I own a PSP, Playstation 3, Nintendo DS, and iPhone 4, enjoying gaming on each in turn. Well, let me address that, I used to play games on the PSP and DS but I do very little traveling now and since that phone in my pocket is so convenient, they just doesn't get much thumb time anymore. I also carry my iPad with me since I use it heavily for reading and web browsing at home and on breaks during the day.
The first thing we can point at is the Nintendo 3DS with impressive sales of just over 16 million units to date. People are obviously interested in buying a mobile device! It took a slow start and an embarrassing price drop early in its life to get there, but you can't doubt it has become a worldwide hit. The PS Vita started strong in Japan, tampering off in the weeks following. The Sony consensus has been that since the PSP is still so popular in the far East, it's been slower to move this new system. How well it does in the states is still too early to know, but I'm sure developers will be keeping an eye out in the coming months.
Whose Selling Games?
So no matter how nice the hardware is for these portable systems, what exactly can we play on them? Like most Nintendo systems, first party titles lead the pack with numbers falling quickly from 3rd party developers.
Nintendo 3DS Games Sales Feb 2012
World Sales (Millions)
|
First Party?
|
|
Super Mario 3D Land
|
5.33
|
Yes
|
Mario Kart 7
|
4.80
|
Yes
|
Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
|
2.49
|
Yes
|
Nintendogs + Cats
|
2.11
|
Yes
|
Monster Hunter 3G
|
1.24
|
No
|
Pokemon Rumble Blast
|
0.74
|
Yes
|
PilotWings Resort
|
0.73
|
Yes
|
SSFIV:3D Edition
|
0.72
|
No
|
Out of the top eight titles sold on the 3DS, six are first party titles. Only one 3rd party title has broken the 1 million mark.
There hasn't been enough time to evaluate Vita game sales, but looking historically at the PSP, only three of the top eight games are from Sony. These include Daxter, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, and God of War: Chains of Olympus.
With these titles we now see the major difference in mobile gaming today. The Andriod Market and Apple App Store do not carry Nintendo titles. A number of titles on the PSP list have shown up for these mobile platforms, even original Playstation titles for Sony Andriod phones, in a number of different forms. You can't get a true conversion of the newest games like Dead Space on an iPhone, but you get something in the same universe that is pretty close to the feeling of the original.
For
the PS Vita to be a success, it will have to convince gamers that
Sony's version of games is worth their time and money. Even though there are games like Silent Hill, Dead Space, and Metal Gear
on most mobile systems, the one on the PS Vita will be the most
technology advanced and closest to console levels. Whether that means a better gaming experience, we
can't say one way or another until they are released. In contrast,
Nintendo could sell a Mario game to kids in the middle of Disney World,
replacing the world of mice with plumbers, in the blink of an eye.
Speaking of Metal Gear and Silent Hill on iOS, the names are attention getting, but the mobile version of these games are timid in comparison to focused handheld systems. Metal Gear on iOS is a touch game that has no stealth or any real classic MGS feeling. Dead Space came across well done, but still having a "mobile" feeling to it. Silent Hill is just horrid on the iPhone. The scariest part of that game is the fact that some people paid $8 when it was first released.
