14 DAY TRIAL // John Koller, the executive in charge of handheld sales at Sony Computer Entertainment of America, says that the Vita device from his company has the ability to sell well during the coming holiday season and that its progress should be seen as a marathon and not as a sprint race.
The Sony executive tells GamesIndustry.biz that, “it’s certainly going to be a marathon for Vita. It’s going to be a very good, solid platform for us, one that performs very well.”
Koller believes that Sony has a strong line-up of video games, to be launched before the end of the year, that will manage to attract attention to the PlayStation Vita and will push sales higher.
He adds, “If you look at a game like Assassin’s Creed: Liberation that’s coming, it’s a fantastic game. Call of Duty is going to be a very strong game, particularly multi-player is going to be fantastic.”
The experience that Assassin’s Creed and Call of Duty offer cannot be obtained from any other handheld or any other mobile gaming device and Koller believes that hardcore gamers will flock to the Vita in order to experience them.
The executive has also cited the Vita versions of the new Need for Speed: Most Wanted and that of PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale as other titles that can generate sales.
The PlayStation Vita was launched with a lot of fanfare and a big marketing push from Sony, but the device has failed to generate the sales that the hardware maker was predicting.
Still, the company says that it is satisfied with the level of business for the new handheld and that it has long-term plans for it.
This holiday season will witness the launch of the new Wii U home console from Nintendo and it is highly unlikely that gamers that pick it up will have any disposable income left to buy a mobile device like the Vita.