Sony Computer Entertainment boss Andrew House is hopeful that PS Vita's ability to act as a PS4 companion device will increase sales of the handheld system.

The vast majority of PS4 games are required to support Vita Remote Play, adding a new string to the portable platform's bow, and the first PS4 Vita hardware bundles went on sale late last month to coincide with the new home console's release.

Asked if Sony believes PS4's arrival will give Vita a much-needed boost, the boss of PlayStation told CVG contributor Steve boxer:

"I think Remote Play offers a great opportunity for PlayStation Vita to be seen as a companion device for the PlayStation 4 - a chance, with a reasonable investment, to have a second-screen experience. According to our research, that's resonated most in Europe, ahead of anywhere else."

House said another "pillar of the Vita strategy is to have it be the next platform of opportunity for really good mobile game developers who are looking to expand their creative portfolio into something with more differentiated games interfaces, and we're seeing some success with that".

On the subject of the redesigned Vita model launched in Japan in October, House was hesitant to commit to a possible western release.

"I can't talk about launch plans for the 2000 series at this point. It has launched in Japan and it's selling very well there, and it has certainly increased overall Vita sales - both on hardware and software."

Sony has forecast a combined total of just five million Vita and PSP sales during the current business year ending March 2014, compared to seven million handheld sales achieved in the previous financial year.

Posted: Dec 16, 2013 2:42 pm
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/442697/playstation-boss-says-ps4-launch-a-great-opportunity-for-vita/