Nokia thinks it can grab marketshare from Nintendo and Sony … I don’t agree

And now Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s head of games for UK and Ireland Martin O’Driscoll has told MCV that games consumers will be forced to make a choice between its mobiles, Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS.

“There’s going to reach a point where we and other handheld platform owners are battling for the same partners and the same consumers,” said O’Driscoll.

“We’re moving into a new competitive space, where we have a real attractive offering for the games consumer. The research is showing us that people are playing games on phones more often and spending more time doing it. These are no longer just ‘casual’ games – they are real games played by real gamers.”

He added: “The consumer will have to make a decision: does he wants a standalone gaming device with a limited browsing capability or a phone with an MP3 player, a camera and a bloody good games platform? I think consumers will be prepared to spend £300 on a phone that offers all those different things rather than £100 to £150 for a standalone games machine.”

Source: MCV

Maybe you can prove me wrong, but I don’t see this become true. There needs to be a standard platform, with standard user input aka controls, and most importantly it needs developers support. Developer support means building an excellent development kit. Stick to phones and infrastructure, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) tried gaming and they’re doing well now but they have lost a lot of money pushing the XBOX brand. N-Gage left a sour taste in the mouths of consumers, they will never forget the taco phone. Like I said, prove me wrong and I’ll applaud you, but I’m highly cynical that you can pull this off.