Alien intruders are attacking.Can Sony and Nintendo survive?Since Apple's iPhone and iPad were introduced,smartphones and tablets have begun to undermine the cosy duopoly that dominates handheld digital games.
The gaming industry is undergoing three shifts.First,the new devices are good enough for sophisticated games,so they have caught the attention even of hardcore gamers.Second,online app stores have created a new sales channel,opening the market to new game developers.Third,because Android(Google's mobile operating system) can run on devices from different manufacturers,it has emerged as an alternative platform.This unbundles games from the dedicated hardware they run on.
The portable gaming industry is worth perhaps $25 billion a year,split roughly equally between sales of consoles and games(from which device makers or operating system developers earn royalties).Device makers previously sniffed at the notion that smartphones or tablets posed a threat.Now they feel like a character who didn't spot the zombies creeping up behind him.
Since 2004 when the Nintendo DS(for "dual screen") and Sony PSP (for "PlayStation Portable") were introduced,both firms have regularly upgraded the devices with faster processors or wireless connectivity.Now tye are launching a new generation of hardware,with different features and different bussiness strategies.
Nintendo is releasing its 3DS on February 26th in Japan and in March in America and Europe.It provides three-dimensional images without the need to wear special glasses,as required with 3D television and films.The 3DS can also take 3D photos,The firm expects to sell 4m in the first month,at around $250 each.The system is closed:Nintendo's games work solely on Nintendo devices.The selling point is that the device is super-cool."We try to create experiences that are only possible on our platform,"says one executive.
Sony prefers to hedge its bets.Its latest device.the NGP(Next Generation Portable),is also packed with new technology,such as a touch screen and touch-sensitive back casing.And as with its rival,NGP games work only on NGPs.
Yet Sony has also opened its platform slightly.It has made older PlayStation games available on Android devices.since today's gadgets are as powerful as the home consoles of yore.Sony collects royalties from sales.allowing it to squeeze more cash out of old assets.And it has begun a programme to let developers write new games for PlayStation-compliant devices running the Android operating system.Not only does Sony again take a cut of the action,but the games also work on the NGP(albeit without tapping its advanced features).The first handset-maker to release a compliant device is Sony Ericasson,whose smartphone has a retractable PSP button-pad
Apple,which has sold an impressive 160m iPads iPhones and iPod touches,has a famously closed approach.It vets every apps,and its apps work only on its hardware.Goolge's Android operating system,by contrast,is device-agnostic.It claims around 25% of the smartphone market and is popular on tablets.Already,more Android devices ship than Apple ones.
This year will set gory battle between open and closed platforms,and between multi-purpose devices and specialised gaming gadgets.Nintendo and Sony need more blockbuster games.Smartphone-and tablet-markets are under less pressure,since their gadgets have non-frivolous uses.But if Nintendo's 3DS screen are a hit.there will be a stampede to copy them.