PS Vita: 'Sony May Need To Follow Nintendo's Lead' - Analyst

NowGamer: "Sony may need to follow Nintendo's lead and cut price drastically next year if the installed base remains below five million or the platform will not be viable for publishers," senior analyst Billy Pidgeon tells NowGamer.

[ritsuka666]

It's already over Sony. PS vita will only get a $50 price cut. 3ds already had its price cut and already had a long lineup of games by the time it had a price cut, Vita still doesnt have many games and wont sell now until the price cut, and chances are it still wont have that many games by the time the price is cut.

[KingOptimusAscend111]

Ignorant

[JoGam]

Dude...really?

And @ iamnsuperman.....really?

Are you guys talking to Pach?

[SandwichHammock]

*tosses you a sugar cube*

[Jinkies]

If Sony follow Nintendos lead then we'll get a ton of negative Sony articles on how Sony are copying Nintendo and how they have no "creativity" or can't do there own thing

They can't win to be honest

[Legion21]

They can give up

[iamnsuperman]

I personally see Sony eventually leaving this market. They don't seem to fully understand this market and this market isn't as popular is it once was. The Vita is a greap peice of kit but clearly the hand held market isn't screaming for powerful machines. For Nintendo their best selling games for the DS were either Mario/pokemon related (sony can't reall replicate those games and they are house hold names) or a game like Nintendogs and brain training which shows what Sony need to realsing (those types of games).

[Anon1974]

Or maybe Sony's aiming at a different market altogether, one that isn't being serviced by anyone? There's a lot of adult males out there in the 18-35 demographic that have disposable income and play a bunch of games that aren't really looking for 2 1/2D Mario games and aren't content with Angry Birds on the go.

It's clear that's the market Sony is after with the Vita. Look at their ads for the Vita. The youngest person depicted in those ads is maybe in their early twenties. Sony clearly isn't aiming for the same demographics that the 3DS caters to. It's the same strategy they used for the PSP that ended up with 70-75 million PSP's being sold. Sure there will be some overlap with the 3DS buying demographic, but that's not the focus.

You don't have to be number one to be successful and Sony would have never released this product unless they saw a market for it. I know a number of PS Vita owners, including myself and not one of them is under 30. I know one kid, my 9 year old niece, who has a 3ds. I've never seen the 3ds in the hands of anyone over 16.

So really? You think the Vita needs more cute dog games and less adult fare? Are you sure you understand the market for this product? What it needs is time and a lower price, which will come when production costs come down, just like what happened with the PSP.

[AsimLeonheart]

That was a very well written and intelligent post. Why the hell do you have only one bubble? Just gave you an intelligent bubble.
People were saying the same things about PSP which has sold more than 70 million by now. People need to understand that you do not need to sell millions or be number one in the market to be successful. As long as a business is profitable, it is meeting its actual objective.

[iamnsuperman]

I am not sure there is really a substantial market there (only time will tell). The problem is that market requires a strong device and my question is it it really worth Sony's time and money catering to that much smaller market. All they have to do is release that stuff on the side. I am not saying they should stop with the 18-35 demographic support but its almost insane not to release these games that cater for the larger market which generally don't need that much money to be pumped in to get a good return. Just releasing a device that supports a small market doesn't make sense when it is quite easy to make the Vita cross multiple markets

[CommonSenseGamer]

Or maybe the demographic wants an all purpose device as gaming is not their only interest. Oh, and yet another generalisation of phone/tablet gaming all being about Angry Birds, really?

[air1]

I agree on that fact that you dont have to be number....

Im 29 with a psvita and find the games lacking. I know the vita can be great, and has so much power over the 3ds but i dont think 3ds sells because of the market nintendo chose. The 3ds sells because it has great games a long with cute dog games for your niece.

I still havnt played a good platformer on vita that can even compare to a mario game, you can pick any mario game... Wtf.. Why couldnt sony launch with a great crash game?! Using all the new things that vita brings to the table. you can talk junk all you want about nintendo and its games but at least they deliver and actually use the features, they do it well too...

Sony has more studios than ms and nin combined... I just dont understand how sony couldnt start working on that one or two great games sooner, why must i suffer with more 3rd party devs trying to set standards using vita features than 1st party.

I waited long enough how much more time does sony need to deliver on a great exerience with the great features that vita has, you know... Like what nintendo does with its 3ds.

After giving liberations a shot i have decided to buy a 3ds later today and go back to enjoying great games like mario and zelda. Imo vita has an identity crisis it doesnt give you that great experience to define itself with out that you dont have a great game.

Its about time i call sony to get another vita anyway begore the warranty expires.. Mine has that black smere across the screen, so when i get the new one ill box it up and prob.. Still keep it for a while in hopes they deliver that great expetience if not on ebay it goes..

[tiffac008]

@air1,

You should try Gravity Rush if you haven't yet. Its the best 1st party game for the Vita at the moment. That is original and not a spin off.

Its not a platformer though. Its closer to a sandbox/RPG. I think ^^

[Kos-Mos]

You know, people that shout that you write intelligent posts is under 16. If you think Sony is not aiming for every customer available, you`re a complete delusional fanboy.

[Tetsujin]

I agree with Darkride, the market is a lot different and I will admit there are certain games I wish was out on the Vita, however right now since it's backwards compatible with PS1 games I found a temp fix until some more games come out that I will play and that fits my gaming style. I am a fan of Unit 13 and Pure Chess though.

[Ben_Grimm]

Why not follow Nintendo's lead? It's obvious that the market for handhelds is dominated by casuals and not the hardcore.

Is there a rule somewhere that says a device can't cater to both?

There are even more casuals and parents with disposable income who buy for themselves and their kids who yell and scream for presents. This 18 to 35 market may play games but not too many are hardcore that this Vita seems to be targeting. The majority have smartphones that can also do many more things that are necessary for everyday life like school and work

It is very obvious that the Vita is not doing well since Sony had to cut their forecast twice for the device. Maybe catering to this casual market is the right move to do.

You don't have to be number 1? What kind of motto and business sense does that make? What business/corporation goes into a market expecting to be 2nd to 4rth place?

I'll remember that line from you Darkride for future references.

[nukeitall]

My only question is how is that market working for Sony?

If the PS Vita continues to lag in sales, well it won't get the proper developer support and the evil circle begins! Nobody buys a system without appealing games.

Today's market is nothing like when the PSP was released where mobile phones still didn't do much games or much of anything, but make phone calls.

The very market that Nintendo aims for is the market that is most likely to purchase a portable gaming device only. It also helps significantly that they have games aimed at the proper market.

[ziggurcat]

"Sony May Need To Follow Nintendo's Lead"

no, they don't.

[dafegamer]

Doom Gloom topics about Sony seems to make them stronger. All the negativity against Sony, then suddenly the black friday sales were surprisingly high and all the trolls left.
sigh how pathetic. Sony wont leave the gaming market anytime soon

[CommonSenseGamer]

how many units were you expecting the Vita to ship during black Friday week? personally, given how there was so much chatter about price being a factor I was expecting it to shift 400k.

[StanSmith]

@dafegamer

"All the negativity against Sony, then suddenly the black friday sales were surprisingly high and all the trolls left."

So you're agreeing with the analysts then? On Black Friday, Vita received a price cut which boosted sales to a higher level than before. Looking at that, surely Sony would be best to cut the price of Vita as the market was interested once it had been reduced in price.

I don't know about you, but this proves to me that people are interested in Vita, but it's price is the only thing that stands in consumers way. It has enough decent titles at the moment, but it just needs a price cut for more people to jump in.

[ronin4life]

Black Friday Vita sales were quite poor... all current consoles outsold it despite their much higher install base, and the DS sold almost twice as many units.

Where have you been?

[XabiDaChosenOne]

Lets forget the fact that A) all current consoles (except WiiU) has an established library and
B) the DS is dirt cheap compared to the Vita.
Vita sales were great. Get over it.
Not to mention comparing sales between consoles is not a proper way to determine who well it sold.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

this would not work out at all...

like uncharted with Metroid graphics?
like God of War Mario Style?

hmmm.. Sony's exclusive titles wouldn't allow a weak powered handheld. While it works great for BigN and I love their exclusives! The exclusives are all I play on a nintendo console. While I enjoy a lot of multiplat on other consoles.

[strigoi814]

So what will you guys do when sony had a price cut?? Complain for the price of memory card?? Then after what complain for some games?? Then what complain that it has no cross game chat?? Lolz really you cant satisfy every single individual in the world..if you cant afford it dont buy it..it is market for teenagers like 18 above who would have take a part time job to support gaming..stop complaining and if you want one..yeah ask the man with a large belly on a red suit...if you dont know his name he is who your parents called "santa" aka "st. nick"

Thats it if youve been nice all year

[Ilovetheps5]

Here's the issue with that statement. The trolls don't matter. It's just about the people who buy the system. Who cares if someone complains about a system as long as you enjoy it.

But the issue arises when the company isn't getting good sales. If a system doesn't have enough sales, then the games aren't going to come to that console. It is sometimes fiscally irresponsible to create a game for a console because you might not be able to make your money back. Let's assume that the Vita has sold about 3.5 million units (That's roughly correct). Well, even if 10% of the user-base buys a game, that's still 350k sales. And 10% is a high percentage of a user base buying a game. I doubt Halo 4 will sell to 10% of it's base and that's their flagship title. So, if people don't buy the console, you are going to have a hard time getting games on the console.

So it doesn't matter who complains about the console. It really only matters how many people buy the console. Only then will you get the developers to spend their money developing a game for you.

[KING85]

I just bought the Assassin's Vita bundle and I must admit I am impressed by the piece of hardware. I can only speak for myself, but my purchase was based off of the technical specifications and the price I bought it for. Amazon's $179 Black Friday sale lured me in and had it not been priced under $200 I probably would not have purchased it.
I am quite aware of it's technical abilities and graphical capabilities, but I think people must be honest on these forums and realize the price is what is holding them back. Let's put our support aside for the PS, Xbox, Nintendo and what have you. Whether we want to admit it we're all aware of the change in the handheld market as it's not as prevalent as it once was in years past. A dedicated handheld is much different to a smartphone we all know, but the fact of the matter is consumers are gravitating to the smartphone and tablet trend. What's interesting is that millions have shown they're willing to pay $500 for a tablet, but $250 for a handheld device is out of the question. Perhaps that's a different market, but Nintendo proved that despite features, many were unwilling to pay $250 for a handheld, and maybe we could say it was the lack of games but I highly doubt it. The PS brand is great as I prefer their exclusives, although I do enjoy my Gears and Zelda, but I think Sony must pay attention to the market trend and should drop the price. Perhaps $150/$179 wifi and $200 for the 3G version.
Do I think they'll drop out of the market? Most definitely not as it would be a slap to it's supporters face and poor management skills. Yet if they don't change their business model, I believe many publishers won't publish their games for the handheld as they would only view it as minimal returns. Let's get out there and support the Vita as competition is great for the consumer and challenges businesses to innovate. We can all talk of our love for Sony, but remember that those who are on forums like this are a small percentage compared to potential customers. At the end of the day I believe Sony can do what they did for the PS3 to the Vita.

End of ramble :)

[XboxInnovation]

Handheld gaming will only remain big among little kids because they're too young to have phones. I've actually started to see moms and dads let their kids play games on their phone, so who knows maybe handheld gaming is on its way out altogether, but I doubt that as long as Mario is around.

If Sony continues in the handheld market they'll have to be content with being the PC of handhelds..very advanced graphically but less games and more expensive. But will it be profitable enough? I doubt it.

[tiffac008]

Actually if you guys read the article its not a doom and gloom one at all. The only thing that the analyst say Sony should follow Ninty on, is regarding the price drop on the Vita. Which will happen eventually.

The article gives a valid point on the expensive memory cards too. That definitely needs a price cut.

Overall the outlook for the Vita is bright and positive in this article.

[ronin4life]

My problem with so many Vita outlooks isn't the positivity or the love given to it, but the apperant denial so many appear to have. The Vita may have a great deal of potential, but it isn't doing so great right now and pretending that will change on its own is ridiculous.

Look at the 3ds. Many games and a price drop were needed to get it where it is and it is still underperforming Nintendo's own expectations. But one need only look at the 3ds in Japan to see what would help: more and better software.

Of course, seperate from all of this is the potential of market change... the west hasn't been as receptive to Handhelds as it has the Home console market and that priority focus seems to be even stronger now. With the Vita lacking in Japanese developers(after all, psp/3ds development is cheaper and both have a larger install base AND higher weekly sales) and western devs just not wanting to make Handheld games, it is no wonder Vita is having Software issues... and the 3ds as well in the west as the yen makes it difficult for companies to localize games that aren't 100% garunteed a return.

[tiffac008]

Oh I totally agree with you regarding the situation of the Vita in Japan. That definitely needs to change.

More games are being developed for the PSP rather than the Vita. Sony maybe needs to put out some incentives to have those developers start making games on the newer device.

Multiplatform or exclusive. The Vita needs more Japanese games. That is what made the PSP successful and it should be repeated with the Vita.

Like I said on my other posts regarding the Vita. The ball is in Sony's court. The gaming industry is waiting for their next move.

[XabiDaChosenOne]

"My problem" Your problem? Do you even have a Vita? Do you even plan on getting one? Its obvious that the Vita is not selling to its potential, no sh*t but what you are interpretating as denial is in fact confidence that the inevitable install base and games will be there. Its not like the system will stop selling over night.

[Subzero200]

yeah right follow Nintendo's lead that would mean they have a chance in hell of ever beating them lol.

excellent article though.

[Dogswithguns]

Make em less expensive that's all Sony has to do..

[Lastcall]

I love Analysts. Michael patcher the most known one failed miserably sooo many times in his looking into the future ball of fail it's not even funny.

Hmmm remember how Activision threatened Sony about the pricepoint of the PS3? It starts again.

Such a shortage of people who will educate the masses on the Playstation brands, I'm gonna step up to that task. Keep me in mind here. After Christmas and new years a all Playstation site goes up and it's gonna help people who are negative about Sony see the light.

Getting back to price points at launch, I have to laugh myself silly when it comes to the 650 MSRP Canadian dollars I had to spend on my 60gb fat. With Sony's line of Bluray ONLY players selling over a gino, what a deal 650 was at the time. That machine is still beasting and running as it should.

Hmmm 1000+ for a Bluray player and 650 for a PS3 which was considered to be the better Bluray player, a gaming system, and multimedia system in one. Hmmm sounds like a deal back in the day for me.

Vita is no different. Sony have always been the innovators and all the rest follow. I picked up a Vita on Black Friday and OMG my ipod touch is having a sleep. What an amazing beast of a console handheld all rapped up in a convienient size. Uncharted and the touch screen integration just makes for a NEXT LEVEL UP Gaming experience. Game is dam gorgous as well. Brilliant.

If that's a foregleem of what a launch title will do on the Vita, developers are on drugs if they are gonna cry about it at this time..I'm "MR Factual". Believe it..

[Sketchy_Galore]

I'm considering writing off to Santa to ask him to bring me one of these babies but I have to admit the thing holding me back is Sony's track record of poor support for handhelds and peripherals. To anyone still reading who didn't fly into an insane rage and click disagree until their finger squirted blood after reading what looked like something negative about Sony I should point out that PS3 is my console of choice, I consider it far and away the best console out there right now and the best console I have ever owned but let's face it, when it comes to support of things that aren't the standard PS3 experience, Sony aren't the greatest.

I own a PS eye and two Move controllers and before Sports Champions 2 was released they were all getting rather dusty. Of course every other game has optional Move controls these days just like I'm sure every other PSN game or HD collection will also be released for the Vita, what I'm worried about is a lack of imaginatively designed games based around the Vita the same way the Move still lacks games that really exploit its full potential. Tearaway looks beyond amazing and almost worth the purchase of a Vita in itself, I just hope it doesn't turn out to be a one off.

[Cryptcuzz]

Give it a $50 price cut sometime early next year and a reduction in the memory cards as well and it should be fine.

There is a lot of potential games that can arrive that can drastically change the outlook of the system.

Imagine a Kingdom Hearts game made from the ground up for the Vita?

How about Final Fantasy Type-0 on the Vita?

What about a Grand Theft Auto or multiple games being teased by Rockstar?

For sure a Monster Hunter game would do wonders at least in Japan.

Chill on the doomsday Vita negativity bandwagon and give it some time.

[Knushwood Butt]

I'd say dropping the price would be a big mistake.

Nintendo did it fairly confident that they had enough first party software that would sell in significant enough numbers to cover the hit they are taking on the hardware.

Sony don't have that card to play.

So, what Sony need to do is focus on the software and improving the install base.

Software sells hardware.