iPhone, Android games make more cash than PSP, DS combined

But iPhone games aren't real games, right? Real or not, games on iOS and Android devices could generate more revenue than games on both the Sony and Nintendo's portable games combined in 2011. Flurry, a mobile analytics firm, found that handheld consoles like the PSP and DS collectively generated $2.2 and $1.6 billion in game revenue in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

That was far more than what iOS and Android games made, but Flurry projects that's all about to change in 2011. The firm expects Sony and Nintendo to generate just $1.4 billion in handheld game revenue in 2011. iOS and Android games, however, are expected to reel in a whopping $1.9 billion in game revenue. This could be the first time mobile games make more cash than their more traditional counterparts.

Keep in mind, however, Flurry is making projections--a buzz term for educated guesses--based on the previous 10 months. Regardless, the fact that iOS and Android gaming may have gobbled up nearly 60 percent of the mobile/portable gaming market in just two years is mind-blowing. We all knew that mobile, especially freemium or free-to-play, games were going to be huge, but growth like this is unprecedented.
Flurry study
This news comes as Nintendo repeatedly refuses to enter the mobile gaming space in fear of jeopardizing its hardware sales. Not to mention the Mario maker looks to report its first loss in 30 years. With numbers like these, we can't wait to see what 2012 looks like not just for mobile gaming, but for the PS Vita and 3DS.

[Via TechCrunch]

What do these numbers say to you about social gaming as well as Nintendo and Sony? How long before Android and iOS completely overtake their more traditional competitors?

Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones

The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.

Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.

According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.

Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.

Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.

A release outside of Japan has not been announced.