metalslimer said:

I really wish people would stop trying to sell the idea that a phone and handheld with controls would be popular. The ergonomics and battery life are just not there. Also, the want is not there. People are happy with iOS/Android and are not going to buy a shittier smartphone to play games.

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This. There is a reason why those ios/android controllers will never be mainstream and its not the price.

People who play games on there phone are quite content with touch controls and if they want pad + buttons they own a 3DS or Vita.

Releasing some sort of Vita which is a phone isnt going to see people stop buying iphones.

vagabondarts said:

People who choose tablet or phone games over actual games makes me sad.

I think that if people played a 3DS or a Vita they would see the difference.

Having played most of what mobile gaming has to offer my conclusion is a lot of people have absolutely no taste.

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The people choosing mobile games are mostly just playing 5 minutes here and there when out and about, or on the crapper etc. Not setting down for long sessions us more serious gamers do with their portables.

The problem is more that most adults, especially in the US, just don't see an need for portables. They're not commuting, and fine just playing games on their big screens a couple nights a week. Most aren't into games enough to want to cram gaming in whenever they can--commutes, waiting rooms, when their partner is using the TV etc. just isn't a big deal to the average gamer. They're fine gaming a couple nights a week and have other hobbies they're probably more into.

Portables really just appeal to hardcore gamers who commute, have downtime at work, or times at home they want to game and can't use the TV (or just prefer gaming on portables to consoles/pcs sometimes). It's just a niche market device that the average mainstream gamer just has no use for, nor to a lot of hardcore gamers who only want to game on their big screens or PCs.

Princess Cadance said:

Steam could release a handheld.

Maybe another party will throw their lot in the ring with something irresistible. I don't think Sony is done with the handheld market, even with the polarizing performance of the Vita.

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The handheld that never was!

AniHawk said:

i dunno, but there's a market for a $150-200 handheld that plays games at $40 a pop when a hand-me-down tablet smart/device one already has is free and has free games.

the original appeal to handheld gaming was that it was a sort of bonus for your everyday life. pick up and play. that idea morphed into a premium product over the last decade with increasingly more expensive hardware and software. dedicated handheld devices are not premium products just by their nature. that's why most of the really high-end ones, for their eras, have such a hard time reaching a wider market.

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I think this kind of makes sense, but on another hand I'd be sad. High-end handhelds have basically become a platform for games that you don't really see get made on consoles anymore. Like, you don't really see pre-PS2-style JRPGs like Bravely Default on console anymore, but at the same time they wouldn't happen on handhelds if handhelds just become a space for pick-up-and-play games. It also means that we wouldn't ever get to see crazy stuff like Ace Attorney with Dual Destinies-tier production values again if handheld games were to scale down.

I really am curious about when we'll see Sony pull the plug on the Vita.

I don't think they'll make another handheld after this, so I just wonder when the Vita will be done. It will be interesting (and sad) to open up GAF one day in 2015 or something to see an official statement of discontinuing support from Sony.

Won't happen this year as there's still stuff like Freedom Wars being released by Sony, but after the 2014 batch of games I can't imagine they've got other Vita projects in the oven with the PS4's success blowing up like it currently is. It just makes much more sense to put first party effort there instead.

mullet2000 said:

I really am curious about when we'll see Sony pull the plug on the Vita.

I don't think they'll make another handheld after this, so I just wonder when the Vita will be done. It will be interesting (and sad) to open up GAF one day in 2015 or something to see an official statement of discontinuing support from Sony.

Won't happen this year as there's still stuff like Freedom Wars being released by Sony, but after the 2014 batch of games I can't imagine they've got other Vita projects in the oven with the PS4's success blowing up like it currently is. It just makes much more sense to put first party effort there instead.

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There's enough going on on the Vita in Japan alone to make it worth their while to keep the system alive -- i.e. keep the dev support and cert pipelines running and deliver the odd firmware update. Just so 3rd parties can keep doing whatever business they want to do. And then just coast on it for as long as it goes.

That said, first party support will probably be close to zero, and we will probably also see retailers dropping the system off their shelves in the west before long. Turning the Vita purely into what it already does well: a download-only platform.

Oersted said:

Nintendo should see smartphones/tablets as a chance, especially in the kids market. Yes, they will be way more widespread, Nintendo can't compete there, noone can with one single device. But those devices are not really seen as children-proof, as something that could take a beating. Also, many parents see smartphones as "costtrap", due to F2P and alike. If Nintendo could say" Hey parents, we have a durable device where you have complete control and Internet is safe", basically a toy without any hassles, I could see it doing well.

And of course, they should streamline the handheld/ home console architecture and create a shared online ecosystem. Nintendo wants to go there, starting with WiiU, but well, we are talking about what has to be done in the future.

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I honestly feel like Nintendo should be trying to get iOS games on its platform. Not because they need the games but because the mobile platform is offering games that Nintendo doesn't really have, and it's captured a market that wasn't really around before. games from iOS would help strengthen the amount of software on the system, even if a lot of of them aren't very good. If they have a good touch screen on the new device then the games won't need to be reworked that much at all. They also need to price those games the same as they are on iOS. Not angry birds trilogy at a 30 dollar price point. No, the same game at the same price point as it is on iOS. Plants vs zombies is like 15 bucks on e shop. And 99 cents on my iPad. Nintendo needs to get those same games on its platform at the same price. That would allow them to get the emerging smart phone market dollars from people who are leery of their kids having a smart phone.

I would do it as a parent. My son constantly asks to play my phone for stuff like jet pack joy ride. If I could download those on his 3ds or a future handheld it would be the best of both worlds.

In terms of price, their next device really needs to do what amazon is doing with the kindle. Get it between 100 and 150, and it's impulse purchase price range. I also think they need to seriously examine variable pricing schemes as well. A greatest hits line or something that would get older titles in the 10-20 dollar range would be extremely helpful as well.

Rolf NB said:

There's enough going on on the Vita in Japan alone to make it worth their while to keep the system alive -- i.e. keep the dev support and cert pipelines running and deliver the odd firmware update. Just so 3rd parties can keep doing whatever business they want to do. And then just coast on it for as long as it goes.

That said, first party support will probably be close to zero, and we will probably also see retailers dropping the system off their shelves in the west before long. Turning the Vita purely into what it already does well: a download-only platform.

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That's more what I meant - once first party development is non-existant and retailers stop even wanting to stock the system it'll become hard for them to justify. Even if 3rd parties want to develop for it, will that be enough for Sony to not want to stop production of more units? Pull the plug entirely? I'm not so sure, even in Japan.

Although I wouldn't be shocked to see a phased end to the thing, discontinue support in NA first, Japan later, etc.

Rolf NB said:

Not going to happen. The Xperia Play was a spectacular failure. Trying again would be kind of unwise.

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True, but the Xperia Play was quite outdated even when it released. Also, the market changes so often that who's to say that form factor wouldn't go over well now? Who knows.

I don't know about Sony, but Nintendo's next handheld could share a very similar architecture so it'll be very easy to buy and share games on the console and handheld if that wasn't what they were hinting at already.

Other than that, maybe they can also add in support for Google Play Store Games. I know Nintendo is finnicky and backwards with their OS, so maybe at least allowing access to Play Store Games and not just a sad eShop would make people get the best of both worlds: free/cheap bursts of 5 minute gaming while waiting in line and more expensive but more deep and fun experiences. And in between would be those eShop experiences that cost $5-$15 for those who want an even better gaming experience than what their phone could offer, still have limited time, but balk at the premium game prices.

And of course, marketing marketing. Vita/3DS has nowhere near experience the level of marketing their predecessors had in the long run. Smartphones and tablets kinda ruined the meteoric sales of casual titles like Brain Age, but the Mario games are still here and still sell well across all types of gamers. They just need to push them more and more every now and then and not just in the first 2 months of initial release.