250°

PS Vita Is 'Niche', Has Little Future Despite Price-Cut - Pachter

NowGamer: PS Vita doesn’t have ‘much of a future’ according to analyst Michael Pachter, who has dismissed the importance of the handheld’s sales quadrupling in Japan.

Read Full Story >>
nowgamer.com
MultiConsoleGamer4058d ago

Pacther says the Vita is doomed? I guess this means its destined to be the best selling portable of all time.

TimmyShire4058d ago

It's becoming more and more apparent that Pachter has no idea what he's talking about. What an idiot.

NewMonday4058d ago

handhelds are not "Niche" in Japan.

andibandit4058d ago (Edited 4058d ago )

Pachter is wrong
in saying the Vita is niche. It should be applied to handhelds in general. The main reason the 3DS is holding up is because parents buy them for their kids so they can keep themselves entertained.

Im afraid theres no denying that the handheld market has been in a steady decline for several years now.

falcon794058d ago

To be fair Patcher did say Vita wont catch on and he also said,do people want a very powerful handheld when we have home consoles ? he was right.

dedicatedtogamers4058d ago

@ adnibandit

I don't know how you - or anyone - can think that the handheld market has been in steady decline. It simply is not true. The DS/PSP generation were by far the largest handheld generations of all time. DS is the best-selling handheld of all time, and PSP sold nearly as much as the GameBoy Advance. You want to talk about "handheld market in decline"? Go back to the 90s when SEGA, Atari, SNK, and a ton of others all tried to enter the handheld market and they failed.

The dedicated gaming handheld market has never been stronger. Numbers don't lie.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4058d ago
ritsuka6664058d ago (Edited 4058d ago )

I guess this means its destined to be the best selling portable of all time. "

At this rate i doubt Vita will surpasses the 3DS in japan .. Anyway,Make fun of the analysis of PActher all you want Ps fanboys, but Sony needs to do something fast about people's perception and word of mouth.

AsimLeonheart4058d ago

Pachter also says the Wii U is doomed and XBOX 720 will be more expensive than PS4 and it will focus on media functionality more than games. It means those must be true as well if you believe Pachter so much, right?

DarkHeroZX4058d ago

how can ritsuka still comment? And the Vita doesn't need to outsell the 3ds to be a success. If the 3ds and PSV repeat the success of the PSP and DS that'd be more then enough to see some amazing games and for both companies to make good money. Sales really don't mean a thing. PS3 has outsold the 360 worldwide now but it took years to become profitable and even then it's still in the red overall. 360 and the wii where very affordable and made wayy more money.

Apex134058d ago

I Normally disagree with pacman but the numbers don't lie. Also, why wou you want an expensive handheld that cost te same or more than your home console? This was te issue with 3ds but its doing awesome now.

tubers4057d ago

A price drop is imminent. Don't trust Sony saying "there's no plan for that".

FriedGoat4057d ago

There will be no price drop. Japan are paying what we pay now with their price drop.

It's worth every penny, the Vita is brilliant.

kopicha4057d ago

@falcon79

yea, which is why people dont need smartphones when they have much more powerful computers at home. /sarcasm

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4057d ago
Dailynch4058d ago

Pachter is never wrong. EVER.

TheGrimOfDeath4058d ago

I don't know if you are just kidding or are saying what you think is true.

Y_51504058d ago

That better have been sarcasm.

bicfitness4058d ago

It will make a nice companion device to the PS4 if remote play delivers. They do need a new model that has built in memory though. Paying extra and considering various storage prices and options only confuses and annoys the consumer (I like that type of personalized ownership, but many people don't).

Sony need to pay to have MH put on the device too, or Soul Sacrifice needs to become a mega, smash hit. Either scenario will keep the Vita going strong overseas.

tubers4057d ago

I disagree with the built in memory.

IMO, it's more costly for them to make a new model that also somewhat shafts the early adopters this early. Sony isn't Nintendo (with their 3DS/LL/XL).

At least bundle in the lowest unit with a 4 GB card and have a major price cut on all MMC capacities.

Cocozero4058d ago

Japan is the only place where it has a chance of being releveant, the rest of the world are happy with their smartphones/tablets and 3DSs.

Dedecatied gaming hardware for more than £150 won't succeed this gen, Sony would be smart to drop it now at cut their losses because no 3rd party dev will touch it.

bicfitness4058d ago (Edited 4058d ago )

"Japan is the only place where it has a chance of being relevant, the rest of the world are happy with their smartphones/tablets and 3DSs."

EU and NA are the 3DS' worst performing markets, according to Nintendo's own expectations and results, so the last part of your statement is incorrect. I'll agree with you on price though, Vita needs to be $200 or under WITH storage bundled or built in to really stand any chance at being competitive on a world-wide basis.

Who knows though, its limping along to about 5 million now and Sony won't be pulling the plug any time soon, so it could have legs yet. Speculating that far out into the future exponentially increases the chance that you will be wrong. So I tend not to make personal predictions beyond 6-9 months. Markets, technology in particular, evolve too fast.

tubers4057d ago

"Technology in particular, evolves too fast."

That's both a problem and a boon for the VITA.

Mobile industry evolves so fast that not even the VITA graphics (w/c is touted a major feature against competition) will be irrelevant.

It's a boon since mobile components (w/c the VITA has) will become cheaper a lot quicker so a VITA should be priced lower every now and then if Sony doesn't beef up the hardware.

Nintendo is SAFE w/ its ancient hardware because they have the LEGACY (name brand and the crack/cocaine lineup).

IMO, GTA and GT are the two likely IPs that can make the VITA TRULY competitive internationally. Both of w/c sold extremely well on the PSP.

Rainstorm814058d ago

I agree a $149 vita with no memory no games....then a 199$ vita with game and memory included.

This is the impulse buy price for the Vita, and i think its possible we will get this price point near the release of the PS4. Especially if they want the Vita to truly be the companion device to the PS4.

$150 is cheap enough for people to want it as a remote play device.....if every PS4 games indeed supports the feature DAY 1

NicSage4058d ago

199.00 for a 4gb card, and game. Than you have to buy PS+ & a 32gb card. you end up paying more.

150.00 + 32gb card + ps+, you will save money.

falcon794058d ago (Edited 4058d ago )

Wow so many dissagree's for stating how it is i agree with you kid.

Platstation gamers need to admit defeat,3ds was struggling not as bad like but Nintendo turned it around,Sony are incapable of turning there fortunes around they will fail big with ps4 coupling it with Vita ??? stupid move that,hey our new Console links up with out Vita that no one has bought,plus the combo will be about £600,for an inferior dual screen experience ??? It will bomb,720 and WiiU seem to know what gamers want.

Ace_Pheonix4058d ago

Oh yeah, totally man. The XBOX that we know absolutely nothing about has everything that everyone wants, obviously. It's totally amazing. The other day I imagined it was a Transformer and it ripped apart my toaster, and I thought to myself "Wow, Microsoft is so good at making my imagination awesome when it comes to the new XBOX. I can't wait till it comes out!".

DarkHeroZX4058d ago

WiiU is failing, and XBOX will be a casual console you can use for tivo. Yeah gamers are real pumped for those two consoles...... And the PS4 doesn't just connect with the vita but smartphones and tablets. It is also noted that those features are all optional lol.

Trolls gonna troll i guess.

kenshiro1004058d ago

You don't know what you're talking about so stop while you're ahead.

stuna14058d ago

falcon79 is Pachter in disguise.

HiddenMission4058d ago

I have both a my Samsung Note and Note 10.1 and guess what I still have my Vita. No smart phone or tablet can replace a dedicated gaming console...and only a anti gamer would believe that.

Truth is only 2 things have been hold Vita back from moving numbers 1st is price...it's still too expensive in most regions and the second is titles which is just now coming into maturity PSO2 says high.

Once the above come forward and PS4 game streaming comes to Vita it will fly off shelves...and guess what every gaming related prediction I have made has come true so I would know much better than Mr. Pachter and yourself...

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4057d ago
falcon794057d ago (Edited 4057d ago )

I'm falcon and i'm not patcher u idiot,Sony need to learn balance with power,oh sorry that takes real skill,all sony do is use everyone elses tech and throw it all together,Nintendo tweak technology to perform better so it's affordable ???? FACTS HURT.

Sony fans are blind i used to be one until i came on the internet and found out most Sony fans are blind immature kids that just think higher spec numbers means better performence ?? then why an earth did the 360 with a less powerful hardware but more balanced make for better graphics and gameplay explain.

G20WLY4057d ago

Oh calm yourself down! lmao

"I'm Falcon" - no, you're some angry child with a limited grip on reality and this is clear from your 3 posts in this thread alone.

You praise Pachter's opinion, only when he bashes Sony. You want to talk about balance, yet your hate for Sony blinds your ability to make a balanced judgement. Do you seriously fail to see the irony there?

Oops, sorry, "Irony"... Not what your mother does to your school uniform, but rather "a pretense of ignorance and..", actually, no - Google is your friend. Sadly, it's quite possible it's your only friend with the attitude you appear to have.

Show all comments (83)
280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

Read Full Story >>
techraptor.net
ChasterMies11d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken11d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga11d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken11d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6411d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long11d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197211d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
DivineHand12511d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91311d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer11d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91310d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit10d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
Christopher11d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6911d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit10d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher11d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken11d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197211d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2311d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218311d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder11d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts11d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

Show all comments (43)
80°

Sony May Soon Let You Decide How Much NPCs Talk In Games

Sony has patented to add multiple dialogue modes to let players switch between how many conversations with NPCs they want in the game.

blackblades17d ago

Sony is like the only ones outta the 3 that has atuff like like this pop up changing thing in ways.

just_looken17d ago

Sony in the past has always been first at bat with new ideas/tech but in the end never fully use it or just toss it away.

blackblades17d ago

I think they did use some but yeah most usually never happened but at least they thought about it. Sony seeks things like this and other, Nintendo seek different ways of playing going by there different controler designs and console designs.

just_looken17d ago (Edited 17d ago )

some of the other stuff sony want's/owns never used
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://www.eurogamer.net/s...
https://metro.co.uk/2023/03...
https://decrypt.co/114754/s...

monitor/adjust game difficultly as you play
https://www.techradar.com/g...

Sony nfts
https://www.theblock.co/pos...

Pay ai to play the game for you
https://thebusinessofesport...

Oh all the above last 12 months

I just imagine a evil scientist with test subjects when it comes down to sony recent patent reports.

Kaii17d ago

Will we get dialogue options that won't spoil puzzles in a matter of seconds? :p

280°

Judge rules in PlayStation's favour in $500m patent infringement lawsuit

Genuine Enabling Technology was seeking damages, claiming the tech allowing PlayStation consoles and controllers to communicate infringes its rights.

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz
S2Killinit19d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Crazy to think the savings from this lawsuit allows them to develop one AAA game.

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

19d ago
Profchaos19d ago

Sounds like patent trolling they tried the same thing against Nintendo with the same pattern.

Motion and control input traversing over higher and lower frequencies seperate from each other allowing the controller to do both

Pyrofire9519d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia19d ago

So to recoup the money Genuine is going to take on Nintendo or Microsoft next. I hate patent lawyers they are some of the worst bottom feeders out there.

Show all comments (13)