[QUOTE="Vinegar_Strokes"][QUOTE="shadowcat2576"]
I'm not saying that smartphones/iPads aren't having an effect of the handheld market, but I don't think we'll ever really exactly what effect it is. I also don't think it'll be nearly as large of an effect as some people think it will be.
To me those devices are like PCs. Sure they play games, but that's only one of multiple functions and not the primary function for most users. Sure gaming apps sell, but we don't really know how many people would have bought a 3DS to play games on if smartphones didn't exist.
It's like saying, "100 million people play Farmville. Look how much of the gaming market the PC has." All we really know is that 100 million people are playing a game therefor expanding the gaming population. We don't know that if Farmville didn't exist that those 100 million people would continue to play some other game. Some might, but most would probably find other nongaming alternatives.
Smartphones are not killing handheld consoles, they are simply expanding the handheld gaming market.
the problem is most people do not want to carry around 2 devices a phone and a games system. smartphones are offering lots of very cheap (and sometimes free) fun pick and play games that are perfect for gaming on the go. Still, we don't know that this is effecting the handheld market. True most people constantly have their phone with them, but I doubt people think about it in the same way. Sure I've seen people in the airport or Dr's offices play games on their phones, but the question remains, "Would those people be sitting there playing a ds/psp if games on smartphones did not exist, or would they be listening to their iPods or reading a book instead. Until we see a steep decline in the sales of handheld consoles and games themselves we can't say that smartphones are really hurting them. This is a good theory. Most of the people I see playing phone games have never really owned a Gameboy/DS/PSP before. Some of them don't even play consoles or PCs either. They might simply be playing phone games as time-killers and nothing else.
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