I don’t know about many of you, but I can remember getting my hands on the first Gameboy and playing that (now) age-old game of blocks we know as Tetris. But are handhelds like these now in trouble? A new study by NPD has found that the Apple iPhone is taking over in the kid’s mobile gaming market.
Say What?
In 2011, the Apple iPhone had only a 11% market share of the mobile market. This year, in a survey of 4,200 kids ranging in ages from 2 to 17, Apple iPhones (and other such devices like the iPod Touch) is up to 26%. While they narrowly pass the Nintendo DS by 1% (25% of kids). In 011, Nintendo had 37%, which means they dropped 12% in two years.
The change in numbers could possibly be attributed to the fact that mobile devices are getting cheaper and more mainstream. Android was even reported to be at 23%, which is a complete increase since they were not part of the survey two years ago.
What Could that Mean?
Who do we expect to follow suit? Gaming companies are sure to follow where customers are gaming at. One developer mentioned was Electronics Arts, sellers of Plants vs. Zombies. EA has reported that their largest retail partner is now Apple.
The report has yet to be publicly released, but you can leave your contact information for NPD to find out more information here.
What would your attribute to the change from handhelds to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets?
