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Forums - Sony Discussion - Apparently (?), SIE filed a patent for a Switch-like device with detachable controllers in 2015

Lawlight on 18 February 2017
StarDoor said:
Lawlight said:
Filed in 2015? Nintendo copies Sony again.

Don't get your hopes up. This patent was filed on August 6, 2015, and we first heard about the NX on March 17, 2015. Nintendo was still first.

We didn't know what the NX was back then.



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StarDoor on 18 February 2017
Lawlight said:

We didn't know what the NX was back then.

But Nintendo did, and that's what matters.



setsunatenshi on 18 February 2017
pray4mojo said:
setsunatenshi said:

Not completely disagreeing as, yes, Japan is mobile pretty much through and through. Also I do think there must be a plan at work to remain on the handheld market, but financially Japan is not that important anymore in terms of sales. The west is where they are making money and that's not going to change anytime soon.

Where I disagree is on the trouble you're predicting. A $300 handheld just does not sell the numbers you're thinking it will. Look at the 3DS before the steep price cut.

Also, technically Sony's handhelds have always been leagues ahead of Nintendo's in terms of specs and multimedia capabilities. Judging by what we've seen from the Switch, it definitely would not be hard to put on a new portable that would outperform the Switch. The question is, will it be worthwile just to capture the Japanese market?

I honestly don't know, but I would love a new Vita/PSP with all the things fixed (L2,R2, L3, R3, normal sd cards). I don't see it happening with this design though, it's lacking the usual Sony sleekness.

Sony's handhelds have only outperformed Nintendos in the specs department. That hasn't translated to sales as Nintendos handhelds have never been challenged, even in Japan. Sony isn't going to capture the Japanese martket no matter what. Right now, in light of Switch being a hybrid, Sony can only try to stay afloat. Home consoles are dead. Ninendo handhelds reign supreme. There's really no where for them to go right now and it's going to be interesting to see how they approach the problem. 

Just to be clear, you're speaking Japanese sales only, right?

 

I need to know that's the extent you're speaking here, because it could be interpreted in a different way.

 

They do not need to outsell Nintendo's handheld in Japan to make money, there's obviously the western market that will also buy the product. It's possible to take a piece of the pie, there's no need to let Nintendo have a monopoly on handheld gaming.

 

Also as I mentioned before. If you're thinking Nintendo can sell a highly limited handheld for over $300 and be successful, history says otherwise.



pray4mojo on 18 February 2017
setsunatenshi said:
pray4mojo said:

Sony's handhelds have only outperformed Nintendos in the specs department. That hasn't translated to sales as Nintendos handhelds have never been challenged, even in Japan. Sony isn't going to capture the Japanese martket no matter what. Right now, in light of Switch being a hybrid, Sony can only try to stay afloat. Home consoles are dead. Ninendo handhelds reign supreme. There's really no where for them to go right now and it's going to be interesting to see how they approach the problem. 

Just to be clear, you're speaking Japanese sales only, right?

 

I need to know that's the extent you're speaking here, because it could be interpreted in a different way.

 

They do not need to outsell Nintendo's handheld in Japan to make money, there's obviously the western market that will also buy the product. It's possible to take a piece of the pie, there's no need to let Nintendo have a monopoly on handheld gaming.

 

Also as I mentioned before. If you're thinking Nintendo can sell a highly limited handheld for over $300 and be successful, history says otherwise.

Yeah. It's an entirely different world outside of Japan lol.



thismeintiel on 18 February 2017
Kai_Mao said:
zelmusario said:

LOL "All I need this gen are Switch and Swap and I'm set!" 

But for real, I've been wondering how long it would take Sony to come out with a similar design. I mean, I would love to have the Switch's concept transferred over to the PS environment. You'd have every game you want, including all the AAA Western games, at home or on the go. Tell me that's not appealing. Well, except for the price point, which would be insane, I'm sure. 

If Nintendo Switch's price is what it is with the power it has, I can imagine Sony's take would be more expensive since I'm sure those ARM chips that can handle PS4-like power could be very pricey alone. Plus add in component to keep the console cool and functioning with that kind of power...it adds up.

Doubt it. My guess is they would aim for the same price, maybe even $199-$249. How you might ask. Well, simple. By actually playing this smart. 

For one, you don't use obscure Nvidia chips that are barely in anything. You use top of the line mobile chips that are used in many phones, which drives down the price.  Sony has also shown it is much better at negotiating prices on their parts. Nintendo had to sell the Wii U at a loss when the thing used incredibly outdated tech and launched at ~$349.  Compare that to the $399 PS4 that didn't take very long for Sony to become profitable on each console sold, yet used much better/newer tech.  Nintendo also can not drop the price to $199-$249, which should have happened a year or more ago, otherwise they start losing money on it, again, while Sony, at the worst, is breaking even at $249.  

Sony would also most likely sell the dock separate, though the device would probably be able to connect to the tv without it.  It also wouldn't be as much as Nintendo is asking for a new one, probably $50 max.  I'd imagine they wouldn't include motion controls in the controllers, instead relying on them inside the device, which tablet gamers are used to. And, finally, they would just use the improved rumble found in the DS4, not HD rumble, which requires more motors.  

Having said that, I doubt Sony is going to do this. I think they are done with the handheld market until it can prove it is no longer dying.



 

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DarthMetalliCube on 18 February 2017

Ah yes.. That's the Sony I know and love..



 

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Nem on 18 February 2017

Well, my view on it is that trademarks shoud be useless unless the products are already actively in production. I know Sony is especially guilty of making countless trademarks that never actually materialise.



Lawlight on 18 February 2017
StarDoor said:
Lawlight said:

We didn't know what the NX was back then.

But Nintendo did, and that's what matters.

But we don't know whether they did back then.



dahuman on 18 February 2017

Oh my goodness, I'm so glad Sony didn't do it, that's one ugly mother fucker, that shit is not Sony worthy.



dahuman on 18 February 2017
Soundwave said:

If Sony really wanted to fuck Nintendo they could release this for tablets.

With Playstation branding it likely would get a lot more support than those no-name third party controllers get and it would muddy the market for the Switch.

Though I don't think Sony is quite that evil, I think they at least on some level would like to see the Switch do OK because they know Nintendo brings in kids to traditional gaming which they then end up benefitting from as those kids get a little older and want edgier content, which tends to happen to a lot of kids as they get to about age 11/12/13.

So maybe they go easy on Nintendo on this.

There are already controllers like that though, and it's not like sony would really release big games on tablets, it would be way too easy to pirate and performances would be dog shit across different configurations of hardware, you wouldn't see any nice looking games like on their actual hardware. Really though, the main part is too easy to pirate. Even if they just make a tablet, it'd not be less than 600 dollars because it's Sony.