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Smartphones Will Become The Only Device Hardcore Gamers Need
Posted 05.04.2012 at 3:33 pm11 Comments
When Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo introduces a new videogame console, its obsolescence within six years is more or less assumed. Nintendo is likely to release the new Wii U later this year, and other console makers are rumored to be working on next-generation systems. But as early adopters line up to experience whatever new high-def graphics those systems may offer, the next-next generation of console is already gaining momentum. The device is the smartphone, and within a decade it could be powerful enough to replace conventional game systems for good.
Mobile gaming began in 1979 when the Milton Bradley Company introduced the Microvision cartridge-based system. Since then, Nintendo, Sega and Sony have released many more portable systems, from the Game Boy to the recent quad-core PlayStation Vita. Although many of these devices were a great success among gamers (to date, Nintendo has sold more than 50 million of its DS systems), they never gained a substantial following among the general public.
Then in 2008, Apple launched the App Store, providing a simple and accessible distribution platform for games. One year later, the company Rovio released Angry Birds. Within a year, 50 million people had downloaded the app, spurring developers to create more engaging portable games. Now 64 percent of smartphone owners download games, and 37 percent of iPhone owners say they play daily.
