Though both DS and PSP are expected to continue to lead the market for quite some time, both Sony’s and Nintendo’s machines have peaked – leaving Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch to drive the future growth of the handheld sector.
That’s the prediction of DFC Intelligence, which predicts that Apple’s due will account for 24 per cent of the handheld market by 2014. The conclusion was drawn from a survey of the habits of 8,000 North American and European gamers.
“The dedicated portable game systems from companies like Nintendo and Sony are still expected to lead the market, but it appears growth for these devices has peaked,” DFC’s David Cole told IndustryGamers.
“The platforms from Apple are expected to be responsible for the bulk of market growth over the next few years.”
Apple has to date sold over 20m iPhones in fiscal 2009.