14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts believes Sony's new portable console, the PlayStation Vita, may be able to succeed despite the recent failure of the Nintendo 3DS, largely because it's a more social device that will be supported by a variety of interesting games.
Sony is working quite hard on making sure that its upcoming PlayStation Vita handheld console succeeds in a segment of the gaming industry where competition is quite fierce, largely because the new smartphones and tablets have amazed lots of people that usually spent time with the PSP or Nintendo DS.
The recent failure of the 3DS, which came out priced too high and with just a few great games, has certainly made Sony invest even more money into the Vita in order to prevent it from having a similar fate.
EA's Games Label President Frank Gibeau believes that the Japanese company may succeed, largely because of the new technical and social features sported by the Vita.
"I think that part of the videogame business is tough right now because they have had some significant competition come in that was totally disruptive, and that was the smartphone," Gibeau told CVG. "I think [Sony has] got a shot because they have some really unique innovation in the control scheme, the technology and the screen."
"It's got a lot of social features now so that you can actually communicate with your friends and be social," he added. "You can't ring them up by putting the device up to your ear but in general I think they've got most of the capabilities that you'd find in a smart phone, with some unique capabilities that make them stand out."
Gibeau revealed that the 3DS, although also having some impressive technology, with the glasses-free 3D effect, failed to showcase that thing to customers, while the initial launch lineup of games was quite poor.
"I think Vita has a better chance because it has a stronger title slate at launch. PSP's had a great run in Europe as a device, it seems to have reached a much larger audience here than it did in North America. So I think they've got a good shot. We're going to publish a few games on it and see how it develops."
As of yet, the PlayStation Vita may be released in Japan this year, while European and North American customers will get it in early 2012.