Will Nintendo ever lose its place as king of portable gaming?

[Ghost Rider]

Nintendo has been the king of portable gaming ever since I started playing video games. Its Gameboy product line is unrivaled. Even the mighty Sony with its PSP can't keep up with the numbers that Nintendo's handheld device is generating. Do you even see Nintendo losing its spot at the top? How could Sony ever beat Nintendo in the portable gaming department?

 

[Rocketman]

I don't think that Nintendo is going to get beat anytime soon in terms of portable consoles. However, I think that they're losing a lot of profit due to mobile gaming, which is cheaper, more casual friendly, and accessible.

 

[fireinyourwords]

I don't think Nintendo will ever get knocked off the top of the portable gaming heap. They made an odd choice in my opinion releasing the 2DS, but it seems to have been pretty financially lucrative for them. I love my 3DS, and I would love to have a Vita, but I feel the 3DS has more quality games right now. This might change with Playstation Now.

 

[jbeavis100]

NOPE NOPE NOPE. That's never going to happen. They know exactly what they are doing with that. They arn't losing a penny to mobile gaming because that's not gaming. That's cash in crap games. Anybody who actually plays games wants something more interesting then that. It's why I love my 3DS so much. Being able to play games like Fire Emblem on the go is freaking awesome.

 

[4justice]

Everyone has tried from Sega, to NEC, to SNK, to Atari, to Nokia, to Sony have tried. Nobody has been able to do it yet.

But to be fair, never say never. There was a time when Nintendo was the king of the home system market. Keep in mind people used to say Nintendo would never lose dominance of the home gaming market as well.

So even though it's not likely in the near future, don't think it can't happen.

 

[gats]

Nintendo has way too big of a market share to give up porables. Although I think they are not the best, their brand name will still carry their market sahre for years to come.

 

[Wubwub]

I don't think so. Nintendo is just way more accessible and I think their type of games are the best to play for portable consoles. I personally prefer PS games, but to me, Sony's games are a lot less casual and therefore maybe a lot better to play at home where you have ample time to dedicate to a game. Nintendo sells a lot more probably because their games are easy to pick up and put down, but that's only my guess.

 

[CeliVega]

As of right now, I think they are still doing fine. They targeted both casuals and hardcore gamers and I think that's a really great move.

 

[Wubwub]

I agree with CellVega. Nintendo has both genres on their systems and even though they are focusing mostly on casual games, I think it has served them well. The only danger I foresee in their future is if mobile gaming completely takes over the casual market, but even then, I think touchscreens will never completely substitute physical buttons.

 

[Wick99]

Not anytime soon. The 3DS is pretty strong as it is, and I can't see their portable consoles getting any worse.

 

[rossonomous]

For their sake, lets hope not. They are nowhere really when it comes to console and if they lose their market share in portable gaming, then they are really going to be in a bad place.

 

[Esperahol]

The thing Nintendo has going for it is that it realizes that people like having fun, they like having things to do, and they like being social - and you can see this understanding in the games available for the 3DS/2DS/whatever. That is why people still play Pokemon which is of course almost exclusively a handheld game. Another reason Nintendo does well is that they know how to get the most out of their games in terms of what the system can do and how to make that a fun mechanic.

 

[Clanky]

No, that's not going to happen. Nintendo automatically obtained the place as king of the portable industry when they released their first handhelds. They'll never lose it.

 

[msreebaybay]

Yeah, I don't think so. I mean whenever I think of portable gaming, I think of all the gameboys me and my friends owned. They were and still are the best mobile gaming consoles ever.

 

[rebel]

I guess they will, with time. Nintendo has improved a lot, as a company, in the past years. The CEO brought it from not such a good standing to the top, but that's just how market goes, ups and downs. So yeah, they will go down and somebody else will climb to the top, who, though, is for us yet to find out.

 

[ErzaShadowalker]

No, I don't think they will ever lose the portable gaming interest. Nintendo has been doing a great job, creating valuable IP (Intellectual Properties) that can continue throughout the portable gaming systems. Franchises like Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem, Pokemon, Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, will always be able to capture consumers' attention because the're are always improving. Nintendo's hardware in portable gaming are never the greatest, but the software (games) that Nintendo offer is amazing, the wide gaming library is something everyone can benefit from. The 3DS had a bad start because of the lack of games, but now because of it's gaming library everyone favors it over the PS Vita. Nintendo will never lose the heart of portable gamers such as myself.

 

[Kandikkal]

I don't think so. I have been hearing many rave comments about 3Ds. They still have many console exclusive too. I can't see any chance that they will lose their position in the near future.

 

[froggy666]

If they stop messing around with the Wii U then I feel like they may lose it. The fact is mobile gaming is becoming as prevalent and I don't think Nintendo stand much of a chance is they don't do something about it.

 

[Wubwub]

@Clanky - I've completely forgotten about the time they dominated with the Gameboy. Now that I'm reminded of it, though, I have to agree that they have held that place for a very long time and for good reason, because they really know a thing or two about handhelds as shown from their success against the Game Gear.

 

[Solar]

They probably won't. I think Sony's systems are way better in every way, but I guess they have a more "niche" catalog of games, compared to Nintendo's insanely popular first party franchises. That's the main reason people flock to the DS/3DS instead of the PSP/Vita.