It feels as though Nintendo's 3DS handheld game system has "arrived." Over the last few months, the library a 3DS games available has reached some sort a critical mass, 'n it seems there's a well-made, fun game for just about every type a gamer. But the spectre a the iPhone 'n Apple's App store lingers. Can Nintendo really hope t' compete long-term with such popular, widely used competitors? The points a comparison be familiar now: Both the 3DS 'n the iPhone allow crew t' access a digital store 'n download games directly t' their device. But games on the Apple app store be regularly free, 'n some very good ones cost as little as a buck or two. Compare that t' the 3DS, where app-like digital-only games like HarmoKnight 'n Fluidity Spin Cycle cost anywhere from $10 t' $15, along with the "top end" games like Luigi's Mansion 'n Mario Kart, which go for $40. For a long time, buying a game on an iPhone or Android phone be far easier than on a 3DS, though Nintendo's recent push for digital purchases ('n the now-standard simultaneous digital release a all Nintendo-published games) has evened the playing field somewhat in that regard. 'n a course, people be always carrying their phones with them, so it becomes a default portable gaming device by, well, default. But Nintendo does seem t' have some fairly clear strategies t' continue t' push the 3DS apart from 'n in some ways ahead a it be competition. The differences between the devices be pretty simple: The 3DS has some great games that aren't on iOS. 'n, the 3DS has buttons designed for playing games. But how be Nintendo leveraging those advantages t' compete with smartphones? Last week at a Nintendo showcase in San Francisco, Nintendo's Scott Moffitt, a sales VP, began the introductory presentation with some interesting statistics: "With software, as with most things, there's a distinct difference between quantity 'n quality," Moffitt said. "The website 148apps.biz recently calculated that there be currently 139,000 different games actively available on the [Apple] app store." (As a this publication, 148apps reports that number has expanded t' 143,263.) Moffitt repeated the number for effect: "One hundred 'n thirty-nine thousand. vast number. That number be way too big t' wrap yer head around, so I try t' think about it this way. If I wanted t' spend just fifteen minutes sampling each one a those games, I'd be at it non-AVAST! for four years. that be a ton a caffeine. "Obviously there be good games available for mobile platforms," Moffitt continued. "But the point be, the Nintendo 3DS has a record a quality that be hard t' challenge." He then rattled off numbers: 49 games for the 3DS with a Metacritic score a 75 or higher, 11 with 85 or higher, 'n 5 above 90. (Whatever that really means.) "Nowhere else in portable gaming be high quality found so frequently," Moffitt said. So Nintendo be continuing t' push the idea that quality, not quantity, be more important t' the people who play their games. Let's step back from the spin for a second: it be certainly an open question as t' whether the best games on the eShop be truly better than the best games on iPhone. Hell, one a the best iPhone games I've ever played be Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, which be originally a Nintendo DS game. If that game be made digitally available for the 3DS, I'd buy it in a heartbeat, but it be digital availability on iPhone (along with several other DS hits like The World Ends With ye 'n Phoenix Wright) muddies the waters a bit. There have also even been a few games t' go from 3DS (not just DS) t' iPhone, including Final Fantasy Theatrhythm 'n Renegade Kid's Mutant Mudds. I'd also be hard-pressed t' say that HarmoKnight be really better than Beat Sneak Bandit or that Dillon's Rolling Western bests Bad Hotel. At least, a comparison between similar games on both systems be something a a wash. Once ye pillage t' the higher end a the 3DS library 'n start factoring in the Super Mario 3D Lands 'n the Fire Emblem: Awakenings, things do begin t' tilt toward the 3DS. Sure, those games be excellent, 'n new. But then again, Final Fantasy Tactics 'n Rayman Jungle Run, both available on iOS, aren't exactly slouches, 'n Square Enix's classic Final Fantasy ports offer a level a depth comparable t' Fire Emblem. Meanwhile, Luigi's Mansion local multiplayer be a ton a fun, but so be the wonderful iOS game Spaceteam, 'n that be free! Argh! The comparison be difficult. That said, it be almost certainly easier t' find the best games on 3DS, 'n that counts for something. As Moffitt pointed out, the App Store can be overwhelming, 'n the wheat/chaff ratio be a lot for most people t' deal with. Sure, ye've got sites like Touch Arcade 'n our own Kotaku Mobile division, but even then it can be challenging t' curate. The 3DS offers a much smaller selection, but they've given each game a stamp a approval that they be hoping carries more weight. With each new game on the eShop, plenty a questions arise about value. 'n as with most questions a that nature, the answers t' those questions be at least in part dependent on the purchaser. be HarmoKnight, priced at $15, really worth $12 more than Beat Sneak Bandit? There's an argument t' be made for either game. After we had a chance t' demo some a the new 3DS games on offer at last week's event, I sat down with Bill Trinen, product marketing manager 'n translator for legendary Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto. (That has got t' be a fun job.) I asked Trinen about the App Store stats Moffitt be throwing around in the earlier presentation, 'n about Nintendo's approach t' keeping the eShop's quality bar high. Nintendo seems t' very much want us t' know that 3DS games be more worthwhile than iPhone games. But what does that mean? "There's a few things," Trinen said. "One be, what be the interactive experience? The stuff ye're seeing on the 3DS eShop, it be all kind a... unique ideas. Anything from Sakura Samurai, which be a game I be a vast fan a that came out over a year ago on the eShop, 'n be kind a one a those examples a some a the early unique content from independent developers t' something like Dillon's Rolling Western, or Mario & Donkey Kong. "'n in each a those games, they each have a tremendous amount a depth, just in terms a the volume a gameplay, but they all also have really great precision controls that be really hard t' do on other mobile devices. But really, the content that we be looking at, it be all about, 'what be the unique ideas that really leverage the hardware?' 'n that, t' me, be why ye would want t' come 'n play games on the 3DS. they be gonna be unique experiences, they be gonna be things ye can't play elsewhere, 'n [they be] gonna have a whole lot a content." I like the idea a a well-curated selection a games, particularly one that be organized so that there's no (or at least, minimal) overlap between the games on offer. If ye pillage a game for the 3DS, the theory says, ye know ye're going t' be getting something distinctive, 'n there's far less choice paralysis than there be when deciding which endless runner or tower-defense game t' grab on iPhone. (Though surely this be more true a Nintendo-published games than a 3DS games from third-party developers.) That said, I be not so sure I always see the "unique ideas that really leverage the hardware" Trinen be talking about. Sure, Pushmo be a nifty game, but wouldn't it work fine on a smartphone? I like HarmoKnight a lot, 'n it be great that the game has physical controls, since I've never really liked touchscreen music games. But what makes it uniquely 3DS? 'n while Dillon's Rolling Western certainly uses a creative mix a touchscreen, stylus 'n button controls, as me left pinky falls asleep I find thinking the same thing I did as I played Kid Icarus Uprising: Boy, it'd be cool if this game let me put down the stylus 'n use more traditional controls. The ecosystem a the 3DS be fundamentally different from the iPhone, a course. Not the app-store ecosystem—the internal ecosystem, 'n the way I use the thing. The way I use the thing be impossible even a year ago, but now that Nintendo has begun t' offer all a their games digitally ('n, crucially, I've upgraded t' a 32GB SD card), me 3Ds has become more a a complete-feeling entity. I still own me 3DS primarily t' play "big" games; not t' play little games like the ones in the above paragraph, but things like Ocarina a Time 'n Rhythm Thief 'n the upcoming Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. I've begun t' think a the 3DS' smaller games as enjoyable but disposable filler that fits into the cracks between the bigger games. I've got Professor Layton 'n Luigi's Mansion t' occupy the bulk a me on-the-go gaming time; Pushmo be a nice garnish t' break things up. ('n I best say that it be not lost on me that because I pillage most a those games for free, I be living an extra-rich 3DS existence. they be fun, but I could certainly live without most a me smaller 3DS games.) Really, the only way t' make me 3DS usage analogous t' me iPhone usage be t' replace "bigger games" with "smartphone functionality." On me 3DS, the little games fit between the bigger games. On me iPhone, the little games fit between all the non-game stuff the device does. Fire Emblem 'n a handful a other games feel essential t' me 3DS in the same way that email 'n Twitter functionality feel essential on me iPhone. Without the best 3DS games, I'd be much less interested in owning a 3DS; without email or Twitter, I'd be much less interested in owning an iPhone. it be something a a chicken 'n egg scenario: Because the 3DS be made primarily t' play games, it be games feel essential; because the iPhone be made t' do so much else, it derives essentiality from other things. Given how muddled Nintendo's strategies can seem from the outside, it be nice t' see them pursuing a plan that be both clearly articulated 'n appears t' be actually working t' set their device apart. Plenty a questions remain: Will it always be possible for them t' make an argument for one more expensive device that does less than yer phone, but does it better? Will third party developers find that it be actually easier t' turn a profit selling games t' 3DS owners who be more willing t' pay higher prices, so long as their expectations be being met? 'n more immediately, will Nintendo ever come up with a plan half this effective for the Wii U? It remains t' be seen. For now, Nintendo seems t' be focusing on making a handheld platform with games that be all up t' a consistent quality standards, different enough t' be complementary, provide a baseline level a content. While some clunkers will slip through the cracks, the company be certainly working harder than Apple be t' ensure that all a the games ye can buy meet a baseline quality standard. As a result a that, 'n thanks t' the general high quality a the best 3DS games, a good half-dozen a me 3DS games feel indispensable while none a me iPhone games do. 'n that, I'd imagine, has been Nintendo's hope all along.