Smartphones Do Not Threaten Sony-Made PSP and Vita

Sony has just officially announced the PlayStation Vita handheld, which will launch later in the year, and plans to launch a number of high-profile titles on it, but the entire handheld ecosystem is being threatened by the rise of the smartphones that are also gaming enabled.

Still one of the leading executives at Sony, the creator of the Vita, says that handhelds still have a clear customer base and that smartphones will not erode it.

Jack Tretton, who is the chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, has said, “The great thing about gamers is that they have tremendous influence over what they want to play. If their parents say I'm getting you an iPad and that's your device, but their friends are playing a dedicated console like a PSP, then the kids will find a way to get a PSP.”

The same position was adopted by Kaz Hirai, who is the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, who added, “I don't see the PS Vita being in direct competition with smartphones and tablets.”

Recently, Sony launched the PlayStation Suite, which can be used on phones to get access to a certain amount of content that was initially created for the PlayStation consoles.

At the moment it is only available on the Xperia Play phone.

The PSP is currently selling well in Japan and lagging behind the Nintendo DS in North America, attracting gamers with a large library of titles and its graphics quality.

The Vita will be sold for 249 dollars for the basic version, which includes a superb screen and a touch surface on the back of the device and the company will also sell a 3G-powered model for 50 dollars more.

The Vita will have more communications features, but the core experience will still be oriented directly towards gamers, meaning that it will not compete directly with the Android-powered and Apple-made phones.