Sony (NYSE: SNE) has counted on its new Playstation Vita portable game device to resurrect its chance in the console business. Early signs are that the attempt has worked.
Nintendo sold 371,000 of its 3DS in portables in the first two days, but then numbers dropped.
The portable wars are an extension of a much larger battle. This includes traditional platforms–the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360, the Sony Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii. Each of these products has been in the market long enough that it has become nearly saturated
The difference between portable and traditional consoles is that portable ones compete with new smartphone and the games that run on these devices.
Traditional consoles like the Xbox have found more competition with cable set-tops and even communications devices like VoIP phones. Xbox and the others now run moves both high def DVDs and those that stream over the internet.