No it isn't. No it isn't. Not necessarily a fact, and there's no proof games are even going to take advantage of the higher res on the iPhone 4. Uh... what? Yes they would, and they do. Thousands of adults use a DS on their daily commute. Duh. As for all the devs that release on iOS, yeah that's nice, but most of the ports are crappy and the exclusives aren't too deep or involving.
Now, how would they get any better if the systems did not get better than the GBA???? We would still be playing 32 bit on Nintendo handhelds. Besides 10 years to 4 years. Way different time spans. How would the DS games be played on a GBA. Besides, the DS can play DSi games without the camera fetures. BUT, we really are comparing apples to elephants(little known fact, you can compare apples to oranges because they are similiar fruits).
I think the reason for that is that he majority of people who frequent this site are not utter fanboys, as some people seem to believe. Personally, the idea that one has to "win" seems to ignore the history of multi-platform gaming. People get different things from different platforms, and ultimately it's all about what games individuals want to play. If I want to play Space Miner, Hector, Meteor Blitz, Chaos Rings, and others, I have to fire up an iDevice. If I want to play Shin Tensei Megami Devil Survivor, I fire up my DSi. Which one do I prefer? Neither -- it depends on what I feel like at the moment, and I'm just glad to have a choice in the matter. But actually, I lie. There's one thing that gives iOS the edge for me: the gaming community. As E3 exemplifies, interaction with the major console developers is for the most part, unidirectional -- they make games, we consume them. What's great about the iOS is how open the community is: if you care to, you can become deeply involved in the development process, either through comments on this site, beta testing, or even alpha testing and consulting. For me that interaction is part of the gaming experience, one that I've come to appreciate as much as the supposedly deep experience that AAA games provide.
I'm surprised that people just can't admit that ios games have been beaten. Let's see, would I rather play 3d Mario kart or Cocoto Kart? I'm not even getting a 3ds and can admit that.
Considering the insane DPI on the screen, it may not even make sense for all games to render at full resolution. Mobile devices are not game consoles, and have significantly less fill-rate (i.e. the ability to draw thousands of polygons for each frame) than game consoles, but with these new screen resolutions the workloads are almost equal. If you follow up on console titles, you'll notice that games like CoD4, Halo3 etc. are already rendering at resolutions very close to the retina display. Effort wasted in drawing pixels that the user can't even see may very well be better put to use in rendering at 480*320 with stuff like anti-aliasing, improved lighting etc. while still possibly having a smoother frame-rate. I don't expect many (or any!) developers to start compromising resolution for frame-rate, but it's an interesting option to keep in mind while waiting for that mythical hardware to arrive here in the back-end of nowhere
People are absolutely crazy (or just slobbering fanboys, same thing) if they think the 3DS won't sell as well as the DS. The simple reality is everything that didn't enthuse some consumers / western developers with the DS is being rectified and more with the 3DS. Do people really think the first mass consumer 3D product won't sell as good as the DS? Nintendogs 3DS alone will sell 20 million + systems. Then factor in the device is going to allow consumers to watch 3D movies without needing to buy expensive 3D televisions and 3D glasses. You really think tens of millions won't buy it at first just for that? You talk of being visionary yet you seem to lack a lot of the facts as well as the imagination concerning the 3DS. ... And by the time Apple and Sony jump on board 3D Nintendo will be firmly the market leader for 3D content. Now, third-party support... Are you blind? Support has been huge for 3DS from day one. Final Fantasy series, Dragon Quest series, Kingdom Hearts, Street Fighter (a proper one, not a diluted one ala on the iPhone), Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive, Resident Evil (a proper new one, not a crappy mobile port), Metal Gear Solid, Shin Megami Tensei, Pro Evo Soccer, Dynasty Warriors, Ridge Racer, Contra ... are all coming to the 3DS. Same as they did with the DS. However what is more are Western third-party devs are now on board portables with a proper Saints Row, Assasins Creed (not a silly sidescroller), Splinter Cell (which has all the effects of the Xbox game) and Ghost Recon. The DS never got that much focus from Western third-parties, just crappy spinoffs. The 3DS is getting fully-fledged versions in its launch window. So where do you get the idea the 3DS won't get the support? It's the successor to the best selling system of all time, of course it is going to get the support. If you still think this isn't the case then there's no helping you.
This comparison totally sidesteps one of the major reasons why iDevice gaming has become so popular: would you rather play a $50 USD retail game on a dedicated gaming device or a <$5 USD game that you can download. The answer isn't quite so simple anymore at that point. Would you play GTA:CW on iPhone or DS? Most likely, if you're a hardcore gamer who doesn't mind paying premium prices for premium games, 3DS will be a better offering. As a developer I welcome a platform where premium content can still charge a premium price
So the OP thinks there is a competition whereas both Nintendo and Apple don't consider themselves in competition with each other. DS/3DS developers are starting to develop for <gasp> both platforms! Sony thinks it's in competition with Apple with it's recent ad campaign however Apple is still ignoring them because everyone knows that Sony is its own worst enemy. And some of Sony's developers are <gasp> developing for both platforms! This is such a non-story. Sony would like you to think there's competition between them and Apple however recent sales numbers don't bear that out.
I can't really argue with most of your points: I agree that the 3DS should be a big hit (unless it's priced ridiculously, and I just don't expect that from Nintendo), and it already has plenty of third party support, with more surely coming. I have to say, though that the limitations of the DS had a way of encouraging cleverer and more interesting games than in the more powerful competing platforms. Assassin's Creed is the perfect example: you call it "silly," but I find it a near perfect distillation of the console experience on a portable platform, far more successful than the more faithful PSP version (most critics agree with me on this point). Making portable games more like console games is not necessarily making them better.
As many have noted, the poll doesn't make much sense since it's essentially asking either: "Do you prefer games made in garages or games made with million-dollar budgets?" Which is subjective. or, alternatively, "Do you believe a downloadable cheap game market competes with professional high production value game development business to the extent that only one will prevail?" In which case the answer is quite obvious from looking at the dominating price point of the App Store top 25.
The DS will always win because of pokemon. That's the reason I haven't been on TA for the past many months.
True The TA was falling apart as you were not around, Please do show urself here @least once in a month
The problem with AC on PSP was 1) it pushed too much for the platform and 2) it was handled by a poor no-name developer. For number one the 3DS should have little problem because although its polygon rendering is just above PSP its shader capabilities are up to date, where high-end Xbox games will be possible. For number 2 it just needs a dev to be allowed to give a damn. A proper AC would actually be a perfect fit for a handheld as its concept lends to a broken-down mission setup. Regardless, I never once sated such a thing is better my point was unlike with the DS it already shows Western publishers are giving a damn about the 3DS.
To be honest, I never owned a DS and I don't plan to buy one. Nontheless I'm surprised how many quality titles Nintendo announced for the 3DS (Kid Icarus, Star Fox 64, PilotWings Resort, Paper Mario, and OMG!, Mario Kart). But except Nintendo, who creates serious software for the 3DS? Square Enix, maybe. The rest of all announced titles is, well... not that good. I'll probably stick to the iPhone. There are plenty of great games, and you can be sure that companies like SEGA, Square Enix, Lucas Arts, etc. will produce quality titles for fair(!) prices in the future, too. And the tons of indie developers, too, that's for sure. Moreover Nintendo isn't even able to spell words like "online gaming". On my Wii, Mario Kart is the only acceptable online experience, and Nintendo will have a hard time to compete with their 3DS against Apple (iTunes, Game Center, etc.). I love Nintendo for some of their games (playing Galaxy 2 at the moment), but after the original Game Boy (which I sold after two weeks) I have never bought a mobile device by them again, and I don't plan to do so in the future. I just can't imagine carrying a 3DS around or paying 35 for a DS game...
Certain titles like GTA aside, most of the time you are getting 5 dollars worth of content and quality versus 50 dollars worth. Also you would be a rabid fanboy (not saying you are) if you prefer full touch controls compared to a full controller style layout with face, shoulder and tactile buttons along with a stylus (DS) for touch input where needed.
Depends on the game. Personally I find using both the stylus and the buttons to be very awkward, and in general I find the DS layout to be designed for much smaller hands than mine. I don't think you need to be a rabid fanboy to be lukewarm about that.
You don't make much sense. First of all you say you aren't impressed by the lineup (which is rather crazy as pretty much every major publisher is producing their major wares for it) but then in the next line you mention the very same publishers supporting 3DS as to what you're looking forward to on the iPhone. The reality is the iPhone will not match the major support of the 3DS. First of all an entire region of developers (Japan) will focus on 3DS, as most did with the DS. So any Japan properties you're fond of 9/10 times it will be on the 3DS. The platforn isn't even out yet and a brand new fully-fledged Kingdom Hearts title is being developed by the main team. The main team, not an external studio working on a spinoff (like with the DS Kingdom Hearts). That tells you all you need to know of the level of commitment by developers for the 3DS, where the main A and B teams are making games for it and not the C and D teams (like with many DS / iPhone / Wii titles). This leaves us with western third-parties and already major support is being announced for the 3DS (which didn't really happen with the DS). Chances are though Western third-parties will just do multi-platform for their titles on mobile platforms, although we're already seeing exclusive versions of properties on the 3DS. Western developers completely dropped the ball with the DS (and they did the same with Wii). They underestimated Nintendo's standing and so acted too late to properly utilise the platform and its vast markets. Western third-parties unless they're completely dumb are not going to want to do this again, especially off the back of a device which has sold 140 million. They won't want to be left in the dust by Japanese developers like they were with the DS, with the JPN devs getting all those lovely monies for themselves. So I say expect an increased focus on 3DS from Western third-parties. As for online, Nintendo took a too simplistic approach with it for the DS and Wii. Early word is they're changing this starting with the 3DS.
