PlayStation Boss Defends Vita, Slams Social Gaming

donniebaseball23 writes "Sony Computer Entertainment America boss Jack Tretton has come out swinging to defend the lackluster response the games industry has seen with the PS Vita. He deemed the sales level for the portable as 'acceptable' so far, and he brushed off any notion that social and free-to-play games are putting huge pressure on the portable and dedicated consoles market. 'I think the opportunity to be in the console business is greater than ever before,' he said. '[Social and free-to-play] is a business I think a lot of companies are learning is difficult to sustain for the long term. It's an adjunct or it's an add-on, but it's not where gaming is headed. It's an additive diversion. There's a place for social and freemium, but it's not going to replace the business models that are out there.'" The company is having a hard time getting third-party developers interested in the Vita platform.

Comments

It's amazing how many business people..

[BMOC]

...managed to convince themselves that giving their customer choices will be bad for business.

Re:It's amazing how many business people..

[cpu6502]

Which is not what he said.
He was defending himself against the accusation that the PS Vita is a flop and should be terminated. He's saying that people SHOULD have choices..... both free on the phone and professional-level games on portables like Nintendo DS and PSP/Vita.

I think the real problem here is trying to overcome Nintendo's dominance. Atari tried. Sega tried. Wonderswan tried. Sony tried (with PSP and then Vita). Nobody's been able to do it because Nintendo has a lock on portable game machines. Maybe because the primary audience for portables is kids (riding on buses, in cars, etc) and that is also Nintendo's primary audience.

Hot News Flash!

[killmenow]

Executive in entrenched industry doesn't like new disruptive technology driving industry shift!

The thing is, he could even be right that social/casual/freemium gaming is not sustainable and not going to supplant his business model. But it's hardly news that he thinks so.

He's right, but missing the point

[asmkm22]

Phones and social media are eating away at portable gaming consoles, but it has nothing to do with the gaming aspect of either. Previously, you'd carry a handheld like the Gameboy so that you had *something* to do while sitting around waiting in line or for a bus or wasting time and grandmas or whatever. Today, most everyone has a phone, even teens or preteens. Yes, they can play games on them, but they can also simply browse the internet or post stuff on social media sites.

Gaming was never the draw for most people using portable devices; occupying time was the draw. People can do that with more stuff now, so of course the value of a strictly-gaming device is going to fall.

Re:He's right, but missing the point

[zephvark]

or wasting time and grandmas

I can have no sympathy for people who are wasting grandmas. A grandma is not a thing to waste.

Lulz

[TheSpoom]

The company is having a hard time getting third-party developers interested in the Vita platform.

Aww, poor Sony. Why on Earth would developers not like them?

...Oh yeah, everything.

Re:That's a shame

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

So did the PS3, until they killed the Linux use of it. Now it is only Sony blackbox hardware. I'll never buy from Sony again!

You forgot to dramatically wipe away a single tear.

Re:That's a shame

[Mondoz]

That was implied in the performance, you insensitive clod.