What is the impact of PlayStation Vita on the game industry?
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The 'PlayStation Vita (PS Vita)' that appeared in 2012 was a portable game machine equipped with many pioneering functions at that time, such as an organic EL display and 3G communication support. The IT news media The Verge explains the legacy that PS Vita left behind in the game industry.
'The little handheld that could': examining the Vita's impact a decade later --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/24/22545198/playstation-vita-10-year-anniversary-sony-handheld
Development of PS Vita began in 2007, when PlayStation Portable (PSP) was still in active use. At that time, Sony thought that 'handheld game consoles have great opportunities,' and recognized that making it possible to play high-quality games such as stationary consoles on mobile phones is a strategy suitable for PlayStation. It seems that it was. For this reason, Vita was developed on the assumption that it will be played on a stationary machine quality game on the go and will be played on a real stationary machine after returning home. However, according to The Verge, PS Vita was a pioneering hardware in various aspects, exceeding the initial expectations.
One of the most striking points about PS Vita's hardware is the 'organic EL display,' said John Coller, former Sony marketing vice president. The first PS Vita is equipped with a 5-inch organic EL display that supports multi-touch, its resolution is 960 x 544 pixels, and the display color is about 16.77 million colors. It was the first time in history that an organic EL display was adopted in a handheld game machine. In addition, it is rumored that the new Nintendo Switch scheduled to appear in the fall of 2021 will be equipped with an organic EL display.
However, PS Vita will be at the mercy of the times. At that time, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii were lined up, and Sony had the idea of 'integrating a portable device and a stationary device', and as the initial series of PS Vita, the 3G / Wi-Fi compatible model 'PCH-1100'. And, we will release the Wi-Fi compatible model 'PCH-1000'. However, most consumers dislike the cost and utilization of 3G and buy the Wi-Fi model PCH-1000. As a result, Sony will have to change its strategy to focus on Wi-Fi models.
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Even more compelling was the advent of smartphones. According to former Sony senior director Christian Phillips, Sony's idea is that 'smartphones are good enough to play games, and are used only while waiting for coffee to be made or waiting at the airport.' Was rampant. Some employees felt a sense of crisis about the rise of iPhones and iPads around 2010-11, but it seems that PS Vita's strategy did not incorporate 'to smartphones' in the end. As a result, PS Vita will incorporate a number of features that Koller calls 'ahead of the times, but at the wrong time.'
Digital distribution is a typical example of a function that 'is ahead of the times but has the wrong timing.' PSP used a small optical disc called 'Universal Media Disc (UMD)', but PS Vita adopted the first 'cartridge' in the PlayStation series. However, this cartridge is also treated as a stepping stone for digital distribution, and the marketing and operation team of PlayStation Network seems to have been particular about making it 100% digital distribution with PS Vita. Since 100% digital distribution was achieved with PlayStation 5 Digital Edition and Xbox Series S, it can be said that it is a reasonable decision as of 2020 when these two models appeared, but in the era of PS Vita '2012' Was not suitable. At that time, PS Vita had to wait for a long time to download the game.
At the time of PS Vita development, there was a plan to 'make it possible to download games at physical stores', but this plan was immediately rejected because it was not consumer friendly, and it was called 'UMD reuse'. The proposal was also rejected due to UMD price and capacity limits. In this way, PS Vita is said to have been designed as a two-pronged physical cartridge and digital distribution.
In addition, the most active discussion at that time was 'Should we adopt our own memory card for PS Vita?' As a result of the encryption engine being hacked in PSP, game data leaked to file sharing software etc., so some kind of anti-piracy measures were required for the next generation PS Vita. Under these circumstances, as a result of considering a wide range of options for physical media, digital distribution, and memory cards, it was decided to adopt a unique memory card in the end.
by Mohamed Zahid
The Nintendo Switch, which appeared in 2017, is listed as a game machine that handles these points well. The Verge explains that Nintendo Switch has gained popularity in the world in three ways: 'broadband penetration rate,' 'in-house title initiatives,' and 'Nintendo's enthusiasm.' Broadband penetration was low in 2012 when PS Vita appeared, and it was difficult to download games and play online, but in 2017 when Nintendo Switch appeared, broadband penetration was much higher, so the situation is It was totally different. And Sony worked on cross-play and cross-save between stationary and portable machines, and eventually challenged to port the game of stationary machines to Vita, but Nintendo is a game machine that can be both stationary and portable. Developed and went another way.
'While Nintendo was working on game development throughout the organization, Sony wasn't,' Koller said. Specifically, all Sony-affiliated game studios have put off PS Vita title development because they want to prioritize PS4 title development. And the big difference in sales between PS4 and PS Vita also spurred this problem.
And the success factor of Nintendo Switch, which Mr. Coller emphasizes, is 'Nintendo's enthusiasm.' For any game machine, the 6 months immediately after its release is considered to be the most important, and publishers and developers are using the game machine for the two points of 'initial sales of the main unit' and 'number of titles sold' at this time. Decide if you want to develop the game. For Mr. Coller who was involved in the launch of six PlayStation machines, Nintendo's enthusiasm at the time of the release of Nintendo Switch was wonderful, Mr. Coller said, 'Although it is an old saying of the game industry, the game machine It's really difficult to launch. '' If I can go back in time, I want to give PS Vita everything I can. '' PS Vita has fought in a very difficult market, so it's my favorite. It's a game console. '
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