14 DAY TRIAL // Another leadership figure inside video game publisher and hardware maker Sony has stated that he is satisfied with the current sales levels of the PlayStation Vita handheld and that the company will be launching more software to drive up demand.
Jack Tretton, the president and the chief executive officer, tells Games Industry that, “In this industry, you can’t get too high or too low, because it moves very quickly. I think there’s an acceptable number – and we’ve sold: That’s acceptable. If it was triple that, I’d be happier. If it was one-third, I’d be disappointed.”
He believes that, “Anything with great rewards is going to come with great challenges. We felt if the tech was there, and the game support was there, then the audience would be there. … I feel much better about it now than I did four months ago.”
The executive thinks that the situation of the PlayStation Vita is currently similar to that the PlayStation 3 home console faced during the initial years of its own life and that a rebound will take place in the near future.
The PlayStation 3 has stayed in the shadow of the rival Xbox 360 from Microsoft during the current console cycle and its only seen a big boost when the Slim version was introduced back in 2010.
At the moment there are rumors that Sony is preparing to introduce a significant price cut for the Vita in time for the Christmas shopping season, trying to emulate the move that Nintendo has executed for the 3DS during last year.
Sony also plans to launch more high-profile video games for the handheld, but that might be a problematic move as long as the company fails to drive up the install base.
Both the Vita and the 3DS are facing tough competition from the smartphone market.