Handheld Game Platforms 2005: More Competitors With Convergence Devices

SUMMARY

suddenly active handheld market became even more crowded over the past year. With the release of three new consoles, the handheld market is a long way from the time when the Game Boy was the only game in town. While three years ago, the market was essentially limited to a single device, there are now six handhelds on the market.

The primary result of the recent entrants to this market is to skew the handheld demographic older. The primary means to do this is to offer more graphics-intensive gaming, as well as other functionality in addition to gaming. Different platforms offer different capabilities, which include: digital audio and video playback, digital photo viewing, mobile phone, PDA, camera, instant messaging, and even GPS capability. The result is that handheld game consoles are morphing into portable media convergence devices.

This report includes in-depth analysis and forecasts for all handheld platforms. Annual shipment and revenue forecasts through 2009 are provided for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, Nokia N-Gage, Tapwave Zodiac and Gizmondo. Geographic shipment breakdowns for 2004 and 2005 are provided for each console. Results from In-Stat's Residential Technology Survey on handheld platforms are also provided.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Executive Summary
• Methodology
• Handheld Game Console Survey Results
• Handheld Consoles
  • Nintendo Game Boy Advance/Advance SP
    • Platform
    • Marketing
    • Shipment Forecast
  • Nintendo DS
    • Platform
    • Marketing
    • Shipment Forecast
  • Sony PSP
    • Platform
    • Marketing
    • Shipment Forecast
  • Nokia N-Gage
    • Platform
    • Marketing
  • Shipment Forecast
  • Tapwave Zodiac
    • Platform
    • Marketing
    • Shipment Forecast
  • Gizmondo
    • Platform
    • Marketing
    • Shipment Forecast
• Review & Forecast

List of Tables

• Table 1. Game Boy Advance/Advance SP Shipment & Revenue Forecast (Units & $ in Thousands)
• Table 2. Game Boy Next Generation Shipment & Revenue Forecast (Units & $ in Thousands)
• Table 3. Nintendo DS Shipment & Revenue Forecast (Units & $ in Thousands)
• Table 4. Nintendo DS 2 Shipment & Revenue Forecast (Units & $ in Thousands)
• Table 5. Sony PSP Shipment & Revenue Forecast 2004 - 2008 (Units & $ in Thousands)
• Table 6. Sony PSP 2 Shipment & Revenue Forecast 2004 - 2008 (Units & $ in Thousands)
• Table 7. Nokia N-Gage Shipment & Revenue Forecast 2003 - 2008 (Units & $ in Thousands)
• Table 8. Tapwave Zodiac Shipment & Revenue Forecast 2003 - 2008 (Units & $ in Thousands)
• Table 9. Gizmondo Shipment & Revenue Forecast 2003 - 2008 (Units & $ in Thousands)
• Table 10. Total Handheld Gaming Platform Shipment & Revenue Forecast 2003 - 2008 (Units & $ in Thousands)

List of Figures

• Figure 1. Total Handheld Gaming Platform Shipment Forecast 2003 - 2009 (Units in Thousands)
• Figure 2. How likely are you to buy a handheld game such as the Nintendo DS, Game Boy, Nokia N-Gage, or Sony PSP in the next 12 months? (N=1,000)
• Figure 3. Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP
• Figure 4. Nintendo GBA/GBA SP - Regional Unit Shipment Breakdown 2004 & 2005
• Figure 5. Nintendo DS
• Figure 6. Nintendo DS - Regional Unit Shipment Breakdown 2004 & 2005
• Figure 7. Sony PSP
• Figure 8. Sony PSP - Regional Unit Shipment Breakdown 2004 & 2005
• Figure 9. Nokia N-Gage QD
• Figure 10. Nokia N-Gage - Regional Unit Shipment Breakdown 2004 & 2005
• Figure 11. Tapwave Zodiac
• Figure 12. Tapwave Zodiac - Regional Unit Shipment Breakdown 2004 & 2005
• Figure 13. Gizmondo
• Figure 14. Gizmondo - Regional Unit Shipment Breakdown 2004 & 2005
• Figure 15. Total Handheld Gaming Platform Shipment Forecast 2003 - 2008 (Units in Thousands)