Nintendo 3DS Will Be a Success, But it Won’t Beat Apple Devices

A new report from DigiTimes published on Monday reveals that while Nintendo’s 3DS will be a huge success for the company, it won’t be as big as the previous generation DS handheld thanks to growing competition from devices such as the iPhone, iPod touch and Android smartphones. Research from IHS iSuppli Screen Digest forecasts 11.6 million 3DS consoles will be sold by the end of 2011, whereas the DS sold 13.1 million units in its first year.

Though the 3DS offers some great new features, such as glasses-free 3D gaming and new local networking functions, apart from 3D the console doesn’t really have any advantage over Apple’s devices. With far greater functionality and exceptionally cheaper software, more and more people are choosing devices such as the iPod touch for handheld gaming as opposed to the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.

While iOS devices are already a well established contender in the gaming market, recent technological advances and new recruits would suggest Apple intends to get even more serious about gaming.

The new iPad 2 features a dual-core A5 chip, which provides double the performance of its predecessor, in addition to 9 times faster graphics. These advances are sure to make their way into future iPhones and iPod touches and provide an even better gaming experience on the touchscreen devices. It is also believed that Apple has hired two gaming executives from Nintendo and Activision, which can only mean the company intends to make gaming even greater for its customers.

Though the 3DS certainly won’t be a flop, the technological innovations that come so frequently from Apple, together with the incredibly cheap software, greater functionality, and the increasing popularity of Apple devices, mean that Nintendo and Sony have an incredibly difficult job of ensuring their handheld consoles remain a large contender in the gaming market.

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