The DS and PSP are last gen platforms - and the only true next-gen portable platform is the iPod Touch.
That was the message from Apple this week, as the company finally revealed its intentions to snaffle market share in the traditional gaming space - after years of fervent speculation about its plans.
Speaking exclusively to MCV, the company confessed that its new marketing campaign encourages consumers to buy iPod purely "to play our games" - and even marked the device out as a real threat to Nintendo and Sony's handheld efforts.
Greg Joswiak, head of iPod and iPhone marketing told us: "It's not just the screens that are superior to DS - it's the graphics capability, the computing power and the App Store distribution model.
"I had an analyst tell me in September - and he was right - that the DS is the past of gaming devices, and iPod Touch is the future of gaming devices. It certainly has our competitors scrambling in what they're going to do in reaction to this. This product is capable of so much more, and there's a tremendous synergy we have with the iPod Touch and game developers."
iPod users can already download 1,500 games via Apple's App Store - and the platform holder is doing its best to persuade traditional publishers to add a huge number over the next year.
When asked if the iPod Touch was better suited to DS's family audience or PSP's more hardcore-focused gamers, Joswiak replied: "iPod Touch represents a more future-looking view of gaming, so maybe it's in a category of its own. There's nothing else that does what it does. It's a very interesting new entrant. I think maybe that's a better question for [Sony and Nintendo]."
And UK games retail has told MCV it welcomes Apple's intentions for games - although warned that its platform needs more key exclusive titles to encourage consumer interest.
"The iPod Touch and iPhone are both fantastic gaming devices," said Play.com head of games Gian Luzio.
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11-16-2008
Posted 20 hours ago
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