210°

Pachter: “There Is No Future” For PS Vita And Sony’s Handheld Market

GR: With the ongoing success of smart devices and Nintendo's clear dominance is the dedicated gaming handheld space, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter doesn't see a future for Sony in the portable games market.

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gamerevolution.com
Neonridr3744d ago

wow... I only thought he had a hard-on for Anti-Nintendo stuff..

Hatsune-Miku3744d ago

Sony needs to flood vita with a lot more quality games.

bothebo3744d ago

Lol there's no getting around it at this point. They need to bring some very compelling software if they want the Vita to go anywhere at this point. The thing is practically dead, but as a Vita owner i'd like to think that it has something coming its way in the future. Also, indies are not going to cut it at this point.

acharlez3744d ago

It's a high powered machine that can offer AAA experiences on the go.

Sadly, the mass market consumer doesn't really want that...

Snookies123744d ago (Edited 3744d ago )

It's got a lot of games... They're just exclusive to Japan lol.

Luckily we're getting a few coming this way. Demon Gaze, Danganronpa, Toukiden, Monster Monpiece, Disgaea 4 Return, Conception 2, Deception 4, and we just got Ys Celceta recently.

Baccra173744d ago

True, but Vita shouldn't pigeonhole itself as a handheld. It's an adaptable piece of tech that also needs to take advantage of Playstation Now.

It really needs to be what the Wii U was trying to be before Nintendo went the cheap miserly route, and that is a hybrid system that is both a home console and on the go gaming platform. Use the PS4 and Playstation Now to it's fullest potential and drop the ridiculous prices on the memory cards and Sony can turn the Vita around.

Enate3744d ago

RPGs psp shot up after Crisis Core and the 3DS is constantly praised for mainly its rpgs. An one of the most talked about vita releases period is Persona 4 Golden. Bring good rpgs an the rest will fall in to place they work really well on handhelds. FF Agito should of been ported to vita and released in the states ages ago.

SilentNegotiator3744d ago (Edited 3744d ago )

Sony allowed Vita to be flooded with crap, from a mediocre Resistance to a crappy RE to a crappy COD; they had no strong plans for it launching with a lot of great software. Sony gave it proprietary memory cards that cost an insane amount, making DDs on less viable. Sony decided to make it strong (and thus expensive) when handheld gamers have always been content with cheap, weaker devices (all the more relevant in a time where cell phones are quenching many casual gamers thirst for mobile entertainment).

It has been 2 years, potentially more than a 1/3 of its lifetime (the time until it's succeeded). If it hasn't perked up yet, it doing so later won't likely do it a lot of good with the time it has left.

Sony doomed Vita to mediocre sales. That's right, I used the forbidden "D word" and I mean it. Nothing short of a miracle or an entire mess of cash being injected into it would save it from mediocre sales.

ABizzel13744d ago

@Hatsune-Miku

Exactly. There are a solid amount of good games on Vita, but there aren't any AAA franchises on it, and that have name and brand recognition. Until those games come Vita will be a niche device that only PS gamers enjoy.

What's sad is that, they're missing out on a bunch of good games, and worse all the free stuff from PS+.

My 32GB memory card is already full from PS+, and I have a feeling when I get my 64GB it's going to be full as well instantly since i have about 10 PS Vita games currently sitting on my PS3 HDD.

I think they're next handheld device, needs to simply be a PlayStation themed tablet. It might not be "handheld portable", but it just makes more sense and functions better as a multipurpose device.

Mobile Technology is finally to the point where real console gaming can be done on devices like tablets (Vita is close, but still not quite there, but Tegra 5 is), so a PlayStation tablet with dedicated controls, built with the PS4 / PS5 in mind seems like the logical way to go.

7" - 10" OLED screen
1+ TFLOP (Tegra 5 is almost 400 GFLOPS, Tegra 6 should be almost 2x)
4 GB DDR4 / GDDR5 / eSRAM / GDDR6
32GB internal Memory

$299 (2018 release date)

BX813743d ago

Agreed. It's a great piece of hardware just needs more games. It kinda seems like the vita is being presented more as a second screen for the ps4 at this point. Last I saw borderlands was coming out for it so that should give it a boost as far as being in the hands of gamers for a large amount of time.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3743d ago
Beetey3744d ago

Nope. He will trash anything if people are willing to listen. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, there are still people who listen to him.

Anon19743744d ago

Reminds me of how we were constantly reminded for years that the PSP was doomed. DOOOMED!

SilentNegotiator3744d ago

http://www.webcitation.org/...

2 years in, PSP was at 25 million. Anyone using the word "doom" for PSP at that point in its lifetime must have been high. There were plenty of negative articles LATER in its lifetime, but that's because it was dropping in sales at a fast rate.

Vita is a whole different story entirely.

Anon19743744d ago (Edited 3744d ago )

But they were saying it was doomed, weren't they. We endured years of articles regarding the PSP's demise, what Sony could do to "save" the PSP, analyzing what went wrong with the PSP, etc.

You're right. It is a completely different story. This isn't 2006 anymore. Mobile game sales dwarf sales for dedicated handhelds. This isn't the same market. I'm not for a second claiming the PS Vita isn't struggling, but I'm saying we've heard this type of doomsaying time and time again. After over a decade of listening to these type of "Doom" stories, they've simply lost their impact and any credibility they may have once had.

So Pachter admittedly doesn't "get it" when it comes to the PS Vita's appeal. He thinks all the casuals have moved to mobile, but since when was the casual market the PS Vita's target, or the PSP? This is coming from the guy that also admitted he didn't "get" why WWII games were popular.

Personally, as the article mentioned, I have a tonne of games on my Vita and the combination of the Vita and PSN+ is simply an amazing value. I don't care if the Vita is pulled from the shelf tomorrow, I'm quite happy I'm a Vita owner. I'm just saying I take all these types of predictions with a grain of salt. So should you.

3-4-53744d ago

He is anti everything as long as it makes him money.

ritsuka6663744d ago

I don't think the Vita will reach even 15mil LTD.well,serves you rights for Sony arrogance.

bryam19823744d ago

yeah yeah patcher whatever you say

send from my ps vita

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3743d ago
Concertoine3744d ago

I hope the vita does okay lifetime. I wouldnt want sony to try and mimic nintendo's direction with handhelds because the dichotomy between the vita and 3ds is what makes them both must owns.

acharlez3744d ago

At least those who have purchased the console have been quite satisfied.

We probably won't see a successor, though. Sony will likely just push smartphones after the Vita is dead.

Rainstorm813744d ago

especially with Vita TV and PSNOW

Inception3744d ago

Yup, i'm really satisfied with my vita. Can't wait for Gravity Rush 2, Freedom Wars, DanganRonpa, SS Delta, Toukiden, Trails in the Sky: 2nd chap, and many more.

Fluke_Skywalker3744d ago

I love my Vita, but I'd have a hard time recommending one to anyone else. It's a great bit of kit but it just doesn't have mass market appeal, most folks are happy with their smartphone and tablet games if they want portable gaming, and I think that is just what the future of hand held gaming will be. Especially now that we are seeing official controllers for iOS devices.

Unlimax3744d ago (Edited 3744d ago )

Totally ~
Have you seen Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Screenshots for the Vita ?
http://storage.siliconera.c...
http://storage.siliconera.c...
Oh My ... ❤

Inception3743d ago

Digimon series isn't my cup of tea. But a lot of my friends got nuts when they saw Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth. They will buy Vita once this game got out. I always thought that Digimon had the potential to match Pokemon series. To bad sony/namdai doesn't maximize that potential.

Mikelarry3744d ago

i really cant put my finger on it but I cant think of what is making the vita not sell like hot cakes

it has power, sexy design and GAMES.

i own a vita (first gen) but i hardly ever use it, although i am looking forward to gravity rush two

Concertoine3744d ago

I think its because a lot of the software isnt designed with portability in mind, more of a console experience on the go. Like the wipeout on vita look great but it has like 45 sec-1 minute loading screens that pretty much kill any chance of playing it for a quick 5-10 minutes on the bus. Also stuff like uncharted and gravity rush are great games but theyre still not games designed to be played on the go.

klecser3744d ago

It does not have games. In classic Sony fashion it has a very narrow set of game genres covered. I'd buy one if they made a game in a genre I like.

acharlez3744d ago

What kind of game would get you to buy one?

Fluke_Skywalker3744d ago

It has a huge spread of genres! My only issue with it's library is a distinct lack of AAA high quality titles.

incredibleMULK3744d ago

I wish Sony would stop pushing handheld, all that chains of Olympus and kill zones and resistances could have been manpower spent on ps3 versions good ones...not crappy prequels. Or money used for a decent dualshick4 battery that lasts longer than 6 hours. Vita is the reason Sony is in financial crumbs and Nintendo is doing the same with their testicle less wiiu. Its just sad.. but funny.

I will say this killzone shadow fall rocks. Now imagine if they used that kill zone liberation development costs for more maps or voice chat which it is currently lacking.

Sony focus boy, focus. Are ya paying attention to what I'm trying to tell ya boy?

NYC_Gamer3744d ago

There's no real support for the handheld and plus its now being marketed as an PS4 accessory

acharlez3744d ago

Yep. Pretty much.

Think that will help its chances at all?

Concertoine3744d ago (Edited 3744d ago )

It has, vita sales have baselined higher since the ps4 released. Its a genius design, but theres still only a handful that want to drop another 200 bucks after spending 400 on a ps4. Whats annoying is sony has actually relegated a few of their handheld dedicated 2nd and 1st party studios into ps4 development. Like those guys making The Order used to made GoW psp games.

Rainstorm813744d ago

it actually might get more traction as a ps4 accessory down the road

incredibleMULK3744d ago

During the Obama years...?.. uh,..no. $420 for ...console check,$190 for 3 decent games...check, $50 for PS+ membership...check...$300 hand held console with 5" screen and $30 shit games.....uh no,...I think I'll just buy a new Samsung galaxy.

Rainstorm813744d ago (Edited 3744d ago )

i can find a Vita right now for 100-120$....shop smart... and i said down the road sheesh....the Galaxy cant do connectivity wise via remote play what the vita can with the PS4 hence an accessory.

Games? Between Remote playing PS4 games PS+ and PSNow and you should be good to go on the games front

But if you are looking for Plants vs Zombies ,Angry Birds , Subway Surf and Candy Crush, then yes that may not be for you. and a GS4 costs more than a PS4 if we are talking price...but the games sure are cheap

lilbroRx3743d ago

Hasn't that already failed?

dbjj120883744d ago

I'm dying for more Vita games, third- or first-party. I don't care.

givemeshelter3744d ago

It's such a fantastic piece of hardware, however it lacks compelling games and unfortunately for once in his life, Patcher is right in this regards.
It's a shame, however between lack of quality games for the Vita and the fast pace of mobile and tablet gaming growing at record speeds, there is no place left for the Vita.... :-(

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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.

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techraptor.net
ChasterMies19d 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_looken19d ago

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

Cacabunga19d ago

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

just_looken19d 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-6419d 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_Long19d 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.

Einhander197219d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic19d 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 19d ago
DivineHand12519d 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.

Joe91319d 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_Observer19d 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.

S2Killinit19d ago (Edited 19d 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.

Joe91319d 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.

S2Killinit18d 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 18d ago
Christopher19d 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.

CrimsonWing6919d ago (Edited 19d 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.

S2Killinit18d 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_Mal19d ago (Edited 19d 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.

Christopher19d 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_looken19d 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

Einhander197219d ago (Edited 19d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic19d 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.

romulus2319d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218319d 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.

S2Killinit18d ago (Edited 18d 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.

mastershredder19d 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.

crazyCoconuts19d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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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.

blackblades25d ago

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

just_looken25d 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.

blackblades25d 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_looken25d ago (Edited 25d 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.

Kaii25d 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
S2Killinit27d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde27d ago (Edited 27d ago )

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

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

27d ago
Profchaos27d 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

Pyrofire9527d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia27d 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.

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