http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/tech/gaming-gadgets/console-gaming-dead/index.html
It's amazing how much of the CNN article gets wrong about gaming:
"...Gamers' tastes have evolved to include quick, bite-size gaming sessions -- something consoles have never been good at. (Gamers must go to the living room, wait for the console to power on, load the game from the main menu, wait for it to boot.) It's much slower than tapping an icon on the smartphone you already carry in your pocket."
I don't know about anyone else, but waiting for any of my consoles to power up is not going to make me want to give up and go play Angry Birds on my iPhone instead. Thanks, but I'm willing to wait for Uncharted or Halo to load.
"You would think that XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade), PSN (PlayStation Network), and the rise of 'free to play' would have opened a door to smaller games that can take more risks creatively, but right now they're just cut-down versions of box-product games, or retreads of games I played on the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)".
That ridiculous statement completely ignores the fact that there is an entire ecosystem of excellent indie games out there (Super Meat Boy, Braid, Limbo, etc.) that are making their developers plenty of money on all platforms except maybe the Wii. There's plenty of original PSN/Live games out there that I've bought.
"This partly explains why Nintendo, after five years of phenomenal Wii growth, is slumping. Industry experts say they're not in a position to meet the demands of most new social gamers."
No offense to Wii owners (myself included), but I think the main issue with the Wii is that the vast majority early adopters just weren't hardcore gamers. I own a Wii, but I also have a 360, PS3, and a few "antique" consoles, and I'm willing to bet that my fellow Escapists are the same way. The few people I know who own just the Wii bought less than 5 games for it.
Not trying to start a flame war here. I'm just amazed at the horribly misinformed Blake Snow at CNN.