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Mobile games smash Tokyo Game Show

According to calculations made by IGN, more than 70 per cent of the titles shown at this year's Tokyo Game Show were for mobile operating systems.

Michelle Starr Science editor
Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming about bats.
Michelle Starr

According to calculations made by IGN, more than 70 per cent of the titles shown at this year's Tokyo Game Show were for mobile operating systems.

(Credit: Tokyo Game Show)

Tokyo Game Show has come and gone for another year — but for 2012, the floor was absolutely dominated by mobile titles, according to a numbers breakdown by IGN. The following figures were provided to the video-game publication by the TGS organisers:

  • iOS/Android Phones & Tablets: 365

  • Other smartphones: 142

  • PlayStation 3: 57

  • Nintendo 3DS: 34

  • PC: 32

  • PSP: 30

  • PlayStation Vita: 24

  • Xbox 360: 24<< p=""/>

  • Wii: five

  • Wii U: two

That's 715 games in total, a massive 507 of which — or 70.9 per cent — were for a mobile OS.

Compare that to last year's statistics (PDF), where 715 games were also shown:

  • iOS/Android Phones & Tablets: 127

  • Other smartphones: 38

  • PlayStation 3: 39

  • Nintendo DS and 3DS: 103

  • PC: 132

  • PSP: 39

  • PlayStation Vita: 11

  • Xbox 360: 37

  • Wii: 11

  • Wii U: one

  • Other: 177

Only 165 of the 715 titles shown were for a mobile OS, or just 23 per cent. It's a phenomenal rise, and one that we can't help but attribute to a number of factors, which include the ubiquity of mobile devices, ease-of-purchase, casual learning curves and the free-to-play IAP model, which can rake in millions on a monthly basis.

But, while the ratio has definitely skewed heavily towards mobile for this year, that doesn't automatically mean a death knell for consoles. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are six and seven years old, respectively — old enough that it wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest that they are near the end of their life cycle.

However, with mobile games easier, less expensive and less time-consuming to make, and with many game developers struggling to find work in major studios, a turn towards mobile gaming makes a boatload of sense.