As you know, the iPad is a fantastic gaming device, and is growing immensely in its popularity. A new report is now suggesting that the iPad is seriously eating into console game sales due to lower game prices, a wide selection of games, and portability.
John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, had the following to say about the matter:
Consoles used to be 80% of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40% of the game industry, so what do we really have? I think that the pattern against which Nintendo is no longer resonating is over anyway. We have a new hardware platform and we’re putting out software every 90 days. Our fastest growing platform is the iPad right now and that didn’t exist 18 months ago.
The high price of game consoles (and the extreme prices of professionally developed console games) seems to finally be murdering the console industry, especially when the iPhone and iPad serve as a fantastic (and lower-priced) alternative. Further, this continues to cement Apple’s role as an important stakeholder in the gaming industry.
Furthermore, although the iPad is more expensive up front than a game console, the savings in games can add up very quickly. For the sake of argument, let’s consider that the most expensive iPad available costs $830, compared to the $299 price tag for a PlayStation 3, and let’s assume that professional iOS games cost an average of $10, versus an average of $40 on the PlayStation 3 (these are just rough figures).
With these figures, you’d only have to purchase 11 games to account for the cost difference – and you’d be getting a whole host of additional apps, a personal organizer, a music and video player, a book reader, and a web browsing device as a free bonus! Additionally, most games for the iPad, even professional quality games, are $10 or less.
It’s really not hard to see why the iPad is quickly stepping in to pick up the slack for an overpriced and under-delivering market for game consoles and expensive studio-developed games.