14 DAY TRIAL // The PlayStation Vita has not performed as well as creator Sony would have liked, but the company still believes that its handheld can be a good long-term investment, especially when paired to the coming PlayStation 4 home console and its unique capabilities.
Guy Longworth, a senior vice president of PlayStation brand marketing at Sony, tells GamesIndustry.biz that, “With Vita, we’re only 15 months in to launch and now we think that with PlayStation 4 the opportunity for Vita is to be the absolutely perfect companion to the PS4.”
The executive believes that when someone actually buys a Vita and plays games on it, he/she quickly understands why the device is special.
The problem is that Sony has failed to make the device attractive enough for the vast majority of gamers who are interested in playing on the go.
Longworth adds, “But we do really believe in that platform and think that is has a significant opportunity. We think there’s a number of things that we can do in the coming months and years that will make it a long-term sustainable business.”
A number of other Sony executives have expressed their support for the Vita and have claimed that the company has no plans to abandon it in the near term.
The PlayStation 4 will use the handheld as a second screen, allowing players to check information while playing games or even integrating the device into actual gameplay.
Remote Play for the Vita will be available in all next-gen titles that Sony will publish.
The PlayStation 4 will be launched before the end of the year, in the run-up to the Christmas shopping season.
At the same time, Sony might introduce a price cut for the Vita or a bundle package in order to make the handheld more attractive.
The Sony pair will face competition from the Xbox One from Microsoft and SmartGlass.