If you’re looking forward to another Sony handheld gaming device after the PlayStation Vita, then you’ll be in for a long wait. Andrew House, Global CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, just shot down any chance of that happening.
In an interview with Bloomberg, House mentioned that Sony is focusing on more content and services for the PS4 instead of pouring resources into a PS Vita 2, or whatever you want to call the company’s next handheld device. House adds that there wasn’t a huge demand for the Vita outside Japan and Asia.
The Vita experience was that outside of Japan and Asia, there was not a huge demand. The lifestyle shift toward the dominance of smartphones as the single key device that is always with you, was the determining factor.
Does that mean the Nintendo Switch won’t have any competition from Sony? It sure seems that way, as House even says that he doesn’t see it as a”huge market opportunity.”
The Nintendo device is a hybrid device and that’s a different approach and strategy. We have not seen that as being a huge market opportunity. That draws me to the conclusion that they’ve really been additive to the business in the last year or so. We remain focused around a highly connected gaming experience and also coupled with having a great range of other entertainment experiences so you can reach multiple people on the big screen in the household.
Given the Vita’s drop-off in sales and mindshare in the US, House statements aren’t really surprising. Still, it would have been nice to have some sort of PS4 portable hybrid that’d let people play console games on the go.
Are you shocked at all by this? Do you think Sony should attempt another gaming handheld one more time or should they focus on smartphones for portable gaming?