Apple Vs. Nintendo: Let The Games Begin!

Before iPhones and iPod Touches, everyone relished their childhood gaming years with Nintendo. The Nintendo Game Boy, known as one of the greatest gifts the talented Japanese people have given us, has probably graced you (and millions of other children all over the world) with hundreds of hours of playing Pokemon and Super Mario. Now, it looks like the classic game console is going into a gradual decline since Apple started selling an iPhone to the world. The gaming console legend has recently posted that they have lost 454.4 million U.S. dollars or 43.2 billion yen during the previous year blaming not just the iPhone but also the status of the Japanese currency in terms of exports.

­The Japanese gaming company has reportedly experienced extreme lows since 2010 because a lot of casual gamers prefer using or buying smartphones like the iPhone instead. From 2011, the Nintendo DS has sloped down from 17.5 million units sold to 5.1 million in 2012. The Nintendo Wii, a game console that once broke the record for best selling console in just one month, also experienced a great decline in the latter parts of 2011 and the first few months of 2012, going from 15.1 million units to only 9.8 million units sold. Meanwhile, despite the lack of linear competition between Nintendo and Apple, financial and tech experts are seeing that people are now more engaged in mobile gaming than handheld console gaming. Just a few days ago, the tech giant announced that for the past quarter, the results of selling an iPhone aggressively netted them 39.2 billion dollars. With over 35 million iPhones sold during the second fiscal quarter, experts agree that the iPhone may also be winning in the gaming division.

In a recent survey, smartphone respondents revealed that they are indeed spending more time using apps on their iPhones, most of which are games. In fact, analysts believe that by the year 2015, the mobile gaming industry (playing games on mobile platforms like the iOS) will overpower the social media and adult content industry by hitting a possible 54 billion dollar mark. Poll results also stated that 37 percent of the survey’s respondents said they play on their iPhone daily. Some of them even wanted to sell used iPhone 3G to buy an iPad which is now made better for gaming because of the Retina Display.

Another proof that Apple is winning over gaming console legends like Nintendo is the proliferation of gaming apps. Take for example the physic-inspired game Angry Birds. Did you know that Angry Birds earns about a million dollars every month from ads? It has been downloaded more than 140 million times across all mobile platforms and is also listed as the Apple’s App Store’s all time favorite game to download! Developers are also moved to create more games for the iPhone with over 58 percent of them creating games for multiple platforms. So why are games for iPhones and other platforms winning over consoles? It’s because it’s more often than not, free.

We hope you’re shaking your head now! Let’s not lose hope for Nintendo; they still have 3DS on their helms to save the gaming console industry! With the price cut and the console made more affordable, why don’t you sell your iPhone now and buy a Nintendo 3DS for your gaming needs?