Jawbreaker
Member
Good, I just want them to focus on home consoles.
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PlayStation Boss Sees Limited Potential for Handheld Gaming
- Thread starter fluffydelusions
- Start date
The only reason Nintendo can get away with handheld success like they do is because of their IPs. With the Switch being the only place to play future Nintendo games you have to buy their habdheld to play their games no matter what, even if you only intend to play Switch on your TV.
It really skews the perspective on handheld relevance when half your audience could be leaving your system docked 100%.
It really skews the perspective on handheld relevance when half your audience could be leaving your system docked 100%.
They also said they were going to wait for their competitors to announce their new console before talking about [PS4].
I will say that I believe Sony is kicking around ideas of a portable internally and that I could see them release something in a few years if they can get a portable PS4 made for less than $500. Sony realized with the Vita that splitting resources for vita wasn't very economical.
the other way I could see them make a portable is if it was a novelty item that had like PSone games on it or something.
I'd buy a portable PS2 if they expanded the digital PS2 catalogue to something other than abysmal.
I will say that I believe Sony is kicking around ideas of a portable internally and that I could see them release something in a few years if they can get a portable PS4 made for less than $500. Sony realized with the Vita that splitting resources for vita wasn't very economical.
the other way I could see them make a portable is if it was a novelty item that had like PSone games on it or something.
I'd buy a portable PS2 if they expanded the digital PS2 catalogue to something other than abysmal.
Papacheeks
Banned
I would say it has. I mean maybe not all of the software efforts from that consolidation of handheld developers turned out great.
But the quality of titles they are putting out, is on par if not better than PS3. Especially when looking at it from AAA, to AA perspective.
Case in point look at 2016, and 2017.
It sucks that some of the consolidation went into dedicated VR studios like Cambridge and now they are gone. But in the end unfortunately that's on Sony for not having Cambridge be a PS4 title developer. They could have made a cool shooter or RIGS itself could have become something more diverse on PS4. Their own titanfall/ Monday Night combat.
Sony has made some bad decisions, I think dedicating console style developers on VR is one of them to be honest. So far it has not paid off on the software side.
So right now Sony should be concentrating on PS4 more which currently looks like they are, and hopefully we see more studios open not close to support that transitional move.
Hopefully Sony only looks into handheld like someone else noted for remote play scenarios.
Same, i think that's what they are most good at. Like Nintendo their IP's lend themselves to be translated well on handhelds and I feel Nintendo has had more success with handhelds than Home console over their time. Like Game Boy, Game Boy Color, GBA, DS, 3DS were all fairly successful.
But when looking at the other side at N64, GameCube, Wii U, Virtua Boy not so much.
In fairness, if we were to look at this from Sony's or Microsoft's perspective, I would agree to it. Honestly when we look at Nintendo, they are really the only ones who can pull this off properly in terms of "Handheld Gaming." That said, I see nothing wrong with turning all attention and focus to solely home consoles if that is what's being implied here.
As for a "Hybrid Console" so to speak, all of that still remains to be seen. Definitely in terms of the lineup we've gotten out of the Switch is one thing, but we need to see how the tech holds up overtime to see if this will indeed be Nintendo's future or if this could be a one and done. I doubt Sony or Microsoft will need to resort to making their own "Switches" in the future. Sony exploring VR is enough said there if they wanted to "expand out" while Microsoft is still working towards whatever they are doing since (if I recall correctly) the kinect has been shot down once again.
As for a "Hybrid Console" so to speak, all of that still remains to be seen. Definitely in terms of the lineup we've gotten out of the Switch is one thing, but we need to see how the tech holds up overtime to see if this will indeed be Nintendo's future or if this could be a one and done. I doubt Sony or Microsoft will need to resort to making their own "Switches" in the future. Sony exploring VR is enough said there if they wanted to "expand out" while Microsoft is still working towards whatever they are doing since (if I recall correctly) the kinect has been shot down once again.
Mr_Antimatter
Member
This hasn't well, ever been a requirement for portable gaming.
Suspend/resume makes anything pick up and playable. Heck, person 4 is a well loved game on vita, and it's a 100 hour RPG.
Even Nintendo makes plenty of games that violate "pick up and play" that do well on portable. Many of their handheld classics were straight up console ports.
dragonyeuw
Member
I'd rather Sony focus on PS4 and PSVR at this point. Put all your muscle behind those platforms. You were the best opponent Nintendo ever had in the handheld space, but the writing is clearly written on the wall.
Ninja_Hawk
Member
This is short-sighted as hell. This is how companies end up becoming dinosaurs. No success is guaranteed, but investing in the future is necessary. If only for you being able to lay the proper foundation to build on in the future. It easy to say these things when they don't work out, but saying they shouldn't try (with a talented studio that has released some solid software previously) is ridiculous. Also, if they cut Cambridge after Rigs, they were probably already on the chopping block. Cuts were looking to be made somewhere and if not there than somewhere else. They could've made a traditional console game that could've bombed. It is easy to say these things when you're not the one with the budget.
Sony's support doesn't mean just some first party games, it means making many first party games that showcase the hardware power, it means buying third party exclusives, it means advertising and it means big E3 presence(something that never happened, not even 3 months after the launch) among many other things.
I don't get your(mrchocolate) objection about those games, if you want to play Vita games you buy a Vita obviously, i have a vita since D1 and i wouldn't say otherwise.
About some of those games or series though the GPD Win 1 let's you play FFX/X-2 remaster and emulate most PSP games and some light PS2 games, the GPD Win 2 will surely let you emulate PS2 games properly, with that you could play way more FF, MGS, Persona and HSG games on the go than on Vita.
this. cant jump into the portable market again when you havent even fully supported your own VR headset
Rogue Agent
Banned
I think Sony should keep focusing on one dedicated gaming platform, and that's the PS4. Nintendo should keep doing the same too.
UberTag
Member
Sony can only do one thing at a time.
Which is fine... I'm pretty much the same way. Not a big fan of multi-tasking.
I even eat the courses on my plate in a multi-course meal one at a time so those nasty flavors don't get in each other's way.
They should drop VR, too.
Papacheeks
Banned
It's not shortsighted when they closed Cambridge after making a great VR game called RIGS which didn't sell. They even talked about it a while back in how disappointed they were in it not finding a audience. And that was because VR was so new putting a Online style shooter for VR out there was still too early when most of what has come to VR on PC are indie games that are more or less interactive scenes.
RIGS was like taking a bunch of stabs at high quality AAA style VR game. The community, and audience isn't there yet and neither is the tech for people to play for long periods like we usually do when it comes to online games.
The move which was last gen was super reactionary, and honestly if Sony was really all in on VR their headset would be available on PC. Since VR games some of them struggled to play well on base PS4, and needed the PRO to really help games look a lot more clearer and be as barf inducing with screen tear, and frame rate issues.
I get that they needed to take a stab at it, and in terms of a headset they made a very compelling piece of hardware and priced it cheaper than the competition. But at a cost of super high quality VR. VIVE destroys VR and it's slowly becoming cheaper and more refined.
I'v yet heard any news on a newer version on PS VR, or an add on for it to help with tracking.
It's a VITA issue all over again. Difference is VR is still a growing market while dedicated hand held is getting smaller, hence Nintendo's stance to make a Hybrid to satisfy both home console and handheld users.
I think Playstation should invest in the tech for sure, but I don't think dedicating well known or proven studios to it that have made console style games in the past is a great strat.
I think doing what they did with Indies in the beginning is a better approach. Indie games and exclusive published/funded indie VR games should be where they should be looking for content.
Nintendo didn't grab a bunch of 3DS/ Wii u developers from their internal teams and throw them all at mobile. They had Niantic do the work. And a small internal team with Miamoto as producer overseeing it for Super Mario Run.
VR is not in a state where you take a developer like Gureilla and have them make a dedicated game for a device that has a very small install base.
Sony f*cked up with Vita and there is no other way dressing it, mobile or not.
Vita at the time was extremely promising piece of hardware and got almost everything right - apart from those wretched memory cards that were ridiculously expensive. That combined with awkward file management system (that, for me at least, worked, 30% of the time) - stunted overall a great console.
But the real nail to the coffin was abysmal Sony support - It stopped trying 2 years in, even though the indies embraced it and the console overall had a very impressive attach rate.
They dropped the ball completely with this system and to be honest, no matter how amazing their next possible portable would sound on paper, I would not bother.
Vita at the time was extremely promising piece of hardware and got almost everything right - apart from those wretched memory cards that were ridiculously expensive. That combined with awkward file management system (that, for me at least, worked, 30% of the time) - stunted overall a great console.
But the real nail to the coffin was abysmal Sony support - It stopped trying 2 years in, even though the indies embraced it and the console overall had a very impressive attach rate.
They dropped the ball completely with this system and to be honest, no matter how amazing their next possible portable would sound on paper, I would not bother.
We'll see where computing goes. Who knows, maybe we'll come to a point where hybrid is just as good at achieving the tech level that Sony will want to achieve with PS6 or 7 or 8 or....
Or maybe Switch really blows up and Sony steps back into that space with a competitor. I think they'd have a lot of difficulty doing so as I think that market is obviously significantly shrunk from the PSP/DS days and Sony has a clear software disadvantage, with many of the main system sellers in Japan and on portables being Nintendo published/developed software. But...who knows. Maybe that market will expand and open up again. I think at least with Switch doubts that Nintendo can reinvigorate that market post-mobile are somewhat at rest.
Or maybe Switch really blows up and Sony steps back into that space with a competitor. I think they'd have a lot of difficulty doing so as I think that market is obviously significantly shrunk from the PSP/DS days and Sony has a clear software disadvantage, with many of the main system sellers in Japan and on portables being Nintendo published/developed software. But...who knows. Maybe that market will expand and open up again. I think at least with Switch doubts that Nintendo can reinvigorate that market post-mobile are somewhat at rest.
James Scott
Banned
Console Nintendo fans bought like 13M Wii Us.
Handheld appeal is pretty big
Nintendo's handhelds have been their bread and butter for nearly thirty years while their home console business has been ups and downs, no matter how much it is seen as the flagship product. They 'get away' with handheld success not just by IP, but by making hardware than people want to buy, something that they don't always get right with the home consoles.
Nintendo's games and hardware go hand in hand, otherwise you could just as easily argue that, without Nintendo's IP, the WiiU and Nintendo's home console business would have cratered even deeper to the point of total irrelevance.
A really long turn-based rpg? Those have always been huge on handheld and were the primary place for them for awhile
I always felt the Vita(PSP kind of did too) suffered from getting games that could be described as "A great fps for a handheld" and those types of games could never build a fanbase
Thats is completely wrong interpretation. At that point in 2008, the PSP and DS tie ratio where half a game apart. This doesn't say anything about years 2009, 2010, 2011, and on going.
Mass_Pincup
Banned
Yeah I didn't meant that they were close since 2008 but that in 2008 they were close.
One of Sony's problems with handhelds is that it has completely pivoted towards western-style, demanding, event-driven games that are sort of the antithesis of the handheld experience. The same goes for most established western console developers actually. Mobile just got so big they couldn't ignore it and tired to throw SOMETHING out there.
The PSP was saved by Japanese 3rd parties -- it was just capable enough of running the kinds of games they were/are used to making. That's the deal with Nintendo too, and it's always been one of its advantages in regards to handhelds. It's actually one of the reasons people demanded Nintendo make mobile games -- its IPs and styles of game design are very well-suited to the on-the-go experience, for the same reason Nintendo has never fully gelled with AAA cinematic console gaming. What really hurt the Vita in my opinion is by that time western developers were totally done with dedicated handhelds and the 3DS took a lot of its fire by taking Monster Hunter. All that was left were a few of the Japanese third parties and indies. Those are going to Switch now.
The PSP was saved by Japanese 3rd parties -- it was just capable enough of running the kinds of games they were/are used to making. That's the deal with Nintendo too, and it's always been one of its advantages in regards to handhelds. It's actually one of the reasons people demanded Nintendo make mobile games -- its IPs and styles of game design are very well-suited to the on-the-go experience, for the same reason Nintendo has never fully gelled with AAA cinematic console gaming. What really hurt the Vita in my opinion is by that time western developers were totally done with dedicated handhelds and the 3DS took a lot of its fire by taking Monster Hunter. All that was left were a few of the Japanese third parties and indies. Those are going to Switch now.
Wolf Akela
Member
That PSP jump in 2007-2008, damn. That was the time when Sony decided to revitalize the PSP by going all in for all markets. Stuff like God of War and Crisis Core for core gamers, as well as marketing the hell out of more casual games like Rock Band Unplugged and that Hannah Montana game. Having a PSP around that time was such a blast.
I'm just sad that the Vita was treated like this. It's such a nice exceptional piece of hardware with a great OS, but never really got first party support after launch.
I'm just sad that the Vita was treated like this. It's such a nice exceptional piece of hardware with a great OS, but never really got first party support after launch.
It would be interesting to see a survey of use-cases for the system, I think. I skipped the WiiU, but for the Switch I only play it at home whether docked or portable.
Honestly, I wouldn't trust Sony to support a dedicated handheld. If it was a portable ps4, sure, i'd grab it, but if it was its own thing, I don't think Sony would support it enough. Only Danganronpa and Tearaway really felt it worth it as far as Vita exclusives went, nothing else I played really appealed to me.
immortal-joe
Member
Everytime this issue pops up, there's a disturbing amount of people who avoid mentioning the brand equity Nintendo has in its IP's. Sony doesn't have this; what they had they threw at the Vita early on, along with new IP's, and no one was interested. There was enough of a positive reception to the software during the launch period and beyond, but things just never picked up. The market has spoken.
Papacheeks
Banned
If Sony isnt interested in portable consoles anymore, cant they make games for Switch then?
Why? That would mean Nintendo would have to pay Sony for those games. And unless there is some coming of christ moment that will more than likely never happen unless it's a independent studio that Sony publishes games for.
Even that is stretching it.
nelo_inc
Member
Me too. I own a VITA and understand the shift of focus to the home consoles by Sony,
just keep the VITA games with PS Plus coming..
Truth. Actually I'm still better at how Sony refused to give a single fuck in the later years even when they could(some ports were poorly handled, others were no-brainers and yet weren't released at all - Locoroco or Patapon ports on ps4 but not on vita? the fuck?)
but the sad truth is that Vita launched with a killer price(considering how many more people bought the 3DS at the same price am year earlier) and a killer first year line up. And yet no one bought it.
we could now talk about how a more pricey Switch, with a less interesting launch line up, is selling gangbusters despite being "Vita 2 but with tv-out". this is mind boggling, but I'm ok with it because it's just what I wanted