Ultima creator speculates that consoles are doomed...

[Bolivar]

When I was referring to multimedia PC's earlier that was a misnomer on my part. What I meant were home theatre PC's, which are meant to be hooked up in the living room and replace things like PVR's, cable boxes, DVD players, etc. There's no reason that market can't expand to compete directly with consoles. Not that there's anything preventing a person from hooking up any PC to a TV (the last few months I was still living with my parents I actually had my desktop connected to my HDTV in my bedroom since I didn't have room for a desk and another monitor). The funny thing is, I actually greatly prefer gaming at my desk on my PC now, though that may have a little bit to do with a 22" monitor, some nice speakers, and a really comfy chair.

Ok, now those kinds of things I can get behind. But honestly I think that's a very niche market, whereas the public is aware of the Wii, PS3, and 360 and it's easy to navigate and use their same multimedia functions. Not to mention they're more reliable, less prone to issues, with more accessible interfaces.

I won't touch your comment on indie developers, simply because I think Rostum covered anything I would have said. There are a lot of indie developers starting because veteran's of the industry are leaving big companies and venturing off on their own. Often because they don't have the level of freedom they want to make the games they want to make at the big developers.

They have no clue what's going on with big publishers? Stop over-dramatising this, of course they do. The real indie developers do. They all play console and PC games, they have contacts throughout the industry.

I think you're confusing the scope of this thread. We're not talking about Trion Worlds and CCP. We're talking about Rovio, Funzio, and the hordes of wanna-bes and imitators that outnumber them 10,000:1. If your definition of a real indie developer is one who's making money then I think we got some problems here. And yes, Vivi, a lot of talent from the big pubs are going independent, but a lot of those companies are facing just as harsh economic times, laying off employees and closing their doors.

I wasn't arguing that they are the end of the handheld market. What I am arguing though is that it is entirely possible we will see sales of dedicated handhelds start to fall now that they aren't the only game in town.

(^ from steam thread)

I'm not in agreeance that smartphones are going to take over gaming (far from it), just that it seems to be the shift handheld gaming is heading towards and currently is doing really well in.

After these comments I think it's safe to say we're actually in agreeance here: dedicated gaming handhelds are not going away, but smartphones and tablets have tremendously undercut their access to the casual market. But they're not going to stop that 100 million+ demographic who really wants to play substantive, real, experiences. Not with touch inputs. Which brings me to this:

Side note: Have you played Cut The Rope? As a puzzle game it's fairly addictive and has many levels. It's can be a 5 minute game, or it can be an 1+ hour game. Not everything needs to be a 60+ hour AAA title online experience in order to be considered a good video game.

I've seen a lot of Cut the Rope. I've heard a lot about Cut the Rope. BUT HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NO I haven't played cut the rope. Why would I? I already have 28 addicting puzzle games on New Super Mario Bros. for the DS and I wouldn't be surprised if each and every one of them control a lot better with the stylus.

And no, not everything needs to be a 60+ hour AAA online experience. But I know another title you can pick up and play for five minutes, or an hour. Valkyria Chronicles II is a 60+ hour, maybe AA experience with competitive and co-op multiplayer modes, music by one of the best composers in gaming, and an ending that will probably get you choked up. And it's only the PSP. How could smartphones ever hope to have a shot at taking the 70+ million people who bought one? (Ok, that's an exaggeration, I'm sure a lot of them have actually moved over, but you see my point.)

edit: that 5 minute experience actually applies to ALL my handheld games. These things have sleep mode! The PSP even saves your game if the battery dies. I play Dragon Quest or Pokemon for a few minutes on my shuttle back and forth from school. Sometimes I check my Facebook or gaming news instead. I like my smart phone a lot actually, it's just a bottom of the barrel option for gaming.