JAPAN: Gamers anticipate launch of Sony Vita playstation, while console makers see growing market in smartphone gaming

Record ID: 464348

  • Title: JAPAN: Gamers anticipate launch of Sony Vita playstation, while console makers see growing market in smartphone gaming
  • Date: 16th September 2011
  • Summary: MORE OF MAN PLAYING PLAYSTATION VITA
  • Embargoed: 1st October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Entertainment,Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVACO2UIS3K0JRCD7EA708CUCQ5T
  • Story Text: Sony's new handheld and smartphone gaming took center stage on Thursday (September 15) at the annual Tokyo Game Show.
    The game show features over 193 companies from 16 countries, with the biggest brands on exhibit.
    Sony announced on Wednesday (September 14) that its new PlayStation Vita handheld games device will go on sale December 17 in Japan, and prices will not be discounted.
    The announcement comes after rival Nintendo lowered the price of its Nintendo 3DS handheld device.
    Despite costing more than its competitors, Sony's Vita playstation drew crowds at the game show, generating buzz among consumers.
    "It does depend on what the line-up of games are at the launch, but it was enough to make me want to buy one on the launch day," said game software maker employee Nobumichi Kumabe after playing with the new device.
    The four-day event also cast the spotlight on social and mobile gaming. With smartphones taking over the mobile market, many users are moving from stationary gaming hardware to playing games on their smartphone or tablet.
    Social gaming company DeNA (pronounced dee-in-a), owner of the popular Japanese mobile site Mobage, announced a joint venture called BDNA with game maker Namco Bandai.
    The company has over 30 million users registered in Japan, and DeNA president Isao Moriyasu said social gaming is a lucrative market.
    "(Social gaming) has become about the same size market as console games. I feel that in that sense, it's no longer just small companies but also the companies that have supported the entire gaming industry that are now moving into the social gaming field," Moriyasu said.
    DeNA has been producing games for only two years, but has already captured more than half of the market, and has plans to expand overseas.
    "As long as it's possible to keep adding new value or create new genres of games, then I believe that the market will continue to grow. Whether this market will peak or keep expanding is something that is based on our actions, I believe," Moriyasu said.
    Looking to capitalise on the shift away from dedicated hardware, Sony Ericsson boasted its Xperia Play, a smartphone that slides open to reveal a Playstation Portable (PSP) style keypad that is optimised for gaming.
    "This doesn't necessarily target heavy users, but those who have a smartphone and would also like to play games. For instance, we are targeting those who might perhaps already have a PSP but don't have a chance to use it," said Sony Ericsson's marketing department assistant manager Hiroko Kamon.
    The phone has its own dedicated Playstation game shop and runs the latest version of Google's Android operating system.
    The Tokyo Game Show is open to the public from September 17 - 18.
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