Comments on: Apple to Sony & Nintendo: Let the Games Begin

By: How Is Apple Faring Against Nintendo And Sony? : tinyComb

How Is Apple Faring Against Nintendo And Sony? : tinyComb — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:10:34 +0000

[...] tiny from: GigaOm original post. Picture from TouchPodium.com September 16, 2008 | jason | Gadgets, Video Games, apple, [...]

By: dan

dan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:57:30 +0000

most ppl who even play the DS and PSP are children, i really doubt parent are going to go out and start buying their 8yr olds iphones so they can start playing games

By: Freelance Friday: My Writing Week 38 | tdhedengren

Freelance Friday: My Writing Week 38 | tdhedengren — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:28:49 +0000

[...] made my debut post on GigaOM this week, which was fun. I’m doing some freelance work for them, and I’d reckon [...]

By: Thord Daniel Hedengren

Thord Daniel Hedengren — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:44:11 +0000

Thanks for all the comments, some interesting thoughts and points here! :)

There is indeed a lot of things to like with playing games on both the iPhone and the iPod touch. Problem is, these games are not as good as they are on dedicated portable games machines, like Nintendo DS and PSP. Perhaps there will be some that are, but unless it is something huge that will get the press going (like a World of Warcraft iPhone client, that would work), it’ll just drown in the other hundreds soon to be thousands of games that just won’t cut it.

Sure, App store games are cheap, but so are games for mobile phones, and they’re a border market compared to the big player. If the reasoning is that the install base of iPhone and iPod touches will be huge, it’ll still be small if you compare it to mobile phones overall, and that’s a format that has been heralded as a player in the portable games industry for years. Nokia even did a dedicated mobile phone for games (the N-gage), and that failed miserably.

It all boils down to having great games and an affordable device, otherwise it’ll just be another nice little feature on your gadget. Sort of like mobile phone games are today, I’d say. They don’t cut it in the long run, despite the truly massive amount of choices, and neither will the App store games category unless Apple does something truly drastic.

Finally, yes, both Nintendo DS (touch screen) and Wii (motion control) was said to not being able to work in the long run, the novelty will wear off, and so on. The difference between these two and the iPhone/iPod touch is that they offer alternatives, with opposite buttons on the DS and traditional controls on the Wii, whereas you’re stuck with that touch screen on the iPhone/iPod touch and that’s it.

Don’t get me wrong here, you can most certainly play games on Apple’s devices, just as you can play games on your mobile phone. But waging war with Nintendo and Sony is something Jobs & Co. just won’t pull off right now.

By: Simon

Simon — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:12:32 +0000

This article outrageously chooses to focus only on one side of the story

By: KenC

KenC — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:13:30 +0000

Sure, there are limitations to the iPhone/Touch platform as a gaming device, primarily the control surface. But there are some interesting advantages:
• the iPhone/Touch is almost always with the user, as it is a cellphone first, game device second or third or what have you. The DS and PSP are not always with a user.
• the installed base is growing rapidly. Probably 12M right now, and if estimates are correct, may be over 60M by end of next year.
• expands the user base. The DS and PSP appeal to a specific market. Mostly young, mostly boys. The iPhone/Touch are mostly being carried around by adults with plenty of disposable income. This is a new demographic.
• low prices. The average game is less than $5. The top games are about $10. This is far less than games for the DS or PSP.
• easy access to customers. With the AppStore right on the iPhone and Touch, an impulse buy is very easy, when the average game costs about the same as a Starbucks latte.
• 65M registered customers; this makes impulse buying even easier, as it’s one-click.
• incredible amount of built-in storage, for hundreds of apps. I’ve got about 70.
• powerful OS SDK tools that allow for relatively easy and quick app building.

The fact is the iPhone and Touch are popular devices. The fact is, it’s incredibly easy to buy apps, particularly games. The fact is, those games are cheap. The fact is, it’s relatively easy for developers to build great apps. The fact is, the DRM on apps is good enough that pirating is virtually unheard of. The fact is, developers can charge less for good apps, because of the lack of piracy. The fact is, this is a great market for developers and a great market for customers. What’s not to like?

By: Preetam Rai

Preetam Rai — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:33:25 +0000

I had both a DS and a PSP, The reason I gave them up and moved to ipod touch is because on PSP and DS the games are more expensive compared to the ipod touch/iphone.

By: Michael Teuber

Michael Teuber — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:10:57 +0000

The premise of the article seems to be that Apple is competing head on with Nintendo and Sony for the dedicated handheld game console market. At least that’s what I took away from the medieval knights hacking at each other. The iPhone is a cell phone, pda, and music player with a full featured web browser that also plays games. For the casual gamer unlikely to carry a cell phone, iPod, pda, and a dedicated handheld game device in her purse (god help men who run out of pockets), the iPhone is an ideal casual game platform. For those that need hardcore console style game action the lack of buttons is an issue, for a casual gamer for whom Super Monkey Ball and Cro-Mag Rally are brilliant, dedicated ‘game’ buttons would be a drawback, not a feature.

By: Eideard

Eideard — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:24:46 +0000

Have to join the smirkers. Do you really think Apple WON’T offer games optimized for their devices?

The secret to selling starts with picking out a market. I doubt if Apple is out to capture the miraculous world of LAN-fanatics.

Take every critical bit of analysis in the article – and I don’t mean to sound too harsh – and substitute the word iPod and published back when Rio and Real were in command. Then, follow along through what Apple decided to do. And did.

By: Lacy Kemp

Lacy Kemp — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:43:37 +0000

I don’t think Apple intended for the iPhone or Touch to be Nintendo/Sony killers. But they’ve stumbled upon a business model that may yet prevail. As publishers and studios come to realize the massive market they can reach with the two devices, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them take full advantage of everything they have to offer and start optimizing games to work on that platform.

Additionally, I don’t think the majority of iPhone/Touch users purchased that product as a gaming device. However, once they figure out that the games are fun and easy, they may be inclined to continue to purchase them since it is so easy.

Just my $.02