Sony’s Vita has occupied a strange existence since its global launch in 2012. While holding fair sales in their domestic market of Japan, the Vita just never caught on with the same fire that its predecessor, the PSP, did worldwide.
With touch screen capabilities and superior graphics, during the R&D phase it seemed like a wonderful leap forward for handhelds and an obvious course of action for Sony to pursue. Unfortunately, it was also timed for the rise in prominence of smart phones and it was this latter technology that quickly eclipsed the need for additional gadgets in consumer pockets.
"People have mobile phones and it's so easy to play games on smartphones…And many games on smartphones are free, or free to start.” He continued, "I myself am a huge fan of PlayStation Vita and we worked really hard on designing every aspect. Touch-based games are fun – there are many games with really good design. But having sticks and buttons make things totally different.”
A smart move might be to transition into licensing some of their franchises into the mobile market, a technique that’s seen huge success with games like Fallout Shelter and the recent rash of Square Enix Go games like Hitman and Tomb Raider, but only time will tell. Sony is seeing massive success with their PlayStation 4, despite the track records with Vita and PlayStation TV so whatever comes next will be nothing if not interesting.
