Speaking at a recent financial call, Nintendo's boss Satoru Iwata has dismissed claims that the rise of gaming on smartphones such as the iPhone 4S and the iPad has killed handheld gaming,

The head of Nintendo has defended the initial poor sales of the companies latest handheld the Nintendo 3DS after it is expected that the company will finally start turning a profit on the console later this year.

"Last summer, when the sales pace of the Nintendo 3DS was slow, there were extreme remarks saying, 'With the penetration of smartphones, will there still be a market for handheld hardware?' which was almost equal to 'handheld hardware is not necessary anymore.'"

Sony will of course be hoping that Iwata is right after initially seeing slow sales of its latest handheld gaming platform the Sony PS Vita which will be arriving in the UK in just a few weeks time.

Do you think the age of the handheld is over, or is there still a place for it today? Let us know what you think via the comments box below...

Source: CVG

Nintendo 3DS Video