Sega Hardlight to switch focus from Vita to smartphones
Formed at the start of the year, Sega Hardlight – the Japanese giant's UK studio in Solihull – is to shift away from handheld devices to make working on iOS, Android and Windows its priority.
(Android, Casual games, Dev, Industry, iPad, iPhone, Mobile, Next-Gen, PC, PS Vita, Sega, Tech)
damn smart phones are killing core gaming.. I have an iphone & will NEVER buy a game from the store unless i have no choice.. I refuse to accept touch only inputs..
Are you high or something? Assassin's Creed II sold 10 million copies. Assassin's Creed Bloodlines was one of the games bundled with the PSP, Assassin's Creed 3 is being bundled with the new PS3, and Liberation is being bundled with the Vita. The only games that you ever bundle with consoles are ones that will sell consoles, or shitty ones that won't sell otherwise. Assassin's Creed is not the latter.
And the PS Vita has so many good games on it. Uncharted was fun, Gravity Rush is awesome, LBP is amazing. There are so many more too. Plus Killzone looks like it will be great and will definitely move systems. The same goes for AC Liberation. And CoD is a system seller no matter how crappy it looks.
Do you have any numbers that say otherwise? It's common sense. If a game is extremely popular and has a large fan base, then it will sell systems. Hence Call of Duty, Uncharted 3, and Assassin's Creed 3 being bundled with the PS3 and Halo 4 and Forza being bundled for the Xbox 360.
Its where the money is so developers would be stupid to ignore it. Games on touchscreen devices are still in their infancy but give it a few years and lets see where things are. Mind you, its not all angry birds as the ignorant would have you believe. There are some really challenging games available on touchscreen devices.
The only way they can combat this is if they make a digital media player (like an iPad) that only does everything but has buttons, a dedicated gaming device that only does gaming so that it could be very cheap (like the gamecube), or just make the game controllers themselves be multi-purpose devices (Wii U started it, with it's Nintendo TVii and browser).
I love Sony but they need to just stop wasting money and resources on the VITA it's DEAD and just focus on the PS3,PS4 some of the things Sony does make me SMH!!
With 21 members of staff working on projects lasting just 4-8 months they were clearly studio designed to produce shovelware.
Shame they couldn't make these games work for Vita too though. I wouldn't think that would be too hard, it isn't as if it's running really obscure architecture like a PS3, or the games are likely to be overly complex.
Sega Japan studios are the only studios that push the brand.Speaking of which Hatsune Miku just sold like crazy in Japan this week and pushed out Vitas.Not to mention Phantasy Star Online 2 is on the horizon.
Yeah but the devs aren't very happy either as they've already mentioned (Miku game development is expensive and they said it might have been the last for the VITA).
I love PJD and I am not lying. I'd hate it if that was the last full blown PJD game for the VITA.
I think one of Sony's main problems in the gaming industry is their constant bad business decisions that they make. For everything good they make, there's always a "But"...I'm still mad at them when they sold the Tenchu IP to Actvision who at the time where only focusing on the Marvel license, then Activision got rid of it.. They should have kept Tenchu as well as Crash & Spyro, cause the games after the PS1 era sucked balls..
Then people being wanting the HDD for the PS2.. After all those years, they released it for the sake of a damn Final Fantasy XI, which at the time it was required for that game to be played with a HDD, there was barely any use of it after FF.. Then the lack of fighting games online for PS2, only for shooters & sports.
Sony went the arrogant route with the PS3 & underestimated the gaming market & consumer by pricing the console too high, the PS store looked like shovelware for a company that dominated the last 2 generations.... Plus I think the Vita is good value for money but come on, they should have included at least a 4gb memory stick on the box. They shouldn't be surprised by the lack of dev support when devs clearly wants to see potential sales & a well established instal base, IDK WTF they're thinking, & still have the nerve in releasing the Vita in Japan with a lineup that is consisted mostly of western games when they know clearly the Japanese don't like western games..
I'm a Sony fan for the most part, never a hater. But damn, there's too many things Microsoft took advantage of Sony's stupid moves this gen, but Sony did great this gen, not as much as past gens, but still.. But clearly have to change management business wise, hope Kaz Hirai's role does something good in the games division... As much as I dislike Microsoft, I can't deny the fact they managed better than Sony this gen, even if they're focusing on the same damn IPs.
Smart move Sega. Vita (in fact Sony as a whole) is a sinking ship. Better to invest in something you know you can make a return in and not go out of business for.
Who cares? SEGA has been crap the pat 10 years or so. Most people don't give 2nd thought buying a game on Android or Ios device because they are so cheap. I guess they are trying to get money where ever they can.
I think it's actually helping handhelds in a way, but it also could be a double edge sword; let me explain...
Why do people buy handhelds? Simple, to get a get a console type experience on the go. I'm well aware that handhelds aren't fully capable of console quality graphics, however they do posses the ability to deliver a console quality experience. For instance, KI: Uprising left me awestruck with it's gorgeous visuals and deep game-play mechanics. The amount content and game-play, packed in that tiny cart left me speechless, and reminded me why I would never choose a mobile device over a dedicated handheld; at least not yet. What I'm getting at is this, the overall quality that dedicated handhelds deliver is impeccable. That's what Sony and Nintendo are banking on, quality titles.
Today's mobile devices have limited amounts of quality titles, and their markets are flooded daily with dollar bin shovel-where. It's very difficult to find a game that a developer truly worked hard for. The fact is that there are some great titles on mobile devices that you could purchase, at a mere-fraction of what you would pay compared to a dedicated handheld. That's were it could hurt the dedicated handheld market. Again, Sony and Nintendo are both aware of this and are banking on (once again), quality titles.
I have yet to find games on a mobile device that deliver experiences such as KI: Uprising, RE: Revelations, Super Mario 3D Land, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, and Little Big Planet. This is a great thing and is why I still support the handheld market; however, once games do start releasing, like the ones mentioned above, at a steady pace while remaining cheap, it could in fact change change the way I think. Until that happens, handhelds will remain my second source for gaming, consoles and PC being my main choice... Happy gaming!
Well Sony can just give Sega the Playstation Mobile SDK (or whatever its called) since its compatible with Andriod, iOS and Sony devices which includes the Vita. I don't really see any big problems unless Sony fails to act on it.
@tiffac008 Playstation Mobile official developer's and Publisher's list:
PlayStation Mobile partners list includes From Software, THQ, Nippon Ichi, and many more
Thu, Aug 16, 2012 | 02:22 BST
Some of the highlights for me personally include Guilty Gear developer Arc System Works, Dark Souls developer From Software, mental RPG makers Imageepoch and Nippon Ichi, international indies Q Entertainment, [Sega], Tecmo Koei, Tim Rogers’ Action Button (of Ziggurat fame; pictured), Worms developer Team 17 and THQ.
Sony needs to offer more incentives to produce games for the Vita. More tools (free), more tech support etc. Their marketing needs to be aggressive, their developer relations guy gotta be super aggressive
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they NEED GTA or just kiss it goodbye, Assassin Creed is not a system seller, COD looks like crap, Bioshock is ???
Are you high or something? Assassin's Creed II sold 10 million copies. Assassin's Creed Bloodlines was one of the games bundled with the PSP, Assassin's Creed 3 is being bundled with the new PS3, and Liberation is being bundled with the Vita. The only games that you ever bundle with consoles are ones that will sell consoles, or shitty ones that won't sell otherwise. Assassin's Creed is not the latter.
And the PS Vita has so many good games on it. Uncharted was fun, Gravity Rush is awesome, LBP is amazing. There are so many more too. Plus Killzone looks like it will be great and will definitely move systems. The same goes for AC Liberation. And CoD is a system seller no matter how crappy it looks.
You don't.
Do you have any numbers that say otherwise? It's common sense. If a game is extremely popular and has a large fan base, then it will sell systems. Hence Call of Duty, Uncharted 3, and Assassin's Creed 3 being bundled with the PS3 and Halo 4 and Forza being bundled for the Xbox 360.
teens now a days like the Internet, music, videos, and more importantly "Talking on the Phone" instead of playing video games on the go!
iPhone vs. Vita.......iPhone wins everytime!
Sony needs a PS Vita cell Phone app ASAP!
Delusional.
Shame they couldn't make these games work for Vita too though. I wouldn't think that would be too hard, it isn't as if it's running really obscure architecture like a PS3, or the games are likely to be overly complex.
I love PJD and I am not lying. I'd hate it if that was the last full blown PJD game for the VITA.
Then people being wanting the HDD for the PS2.. After all those years, they released it for the sake of a damn Final Fantasy XI, which at the time it was required for that game to be played with a HDD, there was barely any use of it after FF.. Then the lack of fighting games online for PS2, only for shooters & sports.
Sony went the arrogant route with the PS3 & underestimated the gaming market & consumer by pricing the console too high, the PS store looked like shovelware for a company that dominated the last 2 generations.... Plus I think the Vita is good value for money but come on, they should have included at least a 4gb memory stick on the box. They shouldn't be surprised by the lack of dev support when devs clearly wants to see potential sales & a well established instal base, IDK WTF they're thinking, & still have the nerve in releasing the Vita in Japan with a lineup that is consisted mostly of western games when they know clearly the Japanese don't like western games..
I'm a Sony fan for the most part, never a hater. But damn, there's too many things Microsoft took advantage of Sony's stupid moves this gen, but Sony did great this gen, not as much as past gens, but still.. But clearly have to change management business wise, hope Kaz Hirai's role does something good in the games division... As much as I dislike Microsoft, I can't deny the fact they managed better than Sony this gen, even if they're focusing on the same damn IPs.
I hate that support on a project is lost in one area, but I'm confident that it not something that the Vita can't recover from.
What I really look forward to seeing is Sony passing out those "CROW" dinners, with an extra helping of "I told you so"!!!!....
sony marketing team Y U NO DO YOUR D*MN JOB?
i've seen more 3DS ads than PSVita ads!! WTF is this?!!!
http://www.tvadmusic.co.uk/...
Why do people buy handhelds? Simple, to get a get a console type experience on the go. I'm well aware that handhelds aren't fully capable of console quality graphics, however they do posses the ability to deliver a console quality experience. For instance, KI: Uprising left me awestruck with it's gorgeous visuals and deep game-play mechanics. The amount content and game-play, packed in that tiny cart left me speechless, and reminded me why I would never choose a mobile device over a dedicated handheld; at least not yet. What I'm getting at is this, the overall quality that dedicated handhelds deliver is impeccable. That's what Sony and Nintendo are banking on, quality titles.
Today's mobile devices have limited amounts of quality titles, and their markets are flooded daily with dollar bin shovel-where. It's very difficult to find a game that a developer truly worked hard for. The fact is that there are some great titles on mobile devices that you could purchase, at a mere-fraction of what you would pay compared to a dedicated handheld. That's were it could hurt the dedicated handheld market. Again, Sony and Nintendo are both aware of this and are banking on (once again), quality titles.
I have yet to find games on a mobile device that deliver experiences such as KI: Uprising, RE: Revelations, Super Mario 3D Land, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, and Little Big Planet. This is a great thing and is why I still support the handheld market; however, once games do start releasing, like the ones mentioned above, at a steady pace while remaining cheap, it could in fact change change the way I think. Until that happens, handhelds will remain my second source for gaming, consoles and PC being my main choice... Happy gaming!
Playstation Mobile official developer's and Publisher's list:
PlayStation Mobile partners list includes From Software, THQ, Nippon Ichi, and many more
Thu, Aug 16, 2012 | 02:22 BST
Some of the highlights for me personally include Guilty Gear developer Arc System Works, Dark Souls developer From Software, mental RPG makers Imageepoch and Nippon Ichi, international indies Q Entertainment, [Sega], Tecmo Koei, Tim Rogers’ Action Button (of Ziggurat fame; pictured), Worms developer Team 17 and THQ.
ooh look at that who do we have here?
SEGA Corporation
http://www.vg247.com/2012/0...
Sega, there comes a time in every development studio's life when they have to not be shitty.