iOS + Android > PSP + DS

[runawayprisoner]

I think it's time to see iOS + Android collaborate on something rather than competing all the time...

Source: http://blog.flurry.com/bid/77424/Is-it-Game-Over-for-Nintendo-DS-and-Sony-PSP

Note: just an estimate.

But hey, "it's on a phone". So I think that's pretty impressive. Looks like dedicated gaming systems are going to have to step up further, and if anything, that's just good news for consumers.

 

[Ns1]

yup, sold the DS long ago - really no purpose.

 

[vshah]

battery life is the only thing holding us back

 

[Fire&Blood]

battery life is the only thing holding us back

It was only a matter of time. It's an issue for the portable consoles as well. Another thing bad for the portables is that most reasonable people aren't willing to lug around 2 devices and most would rather carry only their phone than a 2nd dedicated gaming device.

Sony should have plugged the Vita into the Android ecosystem. They can still recover with a sophisticated Play tablet and a "real" Play phone.

They are sitting on a ton of superior content. All due respect for existing iOS and Android titles but the gameplay, the storyline of PS/PS2/PS3 titles is unmatched. And the cost of many titles has been absorbed a long time ago, no expensive and time consuming process for developing them. They need to port them which should be much cheaper and quicker as opposed to starting form scratch.

I firmly believe that a well executed Play tablet and phone duo could propel them into gaining good chunks of the Android market share. Hardware is not enough to compete against established players like Samsung and HTC but Hardware+exclusive, desirable content is a different story.

Same goes for Nintendo: join an established ecosystem or perish. Or kiss the portable sales goodbye (except the domestic fanatics, of course)

 

[zerocool84]

I have tons of games on my phone but still most are very limited and even the great games on iOS/Android still don't compare to good games on a dedicated game system. The lack of buttons hurt immensely and file sizes.

 

[alent1234]

the nintendo/sony games are better but at $5.99 or less compared to $40 most people will go for the cheaper games and the device that will do more than just play games

 

[Oyeve]

battery life is the only thing holding us back

And quality games. Im sorry but phones and tabs pale in comparision. Maybe someday but not now.

 

[darkewaffle]

I think it's really the price point that makes the big difference. Games on a phone are little more than a "Newgrounds"ish title that people are now willing to actually pay for. And I think as evidenced by the proliferation of the "microtransaction" model it's a lot easier to pull people in when they can pay a little at a time rather than all up front. Even though the $30 game probably will last longer and be more 'meaningful', people are more likely to buy six $5 games instead because they feel like they get more and they have to commit less at once.

The problem is most people look at a PSP/DS vs a phone and don't see a difference. To be fair when most people just want their facebook games and angry birds type timewasters, there isn't a difference, because they won't get anything out of the Golden Suns, the Castlevanias, the 'long form' handheld games. As such I think you're seeing customers who always wanted that 'distraction' out of a portable but wouldn't pay for it are now 'entering the market' and buying a couple games, and you also have customers who basically just wanted their Game Boy/PSP to kill time who are now switching to a more economical option in their phone.

Though, with that graph is I would question what 'qualifies' someone with a phone to be included, as I don't think that someone who just downloads Bejeweled and Angry Birds on their phone is necessarily part of the market that the PSP and DS appeal to. I think it if were to reflect 'revenue from users who spent at least $20/$50/x on "mobile gaming" ' that Nintendo's and Sony's market share would not drop nearly as sharply.

 

[zerogear]

DoodleJump/Angry Birds is a good time waster when you're just waiting for 5-10 for something. When I actually want to play a game, I don't even bother with phone games. The only game I have on my phone is Tetris

 

[MrX8503]

Some of the games on the iPhone are really impressive. Deadspace, Modern Combat, Nova, I mean some of these games are pushing PS2 graphics. The only thing it lacks now is proper button controls.

 

[pukemon]

Some of the games on the iPhone are really impressive. Deadspace, Modern Combat, Nova, I mean some of these games are pushing PS2 graphics. The only thing it lacks now is proper button controls.

I think Infinity Blade has replaced Angry Birds as my favorite quick play for five minutes game on my phone. Graphics look pretty good to me, but the gameplay is what makes it fun, because you actually use the touchscreen to slice 'n dice and kick the living shit out of the enemies.

 

[vshah]

And quality games. Im sorry but phones and tabs pale in comparision. Maybe someday but not now.

what I meant was that, if someone wanted to, they could create identical quality games on a phone. but for a device that is also crucial to communication, having the battery die after a couple hours of gaming isn't acceptable.

 

[Oyeve]

what I meant was that, if someone wanted to, they could create identical quality games on a phone. but for a device that is also crucial to communication, having the battery die after a couple hours of gaming isn't acceptable.

True. The 3ds battery is also horrible. I am lucky if I can get 4 hours of play before it dies.

 

[Red Storm]

what I meant was that, if someone wanted to, they could create identical quality games on a phone. but for a device that is also crucial to communication, having the battery die after a couple hours of gaming isn't acceptable.

I disagree. I think the lack of proper controls is the one thing that keeps Android/iOS games as nothing more than time killers. Then again, I only play PC games (and then, only those that are truly good) so my opinion may be a bit biased here.

All I know is that I've tried a good deal of them from Infinity Blade to Angry Birds, and I don't consider them "real" games. They're more akin to flash games on the PC, aka time wasters.

 

[alent1234]

Sid Meir's Pirates on the ipad is pretty good. but the touch interface is really the limiting factor

but OTOH most of the "real" games are just as bad. i played black ops last year and both Mass Effect games this year along with some Gears of War 1 and 2. each one is just a corridor shooter. you can't really deviate from the straight line

 

[vshah]

I disagree. I think the lack of proper controls is the one thing that keeps Android/iOS games as nothing more than time killers. Then again, I only play PC games (and then, only those that are truly good) so my opinion may be a bit biased here.

All I know is that I've tried a good deal of them from Infinity Blade to Angry Birds, and I don't consider them "real" games. They're more akin to flash games on the PC, aka time wasters.

i should have expanded. any company can go and make a phone with great hardware, buttons for control, and a software company could write great, intricate games for it. but no one will do that because battery tech will only allow the device to last a few hours, and no one wants a phone that will die after a couple hours of gaming.

 

[Red Storm]

i should have expanded. any company can go and make a phone with great hardware, buttons for control, and a software company could write great, intricate games for it. but no one will do that because battery tech will only allow the device to last a few hours, and no one wants a phone that will die after a couple hours of gaming.

That's true, but I personally feel that the controls issue is the biggest hurdle, not necessarily battery life. There are already apps/functions that can drain a phone battery in no time (streaming high quality video for one) so I don't think that's holding back devs as much as we would think.

 

[MrX8503]

Smartphones have more powerful hardware than handheld devices, so the major thing a smartphone lacks is a proper controller. The quality of the games isn't the problem, its the controller.

 

[Oyeve]

Smartphones have more powerful hardware than handheld devices, so the major thing a smartphone lacks is a proper controller. The quality of the games isn't the problem, its the controller.

True, BUT, there is still a lack of really good games on either platform. Tower defense games, all of gameloft games, they are all the same. I want to see a Legend of Zelda OOT game that plays and looks just as good as the DS versions. Sure, we get tech demos of stuff that looks amazing but were are the full games?

 

[dguy6789]

Battery life isn't an issue to me. Just about any phone with an extended battery in the 2500+mAh range gets better battery life than any stock phone and any handheld game device by a large amount. I've never seen a smartphone that without the extended battery had enough juice for me so I get the extended battery every time anyway.

I do think the quality of games is an issue but that is being resolved slowly over time. As the current smaller developers make more and more money from the markets they will probably be more willing to make bigger and bigger games. As the markets become larger, big companies that would typically only make PC or console games will find it increasingly hard to ignore the smartphone market. EA, Epic, and ID are already making smartphone games of increasing quality.

The touch screen is definitely a limitation for certain genres of games but for others it is perfectly suitable. Simulation games(Think Sim City and Roller Coaster Tycoon), turn based strategy(Civilization anyone?), puzzle games, and RPGs come to mind. For other styles of games like platformers you can get a phone with a slide out hardware keyboard, slide out hardware gamepad, or use a wireless game controller(Wired will be supported in ICS).

 

[Red Storm]

True, BUT, there is still a lack of really good games on either platform. Tower defense games, all of gameloft games, they are all the same. I want to see a Legend of Zelda OOT game that plays and looks just as good as the DS versions. Sure, we get tech demos of stuff that looks amazing but were are the full games?

Exactly. For example Infinity Blade is pretty much a glorified tech demo that let's you press a button and/or swipe the screen. The game has no actual substance. That is what's missing from every mobile game out there.

 

[dguy6789]

Sim City Deluxe is out for Android. I think it's a really solid version, doesn't seem dumbed down from the real thing in any way that I can tell so far.

 

[MrX8503]

True, BUT, there is still a lack of really good games on either platform. Tower defense games, all of gameloft games, they are all the same. I want to see a Legend of Zelda OOT game that plays and looks just as good as the DS versions. Sure, we get tech demos of stuff that looks amazing but were are the full games?

I'm not sure about adventure games, but there are full out FPS shooter games for the iPhone with even online multiplayer. There are real games on the platform, under featured there's a "Cutting Edge Games" section. I have Deadspace for the iPhone and its like a console game.

Exactly. For example Infinity Blade is pretty much a glorified tech demo that let's you press a button and/or swipe the screen. The game has no actual substance. That is what's missing from every mobile game out there.

There are games on the iPhone that have substance. You'd be surprised. I have Sandstorm for the iPhone and its a real FPS shooter.

 

[Red Storm]

There are games on the iPhone that have substance. You'd be surprised. I have Sandstorm for the iPhone and its a real FPS shooter.

From a review of Sandstorm:

The plot of Sandstorm won't be winning any awards for originality, as it's a fairly cookie cutter premise centralized around conflicts in the middle east, evil terrorists, and the trials and tribulations of your military squad as you fight your way through the various bands of enemy combatants standing between you and the various objectives.

Cookie cutter FPS games have no substance either, doesn't matter what platform they're on. 😉

I'm talking about games like Skyrim, Dragon Age (Origins), Mass Effect, Portal, etc. Games with an actual plot and/or quality game play. As long as I have games like this available to me, I just can't take mobile games seriously.

 

[MrX8503]

Well, its not a game on rails like Infinity Blade. That's what I'm getting at.

I'm talking about games like Skyrim, Dragon Age (Origins), Mass Effect, Portal, etc. Games with an actual plot and/or quality game play. As long as I have games like this available to me, I just can't take mobile games seriously.

There aren't any games like that on any mobile/handheld device. Those games require a PC/Console. We're talking about NDS and PSP games here.