For all the video game lovers out there, Consollection is an on-line collection of just about every console ever made. Nostalgic about the TurboGrafix 16? They've got you covered. Want to read up on the Japanese Sega Mark III? They have that too.
I love old game consoles. While emulators are okay in a pinch, there is nothing quite like playing an old school game on the original hardware. That said, what I think is really intriguing about Consollection is that among all those stand-alone and handheld consoles (like the Neo Geo Pocket), they include the iPhone. It just goes to show that Nintendo and Sony had really better step up their respective games in the handheld space, or they will find that they have lost the market for good. In fact, it may already be too late.
You see, anecdotally speaking, when we take a lengthy car trip, more often than not, one of my sons will ask, "Dad, can I please have your phone"? I don't mind of course (I'm driving after all and don't need it, save for those rare occasions I need GPS), and as such, I usually hand my phone over without complaint. Keep in mind, both of my sons each have a Nintendo DS Lite of their own, along with a considerable amount of games, but yet, they prefer mine and my wife's iPhones, where they can play games like Megaman X, Final Fight, Temple Run, Cut the Rope, and Agent Dash (their favorites as of late). My youngest son has Plants vs Zombies for his DS. It cost us upwards of $20 when we bought it for him, but from what I can tell, it is the same game as the $2.99 iPhone version, albeit with worse controls, since on the DS, you need a stylus. Plus, the iPhone version receives updates.
What am I getting at here? The fact of the matter is that interest in the DS for my ten year old and my seven year old has come and gone, having been replaced by the iPhone and iPod touch (Luke has a first gen Touch with iOS 3 installed). Neither of them remotely desire a 3DS, even if the screen is now bigger. My kids are not alone in how they feel on this either. A quick Google search on the matter yields countless articles about falling sales of the 3DS and its games. What is Nintendo to do? They have tried to stay relevant by adding a browser, Netflix support, and an app store for the 3DS, but those additions have not had the impact that Nintendo had anticipated.
It is my humble opinion that Nintendo should get out of the portable hardware business altogether and jump into bed with Apple, licensing Mario, Link, Samus, Donkey Kong and their entire cast of lovable and adored characters exclusively to Apple for play on iOS. I would certainly pay to have a legit copy of New Super Mario Bros 2 on my iPhone, and I think others would too. Even if Nintendo charged $9.99 for their games in the app store, Nintendo would make a killing, plus they would not have the added overhead of a failing hardware business, leaving them to concentrate on their home console business, which is also in danger of becoming irrelevant. But alas, this is just my opinion. As I am not privy to the inner workings of Nintendo, it may not make good business sense to abandon hardware altogether. Nonetheless it would be great for them to license their games for the iPhone.