2013 – PS Vita’s Last Hope

[osed125]

pokoko said:

osed125 said:

I agree in what you said, but I don't think 2014 will be a good year for the Vita if the sales in 2013 aren't good. I mean let's say that devs are probably working on games that will launch in 2014, there's a whole year to see the Vita sales and what happens if those sales are bad? They are probably going to cancel the project or move it to another platform, unless there are big incentives from Sony.

I don't think that's going to happen.  I mean it could, or a few developers might stop if they're in the early stages, but I doubt it would happen on a wide scale.  I've said this before, but I think it would be a huge mistake if every developer in Japan tried to fight their way into the 3DS market.  A lot of studios would be choked out by the competition.  As ironic as it sounds, developing for the Vita would be a kind of "blue ocean" stategy.  It's in the best interests of Japanese publishers to create an alternative market to the 3DS.

Don't get me wrong, I agree that the Vita has to show marked improvement in 2013, especially with price adjustments.  I just think 2014 will be the real make or break year in terms of software.

I agree, if developers stick only to the 3DS there will be a huge problem in the market. But the main competitor of the Vita in Japan is not the 3DS, is the PSP (as funny as that sounds). Even if the Vita is easy and cheap to develop for, the PSP is still cheaper and have a huge install base in Japan, and there are still games that sell really well. Sony have to somehow cut the support of the PSP (without killing it) and move it to the Vita, that of course will require huge incentives coming from Sony.