wraggster
March 11th, 2014, 23:31
PlayStation UK MD Fergal Gara tells MCV why the platform holder will never give up on its portable console, and where it goes next…
Many of the exciting games announced for Vita are indie projects. Do you think the console is lacking a big triple-A product this year?
Well, there are a lack of those titles announced. Is it a problem? It would be fair to pick up that there wasn’t a second Call of Duty made specifically for Vita. But what’s changed is that Call of Duty: Ghosts was available on Vita via Remote Play on PS4. And Vita is sort of evolving as a platform.
If you take it as a standalone product at the moment, the digital programme is proving to be a key strand of consumption for PS Vita. I think it’s interesting that the No.1 digital seller on Vita right now is PS Plus, so people are buying into Plus for the games that it gives them. I don’t think they’re buying it through Vita to play on PS4 – it’s technically possible but I don’t believe that that is the behaviour we are seeing.
Vita is proving to be a big niche device. Using the term ‘niche’ makes it sound tiny, but it’s not. The console is occupying an interesting space for interesting games built for more committed gamers. Yes the market place for it isn’t as big as it might have been had smartphones not arrived, but it is still a more thorough, more complete experience. And it is therefore appealing to people with a more eclectic taste in games. And many of these indie developers are proud to be on the platform. All of this is before we even talk about its role alongside PS4, which is clearly exciting and we seeing some good results from that.
The attach rate on Vita is quite high. Is this because of that niche or cult following that you have?
Correct, and that’s why we will continue to support it. The device is loved, it has a place. Sure it’s not enormous, but there are green shoots that show its position in the market will be at least as big with the advent of PS4.
"Vita is proving to be a big niche device. Using the
term ‘niche’ makes it sound tiny, but it’s not. The
console is occupying an interesting space for
interesting games built for more committed gamers.
Yes the market place for it isn’t as big as it might
have been had smartphones not arrived, but it is
still a more thorough, more complete experience."
Fergal Gara, Sony
Vita appears to be aiming younger with some of its recent games. And Invizimals speaks to that audience. So why did you choose not to lower the price with your new slim model?
Well it frequently is lower. If you look at the price last year, you could find the device with the Mega Pack for around £139, which is highly competitive against any alternative. The £180 we announced for the new model is flat with where we are, but that price is rarely played. There has been lots of promotional activity and I expect to see more of that on-going.
Invizimals is your big kids project coming up. How are you planning to support it?
We are going medium with Invizimals. We are not going to launch it like The Last of Us, because it’s not. But are we going to give it a due level of support? Of course we are. It’s done pretty well across the continent in the lead up to Christmas. We decided that with everything else going on in the UK, it might be a better time to launch it this year in the UK. That way we can make sure we have all the pieces of the plan together, in terms of the trading cards and the TV shows in development and just having a better cohesive plan together for launch in the UK.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/what-now-for-playstation-vita/0129373
Many of the exciting games announced for Vita are indie projects. Do you think the console is lacking a big triple-A product this year?
Well, there are a lack of those titles announced. Is it a problem? It would be fair to pick up that there wasn’t a second Call of Duty made specifically for Vita. But what’s changed is that Call of Duty: Ghosts was available on Vita via Remote Play on PS4. And Vita is sort of evolving as a platform.
If you take it as a standalone product at the moment, the digital programme is proving to be a key strand of consumption for PS Vita. I think it’s interesting that the No.1 digital seller on Vita right now is PS Plus, so people are buying into Plus for the games that it gives them. I don’t think they’re buying it through Vita to play on PS4 – it’s technically possible but I don’t believe that that is the behaviour we are seeing.
Vita is proving to be a big niche device. Using the term ‘niche’ makes it sound tiny, but it’s not. The console is occupying an interesting space for interesting games built for more committed gamers. Yes the market place for it isn’t as big as it might have been had smartphones not arrived, but it is still a more thorough, more complete experience. And it is therefore appealing to people with a more eclectic taste in games. And many of these indie developers are proud to be on the platform. All of this is before we even talk about its role alongside PS4, which is clearly exciting and we seeing some good results from that.
The attach rate on Vita is quite high. Is this because of that niche or cult following that you have?
Correct, and that’s why we will continue to support it. The device is loved, it has a place. Sure it’s not enormous, but there are green shoots that show its position in the market will be at least as big with the advent of PS4.
"Vita is proving to be a big niche device. Using the
term ‘niche’ makes it sound tiny, but it’s not. The
console is occupying an interesting space for
interesting games built for more committed gamers.
Yes the market place for it isn’t as big as it might
have been had smartphones not arrived, but it is
still a more thorough, more complete experience."
Fergal Gara, Sony
Vita appears to be aiming younger with some of its recent games. And Invizimals speaks to that audience. So why did you choose not to lower the price with your new slim model?
Well it frequently is lower. If you look at the price last year, you could find the device with the Mega Pack for around £139, which is highly competitive against any alternative. The £180 we announced for the new model is flat with where we are, but that price is rarely played. There has been lots of promotional activity and I expect to see more of that on-going.
Invizimals is your big kids project coming up. How are you planning to support it?
We are going medium with Invizimals. We are not going to launch it like The Last of Us, because it’s not. But are we going to give it a due level of support? Of course we are. It’s done pretty well across the continent in the lead up to Christmas. We decided that with everything else going on in the UK, it might be a better time to launch it this year in the UK. That way we can make sure we have all the pieces of the plan together, in terms of the trading cards and the TV shows in development and just having a better cohesive plan together for launch in the UK.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/what-now-for-playstation-vita/0129373