yurinka
Member
We know that its sales aren’t great, and that a lot of people isn’t on board because their favorite devs doesn’t support it properly. Even the happiest Vitabro knows that there is room to improve. So gaf, what Sony can do fix or improve Vita numbers and dev support?
Hardware : What would you fix with a new Vita new hardware revision?
My thoughts:
Firmware : What features or native apps would you add or improve in the OS?
My thoughts:
Accesories : What would you create to improve the experience by adding physical stuff?
My thoughts:
Product strategy
My thoughts:
Games : Additional efforts to get more support from devs?
My thoughts:
Hardware : What would you fix with a new Vita new hardware revision?
My thoughts:
- HDMI TV out
- Easier to press Select and Start buttons
- Separate a bit more the analogs from the d-pad and face buttons
- Longer battery time
- Same screen but fixing the black spots issue with black parts of the screen when you’re in a totally dark room
- No more wifi only SKUs, add 3G to all because its chips cost less than $5
- Choose your 3G phone carrier freely in all territories
- Internal 16GB storage, in addition to the cards
- Split the L and R buttons (their left and right side) into L1/L2 and R1/R2 for classic games. In Vita games both would work L1/L2 as L and R1/R2 as R
- Clickable sticks to allow L3 and R3 for classic games and new Vita games (in options you would be able to enable on-screen optional buttons placed next to the analogs for old SKUs)
- Sliding PSP-Go like design to hide the buttons behind the screen (but how about the backpad?), keeping it as an option and keep selling a SKU with the current design
- Addidional tablet SKU : same buttons etc but with a way bigger screen
Firmware : What features or native apps would you add or improve in the OS?
My thoughts:
- Phone app to call or send or receive normal phone calls/SMS/MMS with 3G SKUs (an addition to Skype). It has all the HW needed
- Folders for the bubbles
- To don’t erase the savedata of the games when deleting a bubble
- To be able certain native apps like the welcome plaza
- To be able to move the order of the screens where the bubbles are placed
- Sony ebook/comic/magazine shop and reader app, compatible with computers/consoles/phones/tablets like Music Unlimited, allowing you to add your files like personal PDFs, PSP comics or ebooks purchased in other places
- More popular phone/tablet non-game apps like Instagram/Pinterest/tv streaming apps/movie shops/etc
- Gaikai based PS2/PS3/PC gamepad enabled or mouse only games/PS4 titles, getting for free the ones you purchased on PSN
- Unlimited remote play with all PS3 and PS4 games and apps, using Bluetooth for controls and wifi n for video in PS4
- Optional 2nd screen usage like in LBP2/Smart Glass/WiiU as an addition to PS3/PS4 games and apps
Accesories : What would you create to improve the experience by adding physical stuff?
My thoughts:
- External UMD reader : With some smart idea to avoid piracy, like to encrypt the ISO to make it compatible only with this Vita and PSN account and maybe require you to have been logged to PSN in the last 24 hours.
- Dual shock grip : Less chunky than the current ones, would allow perfect DS ergonomy for long plays
Product strategy
My thoughts:
- Price cut to $149/149€ with 4GB card and 3 PS+ months as basic SKU
- New bundles for $199/199€ with 16GB card, 3 PS+ months and a game
- Keep lowering cost until these prices became profitable, then reduce the price keeping a minimal profit
- Release 32/64/128GB cards in all the markets
- Include a Vita in addition to a DS4 in every PS4 box (to push 2nd screen stuff, remote play, cross save/cross buy/cross controller/remote play)
- Reduce drastically the pricing of the cards, as much as combined with the handheld HW sales keeps having a minimal profit, costs will reduce to improve the profit in the future
- Stop the abstract ads, make them direct and clear showing instead why your product is cool and why people will love them and why it’s unique. 1 ad about great exclusive Vita games and multi with mass market appeal focusing on explaining how new controls work and its horsepower. 1 ad about digital services and apps and why it’s cool its interaction with PS3/PS4 (free games for users that already have PSone/Minis/PSM/cross buy titles or PS+, cross play, cross save, cross controller etc.)
- Spend a lot of money to put these ads where your target users are (social networks, tv, popular magazines/sites for young people, bus or metro stations, popular sport events, etc.
- Integrate PSM in PS3, PS4 and Android devices from more manufacturers
- Make a free App to allow Android devs to port Android games and apps to PSM without effort, and suggest them to port their best Android games and apps
- Make sure that the main Android device manufacturers support PSM
Games : Additional efforts to get more support from devs?
My thoughts:
- Hire more people and restructure your main studios (Media Molecule, Team Ico, Polyphony, Sony Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, Evolution) to have an additional new dedicated team to work on portables inside each one of them. Some of their current members would like to make Vita games, hire experienced people to help them and make it real. while don’t affecting home console stuff.
- Buy Ready At Dawn, That Game Company and Quantic Dream. Or hire their great individuals from them (their games aren’t only made by their popular faces who appear on PR). Bring back onboard some of the valuable individuals you fired in Liverpool or Zipper if you didn’t already moved them to other studio when close their ones.
- Reduce the share you take from the 3rd party game revenues to 25%, making Vita more appealing for 3rd party once it reaches a bigger user base than 3DS, iOS, Android, Facebook or home consoles
- Keep supporting and improving interaction with home consoles thanks to cross play, cross save, cross controller, cross buy and incentivate the 3rd party who support them with marketing help (ads/PS blog/PSN visibility/PS+/conferences etc) and less take on their earnings
- Reduce dev costs as did with PSM, allowing to use normal Vitas as debug consoles to test games (debug with extra ram will be still needed) only needing a normal PC to develop games. This goes for PS3 and PS4 too.
- Create tools (maybe they only know to code in ActionScript or other tech) and a dedicated team or studio to help small indie teams to port their phone/tablets/Steam great games and to develop for Vita in a very cheap and profitable way for them even without porting/budget efforts in their side. To have gems in Vita like Tiny Wings, Triple Town, Botanicula, Angry Birds, Bit Trip series, Edge or Bastion to name some few would be appreciated even from the core players.
- Pay whatever needed only to have the few games that sell consoles in each market and that made the PS brand popular. If possible as exclusive and make sure they are released with the proper quality (learn from CoD Vita). As examples I’d mention : Monster Hunter 4 and 5, Dragon Quest X and XI, Final Fantasy Type 0 Vita and all the PSOne and PSP ones in PSN plus a new FF Vita, GTA San Andreas Stories (and/orGTAV too), CoD 2013 multiplatform (PS3/360/WiiU/PC/Vita) with Vita exclusive stuff, proper quality in FIFA and Madden for next year, Assasin’s Creed Liberation 2, Resident Evil Revelaitons + Resident Evil Vita, Metal Gear V, Layton, Ace Attorney.
- For the other important 3rd party IPs and publishers, just help them when adding important new / important IPs or games to Vita with the proper quality and/or sales potential with some marketing help, don’t pay them money.