Sony launched its second handheld foray late last year in Japan and in February for the rest of the world. One could say it is too early to say that the device is doomed, and I agree with that notion. However, if Sony wants to save Vita, it must invest lots of money now to recover from the weak performance so far in order to try to make it as successful as PSP, which was no match for DS in the "race" for the top stop, but was a great commercial success, selling more hardware than Playstation 3 to date.
Vita is an incredible handheld machine. Everybody that had the opportunity to use it, agrees with that statement. Its processing and graphics power is unmatched in handhelds. All its touch commands, AR devices and the so needed dual analog sticks provide great gaming experiences. Its price is not cheap ($250), but not so expensive that makes it prohibitive. So, what is the problem with it?
The problem with Vita is that it is a machine more than capable to provide superb gaming experiences, but where are those experiences? The handheld boasted an incredible launch lineup of 25 games. However, 6 months later, I don't thing another 25 games were released. To make matters worse, no significant title was released for the console, making only its launch window interesting for the customers. It is true that the first semester is not very profitable, but even PSP is selling much more not only in Japan where tons of new PSP games are launched, but also in the west, were PSP is dubbed dead due to piracy. And it becomes obvious since, apart from Uncharted: Golden Abyss, by far the great seller for Vita; Persona 4 Golden on Japan, which is a remake, no meaningful titles were launched for console. Mostly, just ports and remakes. And no one will spend $350 to buy the console, accessories and a game that was launched for other platforms 6 months before, platforms that the potential Vita buyer probably owns.
Sony's big mistake was not to invest on Vita during its launch year. The poor 3DS performance during its launch window almost negated Nintendo's advantage of an early launch. If Sony were focused on Vita, it would have signed deals with console-seller games producers to grant exclusive titles for Vita, like Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter or Dragon Quest in Japan and real sports, First Person Shooters, and even a GTA exclusive for Vita during its first year. That would make the customers desire the new handheld, after all people buy consoles for its games. And Sony would now be in an excellent position, trailing the subsequent 3DS success closely behind.
However, with depressing 2.2 million units sold in 6 months against the almost 20 million units of 3DS, Sony has to convince the developers that it is worthy to invest on Vita, even when they have the option of developing for a cheaper platform with almost 10 times the installed base. It is not impossible, but the sole remaining argument becomes more and more money. And, either that or slashing the price is a great backlash for the already dire financial situation of the company.
Where Sony had dropped the ball? In my opinion, in neglecting Vita during its first year. Although we all know that the generation "race" doesn't matter, Sony seems to be burned by the fact that PS3 was not the "winner" of the seventh generation (mostly due their own fault not perceiving the obvious that the price doesn't matter when the difference is not so significative, however it matters a lot when your console costs the sum of the consoles of your main competitors) and is pushing PS3 a lot this year. Meanwhile, Vita was abandoned to its own luck, receiving no attention on E3 (which left all the early Vita adopters and potential buyers awed), and now trying to fix announcing sub-games like CoD Black Ops: Declassified and Assassin's Creed Liberation at the same time XBox 360 and PS3 will receive the full-fledged main versions of the same titles. Of course this strategy will not pay because once again someone who would not spend $350 to buy a Vita and play Fifa 12 while he could spend $50 on XBox 360 or PS3 will still not spend $350 for a sub-Assasssin's Creed 3 or a Sub CoD Black Ops 2 while he can spend $50 for the real thing in a console he already owns.
Sony better do something immediately to bring those AAA titles exclusively for Vita or hope that niche titles like Hatsune Miku, Ys, Legend of Heroes, Disgaea, etc, work their magic for the console to make it at least viable on Japan. Otherwise, as the time passes, it will take more and more money for Sony to convince the developers to bring their games to Vita, to the point of making it commercially unaceptable.
sexta-feira, 24 de agosto de 2012
segunda-feira, 13 de agosto de 2012
People should stop buying Mario games just because they are Mario games
Before people say it is an anti-Mario, rant, I'm using Mario just as an evident example of what I'm trying to address.
There have been hundreds of Mario games in the last 30 years. Some of them were great. Many were good. Some acceptable. And some, pretty forgetable. However, if there is something in common with almost all Mario games is that they are never a flop, regardless the quality of the game.
The most iconic video game character has been used for all purposes. Synonym of platform games, Mario and his gang have been used in many spin-offs, that range from sport games, to RPGs, puzzles, social games, etc. Though some cases made sense, most of the time the feeling is that there was no need to use Mario Bros characters, but they were used to make it easier to sell a game that otherwise would have difficulties in reaching a broader audience.
And, indeed, it worked. Besides the traditional Mario games, many of those spin-offs have seen great sales numbers. And the main reason for those encouraging market performances is because the moustached plumber in a red suit was featured on the cover.
That being said, we face a crucial moment for the traditional game marketing. The sales are lower and lower each passing year, confronted by the surge of mobile and social network gaming that are making millionaires from night to day, profiting many times more than the old established software houses and luring them out of the traditional console and handheld gaming business in favor of "The new El Dorado of gaming". One of the reasons cited is that the gaming companies are failing to innovate, and apart from a few successful indie studios, all that we have seen in the last few years are the same IPs being milked to death with copycat games with few enhancements, useless DLCs and microtransactions poisoning the once healthy gaming ecosystem.
This overall view is really close to truth, but part of the blame falls on the consumers themselves. Instead of investing their hard-earned money in promising new releases and concepts, almost all the money goes to same old IPs and franchises, no matter what they have to offer. Instead of trying a new kind of game, the gamer saves money to buy the new installment of those yearly sports franchises, that add nothing relevant from one year to another. Instead of buying a game from a genre the gamer is not so used to, he pre-orders the new version of the same old FPS that plays exactly like the older one. Instead of trying a RPG or a fighting game with new mechanics, the gamer buys the follow-up to the series that presents nothing new, and spend the rest of his money with pathetic DLCs like costumes, weapons or characters from the previous games that add nothing to the gaming experience. Instead of trying any game from a smaller publisher, the gamer plays any crap that has Mario on the cover.
Being smart, the gaming companies are less and less prone to invest their money on new games that will be panned by critics for not being technically perfect, and then ignored by overall audiences when they can do any average game and brand it with their most famous IPs to receive great reviews (since critics are just gamer fans playing the especialist role) and selling lots of games through pre-order before anyone can attest the game is bland.
So, for the sake of the future of the game industry, stop buying Mario games just because they are Mario games. Spend your money with the really good ones and let all the spin-offs and blatant attempts of milking the franchise flop grandly. Only when the developers realize that putting the well-known faces in a bad game will not help selling it, they will go back to their drawing boards and start focusing on new game mechanics to make them interesting rather than to focus on how the same old characters will fit in their lousy games.
There have been hundreds of Mario games in the last 30 years. Some of them were great. Many were good. Some acceptable. And some, pretty forgetable. However, if there is something in common with almost all Mario games is that they are never a flop, regardless the quality of the game.
The most iconic video game character has been used for all purposes. Synonym of platform games, Mario and his gang have been used in many spin-offs, that range from sport games, to RPGs, puzzles, social games, etc. Though some cases made sense, most of the time the feeling is that there was no need to use Mario Bros characters, but they were used to make it easier to sell a game that otherwise would have difficulties in reaching a broader audience.
And, indeed, it worked. Besides the traditional Mario games, many of those spin-offs have seen great sales numbers. And the main reason for those encouraging market performances is because the moustached plumber in a red suit was featured on the cover.
That being said, we face a crucial moment for the traditional game marketing. The sales are lower and lower each passing year, confronted by the surge of mobile and social network gaming that are making millionaires from night to day, profiting many times more than the old established software houses and luring them out of the traditional console and handheld gaming business in favor of "The new El Dorado of gaming". One of the reasons cited is that the gaming companies are failing to innovate, and apart from a few successful indie studios, all that we have seen in the last few years are the same IPs being milked to death with copycat games with few enhancements, useless DLCs and microtransactions poisoning the once healthy gaming ecosystem.
This overall view is really close to truth, but part of the blame falls on the consumers themselves. Instead of investing their hard-earned money in promising new releases and concepts, almost all the money goes to same old IPs and franchises, no matter what they have to offer. Instead of trying a new kind of game, the gamer saves money to buy the new installment of those yearly sports franchises, that add nothing relevant from one year to another. Instead of buying a game from a genre the gamer is not so used to, he pre-orders the new version of the same old FPS that plays exactly like the older one. Instead of trying a RPG or a fighting game with new mechanics, the gamer buys the follow-up to the series that presents nothing new, and spend the rest of his money with pathetic DLCs like costumes, weapons or characters from the previous games that add nothing to the gaming experience. Instead of trying any game from a smaller publisher, the gamer plays any crap that has Mario on the cover.
Being smart, the gaming companies are less and less prone to invest their money on new games that will be panned by critics for not being technically perfect, and then ignored by overall audiences when they can do any average game and brand it with their most famous IPs to receive great reviews (since critics are just gamer fans playing the especialist role) and selling lots of games through pre-order before anyone can attest the game is bland.
So, for the sake of the future of the game industry, stop buying Mario games just because they are Mario games. Spend your money with the really good ones and let all the spin-offs and blatant attempts of milking the franchise flop grandly. Only when the developers realize that putting the well-known faces in a bad game will not help selling it, they will go back to their drawing boards and start focusing on new game mechanics to make them interesting rather than to focus on how the same old characters will fit in their lousy games.
quinta-feira, 2 de agosto de 2012
Too much ado about nothing
Today, one article in kotaku.com states that one of the biggest problems of videogame industry is that people are not prone to talk about the games they are planning or developing.
In my opinion, it is the opposite: people talk too much about games, especially before they are released. In the past, people used to rely on scarce magazine articles, few ads and mostly word-of-mouth recommendations. Besides, the package of the game was very important in trying to sell the customer the game with a few hundred words and two or three screenshots. Even so, the industry was highly effective in delivering good games and selling well.
Nowadays, the gaming industry is plagued with too much information and too many people talking about the products. The developers are obliged to release uncountable trailers, teasers and demos to satisfy the gamers. They are expected to constantly provide updates about how the game is being developed, how are the mechanics, which are the characters, the settings, etc. Gamers and gaming gossip tabloids demand answers for each decision and overwhelm the media with low-quality input. Before the game is even completed, people are already bashing or praising it in the forums, editors from magazines and sites are giving unfounded opinions, companies are pressed to do things they didn't want to do. It can affect negatively potential buyers of a certain game, because people wrongly tend to rely too much on personal opinion of "critics".
One good example came from kotaku.com itself, inventing a rumor that the long waited Final Fantasy Versus XIII was canceled, citing "one source said that", "other source said another thing". The rumor was spread all over internet by unprofessional sites that only spin news from the others and the Square Enix itself had to intervene and say the game was not officially canceled and that it is still in development.
It is easy to understand the sites position, for they thrive on those kind of news, but it also explains why the companies are less and less prone to talk about game development, unless it is free-advertising. They know that any misinterpreted word will cause an uproar like Final Fantasy Versus XIII cancelation rumor, and it can affect negatively potential buyers or even investors. Because of that, it is not difficult to understand why the official policies on those companies is "no one is allowed to comment about internal activities".
No other industry is pressured to say so much about their upcoming products, save for movie industry maybe. I've never seen consumers or press demanding details, screenshots and even internal questions about cars or TV sets from their manufacturers. No other industry has so much fans playing the "expert" or even the "professional journalist" role. I've never seen people claiming in the forums that certain electronic device is bad, or that "critic X" opinion is unfounded about a product that was not even released. Every day we see so much ado about nothing that it is not difficult to understand the unwillingness of the developers to say about their products.
People should care more about playing the games than spinning unimportant information.
In my opinion, it is the opposite: people talk too much about games, especially before they are released. In the past, people used to rely on scarce magazine articles, few ads and mostly word-of-mouth recommendations. Besides, the package of the game was very important in trying to sell the customer the game with a few hundred words and two or three screenshots. Even so, the industry was highly effective in delivering good games and selling well.
Nowadays, the gaming industry is plagued with too much information and too many people talking about the products. The developers are obliged to release uncountable trailers, teasers and demos to satisfy the gamers. They are expected to constantly provide updates about how the game is being developed, how are the mechanics, which are the characters, the settings, etc. Gamers and gaming gossip tabloids demand answers for each decision and overwhelm the media with low-quality input. Before the game is even completed, people are already bashing or praising it in the forums, editors from magazines and sites are giving unfounded opinions, companies are pressed to do things they didn't want to do. It can affect negatively potential buyers of a certain game, because people wrongly tend to rely too much on personal opinion of "critics".
One good example came from kotaku.com itself, inventing a rumor that the long waited Final Fantasy Versus XIII was canceled, citing "one source said that", "other source said another thing". The rumor was spread all over internet by unprofessional sites that only spin news from the others and the Square Enix itself had to intervene and say the game was not officially canceled and that it is still in development.
It is easy to understand the sites position, for they thrive on those kind of news, but it also explains why the companies are less and less prone to talk about game development, unless it is free-advertising. They know that any misinterpreted word will cause an uproar like Final Fantasy Versus XIII cancelation rumor, and it can affect negatively potential buyers or even investors. Because of that, it is not difficult to understand why the official policies on those companies is "no one is allowed to comment about internal activities".
No other industry is pressured to say so much about their upcoming products, save for movie industry maybe. I've never seen consumers or press demanding details, screenshots and even internal questions about cars or TV sets from their manufacturers. No other industry has so much fans playing the "expert" or even the "professional journalist" role. I've never seen people claiming in the forums that certain electronic device is bad, or that "critic X" opinion is unfounded about a product that was not even released. Every day we see so much ado about nothing that it is not difficult to understand the unwillingness of the developers to say about their products.
People should care more about playing the games than spinning unimportant information.
Q1 2012: Playstation on loss
Sony has revealed today its financial figures for the first quarter of 2012, and the prospects could not look worse. Besides a huge slash in the overall profits, one of the last lucrative Sony divisions, the gaming division (or Playstation) showed losses for the quarter.
Many times branded as one of the hopes of the giant Japanese corporation to return to its former days of huge success, the Playstaion division didn't live up to the expectations, making Sony reduce the overconfident predictions of selling 16 million portable consoles to 12 million for 2012 fiscal year (that comprises April 2012 - March 2013). The six-year-old Playstation 3 and the seven-year-old Playstation Portable could not keep the rhythm of the sales of the past years, while the brand-new Playstation Vita failed to capture the audience with the lack of substantial games released for the platform.
Sony may blame the current state of economy and the expected seasonal decrease of hardware and software sales, but, at the same time, its main competitor on handheld marketing, Nintendo, managed to sell about 2.5 million consoles, while combined sales of PSP and PS Vita were 1.4 million. Besides, Vita is already a lot behind his direct competitor, Nintendo 3DS, with estimated sales under 3 million against 19 million of its main competitor.
Meanwhile, Sony executives keep saying that both Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita are incredible gaming platforms. However, everyone knows that people doesn't buy gaming consoles for the impressive hardware, but for the software and the price. The same arrogant posture from the last years that they have the best products, so people will naturally buy them. Incidentally, Sony is accumulating financial and market-share losses for a long time.
The spotlight is over the giant Japanese corporation and everybody is wondering if Sony has a strategy to return to the former days of Playstation and Playstation 2 dominance of game market, or if they will drag along with the same failed strategy of the last five years and let Playstation be a brand of the past.
Many times branded as one of the hopes of the giant Japanese corporation to return to its former days of huge success, the Playstaion division didn't live up to the expectations, making Sony reduce the overconfident predictions of selling 16 million portable consoles to 12 million for 2012 fiscal year (that comprises April 2012 - March 2013). The six-year-old Playstation 3 and the seven-year-old Playstation Portable could not keep the rhythm of the sales of the past years, while the brand-new Playstation Vita failed to capture the audience with the lack of substantial games released for the platform.
Sony may blame the current state of economy and the expected seasonal decrease of hardware and software sales, but, at the same time, its main competitor on handheld marketing, Nintendo, managed to sell about 2.5 million consoles, while combined sales of PSP and PS Vita were 1.4 million. Besides, Vita is already a lot behind his direct competitor, Nintendo 3DS, with estimated sales under 3 million against 19 million of its main competitor.
Meanwhile, Sony executives keep saying that both Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita are incredible gaming platforms. However, everyone knows that people doesn't buy gaming consoles for the impressive hardware, but for the software and the price. The same arrogant posture from the last years that they have the best products, so people will naturally buy them. Incidentally, Sony is accumulating financial and market-share losses for a long time.
The spotlight is over the giant Japanese corporation and everybody is wondering if Sony has a strategy to return to the former days of Playstation and Playstation 2 dominance of game market, or if they will drag along with the same failed strategy of the last five years and let Playstation be a brand of the past.
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