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Playstation Vita News
by Published on May 14th, 2012 00:34- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
Sony attracted unwanted attention to PS Vita's poor sales this week - but it can still turn this console around, argues Rob Fahey
There were quite a few things in Sony's final results for fiscal 2011/12 which raised eyebrows - not least of all the headline figure, a vast loss of ¥456.7 billion(around €4.4 billion) whose only redeeming feature is that it's not quite as high as the forecast made last month. Most of Sony's real losses originated in the Consumer Products and Services Division, which filed an enormous ¥229.8 billion operating loss. That's relevant to us, because along with LCD TVs, Vaio PCs and digital cameras, that division also houses Sony Computer Entertainment and the PlayStation business.
Away from the headline figures, though, it was an omission that really got eyebrows around the industry heading for the hairline. Sony, like most hardware manufacturers, generally tells the world how many units of hardware it sold in its financial results. That held true in today's financial figures, with the company confessing to dropping sales across the board - figures for everything the firm sells were down, including the figures for its three game platforms, the PS3, PSP and PS2.
"While the industry loves the Vita, consumers simply don't seem to care about it"
Wait... Three? Yes, in spite of the detail being provided elsewhere, none of which was particularly flattering (PS3 software sales were the sole bright point), the PlayStation Vita wasn't anywhere to be found in the report. That omission was corrected by Kaz Hirai on the earnings call a little while later, with the newly anointed company boss revealing that PS Vita sales sat at 1.8 million worldwide in March. The lack of figures in the report, however, was enough to draw attention to the struggling handheld, and has raised the question of the prospects for the device once again.
Speculation as to why Sony didn't simply cite Vita figures in its report is a fairly fruitless thing to engage in. 1.8 million by the year's end is a weak figure, significantly behind the 3DS at a comparable point in its life (ahead of the steep price cut), but it's more likely that Sony simply didn't want to include a system only launched last December in a table of year-on-year comparisons than that it thought it could hide poor sales by leaving them out of the report. Vita is Sony's latest device and the focus of intense interest from the industry and media alike. Nobody was ever going to flick through Sony's presentation slides and just forget that Vita existed. Information like that simply doesn't hide or slip by quietly in the internet age.
Regardless of motive, Vita's figures are out there now, and they're dismal. The console seems to be in a very peculiar place in terms of its market position. Unlike the 3DS, which was widely derided at its launch, with every two-bit pundit having a view on why it was destined for miserable failure, the Vita seems to be genuinely well-liked. I've yet to speak to anyone, within the industry or outside it, who has a strong view that says that the Vita is a poor system, or that its software line-up was disappointing (slow since launch, perhaps, but not disappointing overall). Yet the system is struggling to achieve even the modest success (and I'm really being kind there) which the 3DS enjoyed prior to its price cut.
Does that reflect a dangerous disconnection between the games industry and its consumers? While the industry loves the Vita, consumers simply don't seem to care about it. Viewed from certain angles, that's a fairly worrying situation - but then again, it's hardly the first time this has happened. Games industry types love underdogs and have a taste for the obscure. The Neo Geo, the Saturn, the WonderSwan, the Dreamcast, the GameCube - hell, even the original Xbox - all of them are consoles resoundingly rejected by the public but utterly embraced by those within the industry. Watch the eyes of any game developer or journalist (two species with more in common than they like to admit) light up when they find a truly obscure piece of failed game hardware in a Japanese second-hand emporium, and you'll see what I mean. It's not wrong or strange for creators and those most tightly engaged with a medium to root for underdogs, and it doesn't necessarily imply that they're out of touch with their consumers.
On the other hand, that's not a very reassuring idea for Sony, who would definitely rather that its new console didn't get added to a list of companions like the DreamCast or the WonderSwan. On that front, there's good news, and there's bad news.
The good news is that Nintendo has proven firmly that even in a post-iOS world, there's a market for dedicated handheld game consoles. Worldwide sales of the 3DS are poised to blast through 20 million (if they haven't already done so), which frankly, is far ahead of what even the most optimistic observers thought possible from the device's first year or so on the market. Apple's devices dwarf Nintendo's sales, of course, but Nintendo doesn't ...by Published on May 14th, 2012 00:29- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
System 3 boss and industry veteran Mark Cale explains why PS Vita has the potential to be an iPad-beater and what Sony could do to help the handheld prosper in a tough market.
PlayStation Vita launched just two months ago but today you’d never know it.
Sony has some of the sexiest technology out there. So I was actually disappointed in the launch and the marketing behind the launch that supported the machine.
It’d be great for Sony to find a way to reposition its marketing to really show off the PS Vita’s hardware and performance. Vita has the potential to be a big opportunity. It is a fantastic machine. There are so many reasons for buying it but I’m unclear as to why Sony is waiting to promote these key features in its marketing plan.
Compared to the PSP, Vita is amazing. Compared to iOS devices, Vita is also amazing. Vita has a fantastic screen display. Not only is it a touchscreen device, but Sony was the first company to introduce into the marketplace a screen technology that Apple defined as a Retina display. Technology it described as ‘revolutionary’.
Vita plays games, we know that, but what else can it do? If you’re using it in the same way as your other mobile devices, you can take pictures. And these pictures are actually of higher quality than mobile phones. Its quality rivals that of the iPhone.
Another key feature Sony isn’t shouting about yet is the location-based services to log in wherever you are. I could do the tourist thing and log in at London Bridge on Facebook. But you don’t need to be online to use these location services. Vita uses these location services to pinpoint where you are when you take a picture.
You can use Wi-Fi and 3G to go online. Vita allows you to use Facebook, Twitter and even Skype, using the machine’s built-in camera. You can use screen gestures, too, on the touch pad, so it’s directly comparable to the iPad.
Price points
Some people go on about the cost of PS Vita. Granted, it’s expensive compared to the PS3, but it’s cheaper than an entry-level iPad 2 which costs £300, and it’s a bargain compared to the top-of-the-range £700 64GB model. And apart from a larger screen, the iPad has nothing over PS Vita.
That message should come through in the marketing. The consumer believes Vita is expensive because they see it as just a games machine with great capabilities, but they might not know what those great capabilities are.
The games engineered for Vita also offer a much better experience than nearly all of the titles you get on the iPhone and iPad. And even mass-market games that made mobile devices so popular with casual gamers, like Angry Birds, are on the PlayStation Network if you want them.
You’ve got a much better interactive gaming device in Vita than Apple will ever be able to deliver on a touchscreen-only product. This is because Sony has kept its traditional, excellent game controls built into the device, such as what all gamers would consider essential – an analogue stick for controlling the games.
For Sony to hit home these points they need, in my opinion, to be included in any and all future marketing campaigns. The video games industry needs this new device to succeed.
So just how important is the handheld market? Well, from April 16th to April 22nd 2012, the Top 10 games chart in Japan consisted entirely of 3DS, PSP and DS games.
The overall sales of PlayStation Portable in Japan, from launch to date, are nearly 19m. The Nintendo 3DS has sold over 5m units in just over a year. So don’t tell me there isn’t a handheld market, because there is.
Handheld hero
The PlayStation Vita is such a great machine and essential to handheld gaming, it mustn’t be allowed to fail.
This is a battle cry. It’s so important for the industry. And there is a handheld market. We’ve seen over here in the UK how well the 3DS is picking up now. Nintendo stumbled with the wrong marketing message when it started out with the 3DS handheld, but it put its hands up and changed its marketing position, message and price point. It showed off what the 3DS can actually do in its newer TV advertisements and press campaigns, just like Apple does with the iPad.
Let’s hope Sony, and everyone else releasing and promoting games for Vita, can now show off what the portable can actually do.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/j-acc...in-vita/095913 ...by Published on May 10th, 2012 23:20- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
Sony's PS Vita handheld had sold 1.8 million units by the end of March, the company has confirmed.
The figure was revealed by new CEO Kaz Hirai during an investor call following the release of the company's annual results, which showed total Sony losses of £3.6 billion.
"About Vita," Hirai said through a translator, according to Eurogamer, "the last year, [we sold] 1.8 million units [in the] US, Japan, Asia and Europe… I think it was a good start."
It means 600,000 units were sold worldwide in just over a month: the handheld had notched up 1.2 million worldwide sales by February 26. Sony is forecasting 16 million sales of Vita and PSP in the coming financial year, with Hirai telling one analyst PSP would be responsible for around six million.
Vita's slow start - especially in Japan, where weekly sales have hovered around the 10,000 mark of late - mirrors that of 3DS. Sales of Nintendo's console picked up in the fourth quarter of the year, fired by a belated rush of quality games, and it was surely with this in mind that Hirai said software was of the utmost importance to Vita's fortunes.
"[With] a game platform like Vita, the software is the key to success - how good the software is," he said. "We have to reinforce the software area in order to improve the business, that is the basic line.
"At this moment, there is no decline or lack of motivation as a portable platform. There is no change. And services and software must be strengthened."
Sony's annual losses rose 76 per cent to £3.56 billion, with the consumer products and services division, which includes the PlayStation business, hit with a loss of £1.8 billion. The company has confirmed it is to axe 10,000 jobs over the coming fiscal year, and expects to be back in the black by March 31, 2013
http://www.edge-online.com/news/sony...-sales-figures ...by Published on May 10th, 2012 22:48- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
Hirai stresses the importance of third-party studio partnerships
Sony has sold about 1.8 million PlayStation Vita units during handheld’s three month launch window, the company’s new CEO Kaz Hirai has revealed.
The handheld was released on December 17th in Japan, and on February 22nd across North America and Europe.
Sales figures were disclosed for the period ending March 31st. Calculated against previous disclosures, it means that Sony sold about 600,000 units globally during March.
Following a relatively upbeat launch day in the UK and US, the hi-spec system appears to have quickly lost momentum.
Hirai suggested to investors that sales will need to pick up in order for the device to be a success for Sony.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...-to-18-million
...by Published on May 9th, 2012 00:15- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
Sony doesn’t intend to bring the Crystal White PlayStation Vita to European shores.
As reported earlier, the white version of the handheld will launch in Japan on June 28th.
But at this point in time Sony says it will not arrive elsewhere.
“We do not have plans currently to bring the white PS Vita to the SCEE region, but will monitor demand and continuously evaluate the situation,” a Sony spokesperson told VG247.
Japan will also get a limite edition Hatsune Miku console with game-related art on the back touchpad.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/no-pl...a-in-uk/095681 ...by Published on May 7th, 2012 23:32- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
For those of you who want to test your might at any moment, no matter where you are, Amazon has a deal to help you out. Right now, if you purchase the Wi-Fi model of the PS Vita, you'll get a free copy of Mortal Kombat, along with a 4GB memory card – which will hold you over just fine until you order a more reasonably-sized card.
Mortal Kombat seems like an odd choice for a console pack-in, given its status as both a port and a super-gross violent game, but it is at least a good game! Prospective Vita owners have not always been so fortunate.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...d_i=B003O6EATE ...by Published on May 4th, 2012 23:23- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto has praised the technical capabilities of Sony's PS Vita handheld, but says the machine's software lineup leaves something to be desired.
Speaking to us in Paris, where he was promoting the 3DS-powered visitor's guide at the Louvre museum, Miyamoto did his best to maintain professional courtesy, but couldn't resist having a sly dig at Sony's new handheld.
"It's obviously a very hi-spec machine, and you can do lots of things with it," he said of Vita, which launched in Japan last December andin the west in late February. "But I don't really see the combination of software and hardware that really makes a very strong product."
Since a strong launch - it sold 325,000 units at launch in Japan, and 600,000 in its first few days on western shelves - Vita sales have slumped, particularly in Japan, where it has frequently been outsold by the ageing Wii and even its own predecessor, PSP.
3DS, however, has been Japan's best-selling hardware every single week since last August's price cut - and Miyamoto admits it was a lack of software that held back Nintendo's glasses-free 3D handheld.
"When we launched the 3DS hardware we didn't have Super Mario 3D Land, we didn't have Mario Kart 7, we didn't have Kid Icarus: Uprising," he said. "We were striving to have all of these ready for the launch, but we weren't able to deliver them at that time.
"We were kind of hoping that people would, nevertheless, buy into the product, find 3DS hardware promising, but looking back we have to say we realise the key software was missing when we launched the hardware."
In other words, Vita, like 3DS, needs games, and there are few owners of Sony's new handheld who would disagree with that sentiment. Despite a wide range of launch software, Vita releases since have been thin on the ground; the next big release for the system is Gravity Rush, due in the west in June.
Miyamoto's comments are extracts from an extensive interview in our new issue, E241, which should be with subscribers any day now and will be on sale on May 9. Other topics discussed include hissurprising admiration for Angry Birds, and his desire to make a spiritual sequel to SNES classic The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/miya...ta-needs-games ...by Published on May 3rd, 2012 15:23- Categories:
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by Published on April 30th, 2012 00:58- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
The Vita is currently being outsold by the both the Wii and PSP in Europe, according to sales research conducted by Nintendo.The platform holder included a graph in its recent financial briefing showing individual system performance across the continent for the last three months.According to the data, which Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained is "based on sales information by market research companies in each European country," PlayStation 3 comes out on top, with 3DS and Xbox 360 neck and neck in second, Wii in fourth, PSP in fifth, Vita in sixth and DS in second.It appears that the Vita is selling around 25,000 units a week, compared to roughly 70,000 PlayStation 3s."Although the Nintendo 3DS has recently increased its weekly sales, it is far from a satisfactory level," said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata of the company's own performance.Iwata also went into greater detail on software sales in specific European countries."The UK market is virtually the only market in Europe where the Xbox 360 has a strong presence," he told investors."In fact, it dominates the PlayStation 3, and it is in stark contrast to the other European markets. The top-selling titles for the Wii tell us that dance games continue to be popular this year."Although there are six titles for the Nintendo platforms, the two Mario titles for the Nintendo 3DS have the smallest presence in the world. We need to promptly improve this situation."The picture is slightly different over in the US. According to another of Nintendo's graphs, this one based on hard NPD sales data, Xbox 360 is out in the lead, followed by PlayStation 3, then 3DS, with Vita following closely behind in fourth. Next is Wii, then DS, with PSP all but dead and buried in last place."The Nintendo 3DS, which now has an overwhelming presence in Japan, also has the largest share in the US handheld game market," commented Iwata."However, considering that the US market is two or three times the size of its Japanese equivalent, I believe that the sales of the Nintendo 3DS in the US are far below the level that it could potentially reach. Also, unlike Japan, the United States still has a relatively large market for the Nintendo DS."The situation in Japan is in stark contrast to both the US and Europe, with handheld gaming dominating the market.Sales tracker MediaCreate has 3DS way out in front, followed by PlayStation 3, then PSP, then Vita, Wii, DS and Xbox 360....
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-europe-reportby Published on April 27th, 2012 01:20- Categories:
- Playstation Vita News
European PS Vita users were able to purchase the first PSOne Classic to be released on the platform yesterday. But don't get too excited – it didn't work. And it was Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. The game could be purchased, but presented errors when users attempted to run it or view the manual, suggesting that PSOne Classics support is not quite ready on the Vita.
However, the "LiveArea" for the game – the screen that pops up when you tap a game's icon, where you can choose to launch the game, view the manual, check the store for DLC, etc. – displayed a custom PSOne-style background, suggesting that, at least, some work has been put in on the Vita's PSOne emulation.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/26/ps...oesnt-work-ye/ ...- Search DCEmu
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Catherine: Full Body’s English translation for the Vita