PS Vita or 3DS Will Achieve Strong Sales in 2012, Still Fall Below Expectations

Dedicated mobile gaming platforms like the already launched Nintendo 3DS or the upcoming PlayStation Vita might achieve impressive sales throughout the year, but M2 Research analyst Billy Pidgeon believes they’ll still be affected by other mobile devices like phones or tablets.

Many years ago, the only way to get a proper mobile gaming experience was to purchase a PSP or Nintendo DS. Nowadays, customers have lots of options to choose from, including dedicated devices, like the 3DS or the upcoming Vita, but also tablets or phones running on operating systems like iOS or Android.

Games industry analyst Billy Pidgeon believes that 2012 will see the Vita’s strong debut, as well as continued sales for the 3DS, but both devices will fall below expectations because of other mobile platforms.

“Dedicated handhelds will sell strongly in 2012. Hardware sales of both Nintendo 3DS and Sony Playstation Vita will bring in big revenue for the industry next year, and uptake will be rapid relative to predecessors. There will be a good number of quality software titles for both systems,” Pidgeon told Industry Gamers.

“However, high performance retail sales of dedicated handheld hardware and software will likely fail to meet expectations, which are out of whack due to the continued false conflation of high quality and high value portable console games with the high quantity of cheap and free casual games downloaded to convergent mobile devices,” the analyst added.

Pidgeon once again highlights that dedicated handheld consoles, which have triple-A titles priced at around $40 or $50 (€40 to €50), won’t be able to attract people who’ve gotten used to smaller priced games from the iOS App Store or the Android Market.

Despite his predictions, however, Sony and Nintendo are both very confident in their platforms, believing that other mobile devices can’t beat them or their interactive experiences.