| GhaudePhaede010 said: I also called this not coming off the blocks well so that I agree with. But what I disagree with is thee ios/ipda/cellphone gaming being a factor. As has been on display with 3DS, thee ONLY major hurdle hand held gaming is facing is rising cost in a down-trodden economy. 3DS gets a price drop, and sales go upward. People are not comparing iphone to 3DS, they are saying, "250 is too much for a hand held." The two are not related (ios/pad/phone gaming and hurt hand held sales) and should not be considered as such.
http://allisbrawl.com/blogpost.aspx?id=131192 read point 3 |
First, I disagree (somewhat) with that article's writer. There IS overlap between handhelds and tablets/phones. Just because he says there isn't doesn't mean it's not true. While I doubt there are many people who question "should I buy an iPad or a 3DS", that doesn't mean there aren't people who don't even consider buying a 3DS because they already own an iPad. Or an iPhone. All three devices are expensive. Dropping $250 on a 3DS when you already own a $500 iPad that plays some pretty great games WILL seem illogical to many people out there and considering how many iPads Apple is moving on a daily basis, there is bound to be a lot of overlap between the mobile devices.
Casuals drove the DS to never-before-seen heights. Old ladies, middle-aged mothers, businessmen, they were often seen toting around a DS because they wanted to play games. Well, now a good portion of those people are carrying an iOS or Android device in their pocket. They don't care about the latest and greatest graphics. They just want to play 2-3 games and be happy about it. If they already lug around a device that does that for them, why are they going to consider dropping another $200 (plus $30-40 per game) on a device specifically to play games? They already have all they need in their pocket. Hell, in my experience, even many children are more interested in the multi-media capabilities of tablets/phones than in dedicated gaming devices. All three of my nieces had DSes and 6-8 games apiece. What did they ask for this Christmas? Two iPads and an iPhone for the oldest. There wasn't even a whisper about the 3DS. That's where the market shift is happening.
If the economy was to blame, the iPad would be seeing mediocre sales. It's not. Apple is selling more high-end devices in every market than it ever has in the past. The iPhone, iPad, and Mac lines continually break records, despite being some of the highest-priced equipment available in its respective market. People are spending money. Saying they won't spend it on a gaming handheld because they're broke is really ignoring what's happening in favor of blaming external forces for a market shift that many have seen coming for years.
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