“They always just seem like a cop-out. I asked my sister if she was sure he didn’t want a new PSP or DS game, but she explained he was getting a new shiny iPhone for his birthday and needed the gift card to put stuff on it. I didn’t have any other choice at this point, so I drove to Target and did exactly as I was told; I bought a boring, blue $50 iTunes gift card. It wasn’t until I got to his birthday party that I found out why he wanted one so bad,” Evans writes.
“Apparently my nephew didn’t want an iPhone just to listen to music and watch videos, his main goal was to play games on it,” Evans writes. “When I heard this nonsense come out of his mouth I laughed out loud, and proceeded to ask him why he doesn’t just play games on his PSP and/or DS. The next words he spoke made my jaw drop and literally changed everything I had come to understand about the view kids have of portable gaming.”
Evans writes, “Apparently my nephew no longer owned his PSP or his DS. Neither did his younger 9 year old brother for that matter. They had both sold all of their portable systems and all their portable games just so they could own an iPhone to play with.”
Full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Welcome to 2008, “Cool Uncle Shawn!”
So, what is the head count for Freshman in college this year? Are we now at 1/3 or 1/2 Macs and 1/2 to 3/4 iPhones and iPod touch unites? We will know soon!
Last year it was 27 percent Macs at Virginia Tech.
I have a PS2 (I know, I know), Wii, and a Nintendo. The only one playing them is my oldest daughter. She loves the “classic” games. However, she is even more less inclined to play them now that she is on WOW. But now, she is eyeing that iPhone 3GS like a hawk. So, I understand where “Cool Uncle Shawn” is coming from.
My PSP is on Craigslist to sell. So is my PS2!
I haven’t used the PSP since I got my iPhone and when I did, it felt so awful.
I’ve never played video games – in my life. Never liked them as a kid or adult. Even felt kind of bad not playing video games with my teenage son on his playstation and xbox. Oh – I played a few minutes here and there. Just to check it out. Never did anything for me. And computer games? I spend enough time in front of a computer designing graphics.
All that changed with – – – wait for it – – – the iPhone.
I guess it’s just the fact that it’s always with me and it’s so easy to play for 15 minutes at a time. I’ve probably spent over a $100 on iPhone games. The fact that I can load them on all 4 of our iPhones makes the price seem better. Plus with the 3.0 software you can now log into your iTunes account on a friends iPhone and get them the game for free as well. Just download it – then log out. To bad you can’t do this with music!
I’m surprised the move isn’t to the iPod touch because – as with the DS and PSP – there are no “monthlies”.
Ever since I came home with an iPhone two years ago, my 8 year old son has wanted one in the worst way. So he worked on chores and saved his money and with a little help was able to buy a remanufactured iPod Touch from Apple in time for our summer beach trip. He loaded it up with Kids Bop songs (not my choice), a ton of games from the App store and even handbraked a few movies (which we already bought, thank you) for the car. I almost feel sorry for his DS. It barely had a chance to live.
I bought my grandson (5) a DS last year, and he loves it….unless I’m around with my iPhone.
When I bought my new iPhone, I set up the 1st gen to use around the house for Airfoil, Remote, Air mouse, and a few other non-phone uses. I also loaded it up with games, PeeWee Herman episodes, and a couple of Disney movies, not to mention home movies. Now I can let him play with that when we go somewhere, and still have my phone.
When I look at getting him a DS game, I’m looking at spending at least $25.00 for a decent one. That buys a LOT of iPhone games….(you should see him play Rolando, and yes, I put iFart on there, much to the chagrin of his mother)
@ Raymond in DC,
I always thought monthlies were just something my sisters got.
You guys love Apple way to much. The PSP and DS are better platforms for gaming. The iPhone is the
best phone on the market, not the best portable gaming experience.
Nice editorial. Unfortunately, another writer who doesn’t know the difference between “then” and “than.”
“Out of the mouths of Babes … “
Bless his heart, Shawn the Author maybe not much past being a “kid” himself
But appears he might be a quick study …
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Story reminds me of one of the Great Lessons I learned in the Way Back Days from the ol’ guy who got me started in the Mobile DJ Biz. He was one of the original inventors of the craft in New York and Boston in the early 50s as portable HiFi was being perfected and they discovered Folks would dance to “canned music” at Weddings and other formal events.
Later in the 60s he moved to SoCal with Carson and the rest – and ended up in Sandy Eggo where he “owned” the Navy Base Clubs (might have been a “mafia thing” going, but another story for another day). That’s where I hooked up with him in the waning days of Disco.
One of the never ending task was to predict which songs would be “hits” as they came along. Of course we’d use Billboard and other forecasts from the so-called “experts and analysts” – but he always had this Golden Rule.
“Son, sit behind me there with your mouth shut, your eyes open, and you might learn something”
Ok, ok … TWO Golden Rules
“All them experts might think they know what’s coming, but they don’t know shit. Get those requests from the little kids, and keep a good watch on what they’re dancing to – cuts out the middle man”
Well, well … seems that applies to more than just Music, eh ?
Oh, curious about ONE thing …
Who’s buying all those PSPs ?
BC
@ Raymond:
Most teenagers have a mobile phone anyway, so the parents aren’t really saving a whole lot by going to an iPod Touch. The Touch is $100 more expensive up front than an iPhone (for the same amount of memory), and most parents would have to pay for extra minutes or text or some other monthly charge for their teens anyway.
Plus, you can always find where you kid is with the Find my iPhone feature, something you can’t do with a Touch.
So so so true. My 13-year old daughter wanted an iPod touch for her birthday in July. (She’s not eligible for a phone upgrade for another year.)
My 10-year old son has already told me to sell his DS and all his games, and get him an iPod touch for his birthday, which was also in July.
Being the wise but annoying dad, I’ve pleaded with and convinced them to wait until the new one comes out, hopefully by mid-September. So it better come out…
My 8 year old son doesn’t want his PSP anymore. All he cares about is his iPhone. I think children are the canary in the coal mine for Sony and Nintendo.
TT – you ol’ fart, literally …
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Figure “Mom” is not your girl-in-law, yea ?
And you just returning the favors she gave to you way back when, yea ?
You waskley wabbit you …
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BC
hmmmmmm I can just hear the parents explaining how they can’t replace that $99 iPhone now because the unsubsidized price is $499. save the kiddie drama and the “monthlies” and get the kid a Touch, much easier to replace.
Whatever,
You don’t seem to understand. Neither the article, nor any of the comments here, claimed that the iPhone is a better gaming platform. The assertion of the article (and most of the comments) is, the difference between the platforms, from the perspective of massive amount of gamers out there, is pointless.
While we could argue how dedicated mobile gaming devices may be better suited for gaming because of proper standard controls and specific, game-oriented OS and graphics chip, all that becomes irrelevant when hordes of existing owners of top-of-the-line handheld gaming platforms seem to be ditching them for the iPhone/iPod touch. Clearly something MUST be right about Apple’s devices, when the trends are so obviously clear.
Neither Sony, nor Nintendo are going to be forced out of the portable gaming market. However, their market share is surely going to substantially shrink. No matter what anyone says, device consolidation seems a mighty powerful motivator for the masses, and the casualties along the way will be dedicated devices (phones, PDAs, MP3 players, portable gaming devices).
It is interesting to read the comments on the original article. Too many of them missed the point that the evaluation that the iPhone/iPod Touch was a better gaming platform was coming from the next generation of players. People for whom cost was not the issue, but game play was.
It was interesting to note that one of the primary reasons for preferring the iPhone/iPod Touch was games could be played in small bits. This view of gaming was always assumed to be the purview of “casual gamers” and the anathema of serious gamers. I foresee that the future of gaming is changing yet again.
One effect I hope to see but failed to mention is the lowering of game prices for other handhelds. Eventually, I think they will have to do this.
And yes, B.C.
At 46, I feel very old mentally, but physically, still pretty young.
Opposite of most, I know.
I am so tired of this debate. Unless the iPhone gets real buttons, things like nubs, something tactile — forget it. You can only do so much with a touchscreen. Real buttons give you the feedback you need for precision reactions, and sometimes button mashing is only button mashing when there’s buttons to mash.
In short: Never, without *actual* buttons.
Tammej:
You are clearly not reading this. There is no debate, really. The trend is clear, and as I said, we can discuss (debate, argue) as much or as little as you like over the lack of “something tactile”, or the power of the graphic chip, or the OS, but iPhone is rapidly chipping away at the handheld gaming devices’ market share.
There is a very obvious reason for it: people LIKE iPhone games. It’s that simple, and no amount of tactile-ness can slow this trend.
What MAY end up as a consequence of iPhone’s forceful entry into this space is significant innovation and improvement of the incumbent players in the market (Sony, Nintendo). In the end, whichever way you choose (ditch the PSP/DS for the iPhone, shun the iPhone and hold onto your PSP), you’ll be better of than if iPhone hadn’t entered the space.
One other consequence may end up being lower prices for games on dedicated platforms. if iPhone gaming bets people used to paying $1 – $10 for a game, they’ll rightfully question the justification for $20-40 prices for DS/PSP.
The biggest irony of the whole story was that Apple wasn’t really gunning for gaming market space; they just wanted to build a great cell phone. App Store, SDK and sheer masses of developers made the iPhone a legitimate gaming platform.
RE Tammej: “In short: Never, without *actual* buttons.”
Well that’s the problem isn’t it? The games you’re used to playing and like to play require the hardware buttons. The iPhone is bringing innovation into the game space by changing how you interact with games. Much in the same way Nintendo has done with the Wii.
The Wii is unarguably not as graphically powerful as the xBox or PS3, but it still is the hottest selling game console because it was something new and different and brought a whole new way to play games.
So while it’s not going to have a visually mind blowing FPS, it does offer game play the other systems cannot match. The same can be said for the iPhone/iPod touch as well. Besides all of that, I’m sure there’s someone working on a D-Pad cradle to slide/insert the iPhone into for “regular” game play interaction.
I was in San Diego with my wife and daughter shopping for the teenager’s clothes. After a while I got bored, my feet started to ache. So I sat down on a bench outside the store and occupied myself with a game or two.
I’ve done this several times now either waiting in line or waiting for someone else. Kills the time and the games don’t cost a dime.
Predrag: You’ve done it multiple times, and you need to stop. People are reading what’s written above. But the article is still about “Why the iPhone might one day replace the DS and PSP”. And I’m saying it never will. And then I did explain why I believe this isn’t going to happen. Do not assume I’m not reading or not understanding.
Michael: If someone really comes up with a d-pad addon, that’s a great thing to do, but such a thing should come with a vanilla IPhone so it’ll work for everyone out of the box. Seriously, I cannot stress enough, there are games that really need real buttons to work and/or feel right. It’s not merely a matter of getting used to playing this with a multi-touchscreen. And I would argue that someone at Nintendo is always working on the next-best DS as well, which will likely have multi-touchscreen play in addition to the good old buttons.
Generally, I am talking about the ease in which certain genres you can play and fully enjoy on a DS or a PSP compared with an IPhone. If the IPhone would “one day” replace both the DS and the PSP, it’ll need button-feedback. If I really have to actually explain why, then I would have to assume you haven’t been playing that many different genres on varieties of machines in the past to begin with. Some are going to play vastly superior with a touchscreen, like the IPhone or even the DS has. Yet many more still don’t, and a great deal of games will simply not be fun to play this way. Game control must never be a hassle or hindrance.