This thread will reignite a topic of interest to me in a manner that is hopefully less inflammatory than it might otherwise be.

This is, of course, an old topic, but one that still deserves debate. Should Sony have made Vita more app-focused, or gone whole hog and developed a smartphone? It is, arguably, clear that the prime demographics for the PS Vita (or the PSP of yore) are more vulnerable towards the emergence of smartphones which have decimated the Western appetite for handhelds, moreso than Nintendo with their kids-appeal. Vita has good prospects in Japan, of course, but Nintendo also seems to know this, and is working more aggressively and directly against the Vita in Japan.

Another point to consider is that a proper PS Smartphone would integrate more smoothly into Sony's broader strategy of becoming more software and service-centric. If that is the case, the Vita might be a drain on Sony's overall strategy for the next few years, as the company works to right itself.

How do you think Sony should factor the Vita into their broader strategy?

I think a smart-phone approach might have made sense ... But I don't know whether Sony, even with its Erikson patents, has enough to go that route. Maybe it could have aligned itself with Google and become an Android phone maker.

Mike from Morgantown

Gaming first and phone later is not going to work.
The reverse may work but all those buttons and sticks are going to stick out like a sore thumb with you use is primarily as a phone. So, they would have to make a breakthrough on a completely different interface that can tuck away all the gaming parts. They sort of tried that with PSP-Go but did it all wrong by selling it as a console.

I don't think a PSPhone would have been a bad way to go. Something like a souped-up Xperia Play might have done well.

But since they are where they are, I don't understand the idea of going so far in on the small indie games. It's like app quality games (minus app level pricing) on a non-convergence device. Where's the appeal in that? It seems contrary to the whole prospect of the Vita, which is the ability to play something very close to current gen console quality games on the go. The only explanation I can think of is that no third parties want to make a serious investment on the Vita at this point, which is something Yoshida sort of hinted at in his recent interview with PSM, so they're just trying to figure out something to do with the thing.

IMO, they need to just hold their nose and close their eyes and suck that Capcom dick (and as many other dicks as they can stomach) in a last ditch effort to salvage this thing.

I don't think Sony can really do that. The Vita is a console that was clearly designed for console style gaming, and it's hard to do a complete 180 towards app style games. Besides that, why would a casual gamer pick up a separate 250+ dollar device for the same types of experiences I could get on my phone?

A Vita phone might be a better idea, but it would be awkward with the two joystick design. Unless they wanted to have a side talking N-gage like device, I'm not sure how that would play out.

Sony has to understand that a handheld console should NOT be a portable PS3 OR an iphone. To put it simply Sony needs to develop franchises that make sense on a portable machine. Experiences that are more robust than an iphone game, yet are enjoyable in short bursts. Games like Pokemon, Mario, Mario and Luigi, Kid Icarus Uprising, Brain Age, Nintendogs, etc, but with a heavier emphasis on realistic titles and action titles. More importantly, Sony has to do a better job in marketing their hand held experiences. Games like Papaton and Locoroco were interesting titles, but they took a backseat to potableized versions of God of War and Ratchet and Clank.

I really don't know... this TGS is either the nail to the coffin or the holy grail to eternal life. I think I'll wait until there to make an opinion. Until there, future is bleach.

I don't have much confidence in Gamescom for saviors, especially now GT is almost surely a no-show. But even without games, maybe we can see some focus on vita, because if not - like on e3's 5 minutes - then that'll show extreme lack of confidence on their part.

The moment SONY decided Vita wasnt aimed at kids they should of just done PS Tablet. Handhelds are primarily for children, young teen teens, thats the biggest Market for handhelds. Makes no sense to cut them out.

Even before the Vita launched, when all we had was the name NGP/PSP2, most of us said it would take a miracle for another Sony handheld to be a success. I just think that it couldn't be done. Even now, with hindsight being 20/20, I don't know what Sony could do differently. Tablets and smartphones have just become way too mainstream and way too powerful.

My anecdote: There's a guy that I work with that is a bit of a tech junky and an FPS fan. I bought Resistance for the Vita for the sole reason of making him say "Wow, that's awesome." I told him I had an FPS that he needed to check out when we were on post together. When we did get on post, he had his iPad out and he was playing an FPS that made Resistance look like crap and I think he got it for free. How can Sony compete with that? I didn't even show him my game.

Funny thing is that we never saw before (and maybe never will again) a price point being applauded the same way Vita's was at e3. That must had told Sony a very wrong message - the kind that makes you think you'll be a success no matter what. Now everybody is expecting a price cut to even reach half of their predictions. 3DS received the same message - because of the 3D. Nintendo sacrificed a lot to escape that hole. We'll have to see if Sony can do the same - Soul Profitabilty Sacrifice

It's sad to say but if the vita used android I would have bought it day one. Not because of crap games like angry birds and temple run. Just the thought of having millions of apps and awesome games at my fingertips. I do not own a smartphone because of the expense, I do have a samsung android music player. Sony has the make me want a vita with great games. At this point, I just don't want one.