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Sony, Microsoft Squabble Over Console Features, But the Real Opponent Is Apple
Nerval's Lobster writes "Now that Microsoft and Sony have unveiled their respective next-generation gaming consoles, the two companies have cheerfully resorted to firing broadsides at each other. Whether the current brouhaha has any effect on sales of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 (if hardcore gamers keep complaining, they may even convince Microsoft to knock $100 off the new Xbox and bring its pricing down to the PS4's level), it's also drowning out what many perceive as the real issue: gaming consoles face an existential threat from mobile devices, most notably those running iOS (with some threat from Android). First, there are signs that the hardcore gamer market is soft: console sales in the United States dropped 21 percent in 2012, and sales of new video-game cartridges haven't fared much better. Second, PC/console games such as X-Com have begun appearing on iOS; if that trend continues, the console companies will have more rivals to fight against. Third, Apple is developing a game controller for iOS which could make it an even more dedicated opponent — and convince other tech companies to follow in its footsteps. But don't tell any of that to Microsoft and Sony, which seem content to fire at each other."
EOM
love is just extroverted narcissism
Cartridge sales are extremely low, but that has nothing to do with PS3/4 or the Xbox family.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
We can talk about the mythical Apple TV with new console generation level graphics(which will make it expensive) when I see it.
No, it really isn't
Carts.....
So this was written by someone who understands the gaming market well then? In 1995 maybe.
- http://www.milkme.co.uk
Anyone who says otherwise has his hand in your wallet.
iOS as serious gaming platform? This must be bat country!
Really, go visit an airport, library, park bench, McDs, waiting room, etc. People are playing games on their mobile phones or tablets.
If you still need high power, play it on your desktop. Consoles are throw-away electronics and their time in the sun is diminishing.
Now, if you'll excuse me I need to get a jump on early Christmas shopping... I need an Angry Birds bed set, Angry Birds jacket, Angry Birds underwear, Angry Birds bicycle, Angry Birds weed whacker, Angry Birds can opener, Ford Focus Angry Birds Limited Edition, Angry Birds home pregnancy kit, ...
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
console sales in the United States dropped 21 percent in 2012, and sales of new video-game cartridges haven't fared much better.
What the hell would be considered a "new video-game cartridge"?
I know jargon in certain industries gets weird. I mean, I deal with tables, floors, clouds, nets, webs, pipes, and none of those are physical objects. But whoever is using the term "cartridge", in the game industry, in this year, deserves to be ignored as they are obviously stuck in the last century. Seriously, while you're back there warn them about 9/11 and Bush.
It's been 10ish years since we have seen a new console.....maybe that had a little to do with the drop in console purchases, everybody has one?
The world is now on auto-pilot.
Hardcore gamers are not on consoles, they're on PCs. Consoles have always had fairly dumbed down gaming experiences compared to what is available on PCs.
When consoles became a "big thing", it was the non-hardcore gamers who went there, and the hardcore types that stayed on the PC. Consoles didn't have the right kinds of controllers, the games were more dumbed down, etc.
So, about this:
First, there are signs that the hardcore gamer market is soft: console sales in the United States dropped 21 percent in 2012,
... those are not the hardcore gamers, those are the "middle-core" gamers.
People playing 99 cent time wasters aren't the same demographic as those spending $400 on a console to buy $60 games. If Apple come up with a PC type small box that runs games, and give billions to several devlopers, they will enter the gamers' market, their twee stuff on their iStuff is not taking a single cent away from xbox, ps3 or nintendo, other then child titles and all that useless fitness stuff women buy.
Yes, some sales less is due to mobile gaming. However, some is also due to the effing advanced, decrepit age of the current console generation. Anyone care to guess how much? I bet steam is taking their share too.
Silence is a state of mime.
Apple is planning on taking on Microsoft and Sony. Lol with what a tablet? There is just no way a tablet alone can take on a dedicated gaming device. The deck is stacked clearly in MS and Sony's favor on that. Lets see dedicated devices do not have the same size constraints, do not have to deal with battery life, do not have to deal with powering a display, do not have to deal with mobility, do not have to deal with sketchy wifi/4g coverage.
I suppose someone will chime in suggesting they mean the Apple TV which could be a valid point, except the market penetration of those are MUCH smaller, and the fact that they do not have any AAA titles that rival the competitors.
Controller or not, there are no Apple devices that compete directly with xbox and ps.
18 months ago, Apple as a serious threat to the established console makers looked plausible. It looks a lot less so now.
iOS is becoming a much less credible gaming proposition with every day that passes. Why? Shovelware IAP-laden crap which barely even qualifies as "games". Ok, occasionally you get games like X-Com or Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition which try to swim against the tide; but even there, they're never anything more than slightly inferior ports of games available on other platforms.
Finding anything worth playing on iOS is getting harder and harder. Square-Enix and Cave put out a few titles worth a look - but even Square-Enix have gone down the route recently of pay-to-win shovelware.
At the same time, the low-priced offerings on the consoles - and on the Playstation Store in particular - have soared in quality. If you want a mobile device right now that can play high quality indie games, sold at a reasonable price, then you don't want an iPhone or iPad, you want a Vita.
Indeed, though the Vita's failure as a "PS3 in your pocket" is now almost complete (barring the occasional decent game such as Littlebigplanet Vita or Soul Sacrifice) the machine's sales seem to be trending upwards on the back of a decently priced but rigorously quality-controlled low-budged and indie scene.
How many times will people think that the iOS gaming and the HD console gaming is the same market? this is bullshit. yes there is some overlap, yes there is a bit of cannibalisation because time is a limited ressource, but no one can compare the experience of a AAA game on a PC or next gen console with what you can get on even an iPad.
even if it's streamed on a TV, even with a controller. the hardware is incomparable, the promise of the experience is completely different.
let's stop with this "new apples are disrupting oranges!" please.
Just like PCs became faster and replaced Unix workstations at many places, the low end devices are becoming faster and are threatening the dedicated gaming consoles. Mostly all you need is a good quality controller and you can fairly use high end PC to replace your gaming console. Newer Wi-Fi standards are becoming faster by the day (to easily connect controller to PC) and also virtual controllers like Kinect can easily be ported to PC, so that shouldn't be a bottleneck. The game publishers will be more than willing to support open (relatively speaking) platforms as they don't have to invest huge amount upfront and don't have to pay per game commission to console makers. As of now, I am not planning to upgrade my gaming console. I will wait and watch whether it is worth or not.
This is the most ludicrous suggestion. Just because there is an interest in the smaller games for a mobile market, that doesn't mean there has been a drop in interest for full fledged games, that most consoles run on. 60x$1 apps != 1x$60 app. It's not even in the same ballpark. Mobile games have taken a small chunk of full-game revenues, but that doesn't mean that full games are going to disappear.
PC has had it's own gaming culture for decades, and neither PC's nor Consoles have come close to eliminating each other. The only way Apple could take out the Xbox or PS is to create their own gaming console, and that certainly wouldn't eliminate the console gaming market, just changing it from one system to another.
I keep seeing everywhere how mobile is going to take over every industry, everywhere. Each and every time I see it, I marvel at the ignorance that stance engenders. Don't get me wrong, I think mobile is great, but there are limitations to the format that make the idea of an all mobile computing environment ridiculous to consider.
It boils down to the physical format; small screens with touch input are great for some tasks, but who really wants to sit down and fiddle with their phone/tablets, when their 50" TV is there with actual physical controls?
It's absurd.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Mobile gaming is always just about to take off and has been that way for like 10 years. It's just happening. It can even stop the 3DS from continually growing and it's a direct competitor to it.
When iOS gets http://openxcom.org, then we will be royally fucked...
This article makes no sense, the console market was expected to have a drop off in anticipation of the next generation consoles. Console sales and game sales typically drop.
A controller for iOS this sounds about as good as the Ouya or how ever you spell it. It's a great idea but adoption is far and long off and it's not going to replace the console market any time soon. Don't get me wrong the idea behind this and the Ouya are good concepts but the developers aren't there for AAA titles, the quality doesn't quite match the consoles for 300 more, you get a real video card, blu-ray player, and nice online game community. Seems worth the extra cost for a gamer casual to hard core. Before the next Console comes out? Maybe but Sony and Microsoft have nothing to worry about with Apple for the start of this console generation. Why even bring it up? This is just a piece just to drum up page views and nothing more.
The iPad and iPhone gaming market exists, but it's limited. It's a casual gaming device to satisfy you as you wait for your flight. The "hardcore" market is soft for a couple of reasons. Keeping the current gen system around for 7 years was a bad idea. Increasing development cost too rapidly was a bad idea that Nintendo warned Sony and MS about. Now we have good games like Tomb Raider, but Developers and Publishers are spending far too much to make them. The adjustment will be the companies who are bad at business will die. I'd put money on Square dying given how they turned success into failure. Not even stratospheric Kingdom Hearts sales will save them if they keep overspending. Keep in mind not a single KH game has exceeded 6 Million in sales, but I bet they budget for exceeding 6. This is what is killing the market. Not the witches poisoned Apple.
rumors of the next gen Xbox and PS have been going on for the last 2 years, and its been 7 years since the 360 and PS 3 came out. of course console sales are going to slow. You have a massive 2nd hand market for consoles that does not report numbers (pawn shops), you have these rumors of a new console coming, and you have market saturation even at these prices. Hell, in that time parents have begun letting their kids use THEIR xbox or ps3 becuase nothing new came out to replace them.
Sales are down? Of course they down, no market can continue an upward trend forever, and the console market is all about volatility. Technology marches on, consoles begin to seem dated at the same rate your home PC does, so a 7 year old xbox is like a 7 year old PC except you cannot upgrade it. And buying a new one gets you nothing but the exact same machine you already had. Some might call this built-in obsolescence but its simply the reality of gaming consoles. There is no upgrade path for a single-purpose device, just like with your iDildo or cell phone.
Isn't that because the current generation is 7 years old? You're actually shocked that fewer people are buying computers designed with 2005 technology?
One of the main things game publishers look for are analytics and Apple neither has the expertise nor the patents for that.
Gaming consoles face an existential threat from mobile devices, most notably those running iOS (with some threat from Android).
No, they don't.
Apple's over THERE, buddy. How could you get it wrong, you just left one of their booths. No, not the one with $2000 laptops, the with the FINAL CUT PRO 10% OFF banner.
At first I thought you were being intentionally misleading when you pretended that ports of Solitaire and Tetris justified a "REAL games are moving to iOS" but then I remembered incompetence before malice.
Pointing out an iOS game controller doesn't impress me, it makes me laugh. If it wasn't for your bubble, you'd realize you could've had a USB controller in your hands DAY ONE. The abuse is blatant and pathetic. Those who bend over and take it are worse. Those who call it market superiority are worse yet.
Apple aside, the quick buck hit-and-quit is an admittedly easy market, selling diamonds in freemiums is two notches away from printing money and production is $500 for some interns with a weekend. But like you, all I have for Zyngaville and the Attack of the Clones is scorn.
Now go throw sheep or +1 somebody or whatever it is that keeps you facetweeters out of my sight.
Every heard of the Gameboy? Handheld gaming devices are been around forever. We're on Vita and 3DS now. These are much more powerful handheld game machines than your smartphone and have many more big titles, yet they are hardly a threat to consoles. Smartphones are just now doing what handhelds have been doing for many years. What is true is that smartphones are a threat to handhelds. I have no idea how the author leapt from smartphones to console. The whole article is poorly written and makes wild conclusions based on little or no facts.
"Console sales in the United States dropped 21 percent in 2012, and sales of new video-game cartridges?" Cartridges? What console is that then?
One of the main things game publishers look for are analytics and Apple neither has the expertise nor the patents for that.
half of every iOS apps traffic is analytics. it's not through apple, but it's there. put your phone to a wlan ap you control once and watch the magic of your every press on the apps being sent for evaluation to make them more captivating...
analytics isn't the problem. the fact that they're different markets is the problem. iOS as a gaming platform is competing with playstation vita.. not playstation 4.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Apple is already losing its dominance in mobile. Just look at the sales numbers for Samsung and you'll see that even in its primary market Apple is going to have a tough time competing. How then is Apple going to conquer an entirely new market when it can't hold on to the one that is suppose to be its bread and butter?
Mobile games are popular because they are time fillers. If I expected the same quality I get from my PS3 or PC when I play an ipod game I'd be severely disappointed. I don't though. I just appreciate the ability to whip the device out and obliterate dirty pigs or slash monsters and fruits with my fingers when I'm waiting at the doctors, dmv, end of my lunch break, etc.
Let's put this in perspective: Has anyone ever accused Nintendo of sabotaging their console market with their Game Boy/DS products? No?
Well I don't see why Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo should be worried about Apple then.
I don't believe for a minute that the "hardcore" gaming market is going away. Console gaming may be dying, but I believe that's because "hardcore" gamers have gotten smart. Computers can do far more then consoles can, are expandable, and are useful for far more things.
I consider myself a hardcore gamer. I probably spend 4+ hours a day gaming. NONE of it is on a console. I can't stand console gaming. And before you say I haven't given it a chance -- I own a XBox 360 and a PS3 and a Nintendo Wii (the first gen). I just don't enjoy playing games on any of them. I've purchased games on PS3, only to dislike the experience so much that I went out and then bought the same game on the PC because I hated the controls. I far, far prefer having a keyboard and mouse vs fumbling my way through a Xbox 360 or PS3 or Wii controller.
Want more proof? Take two "real" gamers -- one on a PC, one on a 360 or a PS3. Put them on the same game, and let them play on the same server. Given all other skills as equal, the PC player will beat the crap out of the console gamer. PC Controls are far more fine, and you have far more control over your character. You also have 100+ keys that can be individually bound to specific actions, vs the ~20 simultaneous controls you have on a console controller. PC gamers immediately have access to 5x the controls of a console gamer. There is a reason most vendors lock out PC players from playing on the same servers as Console players -- the Console players gets their asses handed to them every time. The analog "fine" controllers on both systems are a joke.
Let me guess: You don't have a Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, or PlayStation Vita. All use cartridges.
You're wrong, as there's still huge swath of population that doesn't do driving, but everyone poops. That must be where money is.
Coincidentally, most of those mobile games that are killing consoles are played on the crapper - I know it for the fact, because it's same for me. Nintendo, MS and Sony should really read the cue here.
And it's vastly easier and simpler to pick up an iOS device and simply tap an app to start playing.
But once you tap the app, how do you control the character in the game? A flat sheet of glass gives the thumbs no tactile feedback as to where the on-screen action buttons are. Swipes on the left third of the screen can substitute for an analog stick, as first seen in Super Mario 64 DS and Metroid Prime Hunters First Hunt, but how can the player make sure he doesn't miss the jump, fire main weapon, and fire secondary weapon buttons? What's the uptake for clip-on Bluetooth gamepads?
Every iTrinket since the first generation iPod has had a headphone jack. Plug in a pair of Koss PortaPro headphones and hear all.
It seems like we're only a generation or two from "consoles" just becoming a gaming specification. There's very little to differentiate them from hardware, and about the only difference between them and PCs these days is that their specs remain constant for 7-10 years. At some point, it is going to make sense to merge consoles into PCs, making the latter easier to update and install to and give them better peripherals (although flight sim enthusiasts would argue that consoles need better peripherals)
the actual need for a dedicated game device is passing by.
Unless you want to play games with house guests who happen not to have brought a gaming laptop. In theory a home theater PC could serve this use, but in practice there are more consoles than home theater PCs.
The same cretins that claim women are an important part of the gaming market, because how many females play solitaire or Facebook games, use the same moron logic to suggest Apple will be a threat to the established high-end gaming.
This isn't a numbers game. If it was, obviously there would be no Hollywood movies because vastly greater numbers of people watch video material on TV than ever bother to go to the cinema.
Sony, Microsoft and others are about AAA high-end gaming on the best hardware available and within the price bracket of the mass market. Apple is about s**t, with the maximum possible profit per item, sold on the back of 'fashion' marketing campaigns to 'hipsters'. Sure, there is an insane amount of user created content available for Apple devices, but there is an insane amount of user created video content of Youtube. Does this mean Youtube is threatening Disney, and their ability to make and profit from their Marvel films, for example?
Since Jobs died, Apples share value has dropped like a stone. Apple is not a technical leader in a single market it competes in. There are much better tablets, phones, MP3 players and computers than those offered by Apple. Apple needs 'gimmicks' and bored dribblers who define their life experience by their ability to own the latest high-fashion gimmick.
An Apple console (which, in reality, there is ZERO signs of Apple releasing) would be the worst joke ever seen in the industry. Such a product would follow the Nintendo strategy of building the cheapest, nastiest, least functional console, but would lack the Nintendo games that gave Nintendo enthusiastic customers. Console gamers want astonishing games, not the rubbishy casual crap currently found on Apple devices.
Open world games of staggering complexity are about to become the next big thing in PC/next-generation gaming. Such worlds can offer Hollywood-like blockbuster experiences, AND fuse with the appeal of the best TV shows, as game publishers start creating streaming content based on Human performance capture, to monthly create new experiences for their games.
A LOT of women like those puzzle book magazines. Most of these women are a natural market for trivial trash games on Apple devices. Yes, this is a real market. NO, this is not the same market as the market targeted by consoles. The idea that these 'pretend' gamers are a customer base Apple can migrate to an Apple 'console' is so hilariously wrong-headed, the people supporting the idea clearly have an IQ that fails to even make it into double-digits.
Or, to make it even clearer, infinitely easier than Apple competing successfully in the console biz is Apple competing successfully in the desktop PC gaming biz. How does Apple do there? It builds x86 based PCs. It uses the same graphics cards as Windows PCs. So surely this 'wonder company' enjoys tremendous desktop gaming success? Oh, wait, compared to gaming on Windows PCs, gaming on Apple PCs is almost non-existent. Apple is crap when the hipster dimension is removed from its marketing.
Apple did with iOS what the others couldn't. They made non-gamers gamers and these people will never go gaming on a console or PC. And with the increased availability of smart phones and tablets globally this market will only grow bigger.
Mobile devices did what the other platforms couldn't. They made non-gamers gamers and these people will never go gaming on a console or PC. Also with the increased availability of smart phones and tablets globally this market will only grow bigger.
It has amazed me how hard it is to find good games for mobile devices. I'm a big-time gamer, I'd much rather play a game than watch TV for entertainment. It is my primary goof-off activity. So I have a nice powerful smartphone (Android in this case), and it would be nice to have some portable games for it.
Some I want just for quick things, like waiting in the doctor's office or the like. Those are reasonably easy to find, I have a small collection of simplistic titles that do the trick for that. Still though it took a good bit of wading through crap to find them, and there were some things that initially looked promising but turned out to be "pay-2-win" that wanted to suck tons of money out of your pocket.
However I also wanted some with more substance, for if I'm traveling or something like that. Those... Well results haven't been great. I've bought some of the highest rated and reviewed stuff and so far it has been at best ok, either than Plants vs Zombies (which I already had on my PC). These are games that would be 5 or 6 of 10, maybe 7 in rare cases on the PC or a console, but are the "best" you find. Symphony of Eternity, NFS Most Wanted, etc are ok to play, but they really aren't up to what I'm used to.
Then some games that used to be good go to shit. Like Zenoia. Not a wonderful game, but at least a reasonably competent Zelda type. I have the first two. There are more... but again they are all pay-2-win crap.
Now compare that to the PC. I have more games then I can play. I have games on Steam I literally haven't installed yet, because I don't have time to play them yet, and I have another list of games I'd like to buy, if I have time. My problem isn't finding games I want, it is finding the free time to play them all.
I'll believe iOS or Android can compete with Sony and Nintendo if I start to see some serious amount of high quality titles out. Not a small handful, many of which are ports, but a real library that regularly sees new releases.
X-Com is a great example: That launched a year ago for consoles and PCs. I played it and loved it. So now had I waited I could get it, with lesser graphics, and a rather cramped UI to be touch enabled... No thanks. I'll stick with it on the first-flight systems, thanks.
Apple needs to keep kids working. Why not gaming cartridges...lol
I can't believe no one has mentioned Android. It's the highest selling os today. Its driving phones, tablets, settops, consoles and laptops already. With the arm architecture slowly getting more powerful (64bit quad-core) and things like nvidia licencing its gpu it's not long till we'll see it on desktops. The android play store allows you to purchase a game and play it on all your devices with (in theory) quality scaled to the device's capabilities. Apple will be to Android what it was to Windows; a distant second.
Phones and tablets are a threat to those in the gaming market, but not in the console gaming market (or at least not for awhile).
The most loss is in the portable arena. Your iPhone/Android might not replace a high powered console, but a gameboy or PSP is a different matter. It's much more convenient to use a device you're already carrying around than to lug a portable along too.
In the future though, the upgrade trend may favor mobiles over consoles, a next-gen phone/tablet chipsets will come or much faster than new consoles. We're not there yet, though, as quality, price, and storage have a ways to come.
Of course if console game makers continue to insist on shovelware with pay-to-advance, ads, nasty DRM etc, then the borders between the two may shrink even faster.
and you can do Xbox 360 level graphics on a $300 android. Apple could easily subsidize that and get the cost down to $150. They probably wouldn't even lose that much money if they bought in quantity. The Shield's a niche item, I bet nVidia's not making that many of 'em.
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First, there are signs that the hardcore gamer market is soft: console sales in the United States dropped 21 percent in 2012
No troll intended, but since when were consoles, with their meagre amount of buttons and auto-targeting, considered hardcore gaming?
Give it 5 years and we'll be seeing stories about how the causal iWatch gamers are eating into the hardcore tablet gaming market.
Isn't that because the current generation is 7 years old? You're actually shocked that fewer people are buying computers designed with 2005 technology?
I can't believe this wasn't the first top comment. This is like saying that Apple is in trouble because sales of the 5th gen ipod have dropped by 99% in the last few years.
1. They have little expertise in something as complex as a multiplayer server infrastructure. iTunes it ain't. Microsoft has the benefit of owning an entire server-based ecosystem of software that they can leverage. Add to that the difficulties in preventing hacking (cheating), which Apple had relatively little experience with as well. 2. Gaming ergonomics. Tablets suck for gaming, and their controller looks like something from the 80s. They can catch up fast, but God help them if they come out with an Xbox controller clone, ala Nintendo. 3. Gaming development environment - they need an SDK, they need a language (gonna seriously expect game devs to adopt Objective C?) 4. What would differentiate their device? They need exclusive content, and this late in the game, it's going to be problematic trying to convince anyone to go exclusive with them given the risk and the presence of *two* major players with track records. Without exclusive titles, why would someone go with an Apple console other than brand loyalty? Would an Apple fanatic not have one of the other consoles, and if not, why would they suddenly decide to get into hardcore gaming? 5. No first party experience. Who would they buy? 6. Is Apple really willing to lose money on consoles like Sony/MS? That's never been their MO, and if they come out more expensive than MS (without a Kinect 2, mind you) who would buy it, other than some hibernating NeoGeo owners?
Consoles sales dropping by 21% in 2012?! It couldn't possibly be due to the consoles being
1) OLD
2) Already in the homes of most people who were going to buy them by this point.
3) NEW CONSOLES COMING OUT NEXT YEAR.
And many more reasons like that.
To be fair, I scanned the entire comment section, assuming I'd be replying to this exact comment. That was the first thing I saw when I read the 21% drop. Glad I'm not the only one.
Seriously, the is no comparison in capability between say, an X-Box 360. Consoles will still be the choice for graphic-intensive gaming. The iPad just doesn't have the horsepower with a Cortex-A8 processor. And if it did, it would burn your hands because there's no fan.
Is it just me, or is the tone of this article and the use of superlatives suggesting that it was written by an Apple fanboy? Or worse, their marketing division?
The content may indeed be factual, but the tone makes me suspicious, and somewhat mistrustful of anything reported.
Who is this 'many' that you refer to?
Most gamers appear content to just play games on their platform of choice, be it on consoles, PC or smartphone. I doubt that many of them care whether or not 'gaming consoles face an existential threat from mobile devices'. If they can't get their fix on their current platform, they will switch to a new one, just as they have always done in the past and will continue to do in the future.
The decline of the console market is relevant to Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft and their fanboys, but not really anyone else.
I haven't taken the last disk out of the PS3 in 7 months. I see no reason to buy anything else for now.
The article mentions console sales dropping, but I don't suppose that anyone has realized the real reason why...that's because almost EVERYONE that wants a console (and doesn't game on PC or not at all) has purchased one...in this 7 year time span that current consoles have been out. Has nothing to do with apple or anything else.
Disclaimer: I have: 350 games on steam, a 360 with 30 games and a Wii with 17. I also have PS4 on pre-order, though i'm reconsidering an Xbox One thanks to policy changes.
Troll-bait: Also married with 2 children, but all of the games/systems are mine! :D
Apple is not involved in the console game... appears to have no plans to enter the console game.... yet somehow it is a threat to those who are established in the console game.... will someone stop Apple fanboys trying to get their favourite toymaker's name in stories that have nothing to do with them? Next we will be hearing how Apple is a threat to the airline business, or courier firms, or open heart surgery.
Agreed. And what is more, the console which you'd expect to be most harmed by mobile phone gaming (the 3DS, which is both the same type of games as mobile phones AND is based around a vaguely unfashionable novelty tech) has been reporting surprisingly strong sales. As did the other DS sales before it.
Maybe Apple (or Android) will kill off dedicated mobile gaming at some point in the future, but they definitely aren't doing so right now. By the same token, Apple TV might one day hypothetically compete with PS and Xbox, if they ever release a version with decent hardware and started releasing games for it and so forth, but they definitely aren't doing it right now.
This console generation is shaping up to be a remarkably interesting one, with both Microsoft and Nintendo appearing to have made major missteps, with the Steambox on the horizon, and with dozens of new entrants in the budget bracket (Ouya, Gamestick, Nvidia Shield, etc.). Certainly doesn't look like the console apocalypse from here.
First off all, Apple is the problem? seriously? Android is crushing apple with no end in site.
Second, more importantly, by this logic, I guess we can close down all of Steak House restaurants now, mcdonalds has an angus burger. The argument that mobile games in any way impact console games is like saying we need to stop manufacturing cars now that everyone has a bicycle. Its reasoning done by someone who has no idea what they are they are talking about. Just because Walmart sells paper towels doesn't mean I don't need dish cloths or a bath mat.
Could it have something to do with the fact that the current consoles are 7 years old and potential buyers are saving up for the next generation consoles?
I bought a cart just today. Super Scribblenauts Unlimited.
The main target market for a lot of the handheld consoles is kids, our kids had a couple of DS-lites for Xmas. The mobile phone market doesn't compete with this as they're both under ten and don't have mobile phones, Nintendo also had some success selling to much older casual gamers. A group that often doesn't get on with touch controls but can handle the stylus based gameplay of the DS.
The thing that mobile games are the biggest threat to are casual PC and facebook games. Those kind of games that offer a temporary distraction.
I think all those triple-A publishers who are hoping to enjoy a mobile gold rush are going to be in for a bit of a wake up call. It seems insane to me, as it's a market better suited to lots of small players having the occasional hit. It's as if Pepsi suddenly decided to get into the Lemonade stand market because a kid managed to make it big.
This story often comes up every year or so, but it didn't make any sense then and it still doesn't now. Does anyone really believe a "hardcore" FarmVille / Words with Friends / Scrabble player is the same as a "hardcore" Call of Duty player? The very idea that $1 games are directly competing with $60 games for the same eyeballs is nonsense. The type of gamers are completely different.
Tablet games vs the Wii? Okay, you probably have some overlap there in the "casual" section. But against the Xbox or Play Station? Not even close.
tl;dr version: Don't sell your stock in Sony or Microsoft yet. =P
"Apple will dominate the gaming landscape with this new revelation, just as television was forever changed by Apple TV."
=)
PS
This is actually about apple adding controller to apple TV:
http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=597876
The games [for the PlayStation Vita] come on memory cards
No, they come on a "game card", like games for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, and TurboGrafx-16, and smaller games for Sega Master System.
and are not referred to as cartridges
You missed my point. A game card, like a cartridge, is solid-state storage on which a game is shipped. What is the essential difference between cartridges and game cards other than that game cards are thinner? Would you claim that the Master System and TG16 were not cartridge-based consoles because of Sega Card and HuCard?
Tablets are way more expensive, don't control as well, don't have high enough graphics fidelity, and don't offer the same gameplay experience. A tablet can be a fine companion device, but it won't take over as your main game device any time soon.
You can argue that they have some nice looking games, but most of them are a controlled linear experience. There are tons of clones, and the popular titles get lost in the sea of a constant stream of apps coming out.
I play games casually (when I just want a distraction) and hard core (when I want a couch experience that's going to last a few hours at least) and I'm happy with my 3DS and PS3. I've got a phone but only a couple of games on it, Dodonpachi and Deathsmiles, probably the only games which control better on a phone than on console. I don't see myself getting deeper into mobile games.
Twinstiq, game news
if hardcore gamers keep complaining, they may even convince Microsoft to knock $100 off the new Xbox and bring its pricing down to the PS4's level
Hardcore gamers don't play XBox... I'm sure many of you will disagree but that is only because you don't realize what "hardcore gamer" actually means, much like the majority of the entire world.
First, there are signs that the hardcore gamer market is soft: console sales in the United States dropped 21 percent in 2012, and sales of new video-game cartridges haven't fared much better
Again, not hardcore gamer...but the more important point is whoever wrote this hasn't played a console video game since 1998 or earlier...
Third, Apple is developing a game controller for iOS which could make it an even more dedicated opponent
lol...The majority of Apple's users (i.e. fanboys) aren't gamers. And the majority of gamers aren't Apple users. So...this isn't really going to do anything to the market apart from give Apple another peripheral to shove down their mind-controlled masses' throats.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/xbox-one-ps4-help-amazon-post-biggest-preorder-week-ever-6410555
Who keeps writing these articles? Do PC gamers not exist? They outnumber console users in case you were wondering. Oh, here's more fun numbers: for every iOS device, there's 3 android devices. So nobody has to "worry" about Apple, especially considering how they treat their app developers.
Then there's the logical progression that everyone knows is true but nobody want to admit. Game controls on a touchscreen and tilt smartphone are a joke. Controls with joysticks and buttons are a slightly less funny joke. A keyboard and mouse is the most precise, exact method for operating a game. If you don't believe me, play Starcraft 2 with an Xbox 360 clone USB controller. Consoles are dead, PC gaming is the king.
actually not that different. They've been singing this song for a long time. I haven't seen the WWDC stuff but I have minimal interest in playing games on a phone where my large fingers will cover up the playing area and that's my central problem with phone gaming.
Just another second banana
In November, console sales increased 514% compared to October. Extrapolating from that, analysts predict unit purchases rates to be up 264196% in December compared to October. Sales of video game punch cards rose a similar amount.
Then in January,
Economy in death spiral. Retail spending down 20% in January compared to the previous two months. Analysts predict retail spending to reach 0 by May, and dip to -140% by the end of the year.
1. Mobile games are TERRIBLE to play for longer than 20 min at a time.
2. Mobile games cater to a completely different set of gamers than PC or consoles.
3. Games that do well on mobile are intentionally dissimilar from non-mobile games (mobile games are made to be played in very short spurts, console games are not).
4. FPS, RTS, and most of the other popular genres for consoles are nearly unplayable on mobile (try playing Minecraft on iOS, it will bring you to the point of tears).
5. Compare portable consoles (PS Vita, 3DS, etc) for a decent comparison, right now it's like comparing apples to crocodiles... doesn't make a lot of sense.
And nobody is talking about steam-box yet, and I think it will ruin every single console manufacturer's future.
Its true Apple pose a big threat to the console racket since the 'core gaming' market is shrinking, although us core gamers would like to think that isn't the case, you cannot get away from the fact more people carry and use mobile devices than consoles. That said, I feel the decline in console and video game sales has dramatically declined over the 2012 - 2013 period due the abnormally long console life cycle and with the new consoles on their way its sure to boost the 'core' video game market no end, and I see big sales of retail and digital video games in the not to distant future.
Either a lot of big-name games are going to have to come up with controller support at once, or each developer will have to somehow convince each user to buy a $59 controller to play a single $3 game. Besides, people who own an iPhone 4 or a fourth-generation iPod touch are still left out because iOS 7 requires an iPhone 4S or newer or a fifth-generation iPod touch. This means anyone who bought an iPod touch before October of last year will have to buy not only a controller but also another iPod touch. Who will buy a $299 iPod touch to play a $3 game?
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Damnit! I just switched to Android!
Anyway XCOM being available on a mobile device was the most important part of the article I felt.
"...and sales of new video-game cartridges haven't fared much better." You're showing your age there Timothy.
I'm here to kick a$$ and chew bubble gum...and I'm all out of bubble gum!