Righting the Vita ship - Part II

In part I of this two part blog post, I discussed the need for BC (backwards compatible) parity and the "Pub Fund for Two" concept.  One is a functional necessity while the other calls for a business development objective.  Structurally, Sony is positioned to reach both goals if they are convicted long-term.  Historically, the PlayStation brand of products have been supported for an average over seven years with some arguing that it overextends.

The next part of this two-part blog  addresses identity.  What is the PlayStation Vita?  How does it differentiate itself from competing products?  Why should I purchase a Vita?  These are questions that a potential buyer will ask themselves before making a purchase.  This blog will also address these purchase decisions and whether the current price of the product matches the value exhibited by the platform.

Vita: Finding Yourself
The identity of the PlayStation Vita is critical to it's marketing campaign.  As a portable/handheld device, it will immediately draw direction comparisons and contrasts to iOS, Android, and rival platforms like the Nintendo 3DS.  The Vita needs to market itself on it's core value propositions and not try to be the Swiss army knife of portable devices.  Let Apple and Google fight each other in that market with iOS and Android.  It doesn't make fiscal sense to directly compete.  Apple and Google have created a new market for their type of business to flourish so you aren't going to eat into their base or profits anytime soon, if at all.
 
So PlayStation Vita, who are you?

• You are a dedicated handheld gaming device who's primary function is to play games.  All other functions like video, audio, e-book reader, etc .. are ancillary
• You offer console quality experiences on the go supplemented by budget titles through the following venues ->PS One, PlayStation Mobile, PS Minis, and PlayStation Portable 
• You offer up the ability to remotely play select PS3 titles with more titles to be announced 
• You offer cross platform functions like cross save, cross play, and cross buy 
• You're design allows for the handheld to be used as an additional controller for select PS3 titles 
• You have addressed one of the major design flaws of the original PlayStation Portable, two analog sticks 
• You have taken some of the more important "network" features an implemented them as part of the Operating System -> friends lists, cloud saves, cross-game chat, party chart, auto-updates, etc.

This might sound like a pep talk for the Vita but it can't be stressed enough.  There is more to the Vita than just a portable gaming device.  Unfortunately, the marketing of the Vita has not conveyed these selling points.  Instead, it has confused the image of the Vita with equally confusing advertisements.  Remember the "Universe of Entertainment" commercial that Sony ran for the PS3?  It's time to get this right and convey the "Vita Experience".