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Uncategorized Wednesday, August 31st 2011 at 2:20 pm

Lessons the PlayStation Vita Can Learn From the Nintendo 3DS Launch

By Rollin Bishop ( ) Comments


The Nintendo 3DS is not exactly off to a great start. After launching at an unrealistic price point of $250 only a handful of months ago, the system has already been slashed down to $170. According to a rather poignant post from Nintendo, this was done to increase sales of the hardware which would in turn lead to more software sales and future development. If you can’t get the console in the hands of the consumer fast enough and build a market for games, you’re basically doomed.

But the Nintendo 3DS isn’t the only handheld coming to market. The PlayStation Vita from Sony will be trying to force its way into the scene sometime over the next year and it’s not like the PlayStation Portable had an amazing reputation in North America, especially compared to the Nintendo DS. Hopefully, the debacle that was the Nintendo 3DS launch will provide some pointers for Sony’s handheld.
1. Price Your Hardware Correctly

The first and most obvious lesson here is to price the PlayStation Vita accurately. It’s not like they don’t have folks in their company whose job it is to come up with a price point. Contrary to popular belief, economics isn’t just like some magic crystal ball that Sony can rub and hope for the best when it comes to pricing.

It needs to be competitive with the Nintendo 3DS, obviously, and the pricing they’ve already announced certainly sounds fair ($250 and $299 models), while also being lower than most were predicting. It remains to be seen, however, if this pricing will stick considering the immediate drop of the 3DS.

2. Make Sure You Actually Have Games

The software lineup provided by the Nintendo 3DS at launch was… less than stellar: When the Nintendo 3DS was announced, a Nintendo representative got up on stage and said that the 3DS iteration of Nintendogs would satisfy hardcare gamers. Without software to back it up, there was really no point in purchasing the system. In addition, even the shop that would have provided digital downloads wasn’t available immediately.

What Sony should take away from this is that unless there are games folks want to play on the system, they will have no true reason to purchase said system until there are games, and it’s hard to get developers to make games for your platform if nobody is buying it. As Mike Myers so eloquently put it, “it’s a vicious cycle.”

3. Make the Interface Customer Friendly

There have been those that have remarked that the Nintendo 3DS is a pain to navigate. The menus make little-to-no sense, the shop continues to place notices and buttons in locations that any rational mind would not and, in general, any menu involved in the Settings is just a nightmare to get through. Up until now, I had been skeptical of just how much a problem this was.

That is, until Joystiq posted about how one goes about redeeming Ambassador program games and I realized that it was actually as bad as everyone was saying. If nothing else, hopefully Sony picks up on the fact that the user interface of the Vita needs to flow well.

4. Take Advantage of Everything You Have

The PlayStation Vita has an absolute plethora of gadgets and doodads attached to its chassis. The Nintendo 3DS is, for the most part, a Nintendo DS that happens to also be able to show a kind of pseudo-3D without glasses. Now, granted, this one feature is pretty neat and could make for some certainly interesting gameplay mechanics, but the games just aren’t there. And the feature? In the fews games that implement it well, it can strain the eyes or give headaches to others. It’s a big cluster of issues that aren’t easily solved. The Vita, on the other hand, has a number of features that weren’t in previous iterations that they can utilize and hopefully utilize well.

5. Make Playing PSN/PSP Games Easy

Backwards compatibility is sort of a hushed whisper between gamers these days. If the makers of consoles even implement it, it’s usually half-baked at best and, if the evolution of the various PlayStation 3 models is any indication, if it’s based on hardware, it’ll eventually be ripped out to save money. At least the PlayStation Network allows downloads of original PlayStation titles.

Barring the Wii’s virtual console, Nintendo is notoriously bad at this and the shop that provides downloads for the 3DS is no exception. Assuming the Vita continues to allow PlayStation Network games, it would seem like a fiscal no-brainer to further expand the offering of older titles to include those released on the PlayStation 2.

6. Launch Sooner Rather Than Later

The library for the Nintendo 3DS is only going to be bolstered from here on in. More and more games are going to come down the pipeline to fill out what is currently a lackluster offering. At some point, it won’t be quite so lackluster though. Sony long ago learned that the more games they offer, the better their chances of garnering more of that elusive market share that people always talk about.

The sooner that the PlayStation Vita can come to market, the faster it can begin to build a library and the less of one its competition, the Nintendo 3DS, will have.

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  • Kh_amin

    Good tips. Except despite the 3D, the 3DS also has motion sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope) and more powerful graphics when compared to the DS. Also when it comes to backwards compatibility I would say that Nintendo is above right now because the 3DS can play original DS games, DSi games, and there is currently an expanding selection of GB and GBC games on there as well. Nintendo also intends to add (through out 2011) GBA and NES games as well. But I agree on the fact that the 3DS interface (in almost every app) needs a makeover, it just does not work well. And the launch titles were pitiful (except for SFIV), the titles coming out this year and in 2012 (like Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart, Kid Icarus, Pokemon Rumble, Sonic Generations, Heroes of Ruin, Tekken Prime 3D, Resident evil Revelations) though will hopefully make us forget about the bad launch titles.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Smav-Martin/100000265867594 Smav Martin

    >__> Vita better be backwards compatible for PSP or I will punch the designer.

  • sonicfan1373

    The Vita will be backwards compatible through the PSN, but since there is no UMD drive you cannot play the PSP UMDs on it.

  • Jackbondnj16

    Wow. There are a few problems with the 3DS, but the author of this article is seriously biased. I’m not kidding. What a complainer. The 3D headaches are wimpy issues that only complainers say anything about. Also, did you notice that the author said that $250 for the 3DS was a lot, and $299 for the PSV was reasonable? The only way you could say that is if you go into it with the bias that the 3DS isn’t valuable. The PSV uses technology that Nintendo perfected 5 years ago. The PSP used technology that Nintendo perfected before them too. WHY does it sound reasonable to pay more for old technology and a spit shine?

  • George Ho

    I don’t know if this is news or an editoral.  However, I don’t know what ‘technology’ you have referred.  Wii requires a plug to the TV; PSV does not!

    Which Nintendo part does PSP use?  PSP and the DS are two different animals: PSP uses just buttons, a 16:9 screen, and a tiny stick to nub; the DS has buttons, a pen stylus, and two screens.

    Unfortunately, Square Enix sets itself wrong examples to the DS.  Final Fantasy III should be remade in the PSP or PSV.  I sold the DS version to Gamestop because the third-party-developed RPG game for the (3)DS doesn’t suit well for me anymore and doesn’t put much emphasis on the touch stylus and screens, aside from the cutscenes.  Even I had problems handling the Chocobo with the stylus without getting off the Chocobo.  Now Final Fantasy remakes are for the PSP, I would like to buy any of them if I wouldn’t have PSOne versions of Final Fantasy I, II, & IV.

    Also, why did SE release Dragon Quest IX on the DS?  Should be remade on Wii U or PS3.

    PSP has the buttons that resemble the GBA yet with two extra buttons and just one stick.  Both are not touch-y.

  • George Ho

    To the author:
     
    1.  Duh!  We must know the production cost per unit first before the pricing.  The first-generation American PS3s were sold at net losses, while the Wii has been overpriced until the Mario Kart bundle yet successful.

    2. That’s funny: Vita’s launch dates were not mentioned.  Japan gets Vitas first; internationals…  I hope Brazil doesn’t get them last: look at PS3s and PS2s in Brazil.

    3.  No comment…

    4.  Somehow, I hope Final Fantasy III goes to the Vita (or PSP).  I can’t stand myself playing any DS versions of it anymore.  Now goes this: two screens, a stick, a stylus, and a 3D VERSUS one 16:9 screen, two sticks, a touch sensor that needs just fingers, and no 3D… yet?  I hope PSP vs DS cycle doesn’t last.

    5.  DS should have Game Boy backwards-compatibility in the first place.  Will the 3DS Lite not play DS games anymore?

    6.  Sony has reasons to delay international releases of Vita.  One of them: Nintendo 3DS was launched too soon worldwide simultaneously, even in Japan.  Developers’ and publishers’ decisions have affected the Nintendo 3DS’s game library, such as Capcom’s cancelled Mega Man Legends project and the Assassins’ Creed 3DS.  Now Professor Layton 3DS works only on Japanese 3DSs.  Games under development for Vita may take a lot of time for developers and publishers, including of Japan and the US.

  • trekerie

    I got about 70ish titles that I’ll be able to play on my Vita on day one from my existing download list of PSN/PSP/PS1 Classic/Mini games. Seriously, anyone with a PS+ membership wouldn’t need to buy a single game for the Vita and would get a lot of good use out of it. That being said, I cannot wait for Uncharted, Killzone, and Resistance for the Vita.

  • http://profiles.google.com/chrissomerry Christian Meredith

    Which makes me more likely to buy a cheap on-sale PSP rather than the PSV to replace my existing broken PSP (ironically, the memory card reader in it is busted).

  • Bob

    this writer is biased! the 3ds isnt just a ds with 3d, it has a higher resolution screen, better graphics ( wii standard), six axis motion (gyroscope and acceloromater) and a pedometer, street pass, spot pass, eshop, 3d camera. what a sony fanboy this writer is…

  • Sleepless101@live.com

    your just angry that your lackluster 3ds is selling like shit, you (SO, i mean Nintendo fanboy)

  • Hi How Are You232

    How is he a fanboy when he is stating the obvious.  I like both Sony and Nintendo and to say that the 3ds is lackluster sounds alittle fanboyish if you ask me.  This article i very biased, and 3ds sales have increased 10 fold since the pricedrop, who ever wrote this failed to mention that.  I like the interface of the 3ds, it is easy to use, and the 3ds has multiple features that make the system a must have.  The Vita is something I would buy, used, for about 100 dollars, tops.  Nintendo is also alot more innovative then what Sony is, case and point the Wii, it sold boat loads because of the innovative motion controls then Sony copied them with that horrible PS3 Move.  The 3ds is the first handheld to boast amazing graphics and 3d that actually works and adds so much depth to a game (if you don’t believe me pick up Ocarina of Time 3d and you will be sold, I promise you).  The 3ds is a great piece of technology and it is worth every penny.

  • Bdfbdfber@blah.com

    your just angry that your lackluster 3ds is STILL selling like shit, you (SO, i mean Nintendo fanboy)

  • Truth

    Too long; didn’t read

  • Truth

    Honestly, you just sound angry that your overpriced PSV isn’t even out yet.

    Also, fighting on the internet? Over a sony product? lol Sony Fanboys will never learn.
    Tell me how many PSV handheld did they sell again? Oh wait it isn’t even out, So technically the 3DS is selling better than the PSV (SO, i mean Sony fanboy)

  • Farel_will

    Geekosystem has had several articles about how the 3DS is inferior, and this one reads just like all the others with the subtext of being an editorial about the Vita. Serious Geekosystem nay-saying isn’t geeking, its super trollin. I will admit I love my 3DS and will not get the Vita.
    Geekosystem did you factor in that the world is in financial turmoil and a lot of people still can’t afford a new system period. Whatever.

  • Jackbondnj16

    I never said anything about the Wii. And I’m talking about touch screen technology. PSV touts it as if they’ve accomplished something great, but Nintendo has released a touch screen, a 3D screen, and motion controls all in one for LESS MONEY. Obviously the technology isn’t that new and expensive that Sony is right to charge so much for it.

  • Ilikepie2100

    i think your all just a bunch of idiots

  • Fatterbottom

    Truth.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=731239580 Eliot Leo Carney-Seim

    Rollin Bishop should NOT be writing articles. He doesn’t even have personal experience and the whole process was fairly simple. Nintendo sent you a notifications on your MAIN screen that had all the steps for it.

    The menu is actually VERY user friendly and incredibly improved from the last. NOW like a good reviewer i will say why. the shop gives easy to find big clickable boxes for each type of game and you can find whatever you are looking for in games.

    Please please PLEASE fire this writer.

  • Kare_ni_shra

    System sales were higher on the Wii. that’s true, but game sales weren’t.  Casual gamers just don’t buy as many or as often as hardcore gamers. and I wouldn’t call the wii innovative. it was a desperate move for the company. If the Wii had failed, so would have nintendo.  And even now, they are in dire straights, because casual gamers don’t fuel the market.  They help, but the core is and always will be hardcore gamers.  The residuals that Nintendo needs from those game sales just aren’t there.  On any given day I sell 3-5 times the games for Sony or Xbox as i do for nintendo. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001039111323 Lars Alexandersson

    Yeah 4 core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor and a 4 core SGX543MP4+ graphics processing unit for $250 is so over priced(sarcasm). Most laptops and computers still have dual core while the playstation vita has quad cores. Besides the psp was 250 when it was released(due to inflation it is considered cheaper now). 
    FYI the 3ds was also overpriced until it had a price cut. You should be thankful that it did because the 3ds was so inferior it wasn’t even worth the $249 price tag. Wasting a lot of money for that technology? Forget it.

    Fighting on the internet, you say? You nintendo fanboys are hypocrites. I’ve seen a LOT of nintendo fanboys in countless sites (Gamespot, IGN, Pocket Gamer, Cnet etc) saying, ”ps vita sucks! 3ds is better because its 3d!!11!! Llololo!!11!”, “Sony steals nintendo’s ideas! Sony has no originality!!!” or “ps vita is too big!! it won’t fit in your pocket unlike the 3ds!!!!” 

    Oh, and the internet is a good place to argue over things like this. Where do you think we should argue, in the middle of Wall St. carrying signs saying which handheld is better?! Are you serious?!

    Also, why would you even compare the sales of the 3ds to the ps vita when the vita is not even out yet? You can only say a handheld is selling better when its competitor is already released.