Sony claims 'PlayStation Vita is a 10-year platform'
The PlayStation Vita may be a pricey bit of gaming kit, but it’s totally worth it, says Sony Computer Entertainment – as the company predicts a 10-year life cycle for the handheld. Meanwhile Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida claims that the 3G PlayStation Vita is the future of handheld gaming. He could be right. Here’s why…
In an interview with GameTrailers, Sony marketing boss Guy Longworth praised the excited reaction to the PlayStation Vita’s launch, and was typically bullish about the lifespan and success of the console in years to come.
PS Vita or Nintendo 3DS: Everything you need to know
“We see this as a five to 10 year platform, so we’ll judge the success of this in 12, 24, 36 months. We expect to have a great launch, but it’s really in 12 or 24 months we’ll know how successful it has been.”
Ten years is a heck of a long time, but far from talking baloney, Sony has a strong record when it comes to the 10-year promise. Both the original PlayStation (PSone) and Playstation 2 lasted the pace, and are still played today 18 years and 13 years on respectively. The PlayStation 3 is currently in its sixth year, and still going strong. And even now developers are only just starting to push its graphical powers to its limits.
However, achieving such a lifecycle with a handheld is now considerably more difficult. The ability to download cheap, and sometimes free games to smartphones has put accessible gaming into more hands, as tech lovers increasingly want their devices to perform as many functions as possible, without the extra spend on a dedicated handheld console.
Like smartphones, the PlayStation Vita is available with 3G, which according to Sony’s Yoshida is a safeguard against customers investment, giving Sony the ability to add extra features to the console down the line.
“3G is our investment in the future. I hope some consumers will believe in that investment of their money for the future. These systems last many years, and we will upgrade firmware, add new features, but it’s not easy to update hardware,” he told Industry Gamers.
But if anyone can make a console last 10-years, it’s Sony. Have you pre-ordered a PlayStation Vita? Let us know.
User comments (1)
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Fishbabblez13 March 2012
I have two Sony psps one In white one in black unfortunately they've sat in their boxes unplayed and unloved. I have tried to support it dearly like buying latest games waited and waited for grand turismo but didn't buy it in the end because it just took so damn long. Bought UMD videos ( DVDs were half the price at UMD release) Ok sure wipeout is a great tech fest but do we really need sequels? Uncharted might be the only game that's pulling the punters in and I can't wait to play it but am finding myself holding back because A I don't commute very much so I find my Ps3 more fulfilling to play on a big screen, B I don't want another redundant hand held as I carry my iPhone everywhere which is ultimately more diverse, C as much as Tom welling's Clark Kent carries his PSP around (sniggers) its just not a desirable item to have anymore. Maybe I'm getting too old. Bring back the ZX spectrum bin the cassette tapes. :D
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