As keen as they are to dismiss it, the fact that Sony and Nintendo spend so much time stressing the lack of impact mobile gaming is having on their respective handheld businesses suggest it's a sore point.
Last week, SCEA head Jack Tretton compared the Hollywood glitz and glamour of PS Vita to what he described as the 50c home movie feel of mobile games development.
Now, in a more stats-based attack, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has suggested users of social gaming platforms actually play more handheld games, rather than less.
On the up
Iwata detailed the numbers during a presentation to stockholders, claiming that users of popular social gaming networks in Japan such as GREE or DeNA's Mobage are more likely to use their DS than owners of the handheld that don't visit such platforms.
Mobile and social gamers in the country purchase an average of 1.5 DS games a year compared to 1.2 games purchased by standard DS owners.
In the US, Nintendo's figures state, Facebook game players tap into more DS games than the platform's average.
In all, Satoru stated, if there has been any impact on Nintendo DS's business, it's not been big enough to decipher.
Gamers love games
"If there is a causal correlation, those playing both Nintendo DS and social games will play with Nintendo DS less frequently or become less likely to purchase Nintendo DS software," said Iwata.
"The only explanation I can find is that these users love games. They are spending more time both on Mobage or GREE and Nintendo DS."
Of course, Nintendo DS was already an established platform with around 80 million units sold by the time gaming on smartphones and social platforms began to take hold from 2008 onwards.
Indeed, notably absent from Iwata's statistics was figures relating to 3DS, which is the format set to take on social mobile gaming in the coming years.
To date, estimates suggest only around 3 million 3DSs have been sold worldwide.
[source: Gamasutra]
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Related Articles
Top Stories
as
News
12 hours, 53 minutes ago
Supercell's Hay Day returns to China's App Store after four year absence
Feature
May 17th, 2024
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from a battle royale to a console classic remake
Feature
May 16th, 2024
Behind the scenes: How adding sandwich offers to an idle merge game boosted three metrics at once
Events
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Digital Dragons | Europe | May 19th |
GamesBeat Summit 2024 | North America | May 20th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Impact 2024 - Indie Games | May 23rd | |
MomoCon 2024 | North America | May 24th |
Morocco Gaming Expo | Africa | May 24th |
Popular Stories
Feature
May 14th, 2024
53 top mobile games in soft launch: Squad Busters, Battle Guys: Royale, Plants vs. Zombies 3, LEGO Hill Climb Adventures, and more
Feature
May 13th, 2024
Hot Five: Dubai's new Gaming Visa, April's mobile game charts, and Xbox studio closures
News
May 10th, 2024