Next year Sony will launch its next-gen handheld, the PlayStation Vita. Its predecessor, while being a success in its own right, was pummeled in the sales war by the competing Nintendo DS. Furthermore, the well-publicized troubles of the 3DS has many believing that the days of dedicated gaming handhelds could be numbered. Iron Studios’ Matthew Seymour is among those who feel that smart phones and tablets spell doom and gloom for Nintendo and Sony’s handhelds.
“If people aren’t willing to pay $249 for a Nintendo 3DS why would they pay $299 for Vita? People don’t want to carry more than one thing in their pocket, that’s why Android and iPhone have done so well, they are the devices of choice, they offers [sic] multiple functions outside of gaming,” Hall said to Games Industry Biz.
Seymour, who previously spent 20 years working for 2K and Microsoft, continued: “People don’t want it. That’s Nintendo huge challenge – how do they add value to that?” That is an excellent question, one that Nintendo is hoping it has found the answer to with a price drop, more first party games and a new color. “With all due respects to Sony and Vita, it’s a car wreck. And how about Xperia Play? I’d love to pull up the numbers on that,” Seymour continued.
“The consumer has spoken. We wanted to see that world exist – more players, more opportunities for us, but at the same time people don’t want that. Unless there’s a super technology paradigm shift it’s not going to shift back.” Those are some harsh words that fall in line with the rest of the doom and gloom that industry talking heads have been bandying about lately for just about everything that does not have a fruit emblazoned on its side. MTB still feels that there is a market for dedicated portable gaming devices, but Nintendo’s lack of compelling software and Sony’s high price tag – despite being a fair price for all of the sweet tech it boasts, it’s still a costly device – may not be what consumers are looking for right now.
And yet, these are all just predictions. If every prediction came true, then PC gaming would be dead, the Wii would have flopped and the PS3 would have set the international sales charts ablaze. It will take at least two or three years until an accurate picture of the modern day handheld market can be viewed.
[Source: Games Industry Biz]
[Image via Attack of the Fanboy.]
