There once was a time where Gameboy, DS, and PSP ruled the young minds of children. What happened? I rarely see them, and they are slowly but surely becoming extinct. Why do you think this is so? Maybe because of the new age of cellphones? Or are kids striving away from these devices?
They are far, far from becoming extinct. The 3DS sold like hotcakes, and even though Vita isn't exactly the best seller, it still moved quite a few units. I guess you're just seeing the "wrong" people, or something.
Definitely not. I recently turned 18 not too long ago - and even when I was 17 and still in high-school, people would bring their DS's to school to play Pokemon and whatnot. Even when I would visit the Elementary School to fulfill my weekly community service, I would see kids racing against each other in Mario Kart. Heck, I still have my DS. My grandma loves Super Mario, and I feel as though they're just getting more and more popular! Keep your eye out for some school kids, you might even stumble across one that's playing on his way back home from school.
I think adults are more prone to carry tablets, while kids carry portable game consoles. If they are waning in popularity then they should have stopped making newer and upgraded versions of current models a long time ago. I think it is still popular in kids and teens, but less popular with adults.
Seeing as everyone carries a portable gaming device in their phone it's tough to compete in that market. But sometimes it works out. Seems to be doing well for Nintendo. 'Well' may not be the right word but it's not as though they're not making money. Exclusive titles seem to really help.
I'm beginning to think that their slowly dying out as well. I mostly see kids nowadays carrying tablets rather than handheld consoles and on a buy and sell group that I'm a member of, most people are selling their PSPs, Vitas, DSs, and no one's buying them. However, there's been a lot o action regarding tablets from Samsung to Apple, and that makes me think that phone companies have finally overtaken the dominant gaming companies when it comes to handheld devices. I myself don't use my PSP anymore, and it's just collecting dust in a drawer somewhere here in my house.
With the rise of tablets and smartphones, i also think that the days of the portable gaming devices are numbered. People now dont need a dedicated device just to play games on when they can carry one thing around that does it all. They might still appeal to some but they're still not exactly cheap either and I think in the next few years they will start to become a thing of the past.
I think once kids are responsible enough to not destroy tablets or smart phones, they're getting those instead. My daughter had a DS and she beat that thing up. Luckily, it was hardy. When she got a 3DS, it was obvious how much better she was at taking care of it and then her next thing was a tablet. If she had treated a tablet the same way she treated that first DS, it wouldn't have survived long. The other side of that is that she still has a handheld gaming system. She doesn't use it near as often but when we're driving for long periods or will be away from electricity or we're going somewhere that she knows she'll want an electronic distraction but doesn't want to risk the tablet, it comes out and gets used. It's rare now but it happens.
They certainly aren't as popular as they were 10 years ago and a big reason for it as handheld gaming as mainly been replaced by the iphone and ipad. Kids don't want to carry around a big clunky gaming device when they can just play games on their phone. Same sort of things that's happened with Ipods and MP3 players more recently. The "hard-core" gamers will always be into the handheld devices, but I think they're really the only serious market for them
The fact is that mobile gaming devices are still going strong, although smartphones and tablets are cutting into their sales. You can't make the hardware of a PS Vita or Nintendo 3DS as small as a smartphone yet, and not everyone wants to use a tablet for gaming. Handhelds aren't going to disappear anytime soon, and they still serve a large niche. Nintendo could switch to handhelds only in the next generation, and people do indeed like the Vita.
I think so because it's becoming less and less appealing to buy a separate console that only does one thing. I guess it still would be preferred for most hardcore gamers but majority of the people are just casual players who would probably much rather just buy a controller for their smartphones instead of a whole new console that costs a lot more without even counting the games that come with it.
They're still there but not as imminent back in the days where Gameboy's and PSP's are a 'new' thing and cellphones are not as powerful as these devices. For the most part it's because of cellphones. Since most phones nowadays are almost as powerful as computers it's a more plausible option for people rather than having a device that only plays games.
