ngmoco's Ben Cousins believes the death of consoles is already underway

The head of ngmoco's new Stockholm studio, Ben Cousins, believes that the death of traditional home consoles is already underway.

Fear not, though: Cousins doesn't think consoles will be completely eradicated, just like cinemas weren't completely wiped out when TVs arrived on the scene.

"By 'die', I mean talk about something that has significantly smaller market share with no sign of return," Cousins said at this year's Game Developers Conference.

According to the former EA and Sony employee, this drop in market share happens when "customers move to a new solution" and "a new product comes into your category and massively expands the overall market."

Cousins thinks both will happen due to the disruption smartphones and tablets are having on consoles.

"I believe that mobile devices and mobile platforms are the disruptive technologies that are going to cut a slice through the Western market," Cousins said.

Bite-sized smartphone and tablet games are "cheaper and more convenient, but these advantages now really matter."