Anybody who thinks that mobiles will replace consoles for gaming doesn't actually seriously game (or perhaps it's more accurate to say that they aren't interested in games more complicated than farmville or Angry Birds).
Consoles (and PC's for that matter) offer up several things that phones can not offer.
1) Decent controls. Controls for phone based games are terribly imprecise; to the point where even games specifically designed for phone controls don't always do what you want them to do. Even phones with hardware controls are uncomfortable for someone like me to use for a long period of time (Such as the PSP Go and it's new mobile successor)
2) Gaming on large displays. I don't mind my mobile gaming - I've owned most handhelds since the gameboy - but I don't want to play Rage or Skyrym on a screen less than 11" diagonal.
3) Stable hardware specs. I don't have to worry that my 3 year old 360 won't play Skyrym when it's released. I do have to wonder if my original droid will play the latest hotness in games.
4) Stable internet connections. I've tried an MMO on a phone; the lag was unacceptable.
5) I can play on a console all day long and not worry about battery life.
6) Textures. No handheld can match the texture resolution of the consoles, simply due to the storage requirements for the graphics & limitations on realistic bandwidth use to download a game on a phone.
Sure, the current consoles are starting to show their age. But their _launch_ titles still look better than any phone game I've ever seen, and we're nearing the point where new consoles will start making their appearance (see Nintendo's recent announcement about their new console).
> Anybody who thinks that mobiles will replace consoles for gaming doesn't actually seriously game (or perhaps it's more accurate to say that they aren't interested in games more complicated than farmville or Angry Birds).
Most of the market doesn't "seriously game". Most of the market isn't interested in games more complicated than farmville or Angry Birds.
"Most of the market" is where the majority of the money is to be made is found.
EA and Activision, with their single title console releases of over $500 million would beg to differ.
Zynga may be making money by the bucketload, but Zinga is the exception (and very heavily dependent on Facebook; there's plenty of horror stories around about how this kind of dependency can bite you in the end). Most other developers of casual games are not so lucky (with an average of $3,800 per title). Not exactly blockbuster hits, let alone a "majority" of anything.
There is both a "casual" and a "hardcore" game market (or market segment, if you like). The existence and size of one doesn't negate the existence and size of the other. Both are multi-billion dollar industries.
I agree with you. The problem is that the title of this article and many comments within (including the GP I was responding to), indicate that the casual market (smartphone gaming) will completely eclipse the hardcore market (console gaming).
Consoles (and PC's for that matter) offer up several things that phones can not offer.
1) Decent controls. Controls for phone based games are terribly imprecise; to the point where even games specifically designed for phone controls don't always do what you want them to do. Even phones with hardware controls are uncomfortable for someone like me to use for a long period of time (Such as the PSP Go and it's new mobile successor)
2) Gaming on large displays. I don't mind my mobile gaming - I've owned most handhelds since the gameboy - but I don't want to play Rage or Skyrym on a screen less than 11" diagonal.
3) Stable hardware specs. I don't have to worry that my 3 year old 360 won't play Skyrym when it's released. I do have to wonder if my original droid will play the latest hotness in games.
4) Stable internet connections. I've tried an MMO on a phone; the lag was unacceptable.
5) I can play on a console all day long and not worry about battery life.
6) Textures. No handheld can match the texture resolution of the consoles, simply due to the storage requirements for the graphics & limitations on realistic bandwidth use to download a game on a phone.
Sure, the current consoles are starting to show their age. But their _launch_ titles still look better than any phone game I've ever seen, and we're nearing the point where new consoles will start making their appearance (see Nintendo's recent announcement about their new console).