Apple: DS and PSP are "old-fashioned"

Oh, it's on.

In a BBC interview, Apple's VP of marketing Greg Joswiak threw down the gaming gauntlet, criticizing both Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP systems as outdated and out of touch while trumpeting the features of the iPhone and iPod Touch.

"The PSP and DS represent the old school of gaming: big bulky devices with an old-fashioned distribution model," he told the BBC's Newsbeat. "Selling cartridges is the old school way of doing business. Creating, licensing and manufacturing physical goods is expensive and as a result games are expensive... it's a much more efficient model when we go electronic."

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To die-hard fans of Sony and Nintendo, them's fightin' words. Although to be fair, Apple can back up that kind of talk with some pretty stunning numbers. App store launch title Super Monkey Ball sold over 300,000 copies in its first 20 days, accounting for a good chunk of the store's initial $30 million take. And according to The NPD Group, the 3G iPhone was the best-selling handset in the last quarter.

But to topple the likes of Nintendo and Sony will take more than solid sales -- it will take getting gamers on board as well. Joswiak believes the key there lays in the iPhone and iPod Touch's unique touch screen and accelerometer control schemes, which differ dramatically from traditional joysticks and directional pads.

"It actually offers developers a lot more control," he said. "Whatever controls are needed can be painted on the screen itself."

The BBC piece also notes that Nintendo's forthcoming DSi handheld includes the ability to download games much like the iPhone and iPod Touch.

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