Mobile or Handheld, Sony Needs a Portable Presence

 

I really like this photo, so I had to use it again.

In a 2015 interview at EGX at the time President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida spoke about a successor to the PlayStation Vita not being viable in the current mobile-lead environment. Shortly after the interview hit the internet, the masses followed suite, stating that this is the proof that Sony is bowing out of the handheld race, despite Yoshida-san stating in following interviews that this comment does not confirm there will be no successor to PS Vita.

Regardless of whether he meant for his comments to be seen this way or not, the gaming public is now under the impression that Sony is dropping out of handheld gaming. While some are brokenhearted, many believe this is the only thing the company can do with it's flailing handheld sales. From an immediate financial standpoint, this thought process does have some merit. But Sony  having no mobile or handheld presence will only hurt the industry giant in the long game.

PS Mobile: Make it Visible

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You may not know it, but this week marks the second week of Sony’s Festive Giveaway promotion for PlayStation Mobile. For five weeks, starting last week, two PS Mobile games are being given away to users for free. These games are playable on both PlayStation Certified Android devices and PS Vitas and are created by a community of hobbyists and indie developers.  

What’s that? You’ve never heard of PS Mobile? You are not alone, nor are you a bad person for not even knowing what the program is. Despite the attempt to future-proof the PlayStation brand on cellular devices, Sony has left this small section of its videogames catalog to dry up in the sun, dying slowly and painfully, much like the Minis. However, there are some really great games amongst the mobile titles, and they deserve some much needed love. What can Sony do to make these titles more relevant to gamers?