Nearly two years ago, I wrote a blog, here, about the PS Vita and the 3DS having a common problem; which was they are not phones (1). I argued the rise of mobile devices has made these products seem unattractive to the mass market as many people can buy small cheap games to play on the go (with this devices being in direct competition) while getting the console experience at home. The general reaction from this community was that I was wrong at it has taken me nearly two years to notice we were both wrong. The handheld consoles do not need to be like phones but at the same time the only way these things will sell is if they are priced cheaply (regardless of content quality) because of phones.
The best place to start is the 3DS as it really shows how price affected its sales. When the 3DS launched, in February 2011, things were looking good for the system. Gamespot reported the system was the most pre-order console ever on Amazon UK (2). While the UK is not the centre of the universe anymore, the system shipped 3.6 million units by the end of March 2011(3). However, sales dropped off soon after this with an extra 0.71 million shipped by the end of June 2011 bringing the total to 4.32 million units shipped (4). The 3DS’s poor sale numbers prompted Nintendo to drop the price of the 3DS in late 2011. The 3DS was dropped from 25,000 Yen to 15,000 Yen (5) and the EU the price drop was as much as a third (6). The price drop (which came into effect on August 12th 2011) had an immediate effect on the 3DS’s sales where by the end of September 2011 6.68 million units were shipped (7) and by the end of the year 15.03 million units were shipped (8).
I have seen N4G users argue that this increase was more to do with the good software releases and not solely because of price and there is a valid point here. The two top selling games for the 3DS are Super Mario Land 3D and Mario Kart 7 which shipped 8.54 and 8.12 million units (9) which released at a similar time to the price cut. But I think it would be ignorant to say the games themselves were the reason for the unit increase. As I mention in the previous paragraph, the price cut for the 3DS was serve. Cutting the price by a third in the EU shows how the bad the situation was and how Nintendo knew that games alone could not sell their system. They made that decision to cut the price because then these big games wouldn’t suffer poor sales. As a result, they have become the bestselling games on the system. I think what Nintendo realised is people are not prepared to by a handheld systems at the old price points. Since the 3DS price drop and by the end of June this year, the total number of 3DS’s sold has reached 32.48 million units (10) which shows what people preserve as a correct price for a handheld system.
Sony’s Playstation Vita really pushes this point home. The Vita is a powerful system and despite what some people say it has a vast selection of great games that should, in theory, appeal to the mass market. Yet it isn’t selling well at all. To be more accurate, it is selling rather poorly with it officially selling 2.2 million units by June 2012 (11) and unofficially selling 5.48 million units as of today (12). People just do not want to put down X amount for a handheld system anymore. The price just doesn’t seem worth it anymore. But why is that?
The rise of smart phone gaming has left these dedicated systems in an unusual and unstable position. No long can these systems sell at +£200 and sell well especially when there is the added cost of getting the games for the system. Mobile gaming has become a much more attractive proposition, for consumers, than it was when these systems’ predecessors released (PSP and DS). Newzoo reported that, in 2012, 33% of all apps downloaded were games and 66% of all money spent on smartphones and tablets were for games (13). This is remarkable since, in 2012, Apple reported that 20 million apps were downloaded from the App Store (14). This is a very active market with more and more games hitting the app/play store every day. Combine this with these handheld systems costing pretty much the same as a home console and it is no wonder why both the 3DS nor the Vita sold well in the first few months (Vita is still not selling well).
It seems that the market has changed dramatically since the arrival of smartphone gaming. People seem unprepared to pay a lot of money for a handheld console which caught both Nintendo and Sony out. Nintendo responded quickly with a price cut which, for the most part, is working yet Sony hasn’t followed suit. Now Sony may drop the price at Gamescom which could help its sales but they seem very reliant on the fact the PS4 will sell the system. Sadly, I don’t think it will as my above observation shows people do not buy handheld consoles if they are expensive. What this will do to the handheld market is unknown but I feel we may see a complete change in tactic from both Sony and Nintendo in their next handheld devices which will be designed for a low cost price point in mind. Otherwise they will not sell at all.
References:
1. http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...
2. http://uk.gamespot.com//new...
3. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/i...
4. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/i...
5. http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...
6. http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...
7. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/i...
8. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/i...
9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
10. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/i...
11. http://www.slashgear.com/ps...
12. http://www.vgchartz.com/ana...
13. http://www.newzoo.com/wp-co...
14. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1...
Just like you don’t ask a woman her age, you don’t ask a Final Fantasy fan how many games there are in total.
Mario Kart World’s Free Roam is a fun distraction away from the main modes, best played in short bursts and not quite the 'open-world' it was initially billed as.
8 years, 150+ Devs and the free roam mode is pretty empty.
What did they do with the time they spent developing the game?? How did they take 8 years? I refuse to believe it.
It sounds like the game may have been ready and they just held it back waiting for the Switch 2 to release.. which already released 2-3 years later than when it could've.
Undead Citadel, a medieval-era VR action game, arrives next week on PlayStation VR2.
Well the time for a price cut on the Vita and its memory card is long overdue. Well at $200 the sales for the Vita might pick up but they won't stay up for long. Somewhere in the $149-$179 range would be the sweet spot imho.
Sony other problem was the 3G variant, it was only available on 4 carriers(ATT,Roger,NTTDoCoMo,V odafone). Some parts of me think Sony wasted money on creating the 3G version to be honest. The other part thinks if they wanted this variant to sell more then they should've open it to more carriers.
Something telling me Nintendo and Sony's next handheld will have a hard time on their hands. Some will argue they won't because people will buy these platform for the exclusives. Exclusives only matter to the hardcore crowd. Sony and especially Nintendo no longer have control over the handheld market. Now more than ever people are wanting iPhones,iPad, Android phones and Android tablets.
The sports games on Vita alone sell it to me...when they shave 50-100 off.
NBA 2k13 on the go that holds up to the PS3 version? Count me in.
Alot of great points and a reasonable conclusion. Since cells are emended in everyday life they have an edge over the handheld market via access ability and convince. The cell companies are showing no signs of losing their market share and if anything might smother out the handheld. Maybe not soon but in this current pattern it will occur. Companies do have to turn a profit and not just on the the system themselves but on the lisence fees associated with game sells.
I am one of the guilty who play some small games on my phone and no longer use my PSP, last handheld I personally bought. Then again handhelds where more of a last resort in my eyes personally.
Another great read, and like the inclusion of the references.
+1
The mobile/tablet market is only going to get bigger plus look at all the huge publishers now creating software for them devices
I too was here a while back and brought up the very same points about handhelds vs. smartphone gaming. With the rise of smartphones and the apps available brought forth a huge surge in casual, cheap gaming. And since cell phones are essential and not handheld video games of course the demand for handhelds wouldn't be as high.
I too was met with so much anger and name calling on this site that I just had to sit back and just say "wait and see".
The thing is a lot of people who are outside are usually actually doing something constructive. And when there is some down time whether it be at the DMV, dentist or doctor's there wait is only 15 to 20 minutes. There really isn't time to play Uncharted, Mario Kart 7 or CoD when there's so little time.
This is why the cheap, casual games have taken over in the handheld market. Get in, and get out with a gameplay feeling of something being accomplished in such a short amount of time.
Some people on this site just needed to hear the points made about this instead of instantly labeling a person "a troll who hates all things Sony."