Nintendo has long realized that Apple’s iOS platform poses a significant threat. Now that Nintendo is expected to announce their first annual loss in over 30 years, which Nintendo president Satoru Iwata blames largely on portable devices, the impact of mobile platforms on gaming is becoming even more evident.
To add to the matter, Flurry Analytics has just released new estimates for the U.S. portable gaming industry, revealing that Nintendo’s marketshare is sliding even further.
According to the estimate, Android and iOS have more than tripled their marketshare over the past two years, and now control nearly 60% of the mobile gaming market, leaving portable game console manufacturers like Sony and Nintendo in a painful situation.
Flurry’s research for the portable gaming industry, which includes the Nintendo DS (and 3DS), Sony PSP, iOS and Android, shows that iOS and Android are absolutely dominating the portable gaming industry, while Nintendo and Sony’s share in the portable space continues to decline (Nintendo is down to 36%, compared to 57% last year).
It’s really not surprising, however – consumers are swiftly realizing that their smartphones and tablets are capable gaming devices, and that they can purchase quality games on Android and iOS for much, much cheaper than they can purchase games from the store for Nintendo and Sony’s portable gaming systems.
The end result is a $200 million drop for Sony and Nintendo and a $1.1 billion increase for iOS and Android since last year, making 2011 the first year that Android and iOS have actually dominated the mobile gaming spectrum.
Now that mobile gaming has been dominated by cheaper (and often just as good or better) gaming options on Android and iOS, how long will it be before the console gaming industry feels the same hit? Not long, I suspect, especially with Apple making wireless HD gaming through the Apple TV such an appealing option.
