Nintendo is happy to tell you how many gazillions of DS systems they sold, but Fortune magazine sees things a bit differently. They think that Apple is creeping up and gnawing off some of Nintendo’s portable market share. The Apple App Store is blowing up and the iPad is riding the bumpers of all the mobile gadgets out there, according to a study by Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty. Her study shows that gaming handhelds are a candidate for cannibalization.
Our favorite analyst, Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter is on the same page: “The introduction of the 3DS some time this fiscal year may serve to hold off substitution of iPod Touch for DS, but we think that ultimately, Apple will gain share in the handheld market.”
There’s a million iPads sold, and 3.5 million apps for it. Apple is also about to launch Game Center, that social Xbox Live-like game networking functionality, this summer.
Yes, Nintendo did say they sold over 128 million DS systems, but I’d imagine they’re still keeping a close eye on Apple.
Nintendo Hurt By iPad Surge, finds Study [Industrygamers]
