Is the 3DS the New PSP?

Chris Kohler seems to think so. Universal praise, predictions of demise for its competitors, and a promise of "hardcore" gaming appeal - hardly typical of Nintendo, masters of mass-appeal gaming.

There is one difference in the position of the 3DS and Sony's yet-to-be-revealed new handheld (I await the day when the corporate masters deem it worthy for our eyes to feast on) is the position of Nintendo in the gaming market. Back in 2007, Sony was the dominant "home console" gaming company looking to destroy Nintendo's monopoly on the handheld gaming industry. Analysts and gaming afficianados alike predicted that Sony's PSP would force Nintendo into third-party game developer status. The reverse happened: Sony made a sizable dent into the handheld market, sure, but Nintendo sold more handheld machines than it ever had in the past. Now, Nintendo is unquestionably more dominant on both the handheld and home console fronts, with Apple's IPhone slowly emerging from it status as the "spoiler" competitor in the handheld gaming wars to a formidable gaming platform. And that's my prediction for the latest cycle of "console warz": Apple is going to take over the gaming market.

When Nintendo first unveiled it's "blue ocean" business strategy in 2006, gamers decried it as an abandonment of Nintendo's commitment to providing quality video games for a gradually expanding market. Analysts either dismissed it as a concession that Sony (and Microsoft to a lesser extent) had "beaten Nintendo at its own game" or predicted a massive drop in its stocks due to such a risky business venture. The rest is history: Nintendo usurped Sony's premiere status in a fashion no one thought possible.

But there's a funny thing about that whole "blue ocean" strategy Nintendo was bragging about circa 2007-2008. By targeting mainstream consumers as potential gamers, Nintendo may have put the nail in its own coffin. Since gaming has become so much more mainstream, it joins a list of other entertainment commodities that vie for the consumer's attention. Specialized products (think Amazon's Kindle) fall to "All-in-one" products like the IPhone and IPad. I believe the same will soon be true for gaming. The less "niche" gaming becomes, the more it will have to adjust to a market demand for multiple forms of entertainment. This is a bittersweet pill for gamers to swallow: it might mean a "decline" of hardcore games overall (not just for Nintendo, but for the industry as a whole), but it also means the days of social isolation for gamers are numbered. I believe that Apple is the company most poised to take advantage of this new "all-in-one" gamer demographic, especially given the increasing prevalence of downloadable content in all sectors of the marketplace. Nintendo is infamously negligent at utilizing the internet for its games, and as the above article shows, things don't look to be changing for the 3DS.

Thoughts?

Video Games and the Economy

In love with your iPhone? Thank your local video game nerd.

And for those of us (all of us?) who are now addicted to seeing our latest text message, facebook update, e-mail, blog comment, etc., well, you have video games to thank for that, too.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203418804576040103609214400.html?mod=WSJ_article_MoreIn_Opinion