N-Sider

For Well-Adjusted Nintendo Fans

The death of the console gamer

Written by Glen

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I think there's something magical about the convenience of pulling my phone out of my pocket at any moment in the day and indulging in a few minutes of game time. A recent survey (link goes to PDF) by PopCap Games indicates 59 percent of mobile users have used their phones or tablets for gaming this year. That's a 13 percent increase since last year. I think this marks the year when console gaming was finally diagnosed with a terminal illness, its days numbered.

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I've owned every Nintendo, Sega, and Sony handheld (with the exception of the 3DS which I'll pick up after its next price drop). Despite this, handheld gaming has never really been a passion for me compared to console games. I've always enjoyed the more immersive experiences—visuals, sound, gameplay—that consoles provide. However, that has all changed within the past year. With advances in technology, handhelds today do offer console-like experiences. And if I were to tally the number of hours I play games per week on handhelds vs. consoles, the handheld would win hands (literally) down.

I think this is a significant trend for the future of gaming. I see a future that is similar to what Nintendo has presented with its Wii U GamePad, what Microsoft has envisioned with its SmartGlass application, what Sony has supported with its PSP/PS3 cross-platform compatibility, and what Apple is pursuing with its TV/Mac/Tablet/Phone AirPlay feature.

Gaming is no longer confined to a console or a handheld. The two are increasingly communicating with each other and furthermore transforming into a single device.

I can easily see a future where our handhelds replace game consoles entirely. Imagine on your bus ride home from a long day at work, you start playing the latest Legend of Zelda on your mobile phone. You pause the action for a moment as you depart the bus and walk to your apartment. Your smelly cat greets you at the door. You plop yourself on the couch, grab your ergonomic Nintendo controller, plug your phone into the top (like the Dreamcast VMU) and continue your game on your flat-screen television. All of the processing is done by your phone. The controller is simply an accessory that connects your TV and phone.

It's something we still have to imagine today. But if usage trends continue over the next few years, I predict we'll be reading the eulogy for our dear friend the console. May he rest in peace.
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  1. LobdaleLobdalestaff
     said |

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    I'm not personally even convinced that the handheld will connect to the TV at all, though the trend toward a single, personal, ubiquitous device that takes care of all entertainment has slowly begun to make a name for itself. And still there are those holdouts, despite virtually identical technology to this having existed for a while now (iPod video docks connective with TV, PSP/Vita streaming, remote play).

    How do handsets on the go replicate controls that are added when we plug the phone into an ergonomic Nintendo controller at home?

    Personally, my "console" and "handheld" experiences aren't defined by what sort of gear I'm experiencing them with, but where and when. I don't want a console Legend of Zelda 8 minutes at a time on the train, and I don't need stuff like Game Dev Story sitting on my couch for hours at a time. As long as we have different kinds of games that provide those different experiences at their own times, I don't think the home console will be going anywhere any time soon.

    1. GlenGlenauthor
       said to Lobdale |

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      I'm not sure I follow. I shared two examples where this convergence is already happening (Sony and Apple) and two where it will happen later this year (Nintendo and Microsoft). Sony and Apple have already delivered clear examples of how controls can be made cross-platform. They've also likewise shown that there's room on these devices for both bite-sized games as well as console-like experiences. I mean, there's no more better example than Apple who is increasingly mirroring the iOS onto all of its devices (big and small) and Microsoft who will follow later this year with Windows 8. The mobile technology hasn't evolved to the point where an interim device (Apple TV, PS3) can be removed from the equation, but it will in just a few years. Battery life is one of the big things holding us back but it's only a matter of time before a solution is found for that too.

      Now I actually don't think the idea of consoles will disappear completely and I'm glad you called me out on that. They'll continue to exist logically as long as there are innovative and interesting reasons to have them around. So I admit I may have exaggerated a bit to make my point more impactful. We're talking about video games here, nothing wrong with a little embellishment to ignite some more emotion from readers. :P

  2. DWraySweZ
     said |

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    This is a concept I really like. It's exactly what needs to happen. imagine, Buying controllers to use your exclusive games through them alon, but if you want to play a multi-platform game any contoller would work, so instead of having 900 dollars of consoles (if you have to have all 3 major systems) you could have 150-300 dollars of controllers waiting to play that next big multi-plat game or exclusive. This is the best article i read all night on gaming and it awesome. thanks

    1. GlenGlenauthor
       said to DWraySweZ |

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      Thanks for the comment! I don't think we'll ever see a monopoly situation where there is only one provider of games. That's not what I meant to convey with this article. The industry may consolidate further but it's hard to predict who that future does/doesn't include. All it takes is a change of strategy for a company to change its fortunes. So there will likely still be different mobile makers and different software ecosystems if mobile devices become the dominant method to play games.

      To address your idea of a one console future, while it may sound like paradise initially, it's never good for the consumer. Competition provides consumers with better value and better variety. With no competition, a company has very little incentive to provide either (they will more often than not provide the bare minimum necessary to maintain their monopoly).

    2. Droffats
       said to Glen |

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      Yes, because a single format for home movies (VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, successively) really led to stagnation in the movie industry, right? This is what a single-console environment would look like -- a consortium of the major interested parties who set standards for software released on that platform. DVD wasn't a monopoly, it was an industry standard adopted by all the major players, and anybody could make content or hardware as long as they were willing to conform to the standard. I'm not saying it will ever happen, but it's a much more likely scenario than the one you address.

      Anyway, I know that's not strictly relevant to your article, but I thought I'd throw my thoughts in there. From a personal perspective, I play games on my Wii when there's a Wii game I want to play, and I play games on my 3DS when there's a 3DS game I want to play. My habits are shaped by the game developers' choices rather than the other way around.

    3. TathanenTathanenstaff
       said to Droffats |

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      Well Droffats, movies are movies. They do not exploit any ability of the player in their construction. "Can it stream video and sound, okay good." Games, being interactive, provide vast avenues for input innovation that would be stifled outright with a single format. Would motion control, touchscreens, two-screens, 3D, or any number of similar innovations have ever arrived if there was just one single format designed by committee? The reason these things arrive is because amongst the myriad players in the space, one decides it's time to try something new. If Nintendo could only "say it's piece" in a consortium where Sony and Microsoft had equal share, the Wii and DS probably never would have existed.

      If the industry of today was only Sony and Microsoft, maybe you'd have something here, they're similar enough already. But Nintendo bucks so totally what its competitors are trying to do, it's just something we'd never ever see in a single-console environment.

    4. Droffats
       said to Tathanen |

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      Well, as long as the consoles were required to support certain standard input protocols (bluetooth, usb, whatever), I don't see any reason Nintendo (or anybody else) couldn't simply come out with a motion controller or touchpad controller or any other weirdo device they wanted to, just the way third parties have made dance pads and guns and pedometers and all kinds of crazy hardware for specific games on closed platforms like playstation and wii.

      I still don't think it's a likely scenario -- I just wanted to make the point that a single platform doesn't necessarily mean a monopoly (and in fact, the industry wouldn't support a monopoly for precisely the reasons you mentioned). It would actually be good for game developers, as the "install base" wouldn't be fragmented like it is now. I don't think Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo would be thrilled with the prospect, because they have semi-monopolies now, each in total control of a closed platform, but third-party developers would love it, and gamers would too. EA, for example, could make one version of Madden and sell it to everybody. No more worrying about not being able to play an exclusive for another console.

      Again, not really likely, but if enough third-party developers banded together and issued an ultimatum to the three console manufacturers (i.e. "your next machines will support our open standards or we won't make games for them"), it's not inconceivable that something like that could happen.

      This really doesn't have anything to do with the original post does it? I'm done.

  3. JamesJamesstaff
     said |

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    I really don't think that home consoles will disappear - or be replaced by handheld platforms - but I do think that home consoles will continue to evolve. We are already seeing this with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in particular (the former, especially, is almost unrecognisable now as compared to 2006 when it first launched).

    The unprecedented on-board storage, access to broadband and a continuous stream of OS updates means that the nature of these platforms can change over time without the hardware itself changing at all. If you look at Xbox 360 today, you see a platform that places just as much emphasis on movie, TV and music content as it does on gaming. The latest E3 presentation by Microsoft is a further testament to that, I think.

    The battle, as I see it, is still really about providing a central and ubiquitous living room entertainment device. I think it is likely that one day we will go from having a TV, DVD player, console, etc... to really just having two key products in your living room - a TV partnered with a single entertainment device (maybe even an entertainment device that is physically merged with the TV itself). I think this is likely because there it is likely that there will always be room for these more powerful and technologically-capable platforms.

    This doesn't mean that we will see a single console that monopolises everything though. I think it's more likely that we will continue to see a few hardware manufacturers competing for that space - just as you see multiple consumer electronics companies battling to produce the ultimate Blu-ray player, for example.

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