I don't know tbh the games on phones maybe somewhat better then before but the games on dedicated handhelds also get better and at a more notable rate imo, Gravity Daze, Uncharted, Mario and so on are streets ahead of what you get on phones and this will only improve. The main draw to phones is the cheap games, you're saying about how in 5 years this or that will happen and assuming conditions stay the same but in gaming that's never the case, I'm pretty sure it's the cheap prices carrying the phone craze otherwise the Ngage would of been much more successful.

Phones have about as much chance of replacing handhelds as PCs replacing consoles and the latter can actually game on an equal to superior level and has been able to for years yet here consoles still are.

Fistly I shouldn't of phrased that with "the fact that" and I should of stressed the "seems". But I get this impression from PSV sales, 3DS software sales (3 of the 5 bestselling 3DS games are casual games), and from the people I know, hardly anyone gives a shit about Uncharted on Vita or MGS on 3DS.

There's going to be a time when technology allows consoles to not only be a stationary device that sits on your table or floor, but also a portable device that resembles portable gaming of this generation. We see that already with things like the Wii U, and in a few more generations, the console market will continue to expand as new technologies arrive, allowing publishers and developers the ability to allow you to play games on your hands or a piece of paper, through your glasses or on your wall, and things of that nature. There's going to be a point of singularity, where the two different types of gaming become one and we'll look back and remember the days when we actually needed two different devices to play two different type of games.

Casual games selling well on portable devices isn't something new. The DS was the same.

Top 5 DS games:

New Super Mario Bros.
Nintendogs (Casual)
Mario Kart DS
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day (Casual)
Pokémon Diamond / Pearl

Top 5 3DS games:

Super Mario 3D Land
Mario Kart 7
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Nintendogs + cats (Casual)
Monster Hunter 3G

What are the 2 other casual games you had in mind?

I swore when the 3DS started to do great. I thought to myself "Gee now that the 3DS has proven phones haven't killed it, these phone arguement's would stop" Nope it will go on. Here is my personal belief. inc caps. UNTIL PHONES DO GAMING BETTER THAN A DEDICATED GAMING DEVICE IT CANNOT TAKE OVER SAID DEVICE BECAUSE ITS INFERIOR. :)

TOS, Nice Post!

I would definitely call Mario Kart a casual game. Has the same mass appeal as something like Wii sports and is super accessible. Zelda is a re-release, Monster Hunter is only popular in one region and SM3DL isn't exactly "hardcore", but I guess it's not casual either so I'll give you that.

The other game I had in mind was Brain Training. My deepest apologies. 

And be fair, I did say Nintendo could be an exception. (bolded)

Okay, I'm afraid we don't agree on the definition of a casual game since I'd never put Mario Kart in the casual column.

WTF? Women and non-gamers love Mario Kart.

It is to racing what Smash Bros. is to fighting games.

Yet Smash isn't a casual game. But to be fair, Mario Kart is a cross-cutter between core and casual.

It's a core game that appeals to casual gamers! How to term such a game? Halo, Smash are the same.