Features

iPhone on track to dominate handheld gaming

New evidence shows Apple primed to overtake competing portables

iPhone on track to dominate handheld gaming
|

It's no secret that iPhone has turned the mobile phone industry on its head, sliding past its smartphone rivals with its sexy design. We know Apple has opened a new chapter in mobile technology, but the real story behind this is how the iPhone is quietly taking over pocket gaming.

Business Week has already pointed out what is clearly becoming a new player in the handheld market. Apple has set iPhone on the right track to contend with Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable as the definitive portable gaming platform new figures show. Sales of iPhone continue to increase with each passing month, not to mention downloads from the App Store. Momentum behind iPhone can't be discredited either as developers both large and small are flocking to the system. It all points to the strong possibility that iPhone could become the leading device for handheld gaming in the coming years.

The argument isn't a new one, as we were one of the first to identify the potential for iPhone to take on DS and PSP. At the time, it was a claim that few took seriously. Nintendo has racked up tens of millions of DS users that could be relied upon to buy scores of games. While Sony can't push its PSP owners into buying as much software – not least because there isn't much available – they certainly don't mind picking up the handheld itself. PSP continues to fare well in hardware sales, contributing to a strong handheld market. For many, Apple didn't appear to be in a position to challenge either platform from its position as an unseasoned newcomer to the gaming industry.

iPhone invasion
That assertion wanes in validity with each passing month as more and more consumers sign onto the i-band wagon. Nearly seven million iPhones were sold in the three month stretch from July to October, equal to the number of DS units and double the amount of PSPs moved in that same period.

Of course, the figure doesn't even account for iPod touch sales, which bolster the number of potential gamers. Realise that iPod touch is the same core platform, expanding Apple's market share via a second device. Assuming that a modest fraction of the 11 million iPods the company moved in the last three months are iPod touch sales, it's conceivable that there are anywhere between eight to 11 million new pocket gamers out there. This highly conservative assumption places the iPhone platform above combined sales of DS and PSP during the same period.

In a single three-month period, iPhone rang in a fifth of the entire number PSPs that have been sold internationally since its launch in late 2004. What takes Sony's system six to seven months to sell, Apple has managed to do in half the time. When it comes to Nintendo, Apple is in parity.

But concluding that iPhone is a legitimate threat to handheld gaming based on hardware sales alone though, is a fallacious deduction. Only games sales can show the strength of iPhone as a gaming platform and amazingly enough, plenty of evidence exists showing gains there, too.

iPhone games success
While it's difficult to gather specific data on game sales alone for iPhone, we do know that over 100 million pieces of software have been downloaded from the App Store as of early September. Apple was quick to trumpet the figure as evidence of the platform's momentum and it's definitely promising. It's important to recognize that number isn't for games alone and includes all kinds of applications; additionally, it includes free titles that could account for a significant portion of those downloads.

Regardless of the percentage of free versus paid titles, the fact that users are downloading so many pieces of software is extremely promising. Even if only a third of that 100 million can be attributed to games (a reasonable assumption given that a majority of the applications in the store are games), that's 33 million games downloaded since July – a full third of the total number of PSP games sold since December 2004. DS still reigns supreme with over 450 million games sold since its launch, but if iPhone continues this impressive rate it will make up ground quickly.

When it comes to iPhone games, the real issue lies in the fact that there have yet to be any platinum hits. On both competing platforms, there are popular titles that have sold in excess of a million copies. That has yet to happen on iPhone. A dozen titles have accomplished this on PSP and 40 on DS, but not one game has achieved a million downloads on iPhone. Even Super Monkey Ball, which is widely touted as the best-selling game for the device was clocking in at less than 500,000. Solid, but nowhere near the amount necessary to push iPhone ahead of DS.

Quality control
iPhone games could very well take a nickel-and-dime strategy toward surpassing DS games sales, but it's a hard travelled route to supremacy. The prevaling sense is that iPhone games, while there are many, suffer from a general lack of quality. Until developers consistently create competent experiences, these games won't reach six-figure sales. And platinum-selling titles are necessary to not only propel the platform beyond its competitors, but also in transforming the notion that the device only caters for crappy games.

In short, iPhone needs its Grand Theft Auto, its Gran Turismo, its Nintendogs, its Halo. Gameloft's own Alexandre de Rochefort has said as much, calling for triple-A titles on iPhone. Because 99 cent Space Invaders clones aren't going to prop iPhone into a position of dominance. Even further, mobile and handheld ports won't work, either. iPhone needs compelling exclusives tailored to the platform to drive its stock up. ngmoco's Neil Young is amongst a few developers supporting this claim stating, "People won't gravitate to iPhone as a gaming device unless there are great games." Titles like Trismology could usher in a second generation of games that fulfill Young's promise of quality.

For now, iPhone will have to rely on a handful of great games and a slew of underwhelming ones. Apple is doing its part fo fuel the device's success, so it now appears to be in the hands of developers to introduce the content behind the platform. Because like any gaming hardware, success is measured in software from third parties.

Tracy Erickson
Tracy Erickson
Manning our editorial outpost in America, Tracy comes with years of expertise at mashing a keyboard. When he's not out painting the town red, he jets across the home of the brave, covering press events under the Pocket Gamer banner.