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archbrix on 10 February 2012
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happydolphin said:
archbrix said:

at $250, only the most dedicated gamers will bring in the sales of dedicated gaming handhelds, even if the game library is alluring.

Thanks. But question @ bold. Even if it's during the holidays, and there are 3 must-have games like Mario 3DL, MK7 and MH out all nearly at the same time? Does it really take that dedicated a gamer to bite? Why can home consoles sell at 250$ but not portables? Aren't these systems bought for their games? I don't see at this point in the history of gaming why a home console can offer a more compelling experience than a portable, at the level we are in portable processing and graphics power. This is an honest question (not rhetorical).

In your answer, forget the whole TV versus portable experience argument if you can, since some people like the comfort of taking their gaming anywhere over playing on a big screen. But you can touch on it if you'll argue demographics (which demographics prefers playing tv screens, and in which country).

With those games, during the holidays many people would bite, but pre and post holiday season the sales would stagnate.

The console price vs handheld price (I believe) is due to many factors.  For one, as beautiful as PSV graphics are, they're still not 360 or PS3 and they're not made for glorious HD on a 50+ inch TV with surround sound for (most importantly) many to enjoy.  Many people can participate with a single game console (plus controllers), whereas a single handheld is for a single individual.  Adding another handheld into the mix for multiplayer obviously costs a lot more.

Bringing in demographics as an example though is quite interesting.  In Japan, handhelds trump consoles (possibly even when gaming at home), in the west it is the opposite.  We tend to like our console type games on our TVs and our simpler affairs on our handhelds.  Of course, handhelds have their advantage of portablility, and many (like me) enjoy console type games as well as simpler games on the go, but when the price is too expensive for the masses to invest, many are content with their tablets/smartphones.  This is why I do believe that an accessible price (less than $200) for a handheld is very important.