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Sony in big trouble with PS Vita, Portable market in perm decline, rotting - Forbes

I wonder whether they will get rid of the 3g model, and revise the vita to save money. Remove the touchpad, cheaper screen etc.
 
Their camera line is the obvious standout; the NEX series and their DSLRs are legitimately innovative and high quality. Their televisions have been consistently decent to superior, at least among other LCDs. The Vaio Z is the best ultraportable laptop hands down in my opinion; if not this year's revision which introduced a mediocre external GPU, it certainly was the year before. Sony's performance in audio, particularly with their headphones, is unimpeachable.

The brand has lost much of its shine but only because other companies have markedly improved. I think the bulk of their problems is strictly financial which stems from mismanagement. Moreover, their decline is conspicuous because they've been late or virtually absent from important growth segments like smartphones and tablets. However, in terms of quality, Sony's still in the thick of it in many CE and professional arenas.

Sure, but there are equal or better alternatives in all those markets. What makes anything Sony makes so special? Sony doesn't dominate any consumer electronics market like it did in the past leading up to the 80's/90's. If anything, their game business is the one bright spot left at Sony today which is what makes the perceived failure of the PSVita all the more damaging to their company.

awwyeahgurrl said:
If we're looking at what the consoles did for the time they launched there's no way in hell you can say the PS2 is a better product. The PS3 launched with a few things other consoles didn't with in-built wireless (wii came with this too) , native support for up to 8 controllers, a non-proprietary removable hard drive and rechargeable controllers.

What did the ps2 have that other consoles didn't? A DVD drive and is all I can come up with.

Well, objectively speaking, since the predictions of the article are based on sales data, the PS2 has outsold the PS3 to date and it is highly unlikely the PS3 will ever reach the installed base of the PS2 at this point in it's life cycle. Everything else you said is purely subjective; what if I don't care about 8 controllers or Blu-Ray? If I said I like the PS2 library better than the PS3 library who are you to tell me otherwise? All that matters is that the PS3 will never reach the installed base of the PS2 and that is enough to prove my point about Sony's gradual decline over the last 10 years.
 
Sony Gives No Comment on PlayStation Vita Sales

Following a debut of 325,000 units, PlayStation Vita sales dropped 78% in the system's second week. With 72,000 units sold, the system placed below all other active systems, including the system it's supposed to replace, the PlayStation Portable.

Meanwhile, the 3DS saw its best week ever, selling 482,200 units, taking it above the four million mark in domestic sales. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata had previously forecast that the system would reach four million by its first anniversary. It managed the feat two months in advance of that.

So what does Sony Computer Entertainment have to say about what appears to be a slow start for the Vita? Nothing at present, it seems. Bloomberg Japan asked for comment on the Vita's second week performance and was given the old "no comment" from SCE PR head Satoshi Fukuoka.

Perhaps we'll hear something once business returns to normal following the New Years break.
.
That's because Satoshi Fukuoka is standing on the top of the roof of Sony HQ by now.
 
Does anyone outside of boards like GAF even know Vita exists? For a new CONSOLE launching in a matter of weeks, seems like there is zero mainstream awareness of it.
 
[Nintex];33851308 said:
That's because Satoshi Fukuoka is standing on the top of the roof of Sony HQ by now.

Don't worry, the PS4 will save Sony!
 
cd-cover.jpg


Eastside, not sold out -
Heaving the Vita Order
wait till price goes down,
Heaving the Vita Order
Famitsu i've just read
and 3DS just got the mo-hunter
No good games comin out
Heaving the Vita Order
Come On!
Heaving the Vita Order
/thread
 
I wonder whether they will get rid of the 3g model, and revise the vita to save money. Remove the touchpad, cheaper screen etc.

They will get rid of it once Sony has moved on from Sony-Ericsson acquisition and has pumped out a PSPhone. Then they can release a cheaper version of PSVITA (to keep some sales off Nintendo) that retains everything and move their innovations into their PSPhone iterations (to stay relevant against iDevices).
 
Their camera line is the obvious standout; the NEX series and their DSLRs are legitimately innovative and high quality. Their televisions have been consistently decent to superior, at least among other LCDs. The Vaio Z is the best ultraportable laptop hands down in my opinion; if not this year's revision which introduced a mediocre external GPU, it certainly was the year before. Sony's performance in audio, particularly with their headphones, is unimpeachable.

.

Cameras? Really? the NEX series is a good go between P&S and dSLR but you can get a low end Canon or Nikon with more functionality and better low light performance for about the same price. I'm not a pro or anything so this is just my own opinion but I haven't seen anybody using Sony within my friends who actually do photography whether professionally or as a hobby.

Their televisions (review wise) seem to be easily trumped by what Samsung and Pioneer offer. The VAIO Z may be decent, but holy shit, it's MAC priced.

Their headphones I believe is trumped by Sennheiser and Klipsch. Even their receivers don't stand the test of time compared to the Onkyo line.

I don't know, they are decent and I wouldn't mind getting anything Sony for Christmas but I do a lot of research, read a lot of reviews, and for all the products you mentioned including pricing they are almost never in any of the top lists.

I used to buy lots of Sony products from 1995-2001 but then other companies were offering more, longer lasting products for the same price.
 
Does anyone outside of boards like GAF even know Vita exists? For a new CONSOLE launching in a matter of weeks, seems like there is zero mainstream awareness of it.

I know a few non-gaffers that know about it, but you are right, there really hasn't been a whole lot of noise in the media for it over in the US.
 
Evoga said:
cheaper screen etc.
I realize there has been plenty of (patently false)internet myths around handheld devices...
But has there ever been a documented case of a "cheap/downgraded screen" in a handheld revision?

flyinpiranha said:
but holy shit, it's MAC priced.
It's far better specced then any Mac though.
Anyway you kind of answer the original question here - the market standouts are typically never dominating just because they are so much better then everything else.
These are luxury items not utility - people are hardly rational with their preferences (and there's no real need to be in a field as fast moving as consumer electronics).
 
I realize there has been plenty of (patently false)internet myths around handheld devices...
But has there ever been a documented case of a "cheap/downgraded screen" in a handheld revision?


It's far better specced then any Mac though.
Anyway you kind of answer the original question here - the market standouts are typically never dominating just because they are so much better then everything else.
These are luxury items not utility - people are hardly rational with their preferences (and there's no real need to be in a field as fast moving as consumer electronics).

PSP-3000? :(
 
I am loving my Vita, the OS is well designed and screen is absolutely beautiful...I think the articles have stench of FUD and I'm disappointed that more people in NeoGAF are not wiser to it. The success of Vita in Japan depends mostly upon success of migrating PSP users to be PS Vita users (it would be super awesome if they could get DS users to go to Vita instead of 3DS, but doesn't seem to be happening). The problem is that by the time PS Vita has a lot of users (like, anywhere near the # of current PSP users) here in Japan it will be 2013 or 2014 and the technological landscape could be completely different.

I still have gut feeling Vita will be success in Japan, hit with hardcore gamers in the rest of the world, and struggle to grow beyond that. Hit in Japan is probably similar to PSP success. I have no idea what Sony will do with PS4 but I think that has a lot of what they do with mobile side of things, whether they partner with someone etc, they are already doing tablets and gaming phones but none of them have traction. I always thought Sony should partner with someone to do the OS for their systems (Apple, Google, Microsoft would be nice options) because their speciality is obviously the hardware side of things. Edit: I mean, Vita OS is one thing, but talking about PS4 and beyond here.
 
I realize there has been plenty of (patently false)internet myths around handheld devices...
But has there ever been a documented case of a "cheap/downgraded screen" in a handheld revision?

i can see them doing a cheaper *option* with a cheaper screen, wifi only. sort of like the ipod touch that came out alongside the iphone 4.

if they do feel like they have to slash something to offer a cheaper price point, that's got to be an option to them, but i don't think they'd pull the OLED models off the shelves.

if they're going to cut price in a hurry, what other parts of the device can they cut back on? honest question that acknowledges that they might not want to cut price in a hurry.

The success of Vita in Japan depends mostly upon success of migrating PSP users to be PS Vita users (it would be super awesome if they could get DS users to go to Vita instead of 3DS, but doesn't seem to be happening). The problem is that by the time PS Vita has a lot of users (like, anywhere near the # of current PSP users) here in Japan it will be 2013 or 2014 and the technological landscape could be completely different.
there is no guarantee that this is going to happen. the biggest franchise that was PSP exclusive that pushed the system to it's success in Japan is now on 3DS. even if it doesn't remain exclusive to 3DS, do we know for a fact that people who like monster hunter care about system power? sure, some people bought the PSP because it was more powerful than the DS, and that segment will go to the Vita, but it's not a big segment i don't think.

Sony aren't in a position to try and steal some of the DSs userbase. they're currently in a position where the 3DS is well positioned to steal some of the PSPs. again, the notion that people would blindly follow the brand as it lost all the major exclusives, didn't exactly pan out so well for them for PS2 to PS3.

they aren't doomed, but they've got a lot of hard work infront of them. only a segment of the PSP market will blindly follow the PS brand. the rest are all in play and right now Nintendo are better set up to get them. that's the problem. that's why people are shouting 'doomed!' because the PSVita isn't well positioned in Japan right now to get those PSP users to transition.

i don't think you can write Sony off as they've crawled out of bad spots before... but they sure are in a bad spot.

they are in a better position in the US and Europe certainly. hopefully the launches in those markets will be a lot more promising.
 
Berksy said:
PSP-3000? :(
Objectively speaking, 3k screen is an upgrade to 1k/2k in every aspect.

I never did understand people who took on the mission to spread FUD about it (I mean PSP was already not any serious competition to anything in the west at the time).

plagiarize said:
if they're going to cut price in a hurry, what other parts of the device can they cut back on
Remove 4/8GB cards from the market and cut 50$ :P
 
I wonder whether they will get rid of the 3g model, and revise the vita to save money. Remove the touchpad, cheaper screen etc.

What? You can't remove the touchpad. That's like saying the DSLite should have removed a screen. And for cheaper screens? LCOS costs are all about recouping R&D. That's an expense that's already been spent. LCOS itself is cheap to manufacture. There was a story about how we could be seeing some big screen LCOS in 2012. And they specifically mentioned it'll be cheaper from a manufacturing POV than LCD.

Is the consumer going to see cheap big screen LCOS in 2012? No way. Because they can sell it as a premium product and recoup some of that money. But from a pure technical POV, if you've already spent the R&D (which Sony has at this point), LCOS is no more expensive than LCD to manufacture.
 
Their camera line is the obvious standout; the NEX series and their DSLRs are legitimately innovative and high quality. Their televisions have been consistently decent to superior, at least among other LCDs. The Vaio Z is the best ultraportable laptop hands down in my opinion; if not this year's revision which introduced a mediocre external GPU, it certainly was the year before. Sony's performance in audio, particularly with their headphones, is unimpeachable.

The brand has lost much of its shine but only because other companies have markedly improved. I think the bulk of their problems is strictly financial which stems from mismanagement. Moreover, their decline is conspicuous because they've been late or virtually absent from important growth segments like smartphones and tablets. However, in terms of quality, Sony's still in the thick of it in many CE and professional arenas.

I agree to some extent, in that the competition in CE has improved. Your mentioning Sony's digital cameras is not quite accurate as Sony is a relative newcomer to cameras. The NEX line is very intriguing, though of I prefer Oly's and Panny's micro 4/3rds line. Most camera sites are hyping the NEX line. If I was ever to get a computer other than an Apple, it would be a Vaio. I shopped for one for my nephew a couple years ago. Very well thought out machine, much better than the hp counterparts. I love Sony's headphones for making music. For listening of music, I prefer AKG's line, overall. I prefer the look of Sony TVs over others, too. Panny being my second choice. They have a bit more of an organic look than Samsungs, judging from my own family's Sony and Samsung HDTVs and perusing stores. Other members in my extended family prefer Samsung.

disclaimer: I own stock in Apple, Sony, Panasonic, MS, hp, and Nintendo.
 
Objectively speaking, 3k screen is an upgrade to 1k/2k in every aspect.

I never did understand people who took on the mission to spread FUD about it (I mean PSP was already not any serious competition to anything in the west at the time).


Remove 4/8GB cards from the market and cut 50$ :P

hah. that'd be pretty damn ingenious.
 
But Angry Birds revenue is dwarfed by basically every major release on PSP and DS in terms of revenue...

These are crazy times we live in.

The game...sure. But there is no PSP game that has kids wearing the T-shirt, the shoes, the lunch box, toys, etc etc.

Those guys are selling merchandising, not a game. It's a good representation of how phones can "destroy" dedicated game machines.
 
I think the last time the price was adjusted before launch was when the N64 came out. Nintendo priced it at $249,99 at E3 if I remember correctly and dropped the price to $199 about a month before the september launch.

If Sony has some headroom left (which I doubt) they should seriously consider $199 for the US launch.
 
[Nintex];33851646 said:
I think the last time the price was adjusted before launch was when the N64 came out. Nintendo priced it at $249,99 at E3 if I remember correctly and dropped the price to $199 about a month before the september launch.

If Sony has some headroom left (which I doubt) they should seriously consider $199 for the US launch.

to make that happen, they'd need to sabotage the yen.
 
Sony is pretty much stuck between a rock and hard place here.

One, their handheld is in direct competition with smart phone and tablets, due to the multimedia facets of their machine. Some consumers like dedicated machines, due to their more lenient pricing, while others prefer a jack-of-all-trades/all-in-one systems, regardless of cost, and Sony's traditional leanings toward the latter has thrust their handheld in to a head-to-head race against other more popular devices of that sort.

The second problem is that their core rival, Nintendo, doesn't have that problem. Nintendo has opted to make their handheld a dedicated and cost-effective gaming device, essentially disqualifying it from competition with smart phones and tablets due to its limited multimedia features but at the same time preserving the attention of their niche audience who necessarily don't want a complicated multimedia device, either due to their high pricing or because they have inherent concerns about buying such an expensive and multifaceted device for someone other than them. I can't buy my little niece a Vita, but I'd be more comfortable with buying her a 3DS.

I don't think this is true.

Vita is absolutely not designed as a jack-of-all-trades system. It's simply designed as a premium traditional games device. Its price doesn't inform us at all about its priorities. If it was designed as a 'smart' device, in that arena, it would not be $250 - it would be twice that. That kind of pricing is traditional game device pricing, even if it is not cheap for that arena.

So many, if not perhaps all, the decisions evident in the hardware design is optimising for the traditional advanced games experience. Moreso than any other Playstation IMO - or at least, since the first PS. Form factor, processing-power/power-consumption trade-off, even down to the camera spec - none of it speaks to optimising for the agenda you talk about.

And the reason they've been able to do that with Vita is precisely because it is not their direct competitor to 'smart' devices. It's worth remembering that Sony will become a games platform-holder in the smart-device space in the next year. They have a horse in that race, they are not trying to fight that space off with one device. Vita is not trying to turn that tide, it's simply trying to serve what audience is there for its type of experience, on the assumption a profitable niche will remain after the decline in this market has stabilized.

In the smaller picture, re. Vita's performance in that 'declining market' of dedicated game handhelds - it boils down to the relative value. Re. Vita's second week, it's not a formula that favours Vita today, and in a Christmas market no less where price carries a multiplier effect. But the Japanese handheld market, at least, is in rude health - if it wasn't Sony would have bigger problems, but as long as that appetite remains, Sony has an opportunity to get into a groove there over time. I don't think it'll come via panic price cuts, though - Sony's shown a willingness to be very patient about price adjustment.
 
What I think:

1. It never should've been called the Vita, but rather the PSP2.
2. Should've kept the same form factor & design as PSP.
3. Get rid of the bubble system, everything else of the UI is slick. (The bubble system is a weak attempt to make the system look inviting for all ages)

Sony should've went the PlayStation approach, the shape of the PSP is iconic, just like the DualShock controller. The name is an abbreviation that works well, just like the PS2, PS3.

I personally thought the PSP was a slick device, but the Vita is weirdly oval shaped and it's bulkier. It lost all the charms of the PSP brand. Sony basically took a gamble: wasn't happy with the performance of the PSP brand and decided to start closer from scratch rather than building upon the userbase. That was their mistake. Plus their talk about the holy grail userbase (females), it seems like instead of focusing in a certain strong direction they want to have the cake and eat it too.

A reasonably expensive handheld with lots of power, toy-like shape, UI with a gazillion styles... it makes no sense to me. It has no brand power this way. None of the games out now scream awesome for the hardcore nor do they scream amazing hit for all ages.

I really wish they branded it more as a slick device and designed it in that way. I would trade off a little bit of power to get the PSP form factor back.

The PSP brand is deader than dead in NA, the UK, and several other PAL territories. We're talking Xbox in Japan-level dead. Its hardware sales were extremely front-loaded and basically went into a tailspin in the past few years (arguably coinciding with the announcement that its biggest western exclusives, the GTA games, were coming to PS2). The brand switch makes sense in that case. No one was buying software, particularly the multiplatform stuff. By the time Peace Walker came out, the exclusive stuff was bombing left and right as well. That's why keeping the PSP around indefinitely (or for another 2-3 years) wasn't an option - the 3DS was going to get marketshare that Sony would never gain back.

I don't understand your form factor complaint at all. Despite being larger, the Vita is more or less the same design concept as the PSP:

23n6n.jpg


If anything, it looks too much like the PSP given how much apathy Sony has garnered in the handheld space since 2008 or so.

Uncharted, Blaz Blue, and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are all games that appeal to hardcore gamers. Unfortunately, none of these games are all that popular in Japan (< 200k audience for each on PS3), and there's the additional problem that all of these games are already on PS3. Launching in Japan first without any big Japanese software and missing the much larger Christmas spending season in the US is going to cost them dearly.
 
[Nintex];33851646 said:
I think the last time the price was adjusted before launch was when the N64 came out. Nintendo priced it at $249,99 at E3 if I remember correctly and dropped the price to $199 about a month before the september launch.

If Sony has some headroom left (which I doubt) they should seriously consider $199 for the US launch.
I'm pretty sure GameCube had a price cut in Europe before launch.
 
to make that happen, they'd need to sabotage the yen.

They sold some TV partnership thing with Samsung for about a billion, they should use that cash. Pour the remaining money into an advertising blitz starting yesterday. They're too slow, gaming systems need to explode right out of the gate and after that you need a steady supply of games. Systems fail or underperform early in the cycle mostly because of two reasons, 1. they don't launch strong, 2. it takes too long for new games to show up. Nintendo blew their launch so they scrambled to get Mario Kart 7 and Mario Land out asap. Sony won't be able to put something on the fast track this late in the game so to fix the current situation they should go all out on the US/EU launch. The PS2 succes wasn't achieved because they sat around doing nothing.
 
From the forbes idiot
There is no doubt that Nintendo’s 3DS is going to sell at least 20 Million units globally over the next couple of years.

he thinks 20 million is given for 3DS LTD... he knows nothing, he has researched nothing, and we all here argue about his article. lol@us.

he would probably be amazed if someone told him PSP sold 70mil and DS sold a fukton (150? more?). If someone told him 3DS will sell 15 mil this year, he would probably feint... lol.
 
Sho_Nuff82 said:
Launching in Japan first without any big Japanese software
Has anyone other than nintendo ever had such a title at launch? (Not revision).
I'm asking seriously - I can't remember it for any Playstation, certainly not DC, Saturn or XBoxes...
Even Nintendo had nothing for 3DS, or Wii(they just happened to get lucky on the latter).

and missing the much larger Christmas spending season in the US is going to cost them dearly.
Only if they were capable of shipping enough.
Last thing they want is a repeat of PS2 scale disaster where shipping alone probably cost them more then full price of each unit, and they still barely touched 500k in the season.
Or worse - PS3 where after similar trouble stock stopped moving anyway.
 
I know people are laughing at the comparison to the Kindle Fire or other tablets and smartphones but income is finite. Sometimes it's not "I want either an iPhone or an Android AND a Vita or a 3DS". It's going to be 'or' for each thing listed. Although smartphones are "phones" so they can usually double up with purchases.

But I think the Kindle Fire is a perfect example of something a consumer that might normally purchase a Vita would purchase instead.

I know somebody even mentioned a Kitchenaid something ... it's not far from the truth to be honest. I know hardcore will pick it up. I'm still contemplating but I also want a new flash for my camera and that's already $400+ ... so it IS an either/or type of situation with a product completely unrelated just because I can't justify spending almost a grand in the next couple months on hobbies.

BUT, that is completely anecdotal and I understand that is because of my financial preferences and situation. But do we honestly think kids will ask for Vita? That the Vita will be the tops on the list of things that they want? Sure, a lot of people on this board will buy it but I don't see it being a strong success to the point of it being saturated with software.

I'm in the camp that fears for its future for sure. I'm hopeful but in the end I won't be getting it right out of the gate and I've purchased almost every gaming system that has launched. I'm just really weary this time out (especially after my complete and utter buyers remorse and waste of money the 3DS was)
 
FOCUS ON THE CONSOLE MARKET AND RECLAIM YOUR CROWN SONY! It's there for the taking. Nintendo has placed it on pedestal for you to grab.

The jRPG market (what I care about) has been garbage since there was no king in the console market.

I don't know about "It's there for the taking", but I'd agree that I think Sony should be a one machine company in this business, like Xbox is. The handhelds have too many weaknesses and aspects that doesn't fit Sony's agenda. All they do by doing this is splitting attention, since their handheld games are so similar to their console games. The golden era of the Playstation brand was when there was no PSP or Vita.
 
Far too early to be making sweeping claims like this IMO. The hardware prices look like they'll be able to drop quickly, there is a lot of software support, there is multiple avenues for revenue, the games are on a tiered pricing system. . .and then we are still awaiting PlayStation Suite - which is an unknown quantity at present.

Things sound very positive for that initiative IMO and I expect a lot of support for it out of the gate. That is where Sony are somewhat encroaching on the social/mobile gaming movement.
 
Does anyone outside of boards like GAF even know Vita exists? For a new CONSOLE launching in a matter of weeks, seems like there is zero mainstream awareness of it.

I doubt it - maybe people that are into having the latest tech?

I think that the market for it is a very small, core group that want localized versions of Japanese games. Maybe smaller, outlying market for homebrew as well.
 
[Nintex];33851741 said:
They sold some TV partnership thing with Samsung for about a billion, they should use that cash. Pour the remaining money into an advertising blitz starting yesterday. They're too slow, gaming systems need to explode right out of the gate and after that you need a steady supply of games. Systems fail or underperform early in the cycle mostly because of two reasons, 1. they don't launch strong, 2. it takes too long for new games to show up. Nintendo blew their launch so they scrambled to get Mario Kart 7 and Mario Land out asap. Sony won't be able to put something on the fast track this late in the game so to fix the current situation they should go all out on the US/EU launch. The PS2 succes wasn't achieved because they sat around doing nothing.

While they did 'sell' the factory or whatever, it's not like it made them a million dollars, all it really did was move the money ,in accounting terms, from Property/Plant/Equipment to Cash, it didn't really net them any money.

And we don't know what games are in the pipeline that can be announced and released in the near future. Since first and third parties have likely had devkits for at least a few months now, there could be announcements happening any day now that wouldn't have to make Sony or third parties scramble to release games. We don't know what games are currently in development, and it's ridiculously short-sighted to think that there aren't games that are currently in development that could release in the near future, because at the end of the day, we don't know enough about the behind-the-scenes of what's happening at Sony HQ or third-parties. I'm not saying that there will be ten games announced in an hour or anything, but I'm pretty sure that games were in development before the release of the system that haven't been announced yet, so there is no need to 'scramble' for games.
 
And we don't know what games are in the pipeline that can be announced and released in the near future. Since first and third parties have likely had devkits for at least a few months now, there could be announcements happening any day now that wouldn't have to make Sony or third parties scramble to release games. We don't know what games are currently in development, and it's ridiculously short-sighted to think that there aren't games that are currently in development that could release in the near future, because at the end of the day, we don't know enough about the behind-the-scenes of what's happening at Sony HQ or third-parties. I'm not saying that there will be ten games announced in an hour or anything, but I'm pretty sure that games were in development before the release of the system that haven't been announced yet, so there is no need to 'scramble' for games.

Rumour is that Sony have two new games to announce at CES/GDC. We are also still waiting on release dates for LittleBigPlanet, Killzone, Resistance, FFX-HD etc.
 
There is a facet of this issue of whether smartphone games are good enough to be a replacement for fully-fledged handheld console games that I think people on the dedicated console side need to consider; that whether they personally think a smartphone is "good enough" for games is not really relevant to whether the dedicated platforms, in general, succeed or not in the long term.

The business model needed to make £30 - £40 games viable requires a large enough pool of people willing to pay that amount.

If the number of people who conceive of smartphone gaming as "good enough" (and I count myself amongst that number) do not buy the dedicated hardware, they are not going to be buying any of the more expensive (and larger) games either. As the number of people who stick to smartphone gaming increases (and I believe it will, as existing data strongly suggests) then there will be fewer and fewer people willing to splash that amount of cash.

Developers will then find themselves floundering in an ever-decreasing pool of consumers, and undoubtedly the number of releases will begin to dry up as a result, further decreasing the number of consumers, who will then begin to lose interest in the platform.

I'm not saying that dedicated handheld consoles will be "dead" in the next year or two - far from it; the success of the 3DS shows that, and I'd imagine that quite a few people will get a Vita - but everyone defending dedicated handhelds needs to understand that there simply will be fewer people buying those kinds of hardware as other hardware (particularly the iPhone, tablets and Android phones) become people's go-to hardware for handheld games.

I am sure that the number of high-budget (and relatively expensive) games for dedicated handhelds will diminish this generation. For the next generation, what kind of proposition will the platform manufacturers be making to potential consumers? If you can no longer get plenty of large-scale games to choose from, with what are manufacturers differentiating their dedicated product from smartphones? Are superior controls enough of a draw?

There are of course many people who are willing to pay the prices for larger, higher quality games on dedicated hardware, but considering the above, can you honestly say that there will be enough of a market for several dedicated handheld consoles come the next generation? I wouldn't be surprised if there was only one dedicated handheld console next generation, and after that, I don't believe there'll be enough interest (or money) to sustain even that.
 
[Nintex];33851741 said:
They sold some TV partnership thing with Samsung for about a billion, they should use that cash. Pour the remaining money into an advertising blitz starting yesterday. They're too slow, gaming systems need to explode right out of the gate

No they don't. The DS didn't.
 
I don't know about "It's there for the taking", but I'd agree that I think Sony should be a one machine company in this business, like Xbox is. The handhelds have too many weaknesses and aspects that doesn't fit Sony's agenda. All they do by doing this is splitting attention, since their handheld games are so similar to their console games. The golden era of the Playstation brand was when there was no PSP or Vita.

This.

Stop messing around with this handheld business. There's no future there for anyone besides Nintendo. You already have Android smartphones and PS Suite which is a lot more forward thinking than an upgraded PSP. Focus on the PS4 otherwise because the next Xbox is going to be a monster.
 
There are of course many people who are willing to pay the prices for larger, higher quality games on dedicated hardware, but considering the above, can you honestly say that there will be enough of a market for several dedicated handheld consoles come the next generation? I wouldn't be surprised if there was only one dedicated handheld console next generation, and after that, I don't believe there'll be enough interest (or money) to sustain even that.
Well, I get where you're going with this, and I kind of agree. I'm not on board with the kneejerk hyperbole often employed by people looking to make day trading a thrilling roller coaster ride, but I do agree that a growing number of people content to game on their phones as opposed to carrying another device around on their person should be seen as disconcerting to proponents of the traditional handheld gaming market.

However, though I think a gradually whittling away of the userbase for dedicated machines may in fact be slowly happening, I do think there's a saving grace for the dedicated machines that will keep them relevant for the foreseeable future: big event games. That's not to say that targeting this market doesn't have its own set of problems -- as studio closure after studio closure in the AAA console realm can demonstrate -- but there is still big, big money in making something like a Pokemon, or Mario Kart, or Monster Hunter, or what have you.

And the new platforms haven't demonstrated that they're mature enough to support heavy development resources being thrown at development of any one title. Sure, we can play Final Fantasy and GTA ports, which are real games, but there's no powerhouse title that has people pumped that next Tuesday is the big day for the release of a brand new, fully-fleshed out $30 title for my phone.

The market for these titles may be affected by phones (I don't know), but it's still huge and worth catering to. I don't think dedicated gaming portables really have to worry about going the way of the dodo until the phone hardware makers really decide to target this market. The success of Angry Birds isn't a legitimate threat to the marquis handheld franchises.
 
Cameras? Really? the NEX series is a good go between P&S and dSLR but you can get a low end Canon or Nikon with more functionality and better low light performance for about the same price. I'm not a pro or anything so this is just my own opinion but I haven't seen anybody using Sony within my friends who actually do photography whether professionally or as a hobby.

Their televisions (review wise) seem to be easily trumped by what Samsung and Pioneer offer. The VAIO Z may be decent, but holy shit, it's MAC priced.
Their headphones I believe is trumped by Sennheiser and Klipsch. Even their receivers don't stand the test of time compared to the Onkyo line.

I don't know, they are decent and I wouldn't mind getting anything Sony for Christmas but I do a lot of research, read a lot of reviews, and for all the products you mentioned including pricing they are almost never in any of the top lists.

I used to buy lots of Sony products from 1995-2001 but then other companies were offering more, longer lasting products for the same price.



I know people are laughing at the comparison to the Kindle Fire or other tablets and smartphones but income is finite. Sometimes it's not "I want either an iPhone or an Android AND a Vita or a 3DS". It's going to be 'or' for each thing listed. Although smartphones are "phones" so they can usually double up with purchases.

But I think the Kindle Fire is a perfect example of something a consumer that might normally purchase a Vita would purchase instead.

I read your gripes about Sony hardware to and found it baseless. I grew up in a household of Onkyo, Pioneer, Denon, Nakamichi, Kenwood, Sony, Yamaha etc etc.
There different lvls of prestige my friend and Sony has receivers that can trump many in the list. Not sure what you're trying to mortar and brick into this thread but hey. Goes to show if you had money to burn you wouldn't even be typing all that since you would understand the high end marketplace. Sony is one of the few companies that actually calibrate their sets before shipping[maybe the others do now]. Gorilla glass screens also. You do know why Sony high end line is costly and why MAC is also right?
Studios even approach Sony to buld cameras just for their movies [You should check that little pro magazine name high-def]. SDDS is also in every f'ing theatre if you forgot. Ever heard of their MDR7520's headphones?
The VITA is a great piece of hardware for gamers. Whether or not it sells is up to Spny and how they showcase it. Your Kindle fire comment is retarded.
 
Sure, but there are equal or better alternatives in all those markets. What makes anything Sony makes so special? Sony doesn't dominate any consumer electronics market like it did in the past leading up to the 80's/90's. If anything, their game business is the one bright spot left at Sony today which is what makes the perceived failure of the PSVita all the more damaging to their company.

I agree and I did try to touch on that sentiment. I felt the implication of your post was that Sony no longer makes worthwhile products. If I'm wrong, please pay that no mind. Also I question the notion that because Sony does not have a perpetually dominant line of products, we should expect their kind of financial turmoil because your question, "What makes anything ____ makes so special?" also applies to their, much healthier, competitors.

Cameras? Really? the NEX series is a good go between P&S and dSLR but you can get a low end Canon or Nikon with more functionality and better low light performance for about the same price. I'm not a pro or anything so this is just my own opinion but I haven't seen anybody using Sony within my friends who actually do photography whether professionally or as a hobby.

Why not? I too question the utility of their NEX line but is this not the series that launched the market for this hybrid breed of camera? It seems every manufacturer, including Nikon who buys their sensors from Sony by the way, has been scrambling to launch their own mirrorless. Like you, I'm not a hardcore photography enthusiast but Sony's cameras seem to be generating buzz and winning awards from both mainstream and hobbyist outlets.

Their televisions (review wise) seem to be easily trumped by what Samsung and Pioneer offer.

Perhaps you mean Panasonic as Pioneer no longer makes televisions? You're right but that's because enthusiasts appreciate plasma TVs, which Sony does not make, over LCDs. For LCDs, Sony comes second only to Sharp's incredibly expensive premium line this year and handily surpasses everyone else.

The VAIO Z may be decent, but holy shit, it's MAC priced.

Their headphones I believe is trumped by Sennheiser and Klipsch. Even their receivers don't stand the test of time compared to the Onkyo line.

I don't know, they are decent and I wouldn't mind getting anything Sony for Christmas but I do a lot of research, read a lot of reviews, and for all the products you mentioned including pricing they are almost never in any of the top lists.

I used to buy lots of Sony products from 1995-2001 but then other companies were offering more, longer lasting products for the same price.

Note that save the Vaio Z, not a single one of my examples was meant to illustrate market dominance, or even leadership. In the part of my post you truncated, you'll see that my intent was to show that Sony's still a fit competitor in many CE arenas and that's very easy to do because it's obviously true.
 
Seriously you guys arguing over a article where this journalist has no idea what he's talking about? Another stupid "Sony is doomzzzzed!" article @.@
 
SDDS is also in every f'ing theatre if you forgot.

Joke character? SDDS is not in every theater, and is a colossal failure in the market compared to Dolby and DTS.

The VITA is a great piece of hardware for gamers. Whether or not it sells is up to Spny and how they showcase it.

Well, it's up the the free market as well. Consumer preferences shift. I'm honestly not sure what last gen's gaming consumers are looking for in a portable right now.
 
Well, I get where you're going with this, and I kind of agree. I'm not on board with the kneejerk hyperbole often employed by people looking to make day trading a thrilling roller coaster ride, but I do agree that a growing number of people content to game on their phones as opposed to carrying another device around on their person should be seen as disconcerting to proponents of the traditional handheld gaming market.

However, though I think a gradually whittling away of the userbase for dedicated machines may in fact be slowly happening, I do think there's a saving grace for the dedicated machines that will keep them relevant for the foreseeable future: big event games. That's not to say that targeting this market doesn't have its own set of problems -- as studio closure after studio closure in the AAA console realm can demonstrate -- but there is still big, big money in making something like a Pokemon, or Mario Kart, or Monster Hunter, or what have you.

And the new platforms haven't demonstrated that they're mature enough to support heavy development resources being thrown at development of any one title. Sure, we can play Final Fantasy and GTA ports, which are real games, but there's no powerhouse title that has people pumped that next Tuesday is the big day for the release of a brand new, fully-fleshed out $30 title for my phone.

The market for these titles may be affected by phones (I don't know), but it's still huge and worth catering to. I don't think dedicated gaming portables really have to worry about going the way of the dodo until the phone hardware makers really decide to target this market. The success of Angry Birds isn't a legitimate threat to the marquis handheld franchises.
all good stuff. and even if dedicated portables go the way of the dodo, those AAA handheld franchises will move to other portable platforms and we'll still get to play them with the same polish and what have you (and pricetags) as we play them now.

i still believe that what's REALLY happening is that portables are following the root the 360 has followed this generation. they won't be a portable gaming device, they'll be a portable entertainment device.

those are still flourishing, between the ipad and the ipod touch. of cousre people KEEP ignoring those devices when they say the problem with the PSVita is that it's not a phone.

that the PSVita isn't a phone hasn't got ANYTHING to do with it's current ills in Japan. they're all boring standard portable market problems.

people tried to argue that the 3DSs early problems were because of smartphones, but weirdly, once it was at a more traditional handheld gaming device price and wasn't missing it's biggest franchises, the sales took right off.
 
How much does Vita need to sell to be a success?

Any one week Vita > 3DS will do. I can't imagine what the thread will look like.
Nintendo sales age will be bait out or go mad by annoying.
If long term, MC thread will dying just like when PSP comeback. Looking forward to see the MC thread dying in one day.
 
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