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Forums - Sony - Sony's Vita strategy versus the changing mobile landscape

Chark on 04 August 2012
Alby_da_Wolf said:
darkknightkryta said:
I think the Vita and the Play were just stepping stones in convergence. Phones are getting bigger and bigger, they just need to cram Vita's controls into a phone. The biggest problem is software pricing. Phone users are used to getting games at like a dollar. Hell look at Sonic CD, it's 2 bucks on phones, but 10 on PSN/360. If Sony were to make Vita a phone instead of a dedicated gaming machine, no one would be able to sell games at 40 dollars. Hell I look at Square Enix games priced at 15 dollars on my phone and I don't wanna grab them as I feel they're too expensive, but I spent more than that on that same 15 dollar game on my DS. Once Sony finds a way to get users to buy games at 30-40 price ranges on a phone, then handhelds and phones can be merged.

Yep, I guess you found the biggest hurdle on the road to convergence. Phone gamers are a little bit like PC gamers, ready to spend more on HW, but less on SW, but the savings on SW are taken to extreme consequences, as PC gamers are happy with savings from 20% to 50%, compared to console versions, on the newest games and look for prices at $20 or less only for budget priced older games, while phone gamers consider too high for a new game even the higher end of bargain PC games. Maybe, as I wrote, 100% cross compatibility can create some overlapping and convergence that can bring additional and welcome revenue to expensive console games, but it won't be a huge thing. Still worth trying, though, many times a big success has been build putting together many small ones. And spreading portable console HW dev costs also on gaming smartphones, that produced roughly at the same cost can be sold at a higher price, is definitely a good thing even if the SW convergence will be small.

 

PS Mobile will provide the Vita with cheap $1 to $5 games, and free games/freemium. It is like the Android Market so mobile gamers who are use to buying games no more than for a couple bucks will be right at home. The more I see the Vita having a hard time selling the more I feel Sony should have waited till the fall to launch it and with PS Mobile ready to go. I sure hope they launch it soon and hold a strong add campaign about all its apps and mobile like games.





Before the PS3 everyone was nice to me :(