@op: that`s a good question ryan.
Although i`m with some on the issue that no smartphone/tablet/pc/whatever has taken market away from Nintendo - be that Wii or DS/3DS - i think that`s a good point.
People, in my opinion, keep putting side by side a growing mobile market where gaming is taking off to consoles (Wii and 3DS) that not at this time in a position to even compete: Wii is on it`s last breath; there are no games for it that might interest the more casual crowd. The last hit game was probably WSR. All Wii has now is Just Dance 3 and look how that thing sells.
3DS just doesn`t have casual games to compete with the mobile gaming market.
Is that a fair fight? No it`s not. But the media and analysts don`t care about that.
Still your post raises a question, a question of perception: When people think apps, Angry Birds, e-readers and stuff like that they think smartphones and tablets. Even if Wii U did all that, would it be considered an alternative to them?
Because to me, that`s what Sony, MS and Nintendo will face if they follow that route.
Home consoles aren`t portable, not even the Wii U will be fully portable. So, in essence what can they do to be an alternative to casual gamers?
Sometimes i think all consoles could lack all that and if they had casual hit games they would still sell a lot.
Nobody expects to buy a console and get the same experience they get from smartphones/tablets and vice versa.
People buy home consoles because they can`t get that experience anywhere else and people buy mobile devices because of apps, angry birds? Or that`s one of the reasons and not the main one?
