In an interview with EDGE on Monday, June 9, following Sony’s press conference at this year’s E3, Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House reflected on–among other things– the PlayStation 4’s success since its launch.
Specifically, House touched on the PlayStation 4’s handheld counterpart, the PlayStation Vita, and how the handheld has become an added extension of the PlayStation 4 itself.
When broached about how the PlayStation Vita isn’t as popular as its younger console sibling and how the handheld could be brought to more players, House explained that a page would probably be taken from the Vita’s success in Japan (as the country has a very strong handheld market), but as it’s more challenging to sell the handheld overseas. So, with Remote Play, the Vita has essentially become an added peripheral to the PlayStation 4
“ Well, ” House began, “ the first market that I would point to is Japan, where the dedicated portable market has always been very strong. We’re really encouraged to see the start of a very positive spiral in the Japanese market around Vita. Weekly sales are getting to that point where we can really see that this is a platform that has got some legs. That, definitely, is having an effect on the Japanese publishing and development community.
Overseas is more challenging, ” he added. “ That said, we’ve taken a more holistic view with our platforms. With Remote Play, Vita has now essentially become an extender or an enhancer for the main platform for other rooms in the house, or when someone else wants to use the main screen. ”
House continued on to say that with the PlayStation 4’s steady success there will be an opportunity for the Vita to be targeted at younger audiences with the appropriate franchises. He also went on to add that the handheld is also seeing success in being accessible to independent developers.
“ As the lifecycle of the platform progresses, there’s an opportunity to position Vita for a younger audience as well with the appropriate franchises, ” House said. “ And it’s becoming a very accessible and easy on-ramp for independent developers, those who have had some success in the mobile space and now want to work on games that are that little bit richer, that have a more dedicated gaming interface. And we’re certainly seeing Vita being embraced by that community very strongly. ”
You can read EDGE’s full interview with Andrew House via the source link below. Be sure to check out the PlayStation Vita’s E3 trailer via the embedded video below. Stay tuned for more E3 coverage throughout this week.
[ EDGE ]