SecondWar said:
I've never really bought into the "{insert company name here) is doomed" sentiments and still don't really care for them. But whereas the 3DS started to come into its own last Christmas as it started to get a number of higher profile releases the Vita hasn't has the same fortunes. Sony isn't exactly going to discontinue it anytime soon but it wouldn't hurt to find a way to get more off the shelves. problem is, they don't really have a franchise like Mario that can be moulded into every genre and appeals to almost every demographic. |
Beyond that, there IS a problem that people aren't sure how to deal with (some won't even acknowledge it as an issue): we're kind of in a period, right now, that hasn't really been seen before because of the prevalence of tablets and smart phones for gaming. No handheld previous has actually had to deal with tablets and smartphones that are as powerful as the handhelds themselves and offer another route to gaming (even if most of those games aren't really more than shovelware style).
No matter what people think, this has already caused a shift in handheld gaming. Just look at how many companies have shifted to mobile and social games now. These guys go where the money is and the money obviously hasn't stopped flowing for that market to this point. In fact, numbers say it's growing a lot. Your mention of great franchises actually makes a lot more sense here too, because look at the 3DS. I'd be willing to bet some serious dollars to say that Nintendo's franchises have kept their handheld afloat and thriving. The PSP and the DS didn't have to compete with smart phones or tablets because most of them didn't exist at that time.
Pessimistic to think about or not, the Vita's lack of good fortune may be less anomoly and more the product of a company and industry that has no idea what was going to happen when you put out a dedicated handheld, without the same level of franchise support as Nintendo can muster, against a wave of new tech that CAN outprice and outpace old, status quo ideas. Times change and every industry has the inadvertent sacrificial lamb that illustrates the herald of something new. It's going to be interesting to see, exactly, what happens.
