Console Makers Worry Over Apple's Growing Competition

The NY Times is running a story about the effect Apple is having on the console gaming market, making Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo worry that consumers will be satisfied playing games on devices that aren't necessarily focused on gaming. Quoting: "The concerns highlight an accelerating shift away from hard-core games, which have traditionally driven console sales, to more casual ones played on cellphones. Of the 758 new game titles shown at the Tokyo Game Show, 168 were for cellphone platforms — more than twice as many as in the previous year. ... Apple's assault could even eat into sales of home consoles like Nintendo's Wii, Sony's PlayStation 3 or Microsoft's XBox, as game-playing quickly becomes centered on cellphones. Many in the industry say that Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft need to explore more radical changes to their businesses, including an emphasis on software rather than hardware and a better way for users to download games. 'As a platform, the cellphone has the biggest potential, because everybody owns one,' said Kazumi Kitaue, chief executive at another game maker, Konami Digital Entertainment. A family with three children might buy just one Wii or PlayStation to share, but those children will probably have cellphones of their own and download and play games, Mr. Kitaue said."

Re:Except that the iPhone is a TERRIBLE game machi

[AuMatar]

Your observations are off. Here's the numbers from vgchartz.com. First column is units of sw worldwide lifetime, second is attach rate.

PS3 153,204,847 6.24
Wii 334,499,258 6.26
360 254,496,331 7.93

So Wii's attach rate is basically tied with PS3.

Re:Except that the iPhone is a TERRIBLE game machi

[TheRaven64]

I've only tried a few (on an iPod Touch, but the idea is the same). One was a driving game. You held the device a little bit like a steering wheel, turning it to make the car move. One was a variety of the Same Game. No buttons required; you touched items to make the disappear. I also played a port of Worms 2, which worked very well. The moving and aiming was a lot easier with the touchscreen than with a mouse and keyboard (I figured out the controls without reading the instructions, while last time I played on a PC I - and several other players - kept getting jump and fire mixed up).

Re:It is an excellent game shop

[CronoCloud]

Sony hasn't missed the point, because that's how the PSN store works. Haven't you used it?

Re:Apples and Oranges

[nneonneo]

iPhone 3GS bestselling phone in Japan [electronista.com]: I'd say that the iPhone is gaining popularity in Japan.