IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

3DS's Success Proves Handhelds Have a Place, Says Sony

Posted January 12, 2012 by M.H. Williams

While the PlayStation Vita is having a tough time in Japan, Nintendo’s 3DS has gained its second wind.  One would think Sony would be saddened by its competitor’s success, but SCEE president Jim Ryan said that it proves the dedicated handheld market has some life in it yet.

“One of the encouraging things about 3DS’ sales performance at Christmas is that it is confounding the naysayers who say that there is no room in the market for a dedicated handheld gaming device,” he told MCV. “And to that extent we were encouraged by how 3DS did over the last month.”

Ryan believes that the 3DS and the Vita are not selling to the same market, so Sony has nothing to worry about.

“There are two distinct markets,” Ryan said. “The quality, the immersiveness, the richness of the experience that we believe we are going to offer on Vita, way exceeds anything that we believe to be available on any smartphone.”

Can the Vita and the 3DS coexist peacefully in a market many believe is shrinking due to smartphones and tablets?

M.H. Williams has been writing in some form or another for ten years and has been a hardcore gamer since the NES first graced American shores.  You can catch him on Twitter as @AutomaticZen, Google+ as himself, or on his personal Facebook page.