The quagmire of portables.

Alright, I realize this is a bit different (see: the random in the title), but this is something I've been thinking about for the last couple of months. It might seem odd and over dramatic to the outsider, but I think it is semi-safe to say portables (as in portable game systems) are dying.

Some history is required. Sales numbers have seemingly peaked in the 7th console generation, the generation dominated by the DS and PSP. the combined sales for the 2 is around 223 Million units for all models. Contrast this with the current 8th generation, dominated by the 3DS and PS Vita. Those sales come out to around 70 million units for all models. Certainly, you could argue this is due to the generation not being over, but even at this time, there is a huge gap in sales.



So, why is this happening? The common theory is of course that smartphones/tablets are taking out the "casual" market that was traditionally a consumer of such portables. Again, this argument was also used to declare that the previous console generation would be the last, and that was proven to be completely untrue. However, the numbers don't lie, an I feel like the damage has been obvious. So the real question is why have the portables been decimated, while consoles have been not.

This is where my point comes in. In my opinion, portables have and will continue to be spurned by "core" demographics. As much as it surprised me to find out, as time has gone on, I've seen more and more people who either reject portables as being completely inferior, or simply don't enjoy using them. THIS, is what will truly kill off the market. This is the place the portable market finds itself stuck in. It's too "core" or one-purpose for the casual market, and too casual for the core market.

I say all this not to mourn about lost times, but to in a way stake my claim in explaining why this has been happening.  This could all be proven false later on, but as for now, this is the best explanation I have. The NX, if that is actually going to be a successor to the 3DS as seemingly no one on the Internet believes it to be, it could prove me wrong by being an immense success, But I doubt it. Oh, and there is no way there is a successor to the vita, at least as far as the US market is concerned. As much as I may have liked it, it really hasn't done well in the US.

-A distinct difference to all this is Japan. In Japan portables still are dominant, but... I really have no idea the exact reasons why and how that has came to be, aside from the obvious fact that portables are perceived quite differently in Japan.

- All in all, I no longer remember what that point of this article even is anymore.