NPD: Kids pick mobile devices over PCs, consoles for gaming

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Soundwave said:

The smartphone/tablet is just a more compelling device anyway.

It can play games, it can play movies, read comics, you can watch music videos on it, you can play games, surf the internet, check Facebook, take photos ...

Even for kids they enjoy the wider functionality.

That and a tablet can have 20-30+ games on it. As many as you want really.

Good luck getting mom and dad to buy you 20 3DS games at $40 a pop. So once you beat that Mario game on 3DS ... you have nothing else to play as a kid until your parents buy you something else, which usually means waiting for a birthday/Christmas.

Tablet? Smartphone? Just download a new game when ever you feel like it.

The old console/handheld model quite simply is like a lumbering dinosaur, the phone/tablet market even if the games aren't as high quality, they can still be entertaining, it's a much more vibrant, evolving ecosystem that always has something new to play for a price everyone likes -- free or dirt cheap. 

This. Pretty much this.