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[yurinka]

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:

• 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.

 

[Raide]

Time Travel.

 

[MikeE21286]

I would make a phone version of the vita that had the same internal power but a smaller screen and more compact form factor.


Sell both alongside each other. Phone and non-phone Vitas

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Aggressive price-cut and moneyhatting/developing compelling, exclusive (not Vita/PS3) software, including games from their top teams.

 

[Spierek]

Time Travel.

First post nails it. But seriously though, just release some desirable games for the damn platform, as opposed to delivering portable (and worse) versions of the PS3 hits. Also, make it cost less (or at least not two times the price of a new 3DS).

And hiding the buttons like in PSP Go is a terrible idea, you should be ashamed of suggesting it.

 

[Warm Machine]

Make it an elegant phone, and support it like a serious Phone. It pretty much is a phone right now, just take the next logical step instead of trash canning the whole thing.

Aim at youth demographics who cannot get their parents to drop $500 on an iphone for them.

Add always on GPS so parents can track the device through a PC or iOS app.

 

[outunderthestars]

Go back in time and release it before the the iPad existed. Other than that I just don't see any other way to make the Vita succeed.

Also, the majority of the OP's suggestion would bankrupt Sony.

 

[LuchaShaq]

#1 Allow press a way to get devkits/captures tools.

The biggest reason I don't try vita games until I get them through plus/gamefly is because stuff like quicklooks aren't possible without a total garbage over the shoulder camera.

#2 Lower the price, even if you have to rip out worthless gimmicks that .00001% of people like such as back touch/gyro. Also hopefully fix the ergonomic mess this thing is for anyone without child sized hands.

#3 Fix the memory situation. I and 3-4 of my friends would have bought one at launch if it wasn't for this. Instead I bought a 150$ craigslist bundle in September and none of them plan to ever buy it at this point unless it's hacked in some way to allow non proprietary memory r4 style.

#4 Let current users disable the back touch pad at an OS level so we don't have to hold it super awkwardly in games that sadly force it to be on.

#5 Throw money at it. Yeah Sony is broke, but at this point software support isn't coming unless Sony themselves gets some momentum going. Ridiculous that stuff like Borderlands 2 wasn't ported over.

#6 Allow a cell/sim card phone version. I have a smartphone and the thing I do LEAST on it is talk so I don't care if I'd look dumb on it. If my vita could be my text message/4g twitter-email checking device I would sell my cuttent phone.

 

[Lambtron]

More games, cheaper faster memory, price cut.

 

[Captain Pants]

Make the storage cheap enough that no one can resist the PS+ bundle. Getting every good launch game for free is enough to make the system attractive. I know for my best friend, the only reason he hasn't bought that bundle is he can't pony up the cash for the 32gb card.

 

[Papercuts]

Aggressive price-cut and moneyhatting/developing compelling, exclusive (not Vita/PS3) software, including games from their top teams.

This is pretty much the only realistic way of making the severe swing needed to help the Vita. The problem, of course, being PS4 on the horizon and Sony's current financial status makes this not a very viable option.

 

[GhostTrick]

Price cut + real 1st party support. 3rd party wont come with magic. Its' either moneyhat or build a big userbase.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Oh, built-in memory. Lots of it.

If the Vita were guaranteed to be a success, I can see the point of nickel-and-diming people to make a bit more profit. But it's just one more obstacle to potential buyers, costing them long-term success for a theoretical short-term gain.

 

[Proc]

It found its market. It will continue to grow with lower prices, ps+ promos, and new games.

 

[Cookie18]

I don't think I'd actually change anything about the hardware except maybe some internal storage.

The price cut is all it really needs. I hope anyway, I want it to happen soon because I love my Vita and really want it to be a success.

 

[Father_Brain]

Travel back in time, abandon the high-end specs, and focus on competing directly with 3DS for the Japanese market. There's no market for "HD console on a handheld" games in the West, and Japanese third parties apparently have no interest in making them.

 

[metalslimer]

It found its market. It will continue to grow with lower prices, ps+ promos, and new games.

Eh....

Travel back in time, abandon the high-end specs, and focus on competing directly with 3DS for the Japanese market. There's no market for "HD console on a handheld" games in the West, and Japanese third parties apparently have no interest in making them.

Pretty much this. There's pretty much nothing Sony can do in the west when even Nintendo is struggling, but Japan should have been front and center and the goal should have been to take down the 3DS there which would have forced Nintendo into a very difficult position. I would say pay Capcom like 100 million dollars to cancel the 3DS MH4 and put it on Vita.

 

[TimeEffect]

Well in my perfect world:

I'd have had a launch library that didn't consist of Resistance or even Uncharted. I find that a new Resistance, a new Killzone, and a new Uncharted game would be redundant when most gamers have exhausted these franchises on the PS3. Nor do these franchises sell systems universally. I think it would have been smarter to work with more Japanese games as they sell easier to the West than vice versa. I also find that the handheld market has a home to many PS2/PSOne generation games that couldn't possibly make it as big on consoles anymore.

I'd have kept games like Sound Shapes and Sly as VITA exclusives to push for VITA sales, or at least timed-VITA exclusives. I'd have kept Super Stardust and Wipeout, as those games look great for VITA.

I'd have rather seen releases for older games like a new Jak and Daxter, made a spin-off 2D R&C sidescroller platformer a la comic-book style (as seen in their games), released a turn based tactical strategy game within the Killzone universe (like XCOM), as well as worked with third parties to push for a strong JRPG or two (with Level 5, or make Sony do one themselves). I think the VITA market is much better suited to try out these genres than mimicking what you see on consoles.

I think the best strategy would have been to bring over older franchises that couldn't make it on PS3 while pushing existing brand names into other genres.

Right now I'd be advertising the fuck out of PS+

 

[Cornbread78]

Aggressive price-cut and moneyhatting/developing compelling, exclusive (not Vita/PS3) software, including games from their top teams.

yup, this would do it

 

[Derrick01]

I'm not sure they can do anything about games unless they're willing to moneyhat an IP AND develop it themselves, since devs don't even want to waste time making things like Borderlands or Bioshock on the system. The west didn't develop much for the DS either despite it selling 8 billion units.

 

[A Twisty Fluken]

Time Travel.

One and done. Honestly, the moment that Nintendo outmaneuvered them for the Japanese teenage male audience, it was over. Of course, there were tons of unforced errors after that, but we've been over those a million times too.

 

[metalslimer]

Oh and Sony's 1st party studios like Naught Dog, Santa Monica, and Sucker Punch ignoring the thing (no a codeveloped ports of Battle Royale and Sly 4 don't count) was pretty much a big nail in the coffin in the west. I think the best Sony could ever hope for at this point would be to maybe match the Gamecube and even that would require a massive pricecut and investment into franchises. At the current pace it won't break 10 million while its on the market.

 

[H_Prestige]

This needed to be a Japan focused device, or not exist at all. Sony should have used everything they had to get all the JP PSP devs to move on to the Vita. Losing MH is huge. Soul Sacrifice is a step in the right direction and is probably the system's only hope.

The good thing is that Sony is now a strong contender in the smartphone space. The upcoming Xperia line seems like it will be a big hit now that Sony is in charge of the design. If they can sell a huge number of them and approach Galaxy numbers, that's better than having a PSP type of gaming device.

 

[DerpButter]

Make it an LTE android phone in a new form factor, a mini tablet (like the samsung note), with the controls sliding/flipping out like the xperia play.

 

[GhostTrick]

This is kinda sad, because back at E3 2011, Sony had a big opportunity. Price sounded fair, but then they made their first mistake with those memory cards. Second biggest mistake was E3 2012. Really, it's like Sony killed any hype from the console.

 

[MaverickHunterX]

I think figuring out what the fuck they really want to do would be a great start.

For example, Sony presented this thing as a portable Ps3...but with so many other features. That's great. We received a lot of original titles as well as excellent ports. Great, pretty much same path as PSP.

Then, they say, "Ok, let's start a program where you buy a ps3 version, and you get a Vita digital copy for the road"...problem is that there is only a handful of games that support this, and even fewer in which you share the trophy support (Looking at you, PSASBR).

Finally, they say, "Ok, fuck the ports, let's make original titles for Vita based upon our best selling Ps3 games," which in reality, don't hold a fucking candle to the PS3 versions (COD). Also, by doing so, it totally fucks up the Cross Play/Digital Copy ideology listed above. (could you imagine if they would have done a Black Ops II cross play package?)

Until they get this shit straighten out, I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel...which sucks cause I really like my vita...

 

[metalslimer]

Make it an LTE android phone in a new form factor, a mini tablet (like the samsung note), with the controls sliding/flipping out like the xperia play.

Honestly I think the whole game controls on a phone thing is just doomed to fail unless you make an attachable unit for the phone that can be taken off.

 

[MikeE21286]

Honestly I think the whole game controls on a phone thing is just doomed to fail unless you make an attachable unit for the phone that can be taken off.

They could have made the GO a phone I think.

I was playing mine the other day thinking that if it had a touch screen and was a little thinner I would use it as a phone.

 

[Iacobellis]

$200 WiFi only model with a 4GB card and a $250 WiFi/3G model with an 8GB card.

Get more developers onboard and advertise the fuck out of PS+. Let people know after spending $250+, they can get a few more games for free.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

op you could have just written "make it a smartphone/tablet"

 

[Skyzard]

I would just wait (And obviously follow through with the first price drop).

Maybe throw in a 4GB memory card with every Vita as well so people can save and get patches.

And at least try to discourage publishers from charging full price on the store.

Oh and possibly fund some more action adventure games.

Spoiler

Release a line of sexy manbags.

 

[metalslimer]

They could have made the GO a phone I think.

I was playing mine the other day thinking that if it had a touch screen and was a little thinner I would use it as a phone.

They could have made the go a phone, but would many people have cared? Anyway, I think Sony is approaching their last big chance in Japan with the device with Soul Sacrifice in March.

 

[Burai]

At one point Sony were working on the PSPgo, PSVita and Xperia Play. These should have all been one and the same product.

I always saw the best option to be an Android machine with a bit more grunt than the PSP with full access to the PS Store (new games, PSP/PSone BC) and your PSN account. It would come as a phone option, a standalone option (like the iPod touch is compared to the iPhone) and maybe a premium tablet version.

That way Sony could concentrate on the games and hardware, third parties would be able to cross-develop with the 3DS/PSP and they could just let Google and the Android ecosystem provide the extras like browsing, media, etc.

Instead they came up with an overpriced PSP, an underpowered phone that plays Crash Bandicoot and a next generation nightmare.

 

[chickdigger802]

Suck some metaphorical dick.


Need studios to make original awesome shit.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

Rewire the brains of all consumers so they aren't stupid thinking that smartphone gaming is even remotely 1% as enjoyable as it is on the Vita.

Seriously though, the Vita is in a good shape as a product. There's nothing can be done on Sony's part apart from ridiculous feature-creep changes that would send them to bankruptcy.

And 3G's failure is the fault of those greedy Telecom companies who charge an arm and a leg for 1 gig of data.

 

[meltingparappa]

Easier to press Select and Start buttons

Sweet Christ, this.

But also subsidizing dev's and pushing further for digital distribution.

Simply put, the Vita needs more games. There's so little on the slate for next year, outside of Soul Sacrifice, and even that is arguably "just" a Monster Hunter clone.

There are still a lot of niche PSP games coming out, which makes sense because there are a billion of them in Japan The digital platform makes a lot of sense for doing small releases from publishers.

 

[MikeE21286]

They could have made the go a phone, but would many people have cared?

If it was essentially an android-based smartphone why would people care any less than they do about current smartphones (which is a helluva lot more than they care about the vita or than they ever cared about the PSP)


The problem is no nobody cares about the hardware so they don't buy it. And nobody develops games for it as a result. It (Vita) is a piece of hardware that solves a problem for an extremely niche market in 2012.

If hardware was in people's hands devastating would have a reason to make games for it.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Software-wise, I'd get as much of their legacy IPs on it as possible, get Ready at Dawn (High Impact's been sorta split into Digital Angel which is working with HIG on guh, mobile stuff) on a new Jak game, with near-PS3 visuals, Sly on Vita with TIT (heh) is a great one, but Ratchet suffered with a bad one with FFA and it's not even a traditional one (on PS3, Vita won't save it).

I don't see the issue of outsourcing games here, it's the content and a lot of which can be good in the right hands.

They need stuff that can't be found on other platforms but not through 3rd-parties (obviously this helps though) but with their own stuff.

Team ICO might've been able to make a bunch of games by now if they kept TLG on the backburner, get them on Vita. How about Ape Escape?

I just want Sony to show more of what THEY can do, not what others are doing on their platforms, Nintendo didn't get to where they are with 3rd-parties, they did it on their own (with a little help from 3rd-parties obviously ), Sony's way too reliant on 3rd-parties, look at the loss of MH, the savior of the PSP, now practically in Nintendo's hands.

Sony needs their own killer franchise, Nintendo has Mario, Pokemon, etc, what does Sony have?

We need to see what kind of magic Sony can create, show us the personality of Sony, something only Sony can provide. That can really help the Vita at least if 3rd-parties aren't going to.

That's just my point of view.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Price cut to $180, 8 megs included, real first party support (Vita and PS3 should have the same priority), remote play works with all PSN titles, games no longer allowed to disconnect you from the network, and all media options that are on the PS3 are included like streaming video.

 

[metalslimer]

If it was essentially an android-based smartphone why would people care any less than they do about current smartphones (which is a helluva lot more than they care about the vita or than they ever cared about the PSP)

The PSP sold 70 million units. As a phone you will be dramatically shortening the lifespan of the device and once you begin the yearly updates it falls apart as a dedicated gaming device. Basically I don't even see why people call for Vita to be a phone when Sony already has a line up smartphones that sell pretty well. Just throwing another smartphone into the mix isn't going to make it more popular.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Suck some metaphorical dick.

Rewire the brains of all consumers so they aren't stupid thinking that smartphone gaming is even remotely 1% as enjoyable as it is on the Vita.

good lord I had a feeling this thread would deliver

 

[DJIzana]

Honestly... I'd try to make it *THE* go to system for those that are people living in the west that like Japanese games. Localize that shiz and your followers shall come. Bring on Type-0, PSO2 to the west, all that jazz and you're good to go.

 

[MikeE21286]

The PSP sold 70 million units. As a phone you will be dramatically shortening the lifespan of the device and once you begin the yearly updates it falls apart as a dedicated gaming device. Basically I don't even see why people call for Vita to be a phone when Sony already has a line up smartphones that sell pretty well. Just throwing another smartphone into the mix isn't going to make it more popular.

And PSP sold no software. Im definitely aware of how much the PSP sold. I don't see the iPhone struggling with that the phone aspect very much. I definitively will give it to you that the vita itself changes as a platform drastically once it has a phone variant.

Making the vita into a phone gives developers a reason to make games for it because it puts the device in people's hands. Something no amount of marketing is going to do. You can't make people want something they have no use for.

 

[we.are.the.armada]

They should make it and the memory cards cheaper. Preferably in a Persona 4 Golden bundle, too.

Combining trophy, friendlist, and messaging into a single app while simultaneously making it faster would be great too.

 

[DragonSworne]

Price drop to 99 dollars and drop all royalty fees.

 

[H_Prestige]

I don't think anyone wants a smartphone with gaming buttons tacked on. Especially one that doesn't run Android. It would sell less than the Vita is right now.

 

[metalslimer]

I don't think anyone wants a smartphone with gaming buttons tacked on. Especially one that doesn't run Android. It would sell less than the Vita is right now.

Although they might have a better chance now that phones are reaching fucking 6 inches in size. The problem is the phone version of Vita is not the version of Vita people are going to want to have. It's not going to be as powerful as a lot of resources will go to other parts of the phone. The screen won't be as big.

 

[timetokill]

There is pretty much nothing in the practical realm that will save the Vita.

Sony has shown it is unwilling or unable to drop the price or secure must-have titles, preferring instead to continually revise down their estimates and disappoint investors again and again.

Since nothing beyond lowering the price of entry and acquiring must-have software will change the fortunes of the Vita, just accept that it's dead and let's all move on.

 

[Burai]

The PSP sold 70 million units. As a phone you will be dramatically shortening the lifespan of the device and once you begin the yearly updates it falls apart as a dedicated gaming device. Basically I don't even see why people call for Vita to be a phone when Sony already has a line up smartphones that sell pretty well. Just throwing another smartphone into the mix isn't going to make it more popular.

Fuck the device. It's about creating a platform upon which to build the future of PlayStation.

You update the device, the consumers bring the content with them when they upgrade. That's one of the best things about Android/iOS. You buy an app and it follows you from device to device. And then it doesn't matter what you put the platform in. Phone, tablet, smart TV, PC app, etc. You've got a captive audience with PlayStation everywhere they could want it and their purchases keep rolling forward with them.

 

[Derrick01]

Rewire the brains of all consumers so they aren't stupid thinking that smartphone gaming is even remotely 1% as enjoyable as it is on the Vita.

If only we had the technology!