Sony at Tokyo Games Show: My Impressions and Assumptions

Sony’s presentation today at Tokyo’s Game Show did not seem to disappoint. Along with officially unveiling the new super slim PlayStation 3, they announced some major titles for their portable line up. Actually, Sony seemed to focus more on the mobile market than anything. Why could this be?

The super slim PS3 is a serious upgrade that deserves equally serious attention. The console will be around 25% smaller, 20% lighter and boast a big hard drive upgrade; the base system will have 250GB and there will also be a 500 GB model available.
With the Wii U scheduled for release in November, you would think Sony would have focused mainly on their home console market. The super slim PS3 will undoubtedly be competing with Nintendo’s flashy new system. However, there is another, younger force to be reckoned within the gaming industry. The iPhone 5.

Even though the super slim PS3 is a huge upgrade that could translate to big profit for Sony, the iPhone 5 could kill off Sony’s mobile gaming market. Think about this. It’s plausible to own a PS3 and an iPhone, or any mobile device for that matter. On the flip side, there are few out there who would buy a mobile gaming device when their phone provides an equal experience.

The PS Vita is already hurting. Sony actually has already dropped is sales target from 16 million to 12 million. This only took 3 months, so I would expect this projection to drop again before March 2013, when this fiscal year ends.

The new iPhone will boast a much faster A6 chip, which Apple claims makes it twice as fast as the previous models. This means better games with higher quality can assumingly be played on the iPhone 5. With new games coming out like God Eater 2 and Gundam Breaker, the PS Vita and PSP will definitely have games that iOS doesn’t, but, at least to me, a huge factor in picking a mobile gaming method is convenience. Bringing PS Plus to Vita may add some, but not nearly as much as the iPhone 5 and iOS brings to the table.

Sony, by the priorities of their presentation, seem to think the key to success is grabbing a hold of the mobile gaming market. Maybe there is just no sense in competing with a brand new piece of hardware when yours debuted in 2006. It may take a PS4 to offer the Wii U some serious competition. Until then, Sony seems like they are aiming at boosting Vita and PSP sales more than anything.