Vita released to the fanfare of many, and the ire of others.
"There's no room in the market for Vita"
"PS VITA is a gimmick"
.....
Had you going there didn't I?
No this isn't a thread about how the Vita will surely be successful by comparing it to the Wii. I mean, for one, nobody likes the Wii really.
No, this thread is about how the Vita is the most important console in Sony's history. Success will keep Sony on the same path, an expanding one. And failure will probably result in it being the final portable handheld for the company.
Like the Vita, Nintendo planned for Wii to be their final console. One last attempt to capture the market share they had been desperately trying to break into the previous two generations. Nintendo was seeing less and less return, and ultimately, saw its biggest rival smack it down like a fly. All franchise sales were down two generations in a row.
Here's where the interaction with Nintendo begins to apply to Sony.
Wii was able to capture the imaginations and love of a new market, the casual crowd. People like Amp were finally able to play a game without succumbing to sleep, and lapsed gamers everywhere (nostalgia friends) went gaga over the retro throwback reboots and the ability to download games from the early 80s.
What happened was disruption. Nintendo put out a console that according to the gamers of the world, was shit. However, gamers are just a portion of the population. Wii targeted most of the population instead (except the REAL gamers). In doing so, they helped usher in a new gaming opportunity. This opportunity reminded the mainstream that gaming was fun and active and social. Miyamoto had said once that a book came out called "game over" featuring a fat kid playing a game in the dark with his disgustingly portly features highlighted by the soft blue glow of the television (his words not mine). He was replused by this fat child, and decided to change the way games were played and thereby, viewed, by the mainstream.
What happened, was a dynamic shift in the gaming industry. Since then, we've had games like words with friends, farmville, Modern Warfare, and angry birds. Games that the gaming elite would consider trash....these games sell millions more than even critically acclaimed games like Metal Gear Solid. And what's worse for us REAL gamers, is that obsession with these games are considered healthy or silly, but if I play Muramasa or Demon's Souls for the same amount of time, I'm branded a loser. (Well not me, but you would be. I'm far too cool for that, fyi)
The future is cutting out a slice of this market.
Disruption, right. ALmost forgot about that.
See, disruption is the key here. Bottom up disruption (as opposed to the other disruption that the malstrom fans deny exists) occurs when a company takes the bits that the industry doesn't want, and creates a new market of basically refuse...refuse like, mario kart, etc. They then create defenses, mechanisms, that prevent other companies from following in their wake. Examples would be Apple iTunes having this proprietary distribution software that would take too long to develop.
Now, what the disruptor then does is "move upstream". This idea basically comes from the idea that there is an expected level of quality for the existing market and anything below it is also below them. The disruptor over time refines and refines and refines, and quality improves to the point where they are able to give performance at nearly the same level as the competitor. What this does is force the competitor to make a choice. One, directly compete by moving downstream, or two, move to more niche markets, more "hardcore" markets.
This first option is called the counterattack.
The counterattack is the point where the competitor can no longer afford to move upstream and must make a stand. An unsuccessful counterattack can and will end up obliterating the counterattacking company if it fails. The 3DS has pushed so far upstream that Sony can no longer afford to retreat without minimalizing itself into nonexistence.
The Vita is Sony's counterattack. The Vita offers more social integration. It offers apps. It offers minis. It has both cheap games and critically acclaimed ones, and even has a new way to control games with the rear touchpad. It also features headtracking, and remote play.It's giving gamers what gamers want, and hopefully, bringing that brand down to the lower levels.
It is rushing headlong toward the 3DS and in fact, the smart phone market as well.
Meanwhile, Nintendo has snatched up a lot of old Sony devs from many areas, and has some of the most hardcore franchises behind it. This is a new direction from Nintendo and it is directly aimed at gobbling up Sony's handheld market. This could be big trouble for Sony.
Thankfully, the Vita is a brilliant console. On the downside, it's not a phone. It has no weapon for breaking into the extended market. A casual will walk by a store sign and say, "oh look a vidya game", not, "hey I like to touch things on the back too, this is perfect" (well, maybe in japan they say that, likely on a crowded bus).
Moving forward, we are likely going to see a LOT of word of mouth styled advertising. We are going to be seeing a big push to show titles such as angry birds, and scrabble, and we are going to be seeing a push into other avenues, such as internet calling, 3G applications, and playstation Suite. If we don't see these things, prepare for the worst Sony friends, because this will likely be their last portable.
Although what an amazing platform it will be. Enjoy it, and make sure you tell your friends, real gamers.
:D
