100°

Nintendo Will Never Lose A Handheld Race

For all the problems the 3DS had at the beginning of its life, Nintendo sure has recovered nicely. Many gaming analysts pronounced the 3DS dead and Nintendo to follow shortly after. Journalists across the world wrote doom article after doom article claiming the 3DS dead months after release. Nintendo on the other hand, had other plans. A $80 price cut, 20 free games for early adaptors, a few stellar Mario games, and some blockbuster 3rd party games later Nintendo is once again killing it in sales.

Read Full Story >>
playeressence.com
dedicatedtogamers4208d ago

Yes, they might.

The reason why is that Nintendo (and Sony's Vita) are trying too hard to be multitasking machines. When stacked up against smartphones, the 3DS and Vita are going to be less attractive to a lot of people.

On the other hand, if a game dev would simply make a dedicated gaming handheld, it would differentiate itself from the smartphone craze. That's how the DS sold so well in the face of the iPhone.

Theyellowflash304208d ago

If you read the article the author clearly states hes not counting cell phones of any type. Just dedicated gaming portables

dedicatedtogamers4208d ago

Smartphones are an unforgettable part of the equation, however, especially when 7-year-olds (instead of clutching Game Boys and DSs) are playing on Mommy's Android or iPhone.

iamnsuperman4207d ago (Edited 4207d ago )

But you can't neglect such an important and influential bit of kit just because it is not a dedicated handheld. As the lines blur between mobiles and dedicated machines neglecting an important part is just stupid. The author may not think mobile gaming with "eradicate dedicated handheld gaming" but they definitely have had an impact on sales

Tres214207d ago

yea u prob didnt get into the casual & hardcore discussion but cellphones r 2 casual 2 be considered 4 tru gaming so sorry they dont count.lol

Blankman854207d ago (Edited 4207d ago )

Read the article? But that would require reading the article!! No I refuse! I'm going to make my comment based on just the headline!!
Here's something funny, before the Vita released, smart phones were being tossed out the window as any form of competition here on N4G, and now that we are talking about how Nintendo will always be King, the SONY fans are running to those very same smart phones and claiming you can't discount them.
My mind is pretty blown right now at the hypocrisy of this site.

jsslifelike4207d ago (Edited 4207d ago )

@dedicatedtogamers

You said it right there- MOMMY'S Android or iPhone. No one in their right mind would buy a kid a state-of-the-art mobile device, especially one that's outdated in a year. I'm not saying that those folks don't exist, but a Vita or 3DS guarantees 4-5 years of of not having to cling to the blind Apple sheep 10-month upgrade cycle.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4207d ago
profgerbik4207d ago (Edited 4207d ago )

Reverting back to old technology is definitely not going to change the industry.

You are right though, all people care about now are smart phones but that is exactly why gaming devices have become more multimedia driven also.

Simply in order to compete. If your handhelds did nothing but play games people wouldn't care oddly enough. They would end up being on their phone more but having a device that can do mostly what a phone can other than make direct voice calls.. Gives them at least a chance to want to be on the device more.

I do agree don't get me wrong most kids will probably be crying for an iphone 5 this Christmas year so.. I doubt anyone will want Consoles or even Handhelds too much.

Smart phones are for sure changing things as dumb as it may seem, people are just obsessed with them. They have become more of a fasion statement and a device that says hey!

"I barely know crap about anything technological, look at my cool phone that thinks for me!"

SandWitch4207d ago

PlayStation will never lose a consoles race, they said 10 years ago.

mcstorm4207d ago

I agree but the console market is different to the handheld market and there is one line in this Article that sums up Nintendo's hand held console. "Nintendo tends to create games that fit the pick-up and play nature that gamers demand."

I own a PSV and 3DS and they are both amazing hand held consoles in there own way but the PSV is lacking pickup and play games. If I look at my collection of games for the PSV I have MGS3, UCGA, Resistance and LBP Vita and none of them are really pickup and play. LBP could come under that but that's it.

The other thing Nintendo have over anyone else is games for everyone in terms of big names. Sony are still new to this market and LBP is the start of this but games Like Metroid, Mario, FZero, StartFox, Mario Football, Mario Tennis, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Nintendogs and the list carry's on. Both sony and Microsoft have a lot of work do to in the all round gaming market and they have both started this but if any of them want to take the console and handheld market off Nintendo they need to compete this market.

iamnsuperman4207d ago

To be quite frank Sony need to start releasing games like Ninendogs if they want to ship more units and to a different crowd. It is the secound best selling series on the DS (with around 23 million sold). Clearly a big target audience for the DS was people playing these types of games (brain training is up there aswell) and Sony seem to be negleting this large audience.

mcstorm4207d ago

I agree. the DS/3DS is played by a lot of kids in car trips ect and this is part of the reason why it sells so well.

GreenRanger4207d ago

This article has probably just jinxed Nintendo.

nevin14207d ago

You again

Your just mad there isnt a green ranger dedicated handheld system.

GreenRanger4207d ago (Edited 4207d ago )

One of these days there will be, and it'll be awesome.
It will be so much better than a Red Ranger dedicated handheld, if they made one.
And if they do make a Red Ranger handheld, i'll do this to it: http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Skip to 00:40 for awesomeness.

profgerbik4207d ago (Edited 4207d ago )

Green PSVita already exists? Not sure if that is what you guys are talking about.

Am not sure if they will ever release in the U.S. as well but in Japan they showed off these colored Vita's that look like the old colored Mac computers. They are so sweet.

They also have Red, Pink, Orange, Purple and Blue.. There are more colors but thats all I can remember.

Maybe one day they will be available.

Sanquine904207d ago

LOL the 3DS XL has improved hardware compared with the 3ds???

Quote"Nintendo is on a roll with the 3DS. They have fantastic software, improved hardware with the 3DS XL, and an upgraded Eshop experience"

WiiLovePS3604207d ago

Bigger screens would count as an improvement to a lot of people.

SandWitch4207d ago

Screen also has some improvements like better visibility in light.

dark-hollow4207d ago

Build quality and displays falls into the "hardware" term.

Kos-Mos4207d ago

You`re not laughing anymore now, are you?

Sanquine904207d ago

Still laughing sir. I think this are no hardware improvements:D

profgerbik4207d ago (Edited 4207d ago )

Technically they are, now are they huge ones that are even worth mentioning really?

No. It is like the people who bought an iphone 5 blindly..

OMG it has .5 inch more screen and practically is the exact same phone as the last!!! Thank you Jesus! Take my money!

I was never down with the DS fiasco, people can talk about sales charts all they want the thing has been remade 5x and still doesn't have a second analog stick.

PSP no second stick, Vita second stick... At least Sony doesn't make the same mistakes hardware wise twice.. or more than twice in Nintendo's case.

metroid324206d ago

Yes and they have a 3DS HD next as Myamoto hinted at this 4 months ago,it might be called the 3DS Pro or 3DS/HD ect and it is said to have Smartphone level ios and wiiu features that are not possible on 3DS we know MiiVerse is coming to 3DS but i'll wait for the next iteration as it will be so good you will never need another Handheld in your lifetime.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4206d ago
DivineAssault 4207d ago

nintendo has children, women, casuals, & even adults that get their handhelds.. I loved every one of my nintendo handhelds from gameboy-3ds xl..

zelda, metroid, & castlevania was the main reason i owned gba-ds.. this new one coming out has me skeptical, but it might be good.. I just hope they dont remove the damn blood cuz thats always been a part of the game.. I really wish it was fully 2d & in beautiful sprites but mistwalker wants their reboot to taint the handhelds as well..

golden sun was a fantastic rpg series, sonic advance series was good too.. 3ds doesnt have much 3rd party yet but some will come to the west hopefully..

I still think vita is a much better handheld personally.. as far as value & well everything about it is better to me but nintendo does have those games that somehow feel great when u complete them.. They have heart n soul.. i will always support nintendos handhelds.. Home consoles on the other hand have burned me for the past 2 generations.. I will play it safe & wait til the time is right for a wii u

Show all comments (30)
280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1012d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref2d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde2d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19722d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville2d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21831d 20h ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos1d 19h ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1d 19h ago
isarai2d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref2d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan2d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0071d 11h ago (Edited 1d 11h ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19722d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

2d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19722d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

2d ago
2d ago
Zeref2d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde2d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19722d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19722d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier2d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto2d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21831d 20h ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto1d 18h ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1d 18h ago
Hofstaderman2d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts2d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts1d 6h ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic1d 14h ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)
90°

Nintendo's War Against Player-Made Content Will Hurt The Company In The End

Danish from eXputer: "Nintendo has historically gone against player-made content and emulation of its games. This has done much to harm the company's image."

XiNatsuDragnel9d ago

I agree nintendo hire some these folks to help in your games it'll help imo.

banger888d ago

They need to stop announcing these mods and fan remakes until they're finished. Finish it, upload it, and then if Nintendo dmca's it tough shit. Once it's online, people can share it around, even if the original download gets taken down.

Jingsing8d ago

True, but most modders need constant admiration during the process to motivate them.

PRIMORDUS7d ago

Yup, once it's a torrent nothing can be done Nintendo is helpless at that point. But it would be wise if they just had a site on the dark web, it's also easy to use with Tor and no one will bother you.

mastershredder7d ago

This is all coming from the mouth of short-sighted fandom and grifting madness.
No.... it wont. There is a clear defined reason why they don't. This is nothing new. Make your own shi7 from your own original ideas especially if you are trying to capitalize of it it. Duh.

Yeah, hire people that have zero respect or understanding for an established process. Wow. Yep. Totally makes sense.

shinoff21837d ago

Those guys that made that sonic game got a gig from sega or something along those lines and that game was dope as hell. One of the best sonics as of late.

80°

The Nintendo Partner Spotlight Sale Is The Perfect Excuse To Get These 6 Gems

Huzaifa from eXputer: "The Nintendo Partner Spotlight sale event has discounted a number of worthy titles on the Switch. Here are 6 of them you should check out."