Since its sale began almost two and a half years ago, the Playstation Vita has struggled to emulate the success of its predecessor, the Playstation Portable. Evidenced by the lack of coverage during the Sony E3 and Gamescom conferences, it seems that Sony has decided to abandon efforts to market the Vita entirely and instead focus on the already profitable that is the Playstation 4.
Indeed, when asked in a recent interview by Eurogamer about the lack of media coverage of the struggling Vita from Sony, President of Sony's Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, remarked, "PS Vita gamers are pretty core, dedicated gamers. They seek information,
so we trust them to find out about the games coming out on PS Vita."
It's easy to extrapolate from this quote that the overall strategy and goals of the Vita have changed.
In the rest of this write-up, I will be exploring the context, that is the landscape that includes the Vita.
Precursor: The Playstation Portable
In order to understand the marketing strategy in regards to the PS Vita, it's important to consider the life of its predecessor, the PSP. The Playstation Portable was first unveiled in May of 2004. It was released later that year in Japan and in other territories early 2005. Despite having a higher price point than its main rival, the Nintendo DS, the system performed fairly well in sales during the first few months, and indeed the first years of its launch, likely because of its positive public reception and software offerings.
The PSP shipped nearly 25 million units by the end of 2006. It had a large install base with a number of titles from first-party studios like Naughty Dog and Guerrilla Games (maker of PSP version of Killzone).
Once the PS3 launched in late 2006, Sony had new challenges. For one, they had to try to promote projects on 3 different platforms (PS2, PS3 and PSP). On the other hand, blockbuster titles were still being made for the PS2 and the tech giant had to commit much of its resources to its new, but struggling product, the PS3.
The PSP was a success, especially if you compare it to the Vita along the same points in time. After over two and a half years since its release, the PS Vita has sold 8.7 million units worldwide. During a similar time frame, the PSP moved over 10 million units in the United States alone.
Why is the Vita struggling?
There's no one reason that can explain why the Vita is struggling. It's a complex problem with a host of different factors. Here are a few things to consider.
The rise of mobile gaming. There are a plethora of games that can be played for free or at a low cost on smartphones and tablets, not to mention that the devices are dedicated to more things than just playing video games.
Cost. If you spend let's say $200 on a PS Vita, you also have to buy the games and although there are games that will only cost you $2.50 on the store, the majority of content that's been designed specifically for the Playstation Vita is going to come at a more expensive premium.
Reception. I often see people comment online that there is a lack of content for the PS Vita, which is completely false. The PS Vita has an abundance of content, but what it lacks is a strong media presence. I think that Sony doesn't believe it has the right titles to market to a mass audience and they've perhaps refrained from marketing specifically for the Vita because of it.
Landscape. When the PSP released in America in 2005, Sony was high on its success of the Playstation 2. The good feelings of the PS2 era definitely had an effect on the release and reception of the PSP, but I would say that the difficulty of the PS3 launch sapped away at some of the sentiment and people returned to the PS2. When the Vita released in 2012 the market was very different. It was saturated with mobile devices and there wasn't an assured sense that content produced on the device could be profitable.
Technology. Nowadays, our devices have to be all-in-one or else they're really not worth having. Think about it. If you had separate devices for calling, texting, Skyping, watching videos, taking notes, catching up on the news and so on, you'd have a million devices. Now I wish that Sony could just make a console that could just play video games, but in a world of variety and where all-in-one is the norm, that just isn't possible. Nintendo might have a few things to say about that statement, but I stick by it. Sony can't run the risk of making a platform that Just plays games because it's too risky.
Personally, I like the PS Vita. It's the first system that I actually pre-ordered. The Vita is the system for me because, although I do like keeping up with newer games, I want to play all of the games that I didn't play growing up like Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Valkyria Chronicles 2.
I'm not sure what this turn in Sony's strategy means for the PS Vita and for the future of Sony handhelds. Do they have something else in the works? Are they using some of the PS4 profits to develop a better handheld? Or are they stepping out of the handheld business and putting their efforts into strengthening the PS4 and Project Morpheus?
One thing I think is for sure. The Vita, which never really got off to a good start, is on the decline.
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