Sony’s Vita faces smartphone battle

The new PlayStation Vita

David Ramli

Technology giant Sony will struggle to find a big market for its new handheld video game device, the PlayStation Vita, against the growing popularity of smartphone games such as Angry Birds, analysts have warned.

While the video games market is rapidly growing in Australia, the traditional titans of the industry, including Sony and Microsoft, are not the biggest winners.

When Sony’s Vita launched in Japan late last year, it reportedly sold 325,000 devices in its first two days. Sales fell 78 per cent in the second week.

Ovum analyst Tim Renowden said Sony’s latest device was a risk for the company because gamers were turning to cheaper games on their smartphones instead of dedicated products like the Vita.

“Hardcore gamers enjoy having physical controls and don’t like using touchscreens,” he said.

“But it’s clear the major games publishers are now making games for Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android . . . there’s certainly a trend now with games being one of the most popular uses of smartphones and tablets.”

Deloitte partner Damien Tampling said research had shown users of smartphones and tablets were more willing to pay for video games than any other type of software.

Sony computer entertainment managing director Michael Ephraim acknowledged the device would mainly appeal to “core gamers” when first released, but argued everyday users like mums and dads would get on board when prices dropped.

He also said the device could access the internet, allow video chats and download movies for watching on the go.

“We disagree with analysts who say there’s no room for specific handheld devices,” he said.

“We’re confident it will attract core gamers and eventually start bringing in snack gamers.”

The Australian Financial Review