This is something that has been on my mind for a while. Sony found pretty decent success with the PSP thanks to targeting the core gamer, but for the PSV they did a 180 and went all out to lure in casuals. Not only did they make the display a touchscreen, they also added a touchpad on the back instead of doing the logical thing and providing a second set of shoulder buttons. A similar error was made with the analog sticks that don't double as buttons like on the longrunning series of DualShock controllers.

Instead of a proper PlayStation experience on the go, we are looking at a handheld that is riddled with gimmicks to appeal to the casual market. But since casuals are fickle and happy with free to almost free games on smartphones, Sony's sales have decreased dramatically gen over gen. What's even more baffling about Sony's decisions is their reaction to the erosion of their handheld market. They doubled down on catering to casual gamers by bringing indie games to their platform instead of developing real games like God of War to win back the core gamer. I am using "casual gamers" in the loosest sense of the word here because most Steam users don't even play their indie games. It's mindboggling that Sony thought that they could compete with the Walmart of video games and lure people over to the Vita in order to get a share of the pie. And, of course, there's PlayStation Vita Pets, a game that I am sure we all have dreamed of.

On the other hand, Nintendo has managed to retain a sizeable portion of their handheld market. While their sales are obviously down too due to the exodus of casual gamers, it's not to the same degree as Sony's because Nintendo went out to partner up with Capcom to bring Monster Hunter to their platform, and also convinced a few other significant third parties to make real games for real gamers for the 3DS. Couple that with the fact that Nintendo themselves have been and will be a consistent provider of high quality gamer's games, and it's no surprise that Nintendo still has a future in the market for dedicated portable gaming machines while Sony has not.

Does anybody have any idea what has been on Sony's mind when they designed the PlayStation Vita? Why did they become such sellouts and pandered to casuals with their next generation portable? Shouldn't they have made a machine for us, the people who were responsible for Sony's success in the first place?