Apple iPhone: a threat to portable consoles?

by Ross Miller { Jan 10th 2007 at 5:54PM }

We've already stated on the record that we're yearning for iPhone gaming. Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, in an amusing iTunes-inspired megamix, has called out 10 companies or products who should be fearing the upcoming mega-product. And wouldn't you know it, Nintendo DS and Sony PSP make the list.

For the PSP, Croal opines that the iPhone is a "threat to Sony's mobile media and communication ambitions," while also showing us how cool a touch-screen PSP would be. The Nintendo DS, meanwhile, could lose a chunk of the casual gamer market; Apple's iPhone "could cause a lot of casual DS owners to put it in a sock drawer and forget about it."

However, the one thing in Sony and Nintendo's favor is Apple itself, and You as a consumer (both, appropriately, appear higher on Croal's mix). Both portable game consoles are a fraction of the iPhone's price tag, and people may not see the benefit in an all-in-one product that may or may not see a fully-fledged game lineup in the future. Also, both the PSP and DS have a sizeable library of exclusive titles, brand recognition, and history. We'd bet to say that the casual gamer would not be willing to shell out $500 for a product of convergence. Not right now, at least.

Tags: apple, i phone, IPhone, n'gai croal, N'gaiCroal, newsweek, nintendo, nintendo ds, NintendoDs, palm, psp, sony, treo

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Denny Crane @ Jan 11th 2007 12:02AM

Denny Crane.

kyle @ Jan 10th 2007 6:55PM

it's real simple. It'd be great if your phone plays good games, but no one will buy it on the sole basis that it plays games

Sean @ Jan 10th 2007 7:35PM

That's a joke... Let's see, $600 to play tetris, or $130 to play DS games.

The same morons said that the ngage was going to take over the world.

Nyroska @ Jan 11th 2007 2:06AM

The minute the iPhone is a thread to the DS and to a lesser extent the PSP, is the moment the PS3 is a threat to the Wii and XBox 360. Price tag is too forbidding for most consumers.

Ben Friesen @ Jan 10th 2007 10:51PM

"We'd bet to say that the casual gamer would not be willing to shell out $500 for a product of convergence."

lol PS3

Mr. Khan @ Jan 10th 2007 6:55PM

hmm

Apple iPhone: $500-$600 + Contract

PSP: $250

Nintendo DS: $150

hmmm

Jonathan @ Jan 10th 2007 11:47PM

NO WAY ITS FREAKIN 500 AND 600 BUCKS with 2 year contract and people complain the ps3 is expensive.

Pwnut-Butter @ Jan 10th 2007 6:19PM

A very bold statement. I own a PSP and DS and enjoy them both. When I heard about the iPhone, I didn't so much as smile for the product. I say it won't damage the PSP or DS at all.

SkyCroc @ Jan 10th 2007 6:20PM

The N-Gage was supposed to be a threat to the Nintendo DS and PSP a few years ago and we all know how it ended.

Derbeste @ Jan 10th 2007 6:22PM

Great....another gadget and now we get 10,000 more analyst opinion......

Apple is NOT a threat to PSP or DS. And won't be for at least 4-6 years minimum.

People are showing to not be willing to pay $600 for even a HOME console.

Couple that with the fact that many (like myself) can't stand all-in-ones for 1 big reason....

You lose it and you've lost EVERYTHING. You lose it and you've lost $600 worth of your gadgets.

If I lose my phone now...I still have my gps, gaming device, and my MP3 player safe. I'm out $100-150 tops.

Apple also shot themselves in the foot by admitting that although the iPhone doesn't support 3G NOW....a later update will. They basically just told everyone.....wait.

Couple this with all the reasons you just mentioned, and I find it VERY hard to believe that iPhone is a threat to any gaming company in its current form.

Besides...even *IF* apple does start to affect sales of PSP or DS, all these analysts are assuming Sony and Nintendo can't respond quickly with upgrades of their own. We know both companies are already working on successors anyway. It it really be that hard to take iPhone into account this early in the game?

Conclusion....

Gadget heads want their moment in the sun and they'll have it, but this is really all sound and fury signifying nothing.

Joseph Humfrey @ Jan 10th 2007 6:24PM

Um, it has no buttons. (okay one, but that doesn't count!)

I know there are touchscreen-only games for the DS, but they are the exception, not the rule. I think we can expect to see the usual simple puzzles such as sudoku and those tile-sliding ones, but probably not much more.

I hardly think Nintendo will blink. Sony might blink, but that's only because the iPhone may be able to directly compete with the PSP's movie/music media capabilities.

ss @ Jan 10th 2007 6:23PM

At $600 a pop?
Hell no!

Scejntjynahl @ Jan 10th 2007 6:31PM

The PS3 "is" expensive. Much like NeoGeo Gold was in its hayday (still is apparently).

But the casual gamer will not see the benefit to shell out that kind of cash, specially is they already own a PSP and/or a DS. And Apple has a penchant to be lackluster when it comes to game releases. So it is an expensive gamble to say the least.

TwilightKnight @ Jan 10th 2007 6:36PM

This is how I see this going down....

1) The iPhone launches and sells out immediatly due to The Horde of Apple fans.

2) Somewhere along the line the iPhone gets some shitty games.

3) It gets a bunch of meaniless awards to further the hype for people who were on the fence.

4)6-12 months later there is a updated version, with the same screen, more space, more features, etc, for half the price, effectivly pissing on the early adopters.

5) Everybody who bought the first verison of the iPhone will get the newer one just because The Horde demands it.

6)Microsoft, Sony, Creative, etc, will make a duplicate product. It will be cheaper, more space, more features, etc.

7)The iPhone outsells the better product mentioned in 6 because of The Horde doesn't know the meaning of product research.

Repeat steps 4 - 7 until Apple comes out with a new product alltogether.

Oki @ Jan 10th 2007 6:42PM

i think it will make a dent on the ds and psp. if i dont manage to find 600 somewhere im willing to sell off ps3 and psp for this thing. but maybe just me because im a apple fan

Miibody @ Jan 10th 2007 6:30PM

The only real threat is Nintendo's next portable system.

Miz @ Jan 10th 2007 6:33PM

I wouldn't say Nintendo needs to be worried. At most, I'd expect them to look over in Apple's direction, go "huh", and hop into the boardroom to make a few marketing decisions. the threat is not very significant.

Sony should be a bit worried, though, as the PSP is being billed more as a multimedia machine, making the competition more direct.

Hemisphere @ Jan 10th 2007 6:35PM

I think it's also worth noting with this product, that while 4 or 8 gigs may be acceptable storage space for a nifty fashion accessory like an iPod Nano, the iPhone is basically a small tablet PC with phone and camera functionality (and the 2 year contract masking what would likely otherwise be a $1200+ pricetag).

If I bought an iPhone, I would want to make full use of it's tablet PC functionality, and 4-8 gigs would barely allow me to scratch the surface of it's potential, let alone if I wanted to actually use it as an iPod aswell.

pe @ Jan 10th 2007 6:39PM

Oh yeah I'm sure it's a big threat. It could take away from PS3 sales.
The iPhone is a typical apple product. Sure it's cool, but it's also twice the price of similar products already out, and not a whole lot different in features. Actually, it's almost exactly like the PS3 now that I think about it. It's one of those things that you explain everything it can do to average people and they respond "So why would I want this?".

hegemonyhog @ Jan 10th 2007 6:40PM

Apple wants to do gaming with their phone.

They don't want to make a console.

Will it succeed as a gaming machine? Just answered the question - it's not one. Gamers don't react well to machines that aren't primarily designed for gaming, and Apple's iPhone, which is designed basically as an iPod first, a phone second, a computer/portable internet device third and a gaming system sixth or seventh, will not break into that market.

jesus_bon_jovi @ Jan 10th 2007 6:41PM

How often do people drop their cellphones is the first thing i think of... this thing is more like a PDA (Newton 2007?) but a bit crippled at the moment, who knows what expandability it really has. I am a PDA enthusiast and the iPhone brings in some new innovations (or atleasts puts lots of things together) but it also takes away things (is it possible to install and develop more programs? i'm thinking Palm here) I own a palm with a 320x480 LCD screen (same size as the iPhone's and i woudnt be surprised if it is indeed the same screen) and LCD screens are hard to see in sunlight, i wonder if your average consumer knows that. Also the loss of hardware buttons for more soft buttons and menus is not always a good thing.

JAC @ Jan 10th 2007 11:58PM

Yeah, Nintendo is doomed...

Seriously, haven't we been down this road like 10 times in the past? the iPhone wont even make a microscopic dent in the DS's sales, I don't think it's even meant to be a handheld gaming device, but even if it was, the PSP got it's expensive, much more powerful ass handed to it by the DS, how do you think a 500-600$ glorified phone will do???

The one who should be concerned is Apple for releasing this scratch magnet to the public, I bet itll take less than a week for people to start complaining about how their beautiful iPhone got a nasty scratch(or a few) and also about all the bugs/hardware issues that are expected froma first gen Apple product; most will have to get a case and then what would be the poing of dumping 600$ on a phone whose main appeal is it's look/brand if it's going to be uglyfied by some cheesy case?

The iPhone is a cool idea and I'm sure that the mac fanboys and people who have too much money and only care about looks or want to be "hip" will buy tons of them, but people who value their money and know about the other very similar and even better options out there will pass on it.

my .02$

Samohtas @ Jan 10th 2007 7:23PM

No, iPhone will never be a game console because....only apple are allowed to make apps for it. Maybe you get some of the few iPod games, but I don't think that should count since they are just old remakes (most of them).

p-diddy @ Jan 10th 2007 6:52PM

Let me first say that if this didn't require Cingular, I would buy this at $600. Even with its weak data speed off hot-spot, and possible low talk-time, I am very psyched for this phone. I love OS X and desparately want one device for my email and phone (been eyeing the bb perl). But as for should Nintendo and SONY be worried? Let me put it this way: Does this thing have Nintendogs or Pokemon? Not to play into the kiddie stereotype, but the DS has games that will make kids go "mommy mommy buy me buy me buy me." Add that the DS has some great games (Elite Beat Agents, Trauma Center, etc) for us older folks and there is no way the iPhone will eat into DS sales. If people want a DS, and have money to buy the iPhone, I doubt it will be a compromise: They'll get both. They got nothin' to worry about.

-p-

Milquetoast @ Jan 10th 2007 6:58PM

I can't wait to buy one. I'm freaking sick of hauling around a ton of gadgets. One? Yes! I only worry that I'll run down the battery constantly. I've been dreaming of this day. My only concern is that the touchscreen keyboard may not be as good at text as my Blackberry.

And this hoopla about $600? Shut up, people. It's not a game system. The argument here, like I'm saying, is that if it has compelling games ready for download, I'll keep it with me more than my DS. Yes, Sony should be concerned, as it does many of the things PSP set out to do.

And I'm reasonably certain the gizmo is 5/600$ BEFORE a contract discount with Cingular.

David004 @ Jan 10th 2007 7:49PM

No one wants to buy a $500-$600 gaming console why would this person think that someone would want a $500-$600 portable gaming device?

Gavin @ Jan 10th 2007 7:08PM

So, $600 for a home console from Sony is too much, but a $600 phone from a company that has never been involved in cell phones before and hasn't ever proven itself as a manufacturer of game platforms is a potential threat?!?!?! You guys are insane.

kftgr @ Jan 12th 2007 2:43PM

@TwilightKnight: heh, exactly what I was thinking.

It's going to sell a bunch because it's an iProduct. The features that it all rolls together are appealing, but I get the feeling that it won't be until the 2nd or 3rd generation that it'll have all that I want. The only really innovative thing is the multi-touch screen; aside from that, there's other devices that have similar stuff.

AssemblyLineHuman @ Jan 10th 2007 7:43PM

Joseph Humley: But do you think that the reason there are more somewhat traditional games on the DS is because the touch screen does not present many possibilities for different types of gameplay or because the buttons give developers the idea that they do not need to explore new avenues with the touch screen? I would venture out to say that if Nintendo decided not to put buttons on the DS and released it as a completely touch-based system and it still managed to become the success it has become today, we would see many interesting games on the DS that people wouldn't expect.

Also, I wouldn't discount this as a threat to the PSP and DS, although I don't think it's so much a case of Nintendo and Sony losing their current audience as it is a case of Nintendo and Sony losing their future audience.

For Nintendo this could present a problem because the people who are going to buy the iPhone--or whose parents are going to buy it for them--are exactly the people who Nintendo is targeting with the DS and Wii. If the casual developers run wild with the iPhone, there really won't be any reason for someone to buy the clunkier and more intimidating DS Lite (yes, although the DS Lite is a very sleek piece of hardware, there's no doubt that Apple pulls off the Apple style quite a bit better than Nintendo).

For those comparing the iPhone to the PlayStation 3 price or the N-Gage concept, it isn't exactly the same situation as either of the two. With the PS3 the price is an issue because Sony chose to position their console solely as a game console. If more people saw it as a machine that they could use for a variety of things in their living room such as watching HD movies, doing a quick email check right before leaving, and whatever else Sony decides to implement in the future, it would have a lot of potential in the market. Next, there's the N-Gage. The fatal flaw here lies not only in marketing, but also in the product itself. Nokia tried to position it as a "gamer cellphone." Immediately, this alienates the casual sleek cell phone-carrying, trend-following teen audience to whom the iPhone will undoubtedly appeal. In addition the failure to acquire quality games seen on Nintendo's and Sony's platforms alienates most of the gaming audience, leaving them with a very small market. The iPhone, on the other hand, has true brand recognition with the market. It is essentially an iPod cell phone. That alone guarantees that it will at least have some success in the same way that many people are buying the PlayStation 3 on brand recognition alone. In addition, the iPhone has the very sleek style that all Apple products have, and the marketing seems to match it. Since it's not actually out, yet, I can't really say if it's as simple and accessible as it looks, but if I had to make a prediction right now, I would say it's going to be a success.

Joe @ Jan 10th 2007 7:44PM

Hey guys check out my super rad N'Gage! Its a phone AND its a video game player! This is the way of the future guys!....guys?

moominsean @ Jan 10th 2007 9:51PM

maybe if it was marketed as a gaming machine that was also a phone (and priced to be competitive with the mobile gaming market), it might work. But as is, it's just another (damned expensive) cool phone that you can play some games on. it will probabably be hip to own, and if they get the price down to $150-$250, everyone will have one (i see chocolates everywhere now)...until the next cool thing. i'd rather have all the functionality of my ipod in my phone. i don't need another lumines or super duper gems or whatever.

jon speed @ Jan 10th 2007 7:19PM

Not to mention the lack of a removable battery...

saunderez @ Jan 10th 2007 7:54PM

No threat at all..it's not even a threat to other phones - every half decent phone on the market can do everything the iPhone can do, for half the price.

Sidepocket @ Jan 11th 2007 3:12PM

@ Milquetoast

You sound like the Sony Fanboys who try to justify the $600 price for PS3 because its "NOT a gaming system, its a media center" thing. -,-;

Cabcru @ Jan 10th 2007 8:59PM

Well, if anything, Apple know how to manage a potential games platform. I mean, just look at the Mac.

kodec @ Jan 10th 2007 9:04PM

Steve Jobs could have announced that he'd be taking a crap in a box and selling it for $600, and some idiots out there would have declared it a threat to everything from portable gaming systems to toasters.

LOOK OUT BREAKFAST WILL NEVER BE THE SAME WITH iPOOP!

HAHA @ Jan 10th 2007 9:10PM

3. The N-Gage was supposed to be a threat to the Nintendo DS and PSP a few years ago and we all know how it ended.

Posted at 6:20PM on Jan 10th 2007 by SkyCroc

AWW MAN YOU JUST MADE THAT UP nobody and i mean NOBODY ever said that the N-gage would come close to the GBA SP
I dont think the psp was out when the N-gage came out

I hate apple for this very reason they sale their product for an extreme price for no reason. The IPOD is waaaay over priced for what it does. I hope APPLE NEVER enters gaming if apple charged 300-400 for a (non-MP3 i might add) imagine WTF they'd charge for a full console.....1300 maybe....any takers

murc @ Jan 10th 2007 10:00PM

The iphone wont do good.

Apple should of listened to what the masses were saying...which was a true ipod video...basically meaning a good widescreen one. If apple release this product for $400, and took out the phone capabilities...its would have been a huge hit...but they listened to the dumb hype of an "iphone", and now people will have to spend $600 for a do-it-all phone, and have a 2 year locked in contract...which is a bit odd...since Apple comes out with a new device all the time, and their fanboys have to have the newest one...I belive there at 5.5 gen now.......does this iphone mean 6th gen?

in short: It will bomb. (its your turn apple...dont worry it happens to everyone eventually...just ask Sony with the PS3).

jensen @ Jan 11th 2007 12:33PM

I think this will make more sense with the next iPod, if it has the big touch screen the iPhone has. Flash style internet games would be great with a multi-touch screen.

What I would like to see, though, is a controller dock. Just slip the screen into a controller shell. They could even make a fairly large shell with analog thumbsticks, and it because it would be optional, it wouldn't make the device larger for those who don't want complex games.

Loque @ Jan 11th 2007 6:01PM

HAHAHAHAAH a joke, right?

Does it have 3d acceleration? BUTTONS?

will apple allow 3rd party support?

No?

No chance. Stupid.

shirizaki @ Jan 10th 2007 10:10PM

Games.....on a Mac?

Seriously? This warranted a Joystiq article?

kevolution @ Jan 10th 2007 10:25PM

Sure it will.

5 Hour battery life, gaming, movies, and calls.
I don't think so and 4gbs?

ill trooper @ Jan 10th 2007 10:34PM

It will sell 8 times as hard as the Zune, it will win "Gadget of the Year" from everyone, and once again all you Apple haters will have no understanding of WHY

so don' worry 'bout it

shirizaki @ Jan 10th 2007 10:37PM

Because Apple is like Nintendo?

New flash-in-the-pan tech + white glossy layer = hardcore fanatics and the deer sheeple buy it without question?

Yep, it'll sell out.

linear soul child @ Jan 10th 2007 10:49PM

Everybody is missing a VERY BIG POINT:

With only one button, and a touchscreen that can only recognize one point at a time (i assume)... What the hell kind of crappy games will you be able to play on it with basically only two (2) input points at a time?

-The DS has 8 buttons for input including start/select) plus the D-pad, the touchscreen which can recognize one point at a time, and a microphone. A total of 11 input points, utilizing upwards of 5 at the same time.

-The PSP has 9 buttons for input including start/select/home, plus the D-pad, and the analog pad. A total of 11 points as well, also utilizing upwards of 5 at the same time.

-The iPHONE has 2, that's right 2 input points, with the remote possibility of 3 if they work on the touchscreen recognition. I can think of only a few games that use so few points: Point blank, Elite beat agents, Koropirina with a bit of imagination, Meteos, Brain Age and such. That means no good FPS, or fighting games, or decent racing games, or sport games with any depth, or RPG with any depth. It is limited through lack of input.

Wiggle @ Jan 10th 2007 11:07PM

I don't hate apple in the slightest. I actually like them quite a bit.

But...I have a cellphone that can pretty much do everything that the iPhone can do, has more storage space (phone storage + SD card), has more inputs for mobile games...the only thing my phone doesn't have...is a touch screen. (And since I am not an idiot...I don't NEED a touch screen. I can scroll and hit enter, thank you very much). Wanna know what's great? My phone didn't cost me $600, $500, $400, $300, $200, or even $100.

Apple releases products that fetch far more money then they are worth. There are other products better than the iPod and they are cheaper. You can bet cheaper and better versions of a touch screen phone will come out too, but the thing is...Apple will still probably dominate. People are so friggin excited for this. Its a cell phone! A cell phone with a touch screen. That's it.

Still, I wish I wouldn't have wasted $600 on the craptacular PS3 (yeah, its that bad). I would have easily spent the money on the iPhone and I don't even want one. I wish I knew then, what I know now.

Oh and Cingular. I paid them $150 to get out of my contract. There is no way I would buy a phone that they are the exclusive service provider for. They may be the biggest in the US, but they are not even close to the best.

AssemblyLineHuman @ Jan 10th 2007 11:15PM

Actually, linear soul child, if you look at Apple's website, they claim that the iPhone will have "multi-touch." In other words, it can detect two "input points" on the touch screen at once. Regardless, as I said earlier (or at least tried to express), this isn't really much of a threat to the gamer segment of the market. The real problem here is that this could take away a large part of Nintendo's potential market -- the non-gamer they are trying to appeal to. The problem isn't that the non-gamer will buy the iPhone as a preferred gaming platform over the Nintendo DS. It's that the non-gamer will buy the iPhone as a cell phone, and, assuming there are fun pick-up-and-play casual games on the thing, the non-gamer may see no reason to pick up a DS Lite in the future.

samfish @ Jan 10th 2007 11:34PM

This isn't a threat to Nintendo or gaming in general...at least not so long as Steve Jobs is in charge of Apple. Sony seems like they might be boned, since they'll been marketing the PSP as an all-in-one media device and the iPhone (apparently) trounces the PSP in every possible respect.
They'll release a couple of token games on it, to be sure, but other than that, most of the games on it will probably be the same shitty games you can download from these networks now and they'll probably maintain their horrible controls.

Someone earlier said they should have listened to the masses and released a full screen iPod. While I agree totally about wanting a fullscreen iPod (and that's what I've been waiting for, myself), you've got to be INSANE not to think that the iPhone hasn't been THE most eagerly anticipated product for YEARS. Just go and read the Mac news sites archives for proof of that.
I'd love to get one myself even though I'm not on Cingular...I hate Cingular, too. Bad experience with them, worse experience with AT&T before them and then they went and MERGED! UGH!
I'm reasonably certain that if I just went out and bought one (if Cingular even lets us), I could unlock it and take it to Verizon.

That said, I'm more interested in the AppleTV device. If iTunes/Quicktime is upgraded to allow for multiple audiotracks (which most of the movies on my HDD have), I'll be first in line for that baby.
...and with 40 gigs of internal storage space, I'd say that AppleTV has the REAL potential of becoming an Apple gaming machine.