Tkumpathenurpahl
Veteran
That settles it then: Sony should release a portable hot dog.
Aren't all Hot Dogs portable?
Tkumpathenurpahl
Veteran
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Deleted member 13524
Guest
When we had the PSP vs. DS ecossystem, people bought 70 million PSP of which 13 million bought a GTA game, 4 million bought a Gran Turismo game and 3 million bought a God of War.
The mobile phone market is mostly composed of casual games so it isn't affecting what would be a AAA-capable machine. If at all, it's affecting the handheld that was better known for its casual games like the DS.
Again, when we had PSP, quality titles on mobile were few and far between. So people wanting to game on the go would grab a handheld and play their preferred games on it. Now, a proportion of those people are going to be happy gaming on the go with the titles on mobile. the market has changed so the historical data-point isn't a great reference.
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Deleted member 13524
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You're saying there might be less people willing to adopt a console that plays God of War on the go nowadays, despite the overall videogame market having ballooned within the past decade and these same people having no real modern alternative?
Mobile games are still wanting compared to PS4 games...I’d argue a portable PS4 would sell shedloads, image being able to take your game of LoU2 on the road...that would be amazing.
But then I said the same about Vita...but maybe that just was bad timing along with silly memory sticks and no R2/3 L2/3?
Gamers are evolving, many were on the fence over what Switch would do.
But then I said the same about Vita...but maybe that just was bad timing along with silly memory sticks and no R2/3 L2/3?
Gamers are evolving, many were on the fence over what Switch would do.
Tkumpathenurpahl
Veteran
When I got my phone, I looked around for some decent Android games, and the market's pretty wanting. There are some decent ones out there, but their collective quality is dwarfed even by the below £5 section of the PS store.
It wasn't created there, so it's still portable!
Yes. There are lots of quality titles on mobile devices these days; the content on Apple Play looks very good overall. It's not the same as console gaming, but it definitely satisfies the desire to game on the go, and it'll only get better over the coming years as devs are more creative and versatile and find better ways to use the touch interface and mobile devices can do more. It's into that environment that Sony needs to gauge the audience for a second portable device. If they launch a new piece of hardware where the market for it isn't large enough, because portable gaming is now largely satisfied by mobiles, they'll lose an awful lot of money. Nintendo's forays are a lot safer because their software sells so much and is also relatively cheap to produce.
Lots of first and second party games got ported off the PSP contemporaneously. The Motorstorm, Jak, and Syphon Filter games ended up on PS2, Tekken, God of War, and others ended up on PS3. Sony officially supported PSP through 2011, all these games got ported before then. I'm sure there's more, too. The point is, when you are moving your first party exclusives off the platform they are exclusive to, things aren't so rosy. See also: Xbox One.
Controls are still an issue and without adding a controller (which defeats the object) mobile games will always be inferior...let alone the added bonus of continuing a game away from your console (if that were to happen of course).
Most mobile games that are popular are just 5 minute fix types or ones that don’t require decent controls.
More and more I think about it I believe sony will do next gen VR headset copying oculus quest in some way. Maybe they integrate SOC to headset(copy quest). They also might do 3 box solution:
- headset with integrated battery and wireless/usb link, optimized video decoder+asynchronous time warp
- displayless box+battery with wireless/usb link. Use on the go with vr headset and as entry level console via hdmi to tv. Keep the box in pocket to game on the go. Alleviates quest issue where the headset is too heavy for some people
- PS5 uses same headset as mobile box
- Allow headset to work with steam vr/WMR (could be giant for sales, not sure if sony wants to do this though)
Wireless should be doable in ps5 timeframe especially if video decoder is well done. Use inside out tracking similar to quest to allow simplification on controller/sensor side.
Not all games need to be VR. Some experiences on the go could be traditional 2d games/netflix/... Upside for traditional content would be giant screen on the go. Ergonomics should also be better than trying to use small screen to game. At least I get neck pain playing with psp/vita.
- headset with integrated battery and wireless/usb link, optimized video decoder+asynchronous time warp
- displayless box+battery with wireless/usb link. Use on the go with vr headset and as entry level console via hdmi to tv. Keep the box in pocket to game on the go. Alleviates quest issue where the headset is too heavy for some people
- PS5 uses same headset as mobile box
- Allow headset to work with steam vr/WMR (could be giant for sales, not sure if sony wants to do this though)
Wireless should be doable in ps5 timeframe especially if video decoder is well done. Use inside out tracking similar to quest to allow simplification on controller/sensor side.
Not all games need to be VR. Some experiences on the go could be traditional 2d games/netflix/... Upside for traditional content would be giant screen on the go. Ergonomics should also be better than trying to use small screen to game. At least I get neck pain playing with psp/vita.
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Silent_Buddha
Legend
PS VRita confirmed. 
Regards,
SB
Regards,
SB
Not inferior, but different, in the same way mouse control is different. Mobile lends itself to some game style versus others. Sure, you won't have any God of War clones, but if you have games you like, even if they are different to what you play on console, then your mobile entertainment needs are satisfied.
This appears to be a very prejudiced, myopic view of the current state of mobile gaming. There are countless games including some beautiful gems that play to the platform's strengths. That doesn't mean mobile gaming will suffice for all console gamers, but there's enough there to keep many console gamers occupied. As a console gamer, you can put down The Last God of Racing and play Hearthstone or whatever while away.
And yes, playing your console game on the go would be a good USP. Would you bet billions of dollars on the R&D to create such a platform expecting it to sell tens of millions to people playing their console games on the go though? I'm not saying there's no interest, but it's hard to come up with an argument that there's lots. You can quote what's wrong with mobile gaming and all its shortcomings, but if Joe Public is happy playing Clash of Clans when they are out and about, you may not be able to sell them a $n00 new handheld to play AAA console games. They may not see it worth the money. The argument for a new portable PS needs decent data that there's an untapped market of mobile console gamers who would happily buy into it. The real data for handhelds only shows what a quality handheld without mobile competition can do. Vita, a quality handheld sold into a new mobile-strong market, hasn't done at all well. Was that because it didn't get support? Or because gamers have moved on? Someone needs to be able to prove the reason, rather than speculate, if you're going to justify risking who know how many millions on designing, producing, and selling a new platform with quality content.
Not that I think that they would do it, but I feel like MS would be better positioned to release a portable Xbox than Sony is to release a portable PS. Consider the performance profile of the original Xbox One, and it isn't hard to imagine a portable tablet sized computer with an AMD APU that could reach that 900p/720p mid to low settings target.
I think Switch shows there’s appetite for fully fledged games on the move, and I still think the memory card were the biggest issue against Vita (as well as the R2/3 being missing)...but of course Sony got some badly burnt fingers. I just know that PS4 this gen has killed it, and if they can get a portable version playing my PS4 library then I’m all in and I’m confident it’d be a popular device.
Another issue with Vita was the lack of cross purchasing on titles, I remember NFS coming out, it was great but you had to buy for specific format which (at £30+ a pop) was just too much. If Sony can get around that I think another barrier is removed.
Another issue with Vita was the lack of cross purchasing on titles, I remember NFS coming out, it was great but you had to buy for specific format which (at £30+ a pop) was just too much. If Sony can get around that I think another barrier is removed.
Of course, but epic 'AAA' titles aren't selling that well. It's Nintendo's light, family-friendly games that are selling. Plus Nintendo have the handheld market to themselves. Sony (or MS) releasing a handheld would be going up against NSW. They need a machine that people will choose over mobile gaming and over NSW. What's the market size for that device?
A business decision like this can't be based on someone's gut feeling.
It needs decent data.If the device doesn't improve software sales, it'll be even less profitable and make even less sense as a business decision. After investing R&D and manufacturing, you need to make back that money. Selling at a profit on hardware? Prices it too high. Sell it at cost? Without software sales, it's a lossy project. PlayStation doesn't need a portable to improve its market position in the home console space, so the PR would be pretty worthless.
I think it is a better bet for Sony to use the existing platform of mobile devices to expand PS's features and sell their own franchises to more people rather than make a new handheld.
Unless they pull a Nintendo and the PS doubles as a console and portable device which will come with compromises.
Unless they pull a Nintendo and the PS doubles as a console and portable device which will come with compromises.