Gilgamesh said:
And the same player, instead of having two video game systems (portable, console) you'll have 1 that does both. |
I wouldn't go that far.
There's value in single piece software because you can sell to two markets (console gamers and handheld gamers). However, by moving from a console + handheld package to a single package system you're losing revenue. All those people who own Wii + DS or PS3 + PSP are now providing less hardware revenue and, since their gaming budgets haven't suddenly increased (outside of the amount not spent on hardware), it's likely you won't be making that money up in software.
If I can sell a Wii to you and a 3DS to you instead of just one then I'll do that because it makes me more money. Combine them at a console/handheld price and you lose revenue. Combine them at a combined price and you lose customers due cost of entry which then becomes loss of revenue.
Oddly enough, I can see Sony doing this far easier than Nintendo as they're already willing to forgo some hardware revenue for a higher software profit margin.