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iOS Gaming Dents Sales of Nintendo’s New 3DS Console

Maura

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Boy Genius Report has a story today focusing on a new report from research company IHS Screen Digest, which puts forward the view that sales of Nintendo’s new 3DS handheld console may well be adversely affected by the ever-growing popularity of iOS and and Android gaming. In its report, dated April 8, IHS predicts that although there will be “rapid adoption” of Nintendo’s 3DS this year, it won’t sell as well as previous DS versions. IHS forecasts that there will be a global installed base of 11.6 million for the 3DS by the end of 2011, but cautions that while these are still impressive figures, “growing competition from the iPod, iPhone and Android smartphones and tablets will prevent the 3DS from matching the sales of the previous-generation Nintendo handheld, the DS.”

IHS goes on to predict that by 2015, the 3DS will have a global installed base of 70 million, which compares unfavourably with total sales of 91 million for the previous DS/DS Lite at a similar point in its sales cycle. There’s no doubt that Nintendo is threatened by iOS gaming, and pricing has to be a huge factor in that. Not only are there some fantastic games on iOS, with the biggest developers all paying the platform due respect and expressing their excitement about developing iOS games, they are much, much cheaper than 3DS games. Angry Birds is one of the most popular handheld games on the planet right now, with movie tie-ins and plush toys, the sort of marketing that Nintendo usually excels at, and it costs just 99 cents on iOS or nothing at all on Android, and it gets frequently updated with new levels too. Gaming gold. Either way, it’s a very exciting time to be a handheld gamer!

Source: iPhone, iPod touch, Android phones to hurt Nintendo 3DS sales | BGR
 
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