No, I still disagree as the same problem I pointed out are still valid.  Dedicated devices survive or fail on their own merits.  Suggesting Smart Phones can replace them is inaccurate, as it’s just a general purpose device.

The slow down on the gaming market has more to do with the economy and the lack of appeal of the gaming options available now than the effect of the Smart Phone market.

Smart phones and tablets are just what’s popular now, as general usage devices usually get in such economic times.  However much of the hoopla over them is just hype.  They are still very limited and should be considered in their proper context for what they do provide.

The gaming market just has to evolve with the times and like any new product the PS Vita still has a way to go before we’ll know whether it is really a flop or will stand on its own.

A few weeks being sold in Japan only is not really telling of anything yet.  People are just projecting their own bias if they think otherwise as there isn’t enough data yet to make any predictions.

One, unlike the iPad, Sony has to compete with the lower priced solutions like the Nintendo 3DS that’s already been out for quite awhile and many gamers have already gotten themselves a 3DS.  The iPad has enjoyed a long period with no serious competition and in many ways still doesn’t face much competition yet and that gives it market momentum that most other products don’t have.

Second, the iPad is mostly a luxury item but it’s useful for more than just entertainment, like the FCC is allowing pilots to use them for flight navigation charts instead of having to lug around a whole suitcase of paper charts, and other actual useful things and not just for entertainment.  The PS Vital is pretty much solely intended for entertainment.

Three, Apple is way better than just about any other company at marketing and have a far more loyal customer base than Sony has.  Remember the PS Vita has yet to be sold outside of Japan and they have to get over the stigma of the original PSP and get people to invest in a new gaming device that isn’t directly compatible with the old one.

Four, Smart Phones are actually doing far better than the tablets and that’s because Smart Phones are actually useful and needed by most people.  Lots of people for example do without a home phone and just use a cell phone for all communications.  Along with Smart Phones serving as a general multi-purpose device, eliminating for many the need to always carry a camera, camcorder, and even many of the things people use tablets for unless they really need to do work.  So is far less a luxury item than tablets are.

Though, despite how well the iPad is doing, Apple is making most of it’s profit right now mainly from the iPhone but even that is ebbing after the 4S release and by 2013, some even think earlier, many believe Apple will noticeably start losing it’s lead.  In some ways Apple is already losing ground to Android, which should increase its rate of adoption once the cheaper Android phones start coming out this year.

Thing with bringing in next gen chips is the last gen get sold much cheaper, along with projects for developing Smart Phones for poorer countries are finally bearing fruit this year and will start effecting the whole Smart Phone market before the end of this year.

But the main jump in sales for Apple was for the MacBook Air, they reported well over 300% increase for 2011, but that was only in world wide sales because there’s a growing demand for ultra thin & light laptops that are still more powerful than a netbook and Intel only recently started pushing Ultrabooks, which in turn aren’t really ready to compete with Apple until the second half of 2012 when Ivy Bridge models come out.  So like the iPad the MBA is being sold virtually without any competition.  However, once real competition does comes out don’t expect them to continue to sell so well.

So the other luxury items are seeing a slowing as well, just not as problematic yet as it is for devices that have no other purpose but to provide entertainment.

Sony has actually put out promo’s since June and of course had a strong presence at the last gaming expo.  They’ve even sent review units out to get reviewed and made sure they had more games available on release than they did with the PSP.

While if you were paying attention, the PS Vita isn’t available everywhere yet as it’s initial release is Japan only and it’ll be awhile yet before it’s officially sold everywhere.

What hype there is for the PS Vita is that it’s much more powerful than the PSP and claims to rival the PS3 itself for gaming performance.  They even got Uncharted and a few other games you normally wouldn’t expect on a portable gaming device.

Otherwise people generally view it as the PSP2, but approve of the dual joysticks this time around and it’ll take hands on experience before people can have a opinion of the new touch screen and other enhancements.

The only real question though is whether people will buy it in the present slow economy.  Sales in Japan are hardly indicative of the rest of the world, especially given the bad year they’ve had with their own slowing economy compounded by earthquakes, tsunamis, and even nuclear reactor leaks.  It’s a wonder they’re buying anything this holiday season.

For one thing Smart Phones and Tablets are Touch UI, which means your fingers get in the way of viewing the game as you play.  Second a Touch only UI means you don’t have the range of controls you can have with a dedicated gaming device and that makes most games hard to play unless specifically optimized for Touch UI.  Third, a dedicated gaming device offers a wider selection of games and better game quality than what’s available on either Android or iOS.

Sure, Smart Phones and Tablet’s may be fine for the occasional Angry Birds or similar game but they’re never replace a dedicated gaming device.  Especially for actual gamers who will be less likely to settle for less unless they had to.

Rather, if anything, it’s the slow economy and people being worried about the future that’s slowing purchases right now.  So people are prioritizing their purchases and most luxury items are going to take a hit for now.

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If you know what you should know about Sony, then you’d realise just how serious of a situation they’re in right now. PSVita is unlikely to do much next year. People will choose games and overall value over cutting-edge hardware, people will choose the 3DS.

And unlike Nintendo, Sony can’t cut the price of the Vita, they simply cannot afford it as they’re already selling it at a loss. These losses were meant to be somewhat subdued through the purchases of memory cards, but if not enough Vitas are being sold anyway then it’s not going to do anything for them.

Honestly, it’s not the Vita flopping that worries me, it’s the effects it will have on Sony themselves. Since 2006, it’s as if Sony are hell-bent on trying to kill themselves. They’re repeating the exact same mistakes that they did with the PS3.

Can’t imagine why anyone would buy this thing, unless you already have everything else.

Nobody cares…

Well, maybe because this is sold overseas? In the US, the people take the holidays (namely Christmas) more seriously than Japan.