly and not the norm. The 3DS and Vita are tracking roughly in the same manner as the GBA in the same timespan, when it comes to hardware and software. We will probably never have one like the 7th gen.

It is a niche. True. Buyt when you sell 50million+ every generation with a revenue attachment of 5 games +, its a profitable niche, that is worthy of a new itteration IMO.



Vote the Mayor for Mayor!

ZhugeEX on 07 February 2016
spemanig said:
ZhugeEX said:

If you think handhelds are alive then I honestly don't know what to think. 

The fact that they generated $3 billion in software revenues this year versus $30 billion for Mobile game software is very telling. Especially when handheld games cost $40 and Mobile games are free to play (mostly).

The Handheld games market doesn't even represent 4% of the total video games market at this point. 

When has handheld gaming ever generated $30 billion in revenue? Like ever? It doesn't need to do mobile numbers to stay in the game. They are two completely different markets.

 

There is a strong correlation between Mobile revenue and Handheld revenue. As Mobile revenue increases, Handheld revenue decreases. 

At the end of the day there is pretty much no third party support on 3DS or Vita apart from small indie titles. There are some big Japanese games on 3DS as well but that's because the Japanese market is an outlier at this point and the only market that still buys handhelds. But the mobile market there is more than double the size so whilst we're not seeing much affect on handhelds in Japan this gen, we may see an affect next gen. But anywhere outside Japan, handhelds have already been dying if not dead at this point. 

hunter_alien said:

But the 7th generation was the anomaly and not the norm. The 3DS and Vita are tracking roughly in the same manner as the GBA in the same timespan, when it comes to hardware and software. We will probably never have one like the 7th gen.

It is a niche. True. Buyt when you sell 50million+ every generation with a revenue attachment of 5 games +, its a profitable niche, that is worthy of a new itteration IMO.

Not really, they grew because DS and PSP were out at a time when the handheld market was in a prime position. Even the 3DS and Vita are doing worse than the GBA, especially when it comes to software. 

 

 

 

 

 



Intrinsic on 07 February 2016

Can one console do all those things? If the answer is yes? Then that is the most efficient way to o about it. Splitting everything into 3 just means that most people will be in a position where they have to buy more than one device. If gaming is the primary focus, be it cinematic experiences, VR or casual pick 'n play family games and one box can be made to do all that (eg a PS4) then thats what needs to happen.