Consoles vs Smartphones – The Gaming Landscape for 2013

PopBucket writes: Although mobile gaming looks set to continue its meteoric rise, with Microsoft set to announce their next console at E3 2013, as well as Sony’s already announced PS4, it doesn’t appear that the console is going anywhere yet.

[NastyLeftHook0]

i puked a little in my mouth reading the title.

[MasterCornholio]

I can understand why people compare smart phones to handhelds but consoles?

Look smart phones will never replace console as gaming devices because consoles will always have better controls and superior hardware.

Motorola RAZR i

[fsfsxii]

A gamer would never replace a console OR a handheld for a smartphone. never.

[CommonSenseGamer]

Can't really compare them yet but with 8 core CPU and 72 core GPU phones on the horizon who knows. Think is, they are just another device that could be used with a TV and Bluetooth controller if the market moved in that direction.

[PS4isKing_82]

Smartphones compared to consoles is like comparing a go kart to a full size car.
Sure they'll both take you places, but one is far more equipped for the task.

[MartinB105]

This article is completely full of fail. Where to start...

1. The quality of smartphone games is not even close to the quality of console games. Not. Even. Close.

2. Most console games do not retail for £40. Many new releases may retail for £40 (not all - Bioshock Infinite is £35), but most console games drop to below £20 within a few months of release.

Since older games comprise the majority of available games at any given time, this likely puts the average console game at around £15-20, which isn't even close to £40.

3. Smartphone peripherals are cheaper than console peripherals because you're comparing cheap plastic covers, styluses and screen protectors to complex electronic devices like controllers and cameras.

Try comparing some peripherals that might potentially turn the smartphone into a comparable gaming experience. You're going to need a decent set of headphones, a head mounted display, a proper controller and any of the associated accessories for these things. Not looking quite so cheap any more is it?

4. The Vita is a portable system, not a console, and is thus not a subject of discussion in the comparison of console peripherals. The correct comparison is the 1TB hard drive you can put in your PS3 for £50-60. Smartphone storage isn't looking quite so cheap in that comparison is it?

5. There has been very little "general derision" of the PlayStation 4. The announcement by most accounts has been extremely well received. It's interesting that the only linked evidence of such "derision" comes from the same website as the article itself.

6. An increase in smartphone gaming has no implications whatsoever for the demand for console gaming. They're different markets.

7. The Wii U Gamepad - aside from the TV remote function - is completely dependant on the Wii U console. The Gamepad acts as a dumb touchscreen monitor interface to the console. It is useless without the console and certainly does not work "independently" from the console in any sense of the word.

8. The use of mobile devices as second screens isn't an attempt by console developers to encroach on the mobile market. It's an attempt to take something that's already there and exploit it in a useful manner to enhance the existing experience. No-one is going to be dropping their DualShock 4 to play Killzone: Shadowfall with a tiny touch screen.

9. If you connect a smartphone to a TV (and a bluetooth controller, because let's face it, no-one is going to take a touchscreen-only controller in a home gaming experience seriously), then your smartphone basically becomes a crap console. I'm not really sure why anyone would want that, given that the whole appeal of a smartphone as a gaming device is that you can take it with you.

In conclusion, let's put it this way: No-one is buying an iPhone or Galaxy S4 as an alternative to a PS4. No one.

[Iltapalanyymi]

stop this smartphones vs consoles shit. it makes me feel sick. fucking casuals.

[Agent_hitman]

Smartphones are getting more interesting due to advancement of it's SoC processor architecture. From single core low clocked to 1.5hz Quad core. Fascinating!

[o-Sunny-o]

(Mobile gaming)Ant vs (Gaming Consoles)Boot.
Where they come out with this $*@%?!?