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Soundwave on 26 March 2014
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curl-6 said:
Soundwave said:
curl-6 said:
Soundwave said:

Actually I think they are outside of Japan (where the handheld has effectively replaced the home console). We went through a period in the mid 2000s where this was changing with the DS/PSP, but smartphones/tablets have really killed that movement and worse they are now starting to chip away at the kids market too. 

I've never seen a grown adult with a 3DS or Vita in public ever outside of a comic expo, and I constantly fly all over the place. 

It's evident in Nintendo's marketing too, at least in the US, ... all/most 3DS ads are aimed very specifically at kids, it's because their demographic feedback is telling them that that's the main market still buying handhelds. 

Vita is basically the game handheld built specifically for the "older" gamer who wants to play a portable machine ... and it's evident by its sales that the market for that is extremely niche. 

I see adult 3DS owners all the time. Vita's not flopping because it's aimed at adults, it's flopping because (outside Japan) it doesn't have popular IPs like Mario, Pokemon or Zelda to keep the smartphones at bay.


The PSP did well it didn't have Mario or Pokemon, especially in its early days, it was the kinda hot new portable product for a while there. 

The PSP had Monster Hunter to save its bacon, which in Japan is the equivalent of Pokemon or an exclusive GTA. Vita lost MH to 3DS.

PSP was selling very well in North America its early days too. The 3DS routinely actually sells below what the PSP was selling at the same equivalent point in life cycles in North America.