Mobile Gaming Didn't Kill The Vita -- Sony Did

[binary solo]

bouzane said:

binary solo said:

To achieve that though Nintendo had to swing in with the fastest and biggest post-launch price cut ever (I'm guessing) for a Nintendo handheld. And what have we seen in the interveneing years? An massive slide towards less than 50% on a launch aligned comparison. 

 

While that is certainly true I have to point out that the 3DS launched at $250 versus the DS which launched at $150. It needed that price cut because it was massively overpriced to begin with (not unlike the Vita) and once that barrier was removed it performed just as well as its predecessor, or at least until smartphones really became entrenched.

Once you cut through the mostly BS that Pachter was talking around that time, the end result is pretty much as he predicted, a massive decline in dedicated handhelds because phones and tablest will encroach on that market...with a lot of mainly Nintendo fans calling BS on that broadly accurate claim. Though strangely Pachter thought 3DS should have launched at $350, but maybe he was more just trying to defend his original prediction than actually put any logic into how a $350 price would work. The lesson for both Nintendo and Sony was, don't put too much tech into a handheld, because people are generally not willing to pay for it. Pachter also thought there was still enough of a market for dedicated handhelds to survive, and 3DS managing >50 million is a survivable sales base.

Whether Sony can or will have another go to at least get something closer to 30 million is uncertain, and from Yoshida's comments it looks like a no for the forseeable future. Personally I think phones are poweful enough to be able to run handheld console type games, which means if Sony makes a "Vita" clip on device that can attach to phones with, say 4.5" - 6" screen, that might be a more successful direction for Sony to head in the handheld gaming area.