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

[binary solo]

bouzane said:

binary solo said:

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. 

The effect of smartphones and tables is pretty undeniable and especially pronounced 2013 onwards. I can not believe that anybody would have predicted a $350 price for the 3DS though. It seems to be without either precedent or logic, simply baffling stuff. For a handheld to be successful it certainly needs to be affordable, now more than ever.

I personally doubt any Vita successor would stand a chance at 30 million although it's impossible to predict the potential of that "clip on" device. That's a fascinating concept by the way. How would you approach designing such a system?

I just come up with the idea, I'll let others worry about the design stuff

Most phones > 4" have their charging port on the side, which means as long as the usb connector is  adustable to different positionings along the length of a phone that aspect shouldn't be an issue. It should also be reasonably possible to make the cradle sufficiently adjustable to be able to accommodate phones with 4.5"-6" screens. But the moving parts would need to be made very robust so as not to become loose over time or be easily breakable. It would not be feasible, I don't think, to have a reverse side touch pad as that would likely make the clip-in unit too bulky, and possibly need it's own separate power supply (internal battery). But I don't think losing a reverse touch pad is a problem in the slightest. Not sure if sound is an issue. Can sound be transmitted through the USB port of phones? If so then no biggie, if not then different positioning of the headphone port on phones would be a bit of an issue. And phones like the HTC One aside, most phones have pretty crappy sound unless you're using headphones.

Still I think making phones and tablets better for playing traditional handheld console type games is probably the way to go. Even for Nintendo games, which seems to be what Nintendo has recognised by finally dipping its toes into the mobile phone gaming space. There are already those stick on joystick things for tablets. But for tablets I think a bluetooth or wired USB controller is a better option than an clip in attachment. Albeit Nintendo has shown that a tablet with traditional controller components included is an ergonomically viable product. Just not particularly portable, so being able to clip-in / clip out would be good.