So you show, that smartphones only make a little part of EAs revenues.

This.

Yep, that's basically what I thought. He says the smartphone-games are killing handhelds, and then explains that the way to reach your customers are different on this platforms. Doesn't this clearly hints, that this is a different market? And, as you said, a market that has customers spend very little money.

Videogame maker Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is exploring a sale as the company struggles to grow its business amid competition from free online gaming sites, the New York Post reported, citing sources.

The paper reported EA has been approached by private-equity giants KKR and Providence Equity Partners about a potential deal.

Representatives for EA weren't immediately available for comment.

EA is the maker of such popular video games as "SimCity" and "Madden NFL" and had a market value of $4.17 billion as of Wednesday's close.

Shares climbed 17% to $15.25 in light premarket trading and are down 36% this year.

The paper quotes a source familiar with the company saying EA would do a deal at $20 a share. It last traded above that price in January.

EA has reported mixed results in recent periods as softer demand for console videogames has hurt margins and as it faces increased competition from free-access online games. Last month, EA reported fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 9% as the company's core revenue slipped.

The company is looking to transform its business model to better compete against rivals such as Zynga Inc. (ZNGA), which has expanded its business to better support Internet-based sales.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120816-705905.html

wow, way to miss the point. 

it shows mobile (smartphones) revenue > Nintendo handhelds (3DS + DS) + Playstation handhelds (PSV + PSP)

it shows the total mobile (everything above combine) has 23% growth which is highly skewed by smartphone growth at 83%.

you know, if you weren't such a wii fan i'd have let this slide...   but for years now you have been part of the "the mainstream doesn't need graphics, or online, or whatever" mantra.  and you know what, you aren't entirely wrong.  yes graphics and traditional gaming matter to me but the wii proves a heck of a lot of the market that were buying ps2 a gen ago don'tt care.

so let's start with where you are soo absolutely wrong (its almost sad anyone still spews this (basically bigoted) bull shit).  that's the part where you say "99 cent iphone games".  mobile games have come soo far since their launch 4 years ago.  not only are there  plenty of big name franchises on smartphones, they're selling for higher price points ($5 - $10).  now dont' get me wrong, these are 1 to 1 ports of what we "traditional gaming" but they pretty good overall.

now here is where you sound silly.  that same "good enough" matra you've been repeating about the lack of wii advances not mattering to the mainstream is just as applicable to mobile gaming.  it's the EXACT same thought. 

...and when the mainstream leave there won't be enough money to support the games i want to play.  the more than just "good enough" experiences are expensive to build and there is a required critical mass in audience size to justify creating them.  look at have shit-tastic the vita is doing and behold your future: small audience, low sales, questions about product viability.  even the 3DS is stalling everywhere but japan which is not coincidental to the fact smartphones are far more popular in the west than japan. 

1) Outside of a few times I've played NSMB with my girlfriend, I haven't touhed my Wii since the disappointing release of Skyward Sword. If you read any of my posts since last October, you'd know I'm heavily into online PC gaming with both Battlefield 3, Dota 2, etc. I love how you assume my bias right away and base all my points off of that...

2) "now here is where you sound silly.  that same "good enough" matra you've been repeating about the lack of wii advances not mattering to the mainstream is just as applicable to mobile gaming.  it's the EXACT same thought. "

You're taking that point far out of context, and I actually didn't mention a single word about that in my post. Way to address something I didn't even bring up! You should get bonus points or something...

3) You mention that iphone games aren't just 99 cent games anymore, but are replicating more complex designs we see in portable handhelds. Nowhere did I mention all iphone games are 99 cents. No where. Good job completely missing my point and actually helping my point at the same time. Did you just mention iphone games becoming more complex and offering fuller experiences? Are you assuming that will continue to advance more so into the future as mobile eats up handhelds completely?

FANTASTIC! Now you have your traditional games on the mobile device that you and millions of others can now enjoy. You haven't lost anything. Your gaming is still alive, just on a different platform.

4) The vast mainstream may find that things are "good enough" at certain points, and that is perfectly fine. It caters to their tastes and gives them what they enjoy. However, there are millions and millions of gamers who love more complex experiences with high production values, and those consumers won't magically change their tastes, and they won't magically disappear.

There really isn't anything to be afraid of. Except for the possibility of some of your favorite gaming companies (ex: Sony) going out of business due to putting out products consumers don't care enough about. Outside of that, gaming will move on and continue to evolve with 30 million LoL players, 15 million Battlefield players, 10+ million Skyrim players, 25+ million 2D Mario lovers, etc, etc, etc. There is room for all different sorts of gaming experiences. You nor the fans who share similar tastes to you will magically disappear.

Oh and for the record, I have absolutely nothing against mobile platforms.

Your biggest mistake in your thinking is confusing console and pc gaming with portable gaming. These games you mention are not portable games except for 2D mario. I do not think anyone thinks moblile platforms are affecting consoles as much as they are portables. The games on consoles are too different and more adavanced than portables can currently do. Nintendo and Sony will lose out in the hendheld business, not the console business. Hence the title of the thread.

I am not confusing anything. I realize handheld platforms are dying and mobile is on an upswing. Those games I mentioned were actually all *console* games (I meant the NSMB on the Wii).

With the handhelds dying, people are afraid that these cheap mobile games will wipe out the handheld games that people traditionally enjoy. Yet at the same time, people are also admitting that mobile platforms are receiving more and more complex games. Look at the megaman game that was just announced.

These game styles people love won't just disappear. If for some reason handhelds and consoles both die, you can bet that those franchises and game styles will still be made for whatever platforms are thriving. As long as the audience is there, the sales will be there...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the above graph only include digital revenue and not retail revenue or total revenue?

Wouldn't you expect digital revenue growth to be highest on smartphones since most people only download games digitally.

It's good that you noted that the graph says that "mobile" includes handhelds since i think some people miss that footnote too.