There's no clear way of determining how the rise of the app - notably the falling price of the app - has had an impact on handheld game sales, but the willingness of Nintendo executives to talk down the shift suggests it's more than a little worried.

It's a war that's been bubbling under throughout DS's latter years, but the handheld's userbase was already large enough by the time the App Store launch to ensure there was no dramatic drop off in software sales.

The 3DS, however, launches into a post-App Store world, flooded with games offering similar experiences for a fraction of the price. Starting from scratch may prove more difficult for Nintendo this time around, even if – as expected – 3DS hardware sales get off to a stellar start across the globe.

Whatever happens in the coming years, however, 3DS project lead Hideki Konno is confident developers trying earning a crust on Nintendo's new handheld won't have to match mobile prices to court healthy sales.

The price point

"We're not going to be competing with that," Konno told Gamasutra of $1 smartphone games.

Konno's view is that gamers want larger experiences on handheld – games with development costs that far outweigh the majority of efforts on mobile.

Making a return on investment at a low price point would require the publisher in question to sell an "insane" number of units.

"The only way that you're going to get a game at that price point is if it's a limited version with limited levels or something.

"They're going to have to reduce it to sell at that price. So that other game - because the content is valuable - it's still going to be a viable product at a higher price point," he added.

Epic argument

The likes of Epic Games might well disagree, of course,
Infinity Blade – arguably a game that matches many handheld titles in terms of size, and certainly in terms of graphical prowess – was rumoured to have cleared $3 million from 600,000 downloads in less than a month.

Admittedly, its $5.99 price point is higher than most on iOS, but it's irrefutable evidence that money can be made on mobile platforms outside of smaller titles aimed at a casual audience.

Nonetheless, Konno sees mobile gaming as a different market. It simply doesn't hit the same spots as the games offered by handhelds.

"As a game developer I've put my heart into what I create, and I'm hoping that what I'm putting out there is something that people will be engaged by and entertained by," he said.

"And as a consumer, I want the same thing. If I go and I see a game that interests me and I think I want to play it, I don't mind the fact that I have to pay a reasonable price for it.

"I'm not trying to say that I think games on cell phones are a bad thing; I'm not trying to say that they're worthless, or have no value at all. I'm just saying that they're just different."

[source: Gamasutra]