Sony's PlayStation Vita comes into a very different world than its original PSP joined. Mobile technology and increasingly digital-driven multimedia, not to mention social media, cloud-based gaming and all the other buzzwords getting between joypads and screens, have cꦦhanged the gaming landscape, and the company's focus on connectivity and networking intend to keep the portable relevant. But the core aim of the brand remains essentially unchanged from the PSP days, says SCEE boss Jim Ryan: PS Vita is still first and foremost a gaming device.

Above: The PlayStation Vita being used for games, as God intended

latest issue, “the philosophy is basically the same.” Ryan says the company is hedging its bets on the future of gaming, explaining thatꦉ the Vita's breadth of connectivity and input options “allows us to provide a differentiated gaming experience in a manner that the design of PSP simply did not allow.” He admits the future of the industry – and Vita's role in that future – is “hard to tell at this stage.”

However, all these options shouldn't cloud Sony's basic aim with the console, which Ryan insists is the same as it's ever been with the PlayStation brand. Social connectivi🐟ty and multimedia accessibility are well and good, but nobody ever bought a PSP mainly to watch UMD movies, and Vita's priorities are no different: “The core principle is to provide the best porta♔ble gaming experience possible. It's as simple as that.”

Aug 31, 2011

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