OPINION : Ever since Nintendo launch the Game Boy back in 1989 , the dear gaming stigma has had a firm grip on the gaming hand-held market .
TheNintendo Switchhas shown no signs of Nintendo ’s grip loosening either , having sold 129 million units worldwide and place only second to theNintendo DSwhen it comes to the quantity of handheld gambling systems sold .
The Nintendo Switch has met some trigger-happy competitor over the past twosome of years too , with new hand-held gaming microcomputer – such as theSteam Deck , Asus ROG Allyand Ayaneo 2S – flooding the grocery store .
As popular as those new gimmick are , they do n’t pose a significant threat to the Nintendo Switch . They ’re only too expensive and are a little too daunting for the more casual participant base that Nintendo appeals to . rather , Nintendo should be more worried about Apple .
Apple has n’t really had a major focus on gaming over the years , with the Mac magnificently being poorly optimised for gambling when liken to Windows twin . But last night , Apple announced that Assassin ’s Creed Mirage , Resident Evil 4 Remake , Resident Evil Village and Death Stranding will soon be natively playable on theiPhone 15 Proand iPhone 15 Pro Max .
The Holy Scripture ‘ natively ’ is important here , as it means those high - visibility forward-looking game will be able to run on the iPhone 15 Pro without the need of an internet connexion for cloud streaming , rather relying on its own chip to run game . Smartphones may already be a popular platform for gambling , but they have previously lacked the power to represent the latest big - visibility games on thePS5,Xbox Series Xand Nintendo Switch . The iPhone 15 Pro is the very first sound to buck that trend .
Apple has been shy on details in regard to what variety of public presentation we can expect with these games on an iPhone 15 Pro . There ’s no word on the target resolution or frame rate , for model , but the fact the games can run natively on the smartphone is an telling feat alone . Apple has even confirmed that the iPhone 15 Pro support hardware - acceleratedray trace , an advanced lighting rendering applied science that Nintendo is yet to support .
If these game run swimmingly , and Apple is able to see additional AAA games launch on the iPhone in the future , then serious questions need to be asked of Nintendo and the future tense of the Switch .
The main prayer of the Nintendo Switch is that it ’s an affordable gaming system that can be used on the go . However , if your smartphone is able-bodied to launch the same gauge of games too , then what ’s the point of purchase theSwitch 2 , besides the promise of Nintendo ’s splendid first - political party library of secret plan such as Mario , Pokemon , Zelda and more .
It ’s worth highlighting that the iPhone 15 Pro is hardly cheap . It ’s price at £ 999/$999 , which is 5x more expensive than theNintendo Switch Lite . However , you have to remember that the iPhone 15 Pro has many more uses beyond gambling – it ’s essentially your ‘ everything equipment ’ , making the extra purchase of a gaming handheld redundant .
This is only the start too . Now the iPhone 15 Pro is brawny enough for AAA gaming , it ’s likely that the groundwork iPhone 16 will tender a similar performance this time next year . It believably wo n’t take too long for Android telephone set to catch up either , with the Snapdragon chip maker already designing mainframe for gambling gimmick such as theMeta Quest 2andRazer Edge .
If it becomes the average for flagship phone to apportion the same secret plan library as a PS5 or Xbox Series X , then Nintendo will quickly lose the key reasonableness why many people would want to buy the Nintendo Switch 2 . Of course , we ’re yet to see an official reveal of the Switch successor , so Nintendo may still have a few tricks up its arm , but it will certainly be keeping a keen eye on the emerge gaming talents of the iPhone 15 professional .
I ’m confident that a Nintendo Switch 2 will still trade well no matter how well the iPhone becomes at gaming . But if smartphones do soon become legitimate options for AAA gambling on the go , it ’s hard to see Nintendo ever again reaching the same sales figures as the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Switch for a future play handheld .
