Is the end of home consoles nigh?

A few days ago, Fox News ran a controversial article suggesting that the next generation of home consoles could be the last of their kind. Mobile gaming has seen a rise in popularity over the years. The cheap cost of the games compared to the price of home console games has helped to up their appeal.

“I actually think consoles are a thing of the past,” Mark Ormond told Fox News. He admitted to playing on his iPhone more than he played his Xbox 360 or Wii.

“Why pay $50-60 for sequels of the same games on $300 machines when I can play newer experiences elsewhere in a lot less time — and for a lot less money — on devices I already use more?” he asked.

Does this new type of gamer, who would rather play Angry Birds for 60 pence than Skyward Sword for 40 pounds, spell the end of video games? Will the Wii 2 be one of the last consoles of its kind? Nintendo doesn’t think so.

Nintendo’s director of PR, Marc Franklin doesn’t seem to think that consoles are going anywhere anytime soon.

“Consoles display games on the biggest screen in the house… No other game device can match their impact. No other type of gaming brings people together in the same way.”

Those are very reassuring words from Nintendo. I think it is safe to say that we can expect a Wii 3 and a Wii 4.

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Comments, Reactions, and General Hooliganism

  1. David

    I hate this guy.

  2. 0003mg

    Absolutely Not! You can’t get an Xbox 360/PS3/Wii quality game on a phone. And, using only a touch screen is annoying.

  3. Mason

    The answer is no freaking way.

  4. Answer: no. The only problem I see is pricing; when you have an amazing game like Phoenix Wright or GTA: Chinatown Wars is priced for $35 on the DS, but $5/$10, respectively, on the iPod, it’s messed up. But that’s a problem with handhelds, not consoles.

  5. Okami

    Uh, no. Handheld consoles might get some rough times because of smartphones, but not stationary consoles. Is he really comparing mobile phone games to stationary games…?

    The real competition to consoles is computers, as you probably already own one to use for other things, and can use it for games too. But that hasn’t stopped consoles yet. One good thing fore Nintendo in that department is that they have many well loved franchises that you just can’t get elsewhere (legally). And, love it or hate it, but the motion controls for the Wii probably had its fair share in getting people to buy a Wii too.
    Being unique and having something good that no one else have is important if they want people to buy their systems, in this day when all technological products seems to be replaced by a single unit that can do everything, and people expect games to cost no more than $2.

  6. real gamer

    the industry wants this they hate nintendo and all licensing fees and hate that 1st part games are always better than software industry games EPIC GAMES HATE CONSOLES AND NINTENDO that’s why they BS about nintendo all the time

    is the console war coming to a end YES NINTENDO has won thats why the industry talks this way they want nintendo dead and all gaming software to be made for OS devices its sour grapes

    no more cash hand outs from MS and Sony there hating it so build anti console properganda witch is really nintendo hatred

    its existed from 1980s wen nintendo crashed atari and USA GAMING INDUSTRY

  7. George Tirebiter

    Since the advent of mobile gaming, particularly dollar gaming, the difference here is comperable to the difference between mps/AACs/etc and vinyl. One buys a song (sometimes an album) at a low cost instantly, has it with them wherever they go and can stop listening to it without feeling like they wasted money. The other wants a superior sound quality, especially a modern pressing, and enjoys the record and sleeve as pieces of art that carry value in price and sentiment. Like these, mobile gamijg is low-risk with no promise of a great reward (which it is capable of delivering), but the home experience creates a catharsis the mobile experience can never hope to match. This isn’t just a metter of being cinematic but rather beckoning the player to feel invested personally, rather than just financially, and this only enhances what that game already does so well, whether it be the gameplay mechanics, the presentation or the meeting of both. I laugh at the very notion of that becoming obsolete.

    • George Tirebiter

      I don’t know why the 3 in mp3 got removed. Stupid spellcheck. 😛

  8. great thinker

    nintendo is the only video-game company left and has beaten every single challenger its anti nintendo industry talk

    the future is tablets smartphones laptops etc its a industry fantasy

  9. Grape020

    The answer here is everyone at fox news has the brain capacity of a single grain of sand.

  10. Play4Fun

    Consoles will live on. They’ll just evolve when the market requires it.

    What will they evolve to? Who knows…but something like OnLive isn’t unlikely.

  11. RockD79

    Yea no way. There’s nothing available on a cell phone that captures all the features of console game. Just trying to use virtual analog sticks on screen alone is a chore.

  12. zx 81

    the funny thing is when ms and sony leave the console war they will claim the same thing instead of admitting defeat…

  13. themanuwillneverknow

    this guy is dumb phone games suck can i play supermariobros wii on a phone no can i play call of duty on a phone no will u know what i mean. with phone games u cant play with your friends so that sucks and no wifi. does phone games have hd hell no. phone games is like $2 or $1 is cuz they suck thats right they suck this guy is crazy phone games is made 4 if u on a airplane of something but ds and psp’s is better then that having fun with littlebigplanet i can make my own games in a game and xbox360 kinect i move like im on crack but its fun. now phone games must die

  14. Jesse

    Does anyone take anything Fox News says seriously? No? Didn’t think so. Please stop showering them with attention, however negative. It’s already become apparent with Rebecca Black that any kind of attention leads to the proliferation of the one receiving it.