FairFriend
Member
EDIT 06/06/2017
Alright, I think I need to expand upon the title. Allow me to quote one of my later posts:
Basically the situation as I see it is this: is Sony even remotely interested in reentering the dedicate mobile space later down the road? If yes they need to salvage the Vita somehow and this may be their last chance. My basic assumption is that part of the success of the Switch derives from the appeal of having a system that allows you to play on the go and at home the same identical game without having to buy it twice. If there is any merit in this assumption then it would be "relatively easy" for Sony to come up with a Vita revision that just does that.
Now, of course you'd need software to sustain such a platform, but no later than one year ago a successful game like Dragon Quest Builder, which would go on to pass the one million units landmark, was reported to sell more copies on Vita than on PS4 . Not only that, but it also momentarily tripled the number of Vita sold. There are many caveat of course, the first one being that the situation has changed in the meantime, and the second one being that those reports were purely anecdotal, but I don't think the claim that, at least in Japan, the Vita was not so long ago a sustainable platform is totally unsubstantiated. You still have high profile games like Valkyria Revolution and the new Digimon game being ported to the system, but for how long is that gonna be the case? A revision such the one I describe in the OP wouldn't require Sony to go back to the drawing board and should be aimed at extending the Vita lifespan, just like the new 3DS did for the original model, while Sony comes up with a plan proper.
There are many other observations that I'd like to address in detail, but I fear that this opening post would become to long thus discouraging people who enter the thread to read it at all, so I'll be very succinct.
1) This way the Vita would lose the only edge it's ever had over the 3DS, that is being the more powerful handled.
Sure, but history proves that being the more powerful handled was never an advantage to begin with.
2) People buy the Switch mainly for Nintendo's IPs.
The Wii U was a failure as big as the Vita and it had lots of exclusive Nintendo games.
3) Sony has never been good at making games for their portable titles, and they'll end up spreading themselves to thin.
The new Vita would be aimed at the Japanese market foremost. New Vita games are still made in Japan (the new Digimon, for instance) but at the same time more and more title will inevitably miss the Vita. The mission of this new Vita revision would be that of reigniting interest in the platform and easing the porting of newer titles without breaking compatibility with the old Vita catalog. If it proved to be a success, then a worldwide launch could be considered.
Besides, for every Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified there is a Daxter, which proves that Sony is not totally incapable of creating exclusive content tailored for the mobile platform.
One last thing: I'd like some posters to keep in mind that I'm writing this stuff just for fun and to pass some spare time. I have no pretense of knowing what's best for Sony; I think it goes without saying that it is only my passion for the platform that made me come up with the idea of writing this thread, but at the same time I have nothing against Nintendo. The sole thought that one could have a dislike for a company for no concrete reason is an absurd one to me, so try not to be exceedingly caustic when posting your thoughts.
Follow the original post
There's no denying that the success of the Switch means that many developers will eventually abandon the PSVita. Sony of course has little interest in keeping the Vita alive, since it's proved to be a major failure worldwide, except in Japan where it's still coasting along pretty nicely, with some multiplatform titles occasionally selling more on Vita than on PS4.
On the other hand the success of the Switch may be seen as indicative of the consumer's interest in the hybrid model, if not in the more general concept of a portable dedicated gaming system. Of course, one should not forget that many people are buying a Switch merely because of the many Nintendo exclusives that will be released on it, but I think an argument can be made for Sony's coming up with a PSVita revision to counter the success of the Switch and perhaps even steal its thunder.
Firstly, what would this PSVita revision need to be a palatable offer?
1) Additional shoulder buttons and clickable sticks to perfectly mimic the DualShock layout.
2) 5 Ghz Wi-Fi chip for improved remote play.
3) HDMI out port to hook up the PSVita to any screen.
4) Ability to pair the system with DualShock controllers through Bluetooth.
5) Standard miniSD card port.
6) Overclocked SoC and increased VRam.
7) 720p screen.
Now, the first thing that needs to mentioned is that none of this changes would entail a vast investment in R&D to be implemented. The more delicate point in this regard is probably 6), but the New Nintendo 3DS has proved that it is not impossible to revise the system specs later in its life cycle. The bump in frequencies would be aimed at providing the system enough horsepower to output newer games, graphically on par with current Vita titles, at 720p (which is essential to achieve decent IQ when playing on a TV screen) rather than closing the gap between the Vita and the Switch.
Going by the jump in specs from the original 3DS to the new 3DS, I think it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume a similar improvement in CPU speeds (444 Mhz -> 888 Mhz), VRam capacity (128 MB -> 256 MB) and hopefully GPU speeds too (222 Mhz -> 444 Mhz). While there is no technical assurance that this would be enough to render games at 720p, I do believe that it is a fair bet, and since the size of transistors has shrunken so much in the last six years, I think it would be possible to dissipate the components passively, which would go a long way keeping the overall power consumption under control. And while it is true that the gulf between the Vita and the Switch cannot be bridged if not by upgrading the SoC, which could break compatibility with older Vita software, it is undeniable that the higher clock speeds would ease the porting of the less demanding multiplatform titles to the new PSVita.
At last but not least, choosing not to change the SoC would allow Sony to implement a ”boost mode", just like they did with the PS4 Pro, from which older Vita games with uncap or unstable frame rates and dynamic resolutions could greatly benefit, as noted by Digital Foundry in discussing the PS4 Pro.
I think that it would be imperative for Sony to offer the ability to hook up the new PSVita to the TV without having to buy a dock station. Simply connect it using the HDMI cable and pair the controllers with the Vita itself through Bluetooth. Of course Sony should sell a separate, and totally optional, dock station, which would offer additional USB ports to recharge the controllers and the Vita at the same time and to expand the storage through the use of an external hard-disk. This way Sony should be able to market the new PSVita at the price of the old one, that is to say 199$, almost half the price of the Switch: no matter how you feel about the PSVita catalog, it's being much bigger than that of its main competitor and the reduced price tag would be two very compelling arguments in favor of the PSVita.
Which brings me to the obvious reason why the Switch would still be a very good proposition (a part from having better specs, which in my opinion is only relatively important in the landscape of mobile gaming): its array of exclusive IPs.
Now, if there is a lesson to be learned from the recent and unexpected success of the Crash Bandicoot trilogy is that Sony would be better off if it tried to make good use of the wealth of exclusive IPs it's sitting on (Crash is owned by Activision, I know, but many others like Spyro, Ape Escape, Syphon Filter etc. are Sony's). I'm not saying that Crash will ever be as popular as Mario, but I do believe that if Sony were serious about relaunching the Vita it could leverage the popularity of said IPs to start the ball rolling, as they say. The comparatively low price tag, the versatility of the hybrid model, the vast catalog of existing PSOne, PSP and PSVita titles, remote play and all the perks of the revised model would all come together to paint a very positive image. Now, it would still be up to Sony to market the PSVita appropriately, and while one could speculate on the most effective strategy, like perhaps launching the system in Japan first, where it would find some kind of success anyway, to gauge the reaction of the international market and to prepare for launching in other territories accordingly, I feel like it would be a fruitless exercise since only Sony knows how much it is ready to invest in the mobile market. My point is that such investment would not be insensible, in light of the emerging conditions that I've described, and since the Japanese branch has expressed interest in keeping the Vita alive, I think that a PSVita 3000 such as the one I described is not out of the realm of possibilities.
Alright, I think I need to expand upon the title. Allow me to quote one of my later posts:
Basically the situation as I see it is this: is Sony even remotely interested in reentering the dedicate mobile space later down the road? If yes they need to salvage the Vita somehow and this may be their last chance. My basic assumption is that part of the success of the Switch derives from the appeal of having a system that allows you to play on the go and at home the same identical game without having to buy it twice. If there is any merit in this assumption then it would be "relatively easy" for Sony to come up with a Vita revision that just does that.
Now, of course you'd need software to sustain such a platform, but no later than one year ago a successful game like Dragon Quest Builder, which would go on to pass the one million units landmark, was reported to sell more copies on Vita than on PS4 . Not only that, but it also momentarily tripled the number of Vita sold. There are many caveat of course, the first one being that the situation has changed in the meantime, and the second one being that those reports were purely anecdotal, but I don't think the claim that, at least in Japan, the Vita was not so long ago a sustainable platform is totally unsubstantiated. You still have high profile games like Valkyria Revolution and the new Digimon game being ported to the system, but for how long is that gonna be the case? A revision such the one I describe in the OP wouldn't require Sony to go back to the drawing board and should be aimed at extending the Vita lifespan, just like the new 3DS did for the original model, while Sony comes up with a plan proper.
There are many other observations that I'd like to address in detail, but I fear that this opening post would become to long thus discouraging people who enter the thread to read it at all, so I'll be very succinct.
1) This way the Vita would lose the only edge it's ever had over the 3DS, that is being the more powerful handled.
Sure, but history proves that being the more powerful handled was never an advantage to begin with.
2) People buy the Switch mainly for Nintendo's IPs.
The Wii U was a failure as big as the Vita and it had lots of exclusive Nintendo games.
3) Sony has never been good at making games for their portable titles, and they'll end up spreading themselves to thin.
The new Vita would be aimed at the Japanese market foremost. New Vita games are still made in Japan (the new Digimon, for instance) but at the same time more and more title will inevitably miss the Vita. The mission of this new Vita revision would be that of reigniting interest in the platform and easing the porting of newer titles without breaking compatibility with the old Vita catalog. If it proved to be a success, then a worldwide launch could be considered.
Besides, for every Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified there is a Daxter, which proves that Sony is not totally incapable of creating exclusive content tailored for the mobile platform.
One last thing: I'd like some posters to keep in mind that I'm writing this stuff just for fun and to pass some spare time. I have no pretense of knowing what's best for Sony; I think it goes without saying that it is only my passion for the platform that made me come up with the idea of writing this thread, but at the same time I have nothing against Nintendo. The sole thought that one could have a dislike for a company for no concrete reason is an absurd one to me, so try not to be exceedingly caustic when posting your thoughts.
Follow the original post
There's no denying that the success of the Switch means that many developers will eventually abandon the PSVita. Sony of course has little interest in keeping the Vita alive, since it's proved to be a major failure worldwide, except in Japan where it's still coasting along pretty nicely, with some multiplatform titles occasionally selling more on Vita than on PS4.
On the other hand the success of the Switch may be seen as indicative of the consumer's interest in the hybrid model, if not in the more general concept of a portable dedicated gaming system. Of course, one should not forget that many people are buying a Switch merely because of the many Nintendo exclusives that will be released on it, but I think an argument can be made for Sony's coming up with a PSVita revision to counter the success of the Switch and perhaps even steal its thunder.
Firstly, what would this PSVita revision need to be a palatable offer?
1) Additional shoulder buttons and clickable sticks to perfectly mimic the DualShock layout.
2) 5 Ghz Wi-Fi chip for improved remote play.
3) HDMI out port to hook up the PSVita to any screen.
4) Ability to pair the system with DualShock controllers through Bluetooth.
5) Standard miniSD card port.
6) Overclocked SoC and increased VRam.
7) 720p screen.
Now, the first thing that needs to mentioned is that none of this changes would entail a vast investment in R&D to be implemented. The more delicate point in this regard is probably 6), but the New Nintendo 3DS has proved that it is not impossible to revise the system specs later in its life cycle. The bump in frequencies would be aimed at providing the system enough horsepower to output newer games, graphically on par with current Vita titles, at 720p (which is essential to achieve decent IQ when playing on a TV screen) rather than closing the gap between the Vita and the Switch.
Going by the jump in specs from the original 3DS to the new 3DS, I think it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume a similar improvement in CPU speeds (444 Mhz -> 888 Mhz), VRam capacity (128 MB -> 256 MB) and hopefully GPU speeds too (222 Mhz -> 444 Mhz). While there is no technical assurance that this would be enough to render games at 720p, I do believe that it is a fair bet, and since the size of transistors has shrunken so much in the last six years, I think it would be possible to dissipate the components passively, which would go a long way keeping the overall power consumption under control. And while it is true that the gulf between the Vita and the Switch cannot be bridged if not by upgrading the SoC, which could break compatibility with older Vita software, it is undeniable that the higher clock speeds would ease the porting of the less demanding multiplatform titles to the new PSVita.
At last but not least, choosing not to change the SoC would allow Sony to implement a ”boost mode", just like they did with the PS4 Pro, from which older Vita games with uncap or unstable frame rates and dynamic resolutions could greatly benefit, as noted by Digital Foundry in discussing the PS4 Pro.
I think that it would be imperative for Sony to offer the ability to hook up the new PSVita to the TV without having to buy a dock station. Simply connect it using the HDMI cable and pair the controllers with the Vita itself through Bluetooth. Of course Sony should sell a separate, and totally optional, dock station, which would offer additional USB ports to recharge the controllers and the Vita at the same time and to expand the storage through the use of an external hard-disk. This way Sony should be able to market the new PSVita at the price of the old one, that is to say 199$, almost half the price of the Switch: no matter how you feel about the PSVita catalog, it's being much bigger than that of its main competitor and the reduced price tag would be two very compelling arguments in favor of the PSVita.
Which brings me to the obvious reason why the Switch would still be a very good proposition (a part from having better specs, which in my opinion is only relatively important in the landscape of mobile gaming): its array of exclusive IPs.
Now, if there is a lesson to be learned from the recent and unexpected success of the Crash Bandicoot trilogy is that Sony would be better off if it tried to make good use of the wealth of exclusive IPs it's sitting on (Crash is owned by Activision, I know, but many others like Spyro, Ape Escape, Syphon Filter etc. are Sony's). I'm not saying that Crash will ever be as popular as Mario, but I do believe that if Sony were serious about relaunching the Vita it could leverage the popularity of said IPs to start the ball rolling, as they say. The comparatively low price tag, the versatility of the hybrid model, the vast catalog of existing PSOne, PSP and PSVita titles, remote play and all the perks of the revised model would all come together to paint a very positive image. Now, it would still be up to Sony to market the PSVita appropriately, and while one could speculate on the most effective strategy, like perhaps launching the system in Japan first, where it would find some kind of success anyway, to gauge the reaction of the international market and to prepare for launching in other territories accordingly, I feel like it would be a fruitless exercise since only Sony knows how much it is ready to invest in the mobile market. My point is that such investment would not be insensible, in light of the emerging conditions that I've described, and since the Japanese branch has expressed interest in keeping the Vita alive, I think that a PSVita 3000 such as the one I described is not out of the realm of possibilities.
