Explain: Sony abandoning the Vita

[NightDragon83]

Dr.Henry_Killinger said:

Guitarguy said:

Dr.Henry_Killinger said:

NightDragon83 said:
This is the "worst generation for handhelds" because Vita's sales are terrible, not the other way around.

And both the 3DS and Vita were way overpriced when they were released... a $250 handheld was NEVER going to be successful. Notice how the 3DS's sales finally picked up after it was dropped below $200, and it has plenty of quality software, along with the 2DS for those on a budget. Vita meanwhile is still $200+ with literally no games. Not hard to see why this is the "worst generation for handhelds".

Smartphones are why.

40 million 3DS units say hello.

80 million PSPs

81 million GBAs

118 million GBs

150 million NDSs

Pre smartphones

3DS units say bye.

PSP... $250 at launch, but also a hacker's / homebrewer's wet dream... it's biggest sales were overseas in Europe and Japan.

GBA... $99.99 at launch.

GB... $89.99 at launch.

NDS... $129.99 at launch.

3DS and Vita... both $250+ at launch with no real compelling games... 3 years later still at the $199 mark for the main SKUs, alternate 2DS model released for $129.  High hardware prices are a big reason why this generation of handhelds has struggle so much, as traditionally the market for handheld gaming devises skews young, and parents don't want to drop $200-$250 a pop for these things.

Software prices are also a big problem for handhelds these days.... most games retail for $40, 66% of what full price console games retail for.  Traditionally handheld software was priced in the $20-$30 range up until the previous generation.

Mobile gaming on tablets / smartphones alone isn't what's killing handhelds... it's all about price.  Drop software prices by about $20, and hardware prices by at least $50, and they'll sell like hotcakes, especially the 3DS which has a very compelling software library.