| Aielyn said: The DS wasn't disruptive (so the Vita can't be a counterattack to disruption), and the 3DS isn't upstreaming. Vita is, in the end, business as usual for Sony. Sony doesn't generally "innovate", they take innovations introduces by others, and attempt to tweak it (usually resulting in just a "doubling" of the innovative thing). The only exception I can think of is Eyetoy. So what is the Vita? A PSP with a boost in power, addition of touch controls x2 (touchscreen on front, touchpad on back), console-handheld connectivity (first seen on Gamecube/GBA, then Wii/DS), etc. It's entirely business-as-usual. And this is why it's a risky move for Sony - because there is no attempt to expand their market. What Sony needed to do was release something disruptive, because there hasn't been a real disruption in the handheld market - this would have forced Nintendo to respond. Notice that Nintendo has pretty much paid no attention to the Vita? The Vita is without a doubt a life-or-death kind of release for Sony - if it succeeds, Sony remains in the handheld space; if it fails, Sony will likely withdraw from it. But that's the only way in which the Vita resembles the Wii. And even in that respect, the contrast is great, as the Wii released to massive fanfare, disrupted the market, targetted the blue ocean, and has had clear and extensive impact on the industry. Vita, on the other hand, released with a whimper, and does anyone really believe that it'll do any of the other things the Wii did? There was mention of social networking, etc. This is a dead end for the Vita, as it's something that is already done much more efficiently with smartphones, and since the primary target for Vita is technophiles, who almost certainly already have smartphones, they're setting themselves up for a fall. This doesn't mean that Vita is doomed to failure. At the end of the day, the same rule applies as it did to every other system in history: it's all about the games. If Sony can get the right games onto the system, they'll do fine. |
I should've stopped reading after your first sentence but I willr ead the rest. Keep in mind that this sentence is utterly false. DS is incredibly disruptive.
The second and third paragraph I agree to. Sony made a half hearted counterattack.
Your next sentence about paying no attention to vita? Well it's been out ww for one week now. Surely you should give it more time before you write something like that as if it's fact.
The next paragraph is very interesting, in just how much I can possibly disagree with it.
"The Vita is without a doubt a life-or-death kind of release for Sony - if it succeeds, Sony remains in the handheld space; if it fails, Sony will likely withdraw from it. But that's the only way in which the Vita resembles the Wii. And even in that respect, the contrast is great, as the Wii released to massive fanfare, disrupted the market, targetted the blue ocean, and has had clear and extensive impact on the industry. Vita, on the other hand, released with a whimper, and does anyone really believe that it'll do any of the other things the Wii did?"
Yes it is a life-or-death for Sony. That's what I wrote in the OP. I also wrote that it is the only way it's similar to the Wii. So, what?
Now, Wii did NOT release to massive fanfare. I hate to burst your bubble but the Wii was hated. Even I hated it (though I've grown to love it now for the gold it gets here and there). So, I don't think "fanfare" would actually be appropriate, because it wasn't gamers who lauded the system. THe success of the wii rests solely on the backs of the expanded market, to which I agree in the OP. Again, I did not liken vita to wii in anyway related to being successful or having similar "gimmicks".
The next paragraph, well, I agree with that too in the OP. It's a half hearted attempt, but SOny's thinking is all backwards. They think people will buy a vita for apps, when it's supposed ot be the otherway around. People buy smartphones because they need a phone, first and foremost. The apps just help guide them to which phone they should buy. In this way, vita is incapable of using the features that I've acknowledged to any real success.
Oh and 3ds IS upstreaming, and so is wii U. Sony's bastion of hope with the PSP was it's strong "gamer's lineup". Nintendo made a concious effort to not only make sure they got a system capable of monster hunter, but they also snatched up a lot of devs. These are really things Nintendo has never cared to pursue, but now they are. Don't you wonder why? The answer is because they are upstreaming, trying to push Sony into more and more hardcore games, and it's working.
As I said in the OP, Sony has some ways out of this mess, but it's going to take a lot of work and new thinking that I don't think Sony is capable, or willing, for the matter.
