I partially agree. However, do you realize how many people there are who "get into" Iphone gaming the way you suggest (and who also love gaming such as myself) and who discover that the games for the Iphone are really creative and fun and perfectly satisfy the game on the go itch? This notion that "iphone gamers" aren't "real" gamers is laughable. The Iphone is a wonderful gaming device. There is no reason a smartphone can't be a great game device - these are computers through and through. I mean one of the things people are claiming makes the 3DS appealing is that it does stuff other than games and yet that fact is considered a strike against smartphones by the same people. This is essentially what I'm saying. I'm one of those iphone owners who owns other devices (too many of them according to my wife). Two years ago I'd have been interested in a 3DS. Today I'm not...and I suspect theres a fair number of guys like me out there.
What he's saying is that Sony is trying to replicate current home consoles, the nintendo 64 is 2 generations older, handhelds have to catch up eventually. I agree with Omega-F that Sony are approaching this wrongly, if you want to play a game PS3 graphics why not play the PS3, the NGP looks like a bulky thing to carry around in your pocket so most people would play it at home. Nintendo are focusing more on a unique experience that you cant find anywhere else, supported by Nintendo's amazing first party line up, and the creative efforts from third parties. Remember what happened to the PSP? It could rival the PS2 in graphics but hardly any PS2 ports came and most devs just used the platform to sell cheap efforts of their home console games.
Similar story here; I own a slim psp, a couple of dses (and an assortment of older gameboy (advance) hardware); but it's been several months since I bought or played any games for them! This is probably the first chunk of hardware I'm not planning to buy (ds-xl and re-releases of the psp don't really count IMHO). I still buy and play ps3/360/wii games, but the handheld market just seems to be filler crud; I'm not expecting the 3ds to change that.
There's definitely that aspect of it, but there's no doubt the 3DS offers something the App Store doesn't in terms of the number of lengthy, high quality games it releases. If you're leaning towards the 5-minute fix side of gaming perhaps you're just growing out of it, or your schedule is different to how it used to be. Meanwhile other kids are growing up and a 30+ hour RPG sounds a lot more fun than 5 minutes of Doodle Jumping. Kids basically want everything. If they're got an iPod Touch they'll love it, but then they'll see a Pokemon advertisement and want that too. It's all about the games to them, half of them don't care one bit about the platform provided they get to play the games they're craving. That's the way it should be too, great games sell themselves, you shouldn't be emotionally invested in the hardware and let that lead your descisions, leave it to the software.
Its been said before, but I really do think that more lengthy, higher quality games are hitting the appstore. Final Fantasy 3, FF Tactics, etc.
That's not what he's saying at all. Omega-F is saying that Sony has been trying to bring games designed for consoles to the mobile space and that it doesn't translate well, because no one wants to play a 30 hour long RPG on such a small screen. Whether the games are from 1998 or 2010 is irrelevant - it's like wanting to watch a movie on an iPod Nano. And Omega-F is quite right - it's just a shame his head is too far up his own ass to realize that Nintendo is doing the same thing.
Sure, kids want everything, but their parents don't necessarily buy them everything. I bought a DS about a year ago mostly for my 9 yr old. He hardly ever plays it and is after me all the time to use my phone instead. Both he and my 5 yr old have absolutely no problem at all with the touchscreen controls. They've done what kids always do - adapted brilliantly. It took me a few weeks, but now a year on with the iphone I too am almost completely comfortable with touchscreen controls. The lack of d-pad/sticks/buttons is pretty much a total non-issue for me. I honestly think the next generation of gamers coming up are going to view traditional game pads/controllers as quaint anachronisms on portable devices. And as has been noted, its not like there aren't any games on the idevices that offer a "deeper" experience if thats what one wants. For me, none of the portables I've owned over the years has ended up getting much use becuase they didn't have enough of the sorts of quick play games I'm enjoying on the iphone. If I'm at home and want to play a "deep" game I've got the PS3, Wii, Gamecube, PC, Laptop...I don't want a portable system for that. And if I'm on the road out and about I just never have the time to invest in a deep rpg or something - its a waste of game design and so the DS ends up sitting on the shelf never getting used for anything...
The funny part about this argument is that I wouldn't even describe most of the DS software library as "lengthy" and "high quality". Sure, there are some stand outs, but the DS has just as much shovelware as any other platform. Sturgeon's Law has a broad reach.
Yes, but the shovelware (Bubble Pop 2: $20 3DS game) costs 20x as much (to infinitely more), so as Iwata would say, it's better shovelware. Seriously, though, I haven't played my DSi in a long time, with the exception of a brief foray into Super Scribblenauts, which I'll probably go back to again some time. And rather then buying a 3DS, I'm going to be getting my first iPad. Still, I'd love to get to play the new Paper Mario game once that's out. Not sure it's enough to get me to buy one, though. EDIT: and nothing about Super Scribblnauts couldn't be done on the iPhone, and it would be better as it would be uber portable.
The funny part of the other side of that argument though is that a decent number of the iPhone's "lengthy" and "high quality" games are ported from the DS and PSP. See: GTA, FF3, FF1+2, FFT, both Assassin's Creed games, Crimson Gem Saga, the list goes on. Also, in the case of the early FF games and CGS, they were regarded as somewhat lackluster on the original systems, but they have iPhone only gamers crowing about how amazing and retro they are... And then going on to gloat about how they have better graphics on the iPhone. I think that anyone who is outright dismissive of any platform simply exposes himself as a fool.
Nintendo's portable system's have always been home to an exorbitant amount of shovelware because their hardware sales have always blown away the competition. It's a measure of success, which no other company in history has managed to match in the portable space and likely ever will. The iPhone is also flooded with shovelware, the only difference is a bad decision doesn't cost me $20 on the iPhone. As a buttonless device the iPhone certainly will never measure up to a dedicated portable but if someone had told me back in 2007 that the iPhone had a future as a gaming device at all I would have thought they were crazy. Since all of my gaming on the go is done while waiting in lines and whatnot it's perfect for me, I've barely used my DS lite or PSPs since the app store opened. If I'm going to be dropping $30+ on a game it's going to be a console game and not a watered down portable version. Why are people so excited to pay $40 for remakes of old N64 games and console ports anyway? I've seen the console versions of SSFIV for under $20 and it's already been eclipsed by MvC3.
If they were remakes of crappy games, or games that didn't stand the test of time I would be upset too. However, we are talking about remakes of 2 gaming classics (Ocarina of Time, StarFox 64) that have been upgraded considerably and will make for outstanding portable experiences. Also it's not like the system will only be getting that sort of stuff. It would be silly to think that. There's plenty of original stuff coming (Resident Evil Revelations, Kid Icarus Uprising, Paper Mario 3D, Kingdom Hearts 3D, etc.) and that's even before E3, where there will be tons of new announcements.
I like how your list of "original stuff" consists entirely of existing franchises sure to have new console entries within several years. Maybe I'm just getting cynical these days but another round of the usual suspects isn't going to get me to buy another generation of hardware. This isn't really a system for me though, it's for kids or people that take public transportation. The kind of person who actually needs a device to keep them occupied for a long period of time while away from a television, which isn't me anymore.
Agreed, the 3DS will sell like hot cakes, but not because the 3D tech is good, or the hardware is superior. Solely for the reason that it's "the next DS." What remains to be seen is how much longer a market will exist for unitaskers, I tend to think this may be the last (or one of the last) iterations of mass market dedicated gaming portables. When the 3DS product cycle is over in 5+ years, imagine the phones everyone will be carrying.
Huh? By "original stuff" I'm specifically referring to new content, not mattering if it's from an established franchise or not. Of course there's going to be new, innovative stuff if that's what your want too.
I wouldn't put it past nintendo to eventually make a DS phone where it has a dedicated console separate from the phone functions
My point being that with the lone exception of Steel Driver everything I've seen for the system is ether a port, a remake or a new entry into an existing non-exclusive franchise sure to get future console installments soon. Nothing I've seen makes me compelled to drop $250 on new hardware and spend $40 a pop on games. I have no doubt that something exciting and innovative is somewhere down the pipeline but if the 3DS is anything like the DS it's not going to happen for at least a year and will be ultimately be buried under a pile of the usual franchise games. Maybe I'm just a little bitter that I ran out and bought a DS at launch then spent $30 on games that were little more then tech demos pushed as "innovative new titles" like Pac-Pix.
I prefer shorter games that I can play through and then start something entirely different, rather then sticking with the same game for 4000 hours. There are exceptions to that, but that's games like Carcassonne and Samurai, that have no "ending" and, as it happens, are ideal on iOS. So the iOS platform is perfect for me. I'd much rather play League of Evil through to completion for only 99 cents ($1.99 now), and play 20 to 39 more and completely different iOS games vs. a single 3DS game. Plus many games keep getting new content that I then want to go back to, such as League of Evil and Angry Birds.
