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.

Sony Announces Subscription Pricing for PS Now

Image courtesy of the Official PS Blog. 

Sony has decided to start off the new year with some new information about PlayStation Now.

Is PlayStation Now the Future?

The future...?

The end of July marked the launch of Sony's new digital rental service into a public beta on PlayStation 4. Through PlayStation Now, gamers will be able to stream a library of PlayStation 3 games to play on their PS4, eliminating the need for backwards compatibility or keeping your PS3 hooked up. The streaming service is being created from Sony's acquisition of Gaikai two years ago, and though there are still many questions to be answered about how the service will work, the public beta gives us an idea of what to expect. After a week of gaming on PlayStation Now, I can report that the service has promise, but there are still kinks to be worked out.

PS3 Owner Finally Get in on PlayStation Now Beta

The Future Finally Arrives on PS3

Starting today, PS3 owners will now have access to the public beta for PlayStation Now. God of War Ascension, inFamous and Street Fighter IV are slated to join the library of more than 150 PS3 games soon. 

Sony Financial Woes Increase As Mobile Department Fails to Sell

Sony has shifted its financial outlook further into the red due to extraneous costs in its mobile phone department. Originally only looking at $50 billion lose at the end of the fiscal year (March 31st, 2015), the company is now looking at a lose closer to $230 billion. 

Why I Am So Excited About PlayStation Now

-->

With the announcement of PlayStation Now, Sony has the entire industry stirring with speculation about just how great the service will be. In case you didn’t know, PlayStation Now is what Sony is doing with the Gaikai streaming infrastructure the company bought in the summer of 2012. Announced at CES yesterday, Sony says the service will allow users to stream PSOne, PS2 and PS3 games on their PS4, PS Vita, smart phone, tablets and smart TVs. This will be a subscription based service, so there will be money involved, but regardless this is Sony future proofing itself on top of opening up some interesting possibilities for the PlayStation brand.