Today's Apple iPhone event is important for gaming, and more bad news for Nintendo

[Euphoria14]

Gnac said:

Euphoria14 said:

Of course one won't devour the other as there is always dedicated markets, but there is no denying that smartphones ate into Nintendo's overall handheld market when you consider where the DS was performing and how 3DS is performing now. Introduction of smartphones changed that. Games like Brain Age can now be had for free. 

My main gripe is people saying things like "iPhone gamers aren't real gamers" or "iPhones games aren't real games".

One thing I'd like to point out before adressing these points fully: I know this article regards iPhone and Nintendo, but I think it's more useful to consider dedicated handheld gaming devices vs. ALL other "mobile" (phone / tablet) gaming platforms here.

There will always be a place for games that are playable in short bursts with constant gratification, and this has been an aspect of portable gaming which Nintendo has had aeons to perfect. This is also something that mobile gaming has recently done better, mainly by exploiting the "gratification" part, and this is something which Nintendo are going to have to work incredibly hard to compete against. I wonder if Sony ever understood, and simply thought that they could employ their usual method of making a cool thing and hoping people would come. Anyway, we have a good idea what the article author thinks of THEM.

Of course mobile gamers are "real" gamers, as is anyone who enjoys playing games. I have to admire mobile gaming for stealing the baton from Nintendo to make a legitimate hobby more acceptible, but the hardware appears to be both an enabler and a limiter. If the common perception of gaming narrows to what mobile platforms offer, there is a real possibility that some genres might become obscure, or die out.

Other genres may be born too.

 

I love JRPG too and they work so unbelievably well on smartphones, so I am happy about that.

Other than that I agree with much of what you said.