Mark Cale, CEO of long-running British publisher and developer System 3, once called the PlayStation Vita a potential ‘iPad beater’ but 18 months after its launch he believes Sony missed an opportunity.
“This is the problem if you do bad marketing,” he told PSU in an exclusive telephone interview. “The Vita could have been an iPad beater, it could have been amazing and still should be.”
One example he gives, which he’s recently flagged up to Sony, is something he spotted during the launch of the Nintendo 2DS last week. He said he was shocked that the iPod Touch was billed as an alternative to 2DS at launch when it should have been the Vita which offers everything that 2DS offers and much more. He also believes that Sony should focus on bringing more of the younger generation on board with its handheld.
“The handheld market is far more geared towards kids and a younger generation than an older generation,” he said. "Kids love portable gaming and it’s really important that Sony make it happen on the Vita.” He continues by saying, “I woudn’t go and play Call of Duty on the Vita.”
“With the PS4 they’ve done a great job but with the PS Vita it was a missed opportunity, because it’s a fantastic machine.”
System 3 has two upcoming games for Vita which he hopes will appeal to both the young and older generations, with Putty Squad,an accessible retro-styled platformer, and Pinball Arcade, which is billed as the ‘world’s most realistic pinball simulator.’
Sony will be hoping that cross-play initiatives between PS4 and Vita plus its enhanced connectivity between the two platforms will give Vita a new lease of life in November when the PlayStation 4 launches.
Listen to the interview in full here.