The true next gen handheld competition

[mai]

Rainbird said:

mai said:

To put it into perspective, imagine if Sony would have published PSN games on PC, but instead of Steam it went with second most popular marketplace on the platform (btw what is this marketplace that behind Steam?). Not exactly invigorating =)

Your comparison has a few flaws though. Smartphones as gaming devices is a fairly new idea, and have only begun to compete with the dedicated gaming handhelds in the last few years. So Sony trying to use these new devices to their advantage is a good idea, not to mention creating hardware that is designed for a better gaming experience (the upcoming PS Phone).

In 2008 mobile gaming revenue hit the mark close to the size of DS software revenue. Here's your 'competition' that didn't have any significant effect on handheld market, which has grown over the last ten years. It might change in the future though, but my point was different. Android is relatively small market, plagued by piracy. I doubt Sony will be able to revitalize it so it can compete with AppStore first and foremost, let alone influence handheld market in any way.