News
Why Apple Continues to Eat Away at Nintendo
Cordova, TN; January 27, in the year of our Lord 2015--Family
Friendly Gaming, the industry leader in covering the family
friendly video games is carefully looking at why Apple is
continuing to eat away at Nintendo. Especially in the hand held
realm. Not everyone was convinced that touch screen only
controls on a phone would go anywhere. I will admit I was a
skeptic. In fact I still prefer to play a hand held video game
on the PS Vita or Nintendo 3DS. Playing on my iPhone is just not
as enjoyable to me. Yet iOS and Android continue to eat away at
the market for the 3DS and PS Vita. Why is that? What is being
done on those platforms that falls flat on the others? I have
come away with a few ideas that I believe are behind it.
First off there is quick and easy sharing on the iOS and Android
platforms. We have two iPhones and three iPads in our family. As
long as a game works on one of those we buy it once and it
automatically downloads on all five machines. We can play one
another after making one purchase. Neither Nintendo or Sony has
caught up to Apple and Google in this regard. In fact if you
have multiple systems, you have to make multiple purchases.
Unless your family uses a cartridge then one family member can
enjoy that game one at a time. Multiplayer is out of the
question without multiple purchases. Hey Nintendo and Sony,
Apple is making lots of money without forcing families to
purchase the same game more than once. I would love to transfer
games from the 3DS to 2DS, and then play them at the same time.
There are easier upgrades on the iOS and Android than there is
with the 3DS and PS Vita. We trade in a device and it lowers the
price of the new one. NEC did the same thing with the
Turbografx-16 to the Turboduo upgrade. Yet Sony and Nintendo can
not figure out how to do that. It brings consumer loyalty which
is something both Sony and Nintendo are losing. It also costs us
less to upgrade from one device to a newer one. Apple and Google
understand this. Nintendo and Sony not so much. When we upgrade
a device we can easily transfer our content at the store before
we leave. Good luck with that process on the 3DS and PS Vita.
They probably could not have made it more complex.
Massive game libraries along with music goes a long ways. All of
my songs and apps are on the same device. If Nintendo or Sony
would let me easily transfer my songs to their devices I would
use their devices more often. It is so easy to turn on some
music, watch a show and more on the iPhone/iPad devices. I pay
for it once and can enjoy it on a variety of devices. Why should
I pay Sony or Nintendo for the same song I already purchased?
They need to get with Apple and find a way to let us transfer
songs over. I refuse to pay for the same thing twice.
The iOS platform offers me features that I want and nothing
more. The 3DS and Vita offer too many features I don’t want, and
I don’t use. Streetpass, Spotpass, Near, Far, 3D visuals, rear
touch screen, and more. Casual gamers do not want to have to get
a PhD in your system. All of the passes make us want to pass
out. I want plug and play. Remember that? You take a cartridge
plug it into a device, turn it on, and it plays. Real simple. I
am sick of silly reminders telling me Nintendo has some
advertisement for me. Or that I got some trophy in a game on the
PS Vita. I was there playing the game when I got the trophy. Why
do I need some reminder of it?
To sum it up Apple and Google have brought innovation to hand
held gaming. Apple moved phones into the realm of video games.
Then they brought tablets into the mix. Google followed suit and
together they are eating away at the market share of the hand
held market. Can Nintendo and/or Sony recover? I believe they
can, especially if they implement some of the ideas in this
article. Also make more bare bones systems like the Nintendo
2DS. Not everyone wants all the bells and whistles. Look at how
cars are sold.
God bless,
Paul Bury
Family Friendly Gaming