| dharh said: I can't fathom how any serious gamer would consider a smartphone, even the most powerful out there, to be even remotely the same experience gaming as either the PSV or the 3DS. Sure you can play games on the smartphone, but you would almost never play any game that involves doing more than flicking birds across the screen or playing games like scrabble. A gamer does not play smartphone games when they can play on a dedicated handheld. Other people who aren't anything more than casual gamers who are trying to eat up time in between doing stuff in the real world do not really matter. That said, the iphone other smart phones will significantly outpace 3DS and PSV sales. And games that appeal specifically to that crowd will have the potential to make lots and lots of money. They will still never really have the depth that actual gamers require, thus will not replace dedicated systems in the near and significant future. The day when we get modular handheld devices where we can morph a primary computation unit into a phone or a gaming device will be the day both smartphones and dedicated gaming devices die, and probably not a day before. |
Your missing the point of the OP and at the same time proving why it would be a success.
There are different types of gamers out there and if this generation didn't prove which one is the bigger market of consumers, they you have to be blind. The Wii didn't skyrocket to domination due to its killer graphics, advanced AI, and super-computer like processing. It dominated due to a unique interface and a steady delivery of mass market games also frequently called 'casual'. Guess what, so is Angry Birds, Words with Friends, Farmville, and many other games not on dedicated consoles that have outsold ANY game that is by a ton. Sure they were free, but their revenues earned was still many times more as was their steady installed base and continuous played hours. They are games and people playing them are gamers. Those people could also buy a machine also capable of putting out games VGCers would rather play as well, given the right circumstance. Nintendo also demonstrate this fact this gen.
Sony could also demonstrate that fact if they'd get their head out of there asses and see their potential. Why focus on the small fish when you can potentially take the whole pond? Sony owns a massive library of other mass market IPs, from music to movies. Sony has a massive brand image in electronics and gaming.
They could build a device very easily that would not only give you the exact same feel and gameplay as a dedicated console, but would also give you a high end smartphone. Samsung and other Android OEMs have already proven that a very large segment of consumers like phones over 4". Given a slider design and you could easily pack in a normal set of controls. In fact, the only feature on the PSV I would see not in that design, *might* be the back touch sensor and frankly, I see that as being a feature not really doing much of anything over the life of the PSV. So the design would realistically be no different and provide not only the touch experience for many casual titles, but also the normal gamepad experience for your vision of 'gamers'.
Nearly every phone comeing out now already has dual core cpus and decent gpus. Android (and likely iphone) coming out this year will have quad-core chips and gpus greater than 3DS and by next year greater than PSV.... and this is with products where they don't really care as much for the GPU. There is no reason Sony couldn't have put out a device that was still more powerful than 3DS and in the form factor I'm suggesting. The tech is there already.
The price would have been even more flexible as well considering they could have utilized the smartphone / tablet strategy. $200 on contract or $400+ off. This would have enabled Sony to make a profit day one and still meet all the other objectives the PSV is currently intended to do. All the while actually hitting a mass market potential on day one.
3DS and PSV I won't buy for myself. I don't have the time to make them worth it and I don't want to carry anything more than my Galaxy Nexus as it is. PSV I won't buy for my kids as its too expensive and they'd prefer Pokemon and other staple Nintendo IPs anyways. However, if the Xperia Play wasn't a gimped product, even compared to phones it lauched with, as well as had full playstation support, I would have purchased one. That's what the PSV should have been. There are plenty of other gamers who would have followed that same logic, far more than will buy PSV now. Additionally, there are plenty of casualz who might have bought it based on its overall power and capabilities combined with the better gaming experience for the few games they do play on their commute. Btw, those people probably have FAR more games than the three I have on my phone. (I have angry birds, words, and a blocks game) I know my dad also has a couple games that would definitely be better with real controls.
Essay Pro