ABSTRACT
What many people at the time underestimated was the killer one-two combo of portability and convenience. The Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable aren’t really pocket systems; they’re backpack systems that take up far too much space, and require far too much messing around. You’re not going to have one about your person at any given moment, and you have to make a conscious decision to leave the house properly equippedthere are chargers, carry cases, and all of the associated detritus and paraphernalia, and then on top of that you have to find some way to carry the games themselves. Bottom line? It’s a huge pain. The iPhone changed all that; it’s always with you (because it’s an essential part of your life, being a phone, email, social, and media device), it’s always charged, it’s always connected, and it always has access to a wide selection of games. Plus, if you want new games, the App Store is just a screen tap away. In my opinion, people are fundamentally lazy (me especially), so something that convenient was bound to change our relationship with the entertainment it served.
