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Veknoid_Outcast on 28 October 2012
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RolStoppable said:
Veknoid_Outcast said:
This is a really good thread, Jazz.

I'm not sure how to answer, though. On one hand some of the people who have been holding out on the 3DS might get a Wii U and call it a day; but on the other hand, Nintendo looks to be investing in cross-platform experiences with the Wii U and 3DS -- Monster Hunter, for example. So maybe sales of one system will help the other.

I suppose this is what Sony plans to do with PS3 and PS Vita, but I worry that low initial sales of the Vita would prevent this. Plus Sony doesn't have the software to pull it off. Nintendo could do cross-platform play with Super Mario, Mario Kart, Monster Hunter, Pokemon, etc. I'm not sure what Sony could use.

Banking on cross-platform play would be the death knell for handhelds, because it means to remove an exclusive games from the handheld. During the seventh generation Sony executed a similarly stupid move by porting their own PSP games to the PS2. Once this precedence existed, consumers picked up the message that they didn't need a PSP, instead they just had to wait until Sony would port the games to the home console. Not to mention that third parties were doing the same (GTA games, for examples).

Doing the opposite of cross-platform play will be what keeps handhelds alive. For example, the four NSMB and Mario Kart games on DS and Wii kept pushing each other's sales over the course of the entire generation. People who only had a DS would become interested in a Wii for these games and vice versa. The answer to keep a dedicated video game system relevant is always strong exclusive content.

Couldn't agree more with the bolded comment above. Which is why I think the 3DS will be just fine.

When I wrote about cross-platform play, I referred more to cross-functionality like you see with the Pokemon games -- the DS Pokemon games interacting with the Wii Pokemon game -- or the Assassin's Creed PSP game, which unlocks items in Assassin's Creed II for PS3.