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How Apple Is Beating Nintendo At Its Own Game

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the super-steve-bros dept.

Zothecula writes "In an industry obsessed with polygon counts and frame rates, Nintendo's Wii console and DS handheld were the proverbial knives at a gunfight. They were grossly underpowered compared to the competition, meaning Nintendo could sell them at a profit from day one. Their innovative control methods ensured they still sold like hotcakes. An animated GIF of Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata holding a DS that printed money became the go to picture to run alongside quarterly announcements of Nintendo's gargantuan profits. If a disheveled man emerged from a time-traveling DeLorean with tales of a near-future Nintendo struggling to sell its latest handheld, I'd have been more surprised about the Nintendo thing. So what on earth happened?"

5 of 425 comments (clear)

  1. General Purpose Device... by wsxyz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because iPhones & iPod Touches can do a lot more than just play games?

    1. Re:General Purpose Device... by bonch · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Could it also be because people can buy about 20 iPhone games for the price of one 3DS game?

  2. Misnomer by Lysander7 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The title should read "Apple is Beating Nintendo at a Completely Different Game".

    Honestly, it's not even comparable. People want iPhones because it consolidates multiple devices into one, eliminating the desire to carry a GameBoy around, and games from the app store hold an entirely different niche in the market than handheld console games. While yes, that niche is dominating the video game market, I don't think it's safe to call them "video games" as well.

    But of course, naming the title this is a way to get more hits, so I really shouldn't be surprised.

  3. Image matters by Brannoncyll · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We should not forget that people tend to associate handheld gaming consoles with nerds and children, whereas mobile phones are *cool*. Every day I see high powered businessmen suited up for a day at work playing Angry Birds on the subway, but I have never seen an adult using a Nintendo.

  4. Apple isn't doing jack here. by Jartan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I love how everyone acts like this really has something to do with Apple. The reality is it would of happened no matter what. Nobody wants to carry an extra device.

    The moment selling graphically powerful phones became normal was the moment handhelds were doomed. Apple brought this about earlier perhaps but Moore's law said it was going to happen no matter what.