Vita makes more money for more devs, says Sony
Handheld maker pushing system as an attractive alternative to iOS and Android development
With its growing catalog of indie games, PS4 compatibility, and just-announced price cut, Sony is trying to breathe new life into the PS Vita. Part of that effort also includes convincing creators to work on the platform, something Sony reps and Vita developers discussed recently with Polygon.
In the piece, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe senior business development manager Shahid Ahmad pushed the Vita as an alternative to the mobile and tablet markets, suggesting that the handheld's user base is more engaged and willing to spend money on games than their counterparts on other platforms.
"More developers make more money on average on Vita than they do on mobile," Ahmad said. "When people buy a Vita, they want to purchase games. I tell developers, if you're trying to build a business, then building your game and bringing it to Vita is a great investment. If you want to play the lottery, then putting a game on iOS is more like that. You're scratching that and hoping you get discovered, hoping that a lot of people talk about you. Whereas Vita, every week when there's content coming out, people buzz about it and it spreads like wildfire, because everyone's firing that console up every day to look at the content and talk about it."
The sentiment was supported by Ripstone co-founder Phil Gaskell, who has released a number of multi-platform titles that showed favorable results on Vita.
"Our Pure Chess title has sold more units on PS Vita than on PS3," Gaskell said. "Our line drawing game Men's Room Mayhem sold more units on PS Vita in its first month than on iOS and Android combined. It seems like a perfectly good platform to us, and we're continuing to support it in the future."
Sony is also expecting the Vita's PS4 features to spark interest in the system. Sony Computer Entertainment America VP of publisher and developer relations Adam Boyes stressed the importance of Remote Play, which will let players play some PS4 games using the Vita.
"We've said internally that it's going to be the greatest peripheral ever made for a console," Boyes said. "I can't wait to have my PS4 in my living room and being able to play Watch Dogs in my bedroom while my PS4 is downstairs. That's going to generate more interest in the platform in general."
The platform has potential, especially if they make more software and continue to squeeze the entry price to gamers getting the system, but you'll need hard stats and serious incentives to convince everyone its the most financially viable for a hand-held dev.
Many studios struggled on PSP despite an 80 million installed base. We'll have to see about Vita.
I am sure they will believe it.
http://blog.appannie.com/app-annie-idc-portable-gaming-report-2013-q2/
As anyone who knows the industry would expect.
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/PS+Vita/Minecraft+%28PS+Vita%29/news.asp?c=53221
At least both SONY and Nintendo bring platforms that are for people who play games. It may not be as large as people who own a mobile phone, but rest assured, releasing a game for SONY or Nintendo means people are going to play your game, and it will get more exposure, simply because your game is not swimming in an endless ocean of mediocre and crappy games.
Note that I dont mention micrsoft cause the way I see it, they arent clear on what they are doing and since they dont know what to do, they are just copying SONY. SONY is really making strides for indie gaming.
The future of gaming is always more platforms, form factors and business models. Not one or the other. People don't necessarily play games on PCs either just because they have a PC.
There's little doubt that new products, particularly in social and f2p have pushed up the number of people playing on the platform - just like easily distributed, low cost touch screen games have on mobile.
Open, convergent mobile platforms are part of the future of gaming and people need to accept it.
Whenever I see an article like this, I always see in the comments about "yeah but mobile is doing this", etc. Yes and I agree mobile is a brilliant platform.
If you have a good game and you get lucky, you make lots of money (often via f2p) because there are lots of people because lots and lots of people have phones and you get exposure. However the app stores have loads of titles in them now so the risk of your game getting buried quickly is a lot higher. As people like Kirsty have said we only ever here the success story on mobile, there are loads of people making games that just instantly get buried. When making games for dedicated devices like the Vita, you are catering to a more specialized audience and I think they will go looking for games, meaning your game is less likely to get buried.
It is not really a "us and them "mentality there, it is just that loads of people have smartphone and a large number of people play games on it, but (and this is what I have seen on the tube and train) they are often playing the games developed by the companies Bruce mentioned and the other "big names". You have to make something not just good but outstanding.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Sandy Lobban on 27th August 2013 1:59pm
Its not really about getting kits for free to be honest. Its simply all a barrier to entry that you even have to discuss it with someone on a phone or by email to get one. Thats why mobile is more popular in general. The toolset is on your machine in seconds and you start making games. It should be more of a streamlined process for everyone, like on mobile. I think that would drive interest. I made wipeout 2048 as a launch title when I was at studio Liverpool, and played a hand in developing the Vita. It is a great machine for gaming but even at that time I though the toolset could have become a bit more user friendly to third party devs. Im sure they are working towards that though. I would like to see a Unity exporter for it, as Im sure that would also help, as it has with the PS4 interest.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Sandy Lobban on 27th August 2013 3:17pm
Playstation Mobile doesn't let you target the Vita at all. It limits you to 96 megs of ram, and your game has to run on every PSM certified device out there. That includes some ancient phones with tiny screens, and devices with no physical controls just touch.
It was still cheaper on launch than my Sony Ericsson phone (Xperia Ray) +/- 5 months after launch.
The few games that seem interesting on android are freaking slow and crash. Not to mention battery depletes way too fast. (Not sure if thats just my phone or all Ray's... or all current smartphones)
If games is what you want, you're better of with a vita and a €30 phone. And you can still send messages after playing games.
I should have gotten a 3G vita and a cheap phone instead, since most of my battery goes to chatting via 3G (which i recently lowered to 2G only to save battery) on the bus. Luckily, I have my trusty psp to accompany me when my battery is depleted to catch up some missed ps1 classics ;) (FFV is a perfect bus-game!)