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Will the iPhone replace the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP?

Will the iPhone replace the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP?

By: Peter Chubb | July 27, 2009 | 4 Comments

When it comes to handhelds the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS are king, but the Apple iPhone has now started to up its game. The release of the Apple iPhone 3G S sees improved graphics, which surprisingly are much better than the Nintendo DS and with easy access to games from the App Store, the iPhone is in a great position to make gains in the handheld market.

MyPS3 have been wondering what Apple have planned next for its iPhone and its drive for the handheld gaming market. The popular game, Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition from Lucasarts is now on the App Store and all the features that were on the Xbox 360 and the PC are still intact.

The game is just 350mb and costs just $9.99 and will last from 5 to 10 hours, that is a quarter of the price that you pay for a game on the DS. Other developers are starting to take the iPhone seriously when it comes to gaming now, this is evident with the recent release of The Sims 3.

Do you think that the Apple iPhone will become a formidable force in the handheld gaming market?

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  • annonymious_man

    Yes I do think the iPhone is having an effect on the handheld game market. Only reason I don’t have one is I don’t want to sign up with AT&T which is the exclusive carrier. I settled though on the second best thing an iPod Touch and can play the same games from App Store on it available to iPhone users.

    I have a 2nd generation iPod Touch which I updated to iPhone OS 3.0 and plenty of apps including games and Internet radio based apps. I have Monopoly Here & Now World Edition (which I also bought earlier from the iPod Games section of iTunes Store for my click wheel based 5th generation video iPod — note I have over 20 games on my click wheel 5th gen video iPod as well as quite a significiant number of games for my iTouch some of which I originally purchased for the 5th gen video iPod but repurchased from App Store; and others that were never available for click wheel iPod gamers but on App Store I have also purchased. I own SimCity, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart Racing 3D, Cro Mag Rally and Moto Chaser as well as Super Monkey Ball from App Store none of which have click wheel versions on iTunes Store.

    However, Monopoly Here & Now World Edition, Sonic The Hedgehog, Asphalt 4 Elite Racing, Pole Position Remix I have on my 5th gen video iPod and my iPod Touch. I also have Sonic The Hedgehog (this is the Genesis game ported to iPod/iPod Touch and iPhone) for my Nintendo Wii via Virtual Console. I have Yahoo’s Music app for iPhone/iTouch that accesses their LaunchCast music streaming service and has a link to buy music playing on their radio service wirelessly from the Wifi iTunes Store and download straight to iPhone or iTouch.

    I do have a Nintendo DS Lite I got in 2006 with 4 games for DS 1 of which is used but play on my iTouch more often lately.

    Even my 5th gen video iPod I play with more than DS as it has more games also than my DS. My Wii is the only Nintendo system I have with enough games to entertain me that I play frequently. However, only 1 of the six Wii games I have has Nintendo Wifi Connection and that is Mario Kart Wii.

  • Hugh Jass

    Yes, the iPhone is cool. So is the PSP and the Nintendo DS, so was the GameBoy.

    Your thesis is stupid, however. There’s enough space in the market for everyone, and some people will always want their game machines to have real buttons.

    And Mr. Anonymous (that’s how it is spelled), no one really cares how many 99c games you bought, but thanks for sharing.

  • annonymous_man

    I can agree with you on phone thing Mr. Hugh Jass maybe the thesis to this article was somewhat weak — I think the author by the title of the article itself was trying to make a point the way the Nintendo DS has dominated the market for portable (handheld) game systems in recent years what if it lost that dominance thanks to Apple\’s iPhone/iPod Touch combination.

    By the way if you read my entire post I did not only buy games from App Store for iPod Touch some games I bought for Apple\’s click wheel based 5th generation video iPod — even my click wheel based 5th gen video iPod I have bought more games for than I own for DS.

    So I find myself playing on my 5th gen iPod Video or iPod Touch more than Nintendo DS — most of the apps I have for iTouch though are $4.99 to $9.99 price range — iPod Games for my click wheel model are all between 99 cents to $4.99

    So most of my apps as you suggest in your response to my earlier post are not all 99 cent apps — I was glad to share that information (your welcome by the way) I don\’t think Nintendo DS is going to become extinct because of iPhone/iTouch nor is that what the author is trying to say but in my opinion the author is asking if Nintendo will lose its dominance in portable gaming systems to Apple.

    By mentioning the Sony PSP which has even less market share than Nintendo DS I think the author is trying to ask if systems like Nintendo DS and Sony PSP will lose market share to iPhone/iPod Touch.

    I still like my Nintendo DS and find myself playing it when I want to play one of the Mario games I own via a handheld system.

    I also have a Wii of course and can play Mario on that as well but its not a portable system.

    So I agree the thesis is a bit weak and could have been better. I also don\’t think the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP are going to die or exit the market because of iPhone/iTouch one good thing about free markets are competition — having alternative platforms for video games — and different systems/portable video game platforms and different home consoles provides consumers more choice and with the increased competition there is incentive for more innovation.

    Indeed there is enough room in the market for everyone then and there will be some people who will always want a system with real buttons (of course click wheel iPods capable of playing games also have actual buttons on the click wheel that can be used to play but is not as advanced necessarily as a DS or a Sony PSP for game-play) hence, those users may continue to invest in a Nintendo DS, a Nintendo DS Lite which is what I have in addition to my 5th gen video iPod and 2nd gen iPod Touch; or even a system like the Nintendo DSi, Sony PSP; or the rumored Sony PSP Go yet to be released by Sony.

  • Robin Hoody

    Apple needs to make it’s own standard controller with buttons and dual anologue sticks. ( like the ps3/360 controllers ) but then make a part where the iPhone/iPod touch clips in and out of it so then you could carry the controller around seperate if you wanted to. But till that happens the games won’t be as good as they could be. Then we may see some in depth games come along and maybe then it would pose some sort of threat to psp/ ds.