Its been discussed to death, but the PS Vita isnt doing well. It can be saved, in my opinion. Unfortunately it wont be quick, easy, or cheap. The light at the end of the tunnel could be worth it, with a new focus and a consolidation of efforts. I will try to stick to the main points, but there is a bit of speculation involved so take that for what its worth.
-To start
The PS Vita is a great handheld with great games, this is indisputable. Your tastes may vary, and there might not be an overwhelming bounty, but there are gems. Unfortunately, the generally low hardware sales of the PSV have caused hesitation among major Western publishers, which only worsened the problem. Licensed games are abundant, but indies have found a home there, and mid-tier Japanese publishers are slowly adopting the handheld as the PSP finally dies and the 3DS shows its age (if they arent chasing the mobile market). The PSV represents a unique bridge between SD-games and HD-games; not quite HD (cheaper) and way better than SD (prettier). Potential exists to create an environment of small-to-mid-range games that are both portable and graphically impressive, but this potential cannot be realized unless favorable projections can be made from sales forecasts made by publishers. Remote Play has been an impressive feature of this generation, and the ability to play PS4 games on the PSV is definite selling point. So if I can play PS4 games on my PSV, why cant I play PSV games on my PS4?
-The goal
Every Playstation 4 should have PlaystationTV functionality. The PS4 is the fastest selling console of all time, and it should serve as another way to play PSV games. How this can be achieved, I wont claim to be knowledgeable about. One possibility could be the mysterious secondary processor in the PS4, which is ARM-based and has 256mb of RAM (the PSV is ARM-based and its games use 256mb of RAM). Obviously this processor is used by the PS4, but for exactly what it is used for and what else it could be used for is up for speculation. It is not unfathomable that it would have been easier and cheaper to slap a PSV board inside the PS4 as a secondary processor than to produce another custom board (PS2 did this), and booting into Vita mode with a stripped-down PlaystationTV OS would be practically painless to implement. A brute force solution obviously wouldnt be ideal, but the PS4 should be up to the task.
-How to
Sony needs to ensure every PS Vita game that doesnt involve ridiculous amounts of gyro or touch controls is playable on PlaystationTV, and all PSV games going forward need to at least support a PlaystationTV mode. There isnt an ocean of content to QA at this point, so now is the time to clean house. PSP content on PlaystationTV should be 1:1 with digital offerings. By the end of 2015, this plan should be announced and nearing completion.
-The payoff
The results of this implemented plan would be greatly favorable. Digital PSV games would receive a drastic increase in potential customers, making the potential return on investment of PSV games much greater. Hardware sales of the PSV may be negatively impacted initially, but will likely rise over time due to brand awareness and new software customers. PS+ subscribers without a PSV could have access to a huge pile of amassed games, which would serve as VERY good public relations. People may become invested in PSV games and see the benefits of owning a PSV and taking that experience with them wherever they go. Or not. Either way, they are still far more likely to purchase PSV software, even if they dont own a PSV. So its still a win for the publisher and a win for Sony, where before it was a loss for both.
Along with a Playstation brand consolidation among its current game offerings, it will also allow game developers to consolidate their efforts toward a single platform. Instead of the half-solution of cross-buy, which results in extra work, time, and money put in by developers and publishers, a single executable would be optimized to work on the PSV and be playable on both pieces of hardware. Cross-buy games such as Rogue Legacy, Terraria, Spelunky, Hotline Miami, Velocity 2x, etc would look and play exceptionally well if optimized solely for the PSV and scaled to the 1080p of our HDTVs. 60fps would be more likely in this scenario as well, which would be consistent across both platforms.
Another possible outcome would be a new wave of Japanese handheld games for Western console audiences. Games/series like Ys, Danganronpa, Zero Escape, and Freedom Wars could maintain their smaller budgets while vastly expanding their potential customer base. The problem of the Wests console focus and the Easts handheld focus could no longer be a problem, as these games could serve both consumer bases with no sacrifice on either side. This could be a boon for JRPGs and VNs, which would only grow and diversify as time goes on.
-Possible concerns, future talking points
Just a few points that would need to be addressed should this ever come to be:
How would branding work for the PSVs successor? Vita should be carried forward to signify the SOFTWARE environment, but then naming hardware may get tricky.
What if the PSV sales drop dramatically? Possibly slow production and sell them directly through Sony stores or online with Amazon. Retail is very hostile to this device, it seems, so it may be best to focus stock.
What about Xperia? Maybe it can Remote Play PSV games too, from your PS4, but it probably wouldnt be wise to put PSV/PSP games on an Android device.
Thanks for hearing me out, and feel free to comment and discuss any angles/problems I may have overlooked.
-To start
The PS Vita is a great handheld with great games, this is indisputable. Your tastes may vary, and there might not be an overwhelming bounty, but there are gems. Unfortunately, the generally low hardware sales of the PSV have caused hesitation among major Western publishers, which only worsened the problem. Licensed games are abundant, but indies have found a home there, and mid-tier Japanese publishers are slowly adopting the handheld as the PSP finally dies and the 3DS shows its age (if they arent chasing the mobile market). The PSV represents a unique bridge between SD-games and HD-games; not quite HD (cheaper) and way better than SD (prettier). Potential exists to create an environment of small-to-mid-range games that are both portable and graphically impressive, but this potential cannot be realized unless favorable projections can be made from sales forecasts made by publishers. Remote Play has been an impressive feature of this generation, and the ability to play PS4 games on the PSV is definite selling point. So if I can play PS4 games on my PSV, why cant I play PSV games on my PS4?
-The goal
Every Playstation 4 should have PlaystationTV functionality. The PS4 is the fastest selling console of all time, and it should serve as another way to play PSV games. How this can be achieved, I wont claim to be knowledgeable about. One possibility could be the mysterious secondary processor in the PS4, which is ARM-based and has 256mb of RAM (the PSV is ARM-based and its games use 256mb of RAM). Obviously this processor is used by the PS4, but for exactly what it is used for and what else it could be used for is up for speculation. It is not unfathomable that it would have been easier and cheaper to slap a PSV board inside the PS4 as a secondary processor than to produce another custom board (PS2 did this), and booting into Vita mode with a stripped-down PlaystationTV OS would be practically painless to implement. A brute force solution obviously wouldnt be ideal, but the PS4 should be up to the task.
-How to
Sony needs to ensure every PS Vita game that doesnt involve ridiculous amounts of gyro or touch controls is playable on PlaystationTV, and all PSV games going forward need to at least support a PlaystationTV mode. There isnt an ocean of content to QA at this point, so now is the time to clean house. PSP content on PlaystationTV should be 1:1 with digital offerings. By the end of 2015, this plan should be announced and nearing completion.
-The payoff
The results of this implemented plan would be greatly favorable. Digital PSV games would receive a drastic increase in potential customers, making the potential return on investment of PSV games much greater. Hardware sales of the PSV may be negatively impacted initially, but will likely rise over time due to brand awareness and new software customers. PS+ subscribers without a PSV could have access to a huge pile of amassed games, which would serve as VERY good public relations. People may become invested in PSV games and see the benefits of owning a PSV and taking that experience with them wherever they go. Or not. Either way, they are still far more likely to purchase PSV software, even if they dont own a PSV. So its still a win for the publisher and a win for Sony, where before it was a loss for both.
Along with a Playstation brand consolidation among its current game offerings, it will also allow game developers to consolidate their efforts toward a single platform. Instead of the half-solution of cross-buy, which results in extra work, time, and money put in by developers and publishers, a single executable would be optimized to work on the PSV and be playable on both pieces of hardware. Cross-buy games such as Rogue Legacy, Terraria, Spelunky, Hotline Miami, Velocity 2x, etc would look and play exceptionally well if optimized solely for the PSV and scaled to the 1080p of our HDTVs. 60fps would be more likely in this scenario as well, which would be consistent across both platforms.
Another possible outcome would be a new wave of Japanese handheld games for Western console audiences. Games/series like Ys, Danganronpa, Zero Escape, and Freedom Wars could maintain their smaller budgets while vastly expanding their potential customer base. The problem of the Wests console focus and the Easts handheld focus could no longer be a problem, as these games could serve both consumer bases with no sacrifice on either side. This could be a boon for JRPGs and VNs, which would only grow and diversify as time goes on.
-Possible concerns, future talking points
Just a few points that would need to be addressed should this ever come to be:
How would branding work for the PSVs successor? Vita should be carried forward to signify the SOFTWARE environment, but then naming hardware may get tricky.
What if the PSV sales drop dramatically? Possibly slow production and sell them directly through Sony stores or online with Amazon. Retail is very hostile to this device, it seems, so it may be best to focus stock.
What about Xperia? Maybe it can Remote Play PSV games too, from your PS4, but it probably wouldnt be wise to put PSV/PSP games on an Android device.
Thanks for hearing me out, and feel free to comment and discuss any angles/problems I may have overlooked.
..will never happen after xperia PLAY
