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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Devastating victory or humiliating defeat.

Mummelmann on 16 October 2020

Dedicated handheld consoles were bound to be impacted by smart devices and tablets, and Sony was never a huge contender in the handheld segment with only one console that sold pretty well before the Vita. With the market taking a turn towards more digital solutions requiring more storage, large multiplatform blockbusters, and large 1st party AAA titles to move hardware, and subscription based models taking over more and more, the more static home console market was always more important to Sony. And it's where they have almost all of their gaming pedigree and presence as well. The PS4's success is easily more important and impactful than the PS Vita's somewhat predictable demise.



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Dulfite on 16 October 2020

I'd say the PS4's success outweighs the Vita's failings. Consolidating hardware and software teams to work for a single platform helps reduce expenses significantly.



Fuchigole on 16 October 2020
Signalstar said:
Nintendo is also down to just one platform after the Wii U debacle. The Wii U sold even worse than the Vita. Two simultaneous platforms is just not feasible in the current market for any brand.

Yes to the first and yes to the second, but the question wasn't about Nintendo's situation, but Sony's



Fuchigole on 16 October 2020
The_Liquid_Laser said:

It depends on whether we are talking about the short term or long term.  In the short term the PS4 victory competely overshadows the Vita defeat.  Profit margins are much higher in the home console market.  Financially, Sony is doing extremely well right now.

In the long term, the Vita defeat is going to be a bigger deal.  The Switch is the type of innovation that is going to transform the gaming market.  In a few years (say, in generation 10) hybrid systems are going to be the standard for gaming hardware, and that means Nintendo is going to be doing extremely well for a while.  Sony is going to be playing catch up once they realize that they need a hybrid system to compete.

However, Nintendo would have never "gotten away with" the Switch if they hadn't kicked Sony out of the handheld market first.  $300 at launch is cheap for a home system, but it is very pricey for a handheld.  Really even $200 for the Lite model is still on the pricey side.  If Sony had a "Vita 2" priced at $150-$200, then Switch would have had a much harder time taking off, and also some of the Switch's third party games would have gone to Vita 2.  It would have made life harder for Nintendo all around.

But the reality is that Nintendo Switch has a monopoly on the handheld market and it is appealing to home console gamers too.  It's so successful that hybrid is going to eventually become the hardware standard for consoles.  But Nintendo would have had a much harder road with Sony was still selling a handheld.

You're right,  the vita's failure is part of the Switch success, having the handheld market to its own, Nintendo has a strong advantage.