For the first time in history, tablet PCs have overtaken the Nintendo 3DS as the number-one mobile gaming machines for kids in the UK. Nintendo’s stance on brining Mario to mobile has always been both solid and stubborn – will the latest shift cause a rethink?
Given the constant acceleration of the tablet PC market in general, it was only ever going to be a matter of time until the 3DS fell in its shadow. And that’s exactly what’s happened…at least as far as kids in the UK go…as for the first time ever, the Nintendo 3DS is no longer the number-one portable gaming device for the under-12 age bracket.
A study carried out by Futuresource Consulting reveals that over in Britain, a full 44% of children from three to 12 years old now have a tablet PC. Perhaps even more shocking is the revelation that almost a third of all kids between the ages of three and four also own and operation a tablet PC – 30% according to the reports.
For 11 to 12 year olds the figure came out at 46% and in the nine to 11 year segment 25% owned tablet PCs.
The figures therefore confirm that for the first time, the 3DS has slipped behind its mobile gaming rivals from the Android, iOS and to a lesser extent the Microsoft camps. And with tablet PC acceleration and saturation only likely to continue growing indefinitely, it paints a rather stark yet clear picture for Nintendo:
The time has come for Mario to go mobile.
And not just Mario either – hundreds of mobile ports of the market’s most successful games have proved just how much potential there is for iOS and Android adaptations. From Grand Theft Auto to Sonic the Hedgehog to FIFA soccer games and so many others, the point has been proven more times than necessary. Nintendo has some of the world’s most iconic franchises under its belt, including the likes of Zelda and Mario.
As for the likelihood of it ever happening, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has made it abundantly clear on many occasions that a mobile Mario isn’t in his vision.
“I’m not pessimistic about video games. We are not going to change our essential business of offering integrated hardware and software platforms,” he said recently.
However, with Wii U still failing to keep up with its next-generation rivals and the new data suggesting the 3DS is also slipping, he and his firm may have little choice but to embrace the mobile revolution if Nintendo is to remain in any way competitive for the long-term future.