| d21lewis said: Here's my take on the current state of portable gaming: The DS was a success because it offered great games and features that nobody else was offering at the time. The 3DS offers just as many new features but not everyone is aware of them, yet. All people think it is is just a DS with a cheap 3D effect (but the 3D is actually very good). When it starts pushing new games and not just ports, it will do very well. Problem is, casual games may eat into the market of the 3DS. Nintendo lost some momentum with the 3DS. They need to pump out the next batch of Mario, Mario Kart, and Pokemon to get gamers hooked before the PSV hits or people get too used to playing cheap thrills like Angry Birds. The PSP was a success because it offered "the Playstation experience" on the go. The PSV is offering more features and such at an affordable price. The problem is, the 3DS has some serious horsepower. If third parties don’t try to push the PSV's capabilities, the games will look almost as good (we're talking Xbox vs PS2) on the 3DS. Sony excels when third parties offer exclusive games. If the 3DS can offer "the Playstation experience" AND "the Nintendo experience" , Sony may be in trouble. They need their big developers working on their big franchises if they want to win this thing. Third parties are loyal to no one. I once saw "mini-games" like those offered on phones and pads as a threat. I've been playing a lot of games on my phone and playing my PSP less and less. I'm actually getting bored with those bite sized games and hungering for full game experiences, again. I can't be alone in this. I think the PSV and the 3DS will both do very well--just not as good as their predecessors. There will always be a market for the premium experience. |
Good post.
Though do consider this. The PS3 and X360 took time to get steam on. In the mean time (and the late PS2 years) the new thing was the DS/PSP, with the PSP being really THE strong portable. Look at the state of it today... you likely barely heard the mention of a new PSP game in months (besides SE games), it's a strugling segment of the market (yes piracy has it's part here, but so does it in the hardware sales). My point is PSP had an edge.
Now look at Vita... the competition is an ever more powerfull cell phone base, they are already well into PSP power (XPERIA play is your example, though less powerfull, it isn't the most powerfull cellphone either)... add moore's law... Vita launches when cell phones are arriving at PS2 level games capacity, a time where cell phones have games like minecraft... where's the edge? Dual analog.... the answer to that is Xperia play.... ironic (a newer model was already spotted with TV out, sony is going to continue that line... a bit counter productive for Vita no?)
Now look at the 3DS... it has all the same features... but one that really makes it special... 2 screens. Can't beat that how ever way you look at it.
I agree with Kotick... where's the market?
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