Iwata denies smartphone gaming biting Nintendo’s market share

This is probably just bullshit to keep the investors happy, but if Iwata actually believes that he’s suffering from reality fail.

Maybe that’s because fads are just that. They fade away after time.

I don’t believe cheap games undermine premium titles. I used to by £1.99 games for my Spectrum back in the 80s. I still bought full price titles. Same today. I believe they can live in harmony.

They do live in harmony. Thing is while you have a couple full price games, you have a ton of the cheap ones. Summing those up, is what makes indypendent developers and especially Apple not to underestimate.

i think he is right.even for casuals dedicating gaming is far better than smartphones.
and those smartphones are pretty expensive too compared to handheld consoles!
i think most of this fuss is made by media intentionally to boost this market,and nothing else!

Give it 2 to 3 years and I reckon you’ll see Nintendo products on the App Stores.

I agree with the comments about casual mobile gaming and full price games living in harmony. But I do think there is some truth in smartphones impacting Nintendo as they have such a large investment in handheld gaming.

I don’t think it has anything to do with who has a better product or inferior games, I just think it comes down to the fact that pretty much everyone needs a phone. That and the fact we are getting to the point where smartphones are the logical choice (due to cost of contracts and what you get out of them in terms of use) and they also happen to have some great games.

Imo, the 3DS wasn’t really a huge step forward in terms of graphics and other than the 3D, it didn’t bring much to the table. I have the same feeling that the WiiU will be the same. I do think the PSV will be interesting but will struggle as much as the 3DS.

I think the matter of price is something of a red herring. I also think the smartphone market is definitely impacting on Nintendo’s market, and specifically theirs.

The original DS was a huge success, and part of that was tapping into fresh, more senior demographics. Titles like Brain Training, Layton and other digital puzzle books found popularity with an older demographic that weren’t really interested in traditional gaming. Unfortunately for Nintendo, titles like the above are a fantastic fit for iOS and Android devices, hardware that people already own and carry with them.

There’s still interest in playing full blown Mario or Zelda games on the go. However, we’re talking about the same market that bought the GBC and GBA, not the expanded audience that the DS attracted. The latter have moved on to more convenient devices, but the core market remains: I believe they’re enough to make both the 3DS and Vita comfortable successes, so long as Nintendo and Sony cater to those tastes and don’t get distracted by a losing battle with smartphones.

@8

I couldn’t have said it any better myself.

Indeed, bravo Aimless.

If Iwata truly believes this then he’s fooling nobody but himself.

@5 Smartphones (specifically the iPhone) are expensive, but iPods are dirt cheap and will play exactly the same games…

I believe hes is right on this, is not the same , for instance, playing infinite blade on ios instead of valkyria chronicles 2 on psp and/or mario and luigis inside bowser or any other great games on the handled consoles, it is very different, because even “casual gamers” like we the “core gamers”, tend to spend the money on value asspetcs, in other words they are also consumers that want to get the most value out for their money.

I believe the problem with the DS is not the graphics, which are vastly improve over the original DS, wii like,or the price tag, or even the lack of software, i think the software at this point is better than the original DS at least for the top selling games between the two, i think it has to do more with the consumers perception regarding the 3D tech, even if it is glass free, they think this will damage the eye and brain too,it is a strong perception that will be a big leap to conquer, the only way is that consumers need to play the device prior in order to see what really is about, thats an strength but also a downside.