According to a survey by Cowen & Company only 26 percent of casual gamers played on a Nintendo DS, 3DS or a Sony PSP. Of those surveyed, 37 percent played games on a dedicated handheld device, while 52 percent played on their phone.

“Over the last five years, the penetration of dedicated handheld platforms into survey respondents self-identifying as casual gamers has declined by 29 percent, with the vast majority of that decline occurring in the last two years,” states the report. “We believe cellphone and smartphone gaming is significantly impacting demand for dedicated handheld devices.”

“We do not view the decline of casual handheld gaming as a particular problem for the U.S. publishers, as they have migrated their exposure away from dedicated handheld platforms, and in some cases (particularly EA) have invested significantly in phone and tablet platform game development,” the report noted. “However, we do view this trend as a negative one for Sony and especially Nintendo.”