Traditional Handhelds In Decline?

In light of announcements on the 3DS price cut and Sony "under major pressure to cut the price of the PS Vita", I've been taking a gander at a few articles that popped up on the interwebz.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-08-01-the-end-of-handheld

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-04/sony-under-pressure-to-cut-playstation-vita-price-after-nintendo.html

TLDR version of the top link:

"That transition is no longer hypothetical - the money being pumped through the iOS revenue system, contrasted with the failure of the 3DS to ring the tills at retail, is proof positive that it's already happening on a large scale. The only question is how big this factor is going to be. 3DS and PS Vita will, quite simply, never scale the heights of the previous generation of handhelds - but if Nintendo and Sony are fast, and clever, and more than a bit lucky, there's a good chance that they can carve out a viable, if smaller, market.

One thing is certain - dedicated handheld gaming devices are now in rapid decline, and barring an extraordinary technological advance, they're not going to come back. Birthed with the Game & Watch, this sector is going to end with the 3DS and Vita. All that remains to be seen is whether it ends with a whimper, or a bang."

So what do you guys and girls think? Will it actually end with the 3DS and Vita? Should prices for 3DS and Vita software be cut down drastically to compete against the iOS' near-zero dollars software? Should we remain optimistic as potentially better games for the 3DS are coming down the pipeline before the year ends?

In light of announcements on the 3DS price cut and Sony "under major pressure to cut the price of the PS Vita", I've been taking a gander at a few articles that popped up on the interwebz.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2011-08-01-the-end-of-handheld

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-04/sony-under-pressure-to-cut-playstation-vita-price-after-nintendo.html

TLDR version of the top link:

"That transition is no longer hypothetical - the money being pumped through the iOS revenue system, contrasted with the failure of the 3DS to ring the tills at retail, is proof positive that it's already happening on a large scale. The only question is how big this factor is going to be. 3DS and PS Vita will, quite simply, never scale the heights of the previous generation of handhelds - but if Nintendo and Sony are fast, and clever, and more than a bit lucky, there's a good chance that they can carve out a viable, if smaller, market.

One thing is certain - dedicated handheld gaming devices are now in rapid decline, and barring an extraordinary technological advance, they're not going to come back. Birthed with the Game & Watch, this sector is going to end with the 3DS and Vita. All that remains to be seen is whether it ends with a whimper, or a bang."

So what do you guys and girls think? Will it actually end with the 3DS and Vita? Should prices for 3DS and Vita software be cut down drastically to compete against the iOS' near-zero dollars software? Should we remain optimistic as potentially better games for the 3DS are coming down the pipeline before the year ends?

mr_toffee

I've been saying for a while that the biggest competitor of the 3DS and the Vita isn't the each other, but smartphones and tablets.

While the 3DS's 3D thing hasn'tbeen a hit (and has already been copied by cell phones) the Vita's full traditional controls (dual analog ftw) and touchscreens mean that control-wise, anything smartphones and tabled can do, Vita can do better.

While I think both the Vita and the 3DS should welcome all support at all levels (including indie games that are either free or almost free) indie support for the iphone (which sells 70K plus units per day) is always going to be orders of magnitude greater than indie support for either of the dedicated handhelds and casual gamers are going to be more inclined to buy multifunction devices (which are 'good enough') than dedicated devices.

I think Sony and Nintendo should focus their efforts on competing in the deep end of the pool, through games like Littlebigplanet, Uncharted, Gravity Daze and Mario. Also, as I've noted in the context of the Wii, developers are artists and they tend to support the hardware where their visions can be realized profitably. Hell, at the time Levine announced his intention to make Bioshock Vita, all of the stuff we are talking about now (aside from the slow sales of the 3DS) was known. Sony and Nintendo need to do their best to convince developers (through sales generated by low prices and quality games) that they can make money on their systems (on a related note, given the multiplatform tendency of 3rd parties, I expect that the PSP will get versions alongside the X360, PS3 and PC up until the X720 and PS4 hit).

I don't think dedicated handhelds will go the way of the dinosaur unless both systems fail this generation (which is a real danger, but not an inevitability).

Nope, I don't agree.

I think basically hardware makers are coming out with handhelds that are...just not good.

Using features that people don't really like, such as 3d.

If I were to buy a handheld right now, it would be a PSP, because it has an established library, nice long battery life, wifi, mp3, all features etc.

Also

Handhelds are not like consoles, people don't feel the need to upgrade when a new one comes out.

The job of a handheld is to keep you happy and entertained on your commute or flight.

If it does that then it did its job, people are not going to rush out and get the latest greatest hi-def 3d handheld.

People might even play games on their phone or something, while on the bus to work.

The main problem with 3DS is battery life. 3 hour charge does not cut the mustard, that is not usable or practical.

I don't care how nice the games look, if I'm on a 6 hour flight, and the handheld battery dies in 3 hours, then I'm sitting there for 3 hours twiddling my thumbs.

Most people's workday lasts 10-12 hours, with commuting, lunch hour, cab rides, and times when you just want to listen to music while you work.

That battery has to last ideally 10+ hours to be a usable daily device.

Also

I reject the idea that everybody's just playing their games on Apple stuff.

Look, the iPhone is damn nice.

But I'm not going to wear down my phone battery to play video games.

I don't care how advanced a phone is, the first job of the phone is a communication device, to make phone calls.

If you wear it down at hour 5 by playing Angry Birds, then you got no phone till you get home and recharge.

And that's the same position as the 3DS, it's not practical and usable.

I own an Android phone, I never play games on it, ever.

The phone's job is to be my workhorse and sidekick, to keep my schedule, make calls, give me GPS directions, etc.

If I want to play games on the road, PSP or nothing.