Several years ago, Satori Iwata was asked what the biggest threat to Nintendo was. His answer was not Microsoft or Sony. He said it was Apple. Earlier this week, Apple announced the iPhone 5C, a low cost version that could bring access to iOS games to everyone on a scale Nintendo and Sony’s handhelds only dream of. And so, we ask, is this the beginning of the end for the Vita and 3DS?
Chris: Apple just had their fall press event where they unsurprisingly unveiled the latest in their line of iPhones. Rumors of a budget iPhone have been swirling for months now and Apple proved them true, unveiling the iPhone 5C which will retail at $99 for the 16GB model. Low cost for high quality phone aside, this is sure to have implications on the handheld market where Apple has made drastic inroads over the past few years, cutting into both Sony and Nintendo’s margins.
Nintendo just announced a lower cost version of their 3DS handheld called the 2DS that will sell for $129.99. And Sony just unveiled a new model of their handheld Playstation Vita that is rumored to retail at $200. Apple undercuts both of them on price and could make it very difficult for Sony and Nintendo going forward. You don’t think so though?
Don: It’s hard to argue that Apple hasn’t stolen a share of the handheld market. It has, and more people are gaming on their phones. But, and this is a more personal level rather than an industry-wide level, I haven’t seen a consistent amount of quality games for my mobile device that truly pulls me away from my Vita or (when I am using it) my son’s 3DS. The app store is full of small games, and tons of casual games, but without mechanical buttons, nothing jumps out at me that makes me want to seriously game on my phone. That said, I know a lot of people play their phones in brief sessions. Which is fine, but I just don’t believe that Apple will swallow the handheld market.
Chris: To me it seems like you are looking at this from a personal taste issue. You like a traditional style of game. Look, I do, too. I love my Vita and my 3DS and I don’t think they are necessarily going to go away. But, with this move, Apple is going to take more and more mindshare away from the handheld market. Touch devices have become almost a necessary attachment for kids now. Just based on anecdotal evidence from watching my own kids and their friends, I see more touch based usage than I do handheld usage. Every kid on my daughter’s dance team, except her, has a smartphone. We’re talking kids with phones at 8 years old. And if they have their phone, why would they need to carry a handheld device with them?
Don: That’s true, but as adult gamers, don’t we carry our phones on us more than our handhelds? But when we go on a trip (and don’t have to drive, mind you), don’t we also pack our handhelds? There are just experiences that gamers (myself, yourself, and even my kids) can not get from a phone. I think the mindshare you talk about has been split already, and I just don’t see it encompassing much more than it already is. At $99, you are getting a great piece of hardware, but do you really think it can replace a dedicated handheld system? The kids you mentioned, your daughters’ friends, they already have a smartphone. I realize the Android phones aren’t quite up to par with iOS in terms of games, but does them moving from a possible Android device to the 5C make them less inclined to play a game on their 3DS or Vita?
Chris: I think it does. I’m already seeing it now with my kids. We are lucky enough to have everything; PS3, Wii, WiiU, Xbox 360, 3DS, Vita, and a trio of DSs. My wife and I also happen to have iPhones and iPads. Our kids want to play on those devices more often than not. Over the last month we went on two trips over six hours a piece and while my kids packed their DSes, they played Plants vs. Zombies 2, Minecraft, Skylanders, and a bunch other stuff on the iPad for the entire ride. Even when the iPad went dead in the backseat and they could have easily transferred to playing a DS game without hassle, they preferred for us to pass them back the charger so they could get some juice in the iPad and continue playing those games.Even at home, where they are surrounded by devices that play games, unless I actively pester them to play something with me on the television, they choose to play the iPad.
Don: But the iPad and iPhone are two very different things. I could see playing some serious games on the iPad. It would not be my preferred device, mind you, but the larger screen is a lovely bonus. On top of that, it seems the iPad has more games could potentially appeal to me (and other gamers like me).
That said, perhaps I am just a little out of touch, and the younger crowd is just into things I am not. I simply cannot fathom picking to play a game on my phone as a serious, time-investing game over a game on my dedicated handheld. I think the gradually growing casual market space is not a threat to handhelds like the 3DS and Vita, and just don’t see any sort of transition happening anytime in the near future. Every once in awhile, a big game will come to iOS that draws a lot of attention, but how often do you see that happen? How often does a game release on iOS that makes you think it can take more of the handheld crowd? I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, I just don’t see it happen as frequently as it should to be taken as a serious gaming platform.
Chris: But that is my point. We are a dying breed. I love my 3DS and Vita and play them on a regular basis but we are the old guard. This new generation, as much as it pains me, doesn’t have our attachment to these devices with buttons. They’ve been brought up on quick burst gaming on touch devices. It’s not what we would want but it’s what “they” want.
Case in point, I bought my oldest daughter, the one whose friends all have smartphones, an iPod touch over the summer. Since then, she hasn’t touched her DS. She can consistently find new games to play on the app store, many of which are free or just .99 cents and she loves it. And guess what’s really easy to stomach buying? A .99 cent game. Sure, maybe she isn’t getting the same length or quality of experience I got out of something like Super Mario 3D Land or Soundshapes. But she gets a few hours out of those titles. And for someone like me, who has four kids, spending $4 a week, $20 a month on games is far more cost effective than spending $120-$160 a month on 3DS or Vita titles.
Don: Heh. Sucks getting old, doesn’t it?
Some families, mine included, don’t have contract plans and give their kids a low-minute phone plan with unlimited text and a little bit of data. Well, I haven’t given my oldest one YET, but I digress. If I wanted to buy him a 5C, I’d have to fork out a lot more money than just $99. For families on a serious budget, which is your last discussion point, it simply isn’t a feasible replacement for the Vita and 3DS anymore.
Chris: You’re right some families don’t utilize the subsidy model that is employed by most of the mobile customers in the United States and yes, at that point a 5C isn’t anywhere near as feasible of a device as it is at $99. However if you are one of those people that buys off contract, the 16GB iPod Touch makes a comparable price point. Sure at $229 its a bit more pricey than the Vita at $199 or the 3DS at $169 but when you factor in games and memory cards, the price of those devices becomes much less enticing. Add in the benefit of being able to text or use Skype from a wifi hot-spot, and the iPod can virtually be turned into a phone without a monthly fee.
Don: While that hits the broad scope of this discussion, iTouch’s have been around the $250-300 price point for a while and do offer most of the features of the iPhone, minus phone calls and such out of a WiFi area. But if I am going to buy my kid a phone, I want it to be useful at all times. I want them to be able to call in case of an emergency, not just make some calls and texts at home.
And kids aren’t the only target here. There are plenty of adults who haven’t made the jump to iOS. $99 is a much more attractive price point, excluding people like me of course, but now we jump back to discussing gamers who are generally older and like their mechanical controllers. People who aren’t going to give up their 3DS and/or Vita for a phone capable of playing mostly-short lived gaming experiences.
Either way, I can argue all I want to “save the handhelds”, and I’m not saying mobile gaming is not a thing either, but the iPhone 5C is going to sell. A lot.
Chris: Handhelds aren’t whales and they don’t need saving. I don’t think they are going anywhere but I do think that the 5C and the iPod Touch are going to change how we view that landscape. The Vita is already struggling to sell and while the 3DS is certainly thriving for Nintendo right now, I do see less and less of them in the wild. The industry is changing and we, as handheld gamers with our old fashioned buttons, are going to become more and more of a niche market. Apple’s already seen to that and the 5C is just going to make it more evident. As you said, the 5C is going to sell a lot and that in itself should be concerning to Nintendo and Sony.
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