Today is officially PlayStation Vita launch day. The brand spankin' new handheld launches across the country and the rest of the world, but does it have much appeal?
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, renowned for his at-times outrageous and left-field predictions, doesn't think so.
Forum: Show off your shiny new handheld!
"I think the addressable market is probably half of its former size because of smartphones, so Vita and 3DS are destined to slug it out for scraps," he added. "The Vita is really slick, but it costs the same as a PS3, so it is unlikely that anyone who doesn't yet have a console will buy one. If a PS3 owner considers it, they will probably enjoy the interoperability with their console; 360 owners obviously less so."
In other words: only "wealthy hardcore gamers" will be buying Vita.
EEDAR's Jesse Divnich shared similar concerns.
"I have high hopes for the PS Vita, both in Europe and North America," he said. "While in the past new hardware has been able to "fly" out of the gates, I believe that now hardware adoption and install base growth will be more conservative. I'd expect the Vita's install base to grow at a similar rate to the growth in value of its software library."
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Mike Hickey of National Alliance Capital Markets said Vita might experience 3DS-like sales spikes, while MKM Partners' Eric Handler was unsure as to its success.
"The device looks like it has some great features but the games content thus far looks ok, but not great. [It] needs some bigger titles to make the purchase more compelling, especially at its price point."
Source: NowGamer