id Software co-founder and technical director John Carmack has told Dallas News that he thinks Sony NGP and 3DS could be the last dedicated gaming handhelds.

"You don't always get to build pyramids just because you want to," he said, noting that smartphones now pack many of the features once solely available on dedicated devices like PSP and DS, even if they lack the specialised control inputs of more traditional gaming handhelds.

"The smart phone may turn out to be 80 percent as good at gaming as a dedicated gaming platform," Carmack suggested.

"People are going to carry their smart phone, and if it's an 80 percent gaming device, how many people in the gaming market will be satisfied with that? That's the question that's in everybody's mind, and I really don't know.

"If that's what the consumers are going to trend towards on there, there may not be much as developers we can do about that," he added.

Speaking last November about the then recent release of Rage for iPhone, Carmack said he was a major fan of the App Store platform, and that id Software's more likely to develop games for Apple products in the future than for DS or PSP.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/28 ... s-carmack/

The last few handheld consoles had/have severe game quality/quantity problems, ridiculous initial asking prices for hardware/software, many of them never left their owner's house... Their problems were legion (though obviously Nintendo's inherent quirkiness won through for them, bottom line). Compare that with a 59p game that captures that oldschool fun and will almost certainly be in your pocket...

It's the same as the music industry in a lot of ways; they painted themselves into a corner with generic drivel and an inertia that spread to the customer base.

I wouldn't bet on these being the last handhelds though, and that headline's a bit misleading...

I can see that. A dedicated portable games console is just another device to carry around and its games are overpriced anyway.

The big problem I have with touchscreen interface gaming is the small problem of obscuring the effing screen whilst playing it. Sometimes you cant beat having some dedicated (tactile) button.

maybe there is an app for that?

the "file your fingers down you chubby finger git" app

Shouldn't that really be described as an accessory?

I really doubt that. Mobile 'phones might kill off the casual/tube/commuter market, but for longer journeys etc there's no beating the dedicated games console - not only in terms of the quality of games but battery life too.

Yes but do they make up a large slice of the travelling public? Probably less than 5% no matter how good they are.

Sure but that's by no means the only market segment these things are destined for - there's also children, non-casual gamers etc.

The PSP actually makes a mightily useful spare controller for the PS3, and I love that I can watch/listen to content from my PS3 from anywhere in the world.

Children are a much bigger market. No ongoing bills. Just the cost of the games, even if they are over priced. I suspect that kids may make up a significant proportion of the games console market. As an extra PS3 controller that is a plus but too expensive for the occasional use.