INTERVIEW:Sony European executive Jim Ryan is not worried about the smartphone threat to separate games devices, writes CIARA O'BRIEN

IRELAND MAY be a small market for most major tech firms, but it appears that some games companies are taking note of what Irish customers think when it comes to their new products.

As Sony prepared to launch its latest handheld games device in Europe, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president and chief executive Jim Ryan says Ireland is a bellwether market for the firm.

The Irish market has been an important one for PlayStation for some time. At one point there were more PlayStation 2 consoles per head of population in Ireland than there were in Japan. “It’s one of those early-adopter markets, and it’s always good to get traction in those markets. It tends to go very fast early on, because consumers get into stuff very early and hit maturity just as places like Italy and Spain are just waking up to what’s going on,” explains Ryan.

“These markets are sort of bellwethers because . . . clearly it’s not one of our bigger markets, because it’s governed ultimately by population size, but it is important, and we do look at it in the early periods of the platform – and because it’s one of those markets that if all is not going well, it’s places like Ireland where you get a sense of that very quickly.”

Released on December 17th in Japan, the handheld PlayStation Vita sold 325,000 units in its first few days. However, that tailed off in the subsequent weeks, and by January 5th, the figures showed that 50,000 units a day had been sold since launch.

“We’re perfectly happy. We think 500,000 units installed in what is a small number of weeks – we’re fine with that,” says Ryan. “Our perspective is five to 10 years, so whatever might happen, whether it’s good or bad, over a small period of time is not something we pay too much attention to.”

The PlayStation Vita has been a long time coming. Its predecessor, the PSP, was released in 2004 and the updated version, the PSP Go, went on sale in 2009.

Since then times have changed. Nintendo discovered that when sales of the 3DS, the 3D version of its popular handheld console, failed to meet targets after its launch in 2011.

The popularity of smartphones and tablets means that consumers now have access to on-the-go gaming without having to invest in a separate games device.

Ryan, however, isn’t worried about the threat from the smartphone.

“I think the landscape is certainly different. It would be foolish not to acknowledge the existence of those devices. But the smartphone is a communications device that you can play games on; it’s primarily a communications device. The tablet can do a lot of things, of which only one is play games.

"PlayStation Vita is a bit different because it has been conceived, designed, engineered and manufactured as a gaming device. That's its raison d'etre. So from a gaming perspective there are no compromises and you can do stuff on a PlayStation Vita that you will certainly not be able to do on any of those category of devices – smartphones, tablets – in the way that you can with Vita."

It’s clear that the Vita has been designed with an acknowledgment of what gamers have come to expect from their devices. Although it looks similar to the original PSP, the Vita has some extras.

It has a touch screen, for example, which is used extensively in games. It also has a motion sensor built-in, which allows players to control games by moving the Vita itself. There’s even a touch-sensitive panel on the rear of the device. And the Vita also comes with Wi-Fi capability and a web browser, enabling Sony to tap into the trend for more social gaming.

“It’s only once you give it a go and try all these new interfaces that you realise it’s completely different and it’s a totally different device. When consumers get it into their hands, that sense of excitement is palpable, and so our challenge is logistical to get it into as many hands as possible. Even if you can’t get it into everybody’s hands, get a situation where word of mouth builds,” says Ryan.

“Ireland is one of those markets where word of mouth is a very powerful phenomenon. We have to get that going.”

The more expensive version of the Vita has 3G built in, costing an additional €50, so players aren’t constrained by Wi-Fi hotspot coverage when it comes to downloading games or, as Sony is keen to emphasise, social gaming. The Vita will cost €250 for the Wi-Fi only version.

“We do think there is a significant portion of the install base who want to be permanently connected. That’s what people want these days, especially younger people,” says Ryan.

“They want to be connected to their friends, connected within a game, or Facebook, or online via a browser. We’re certainly planning a significant portion of that initial consumer demographic will be interested in 3G.”

The Vita isn’t dispensing with physical game sales either. All games are available for digital download, but the larger games are available typically for both digital distribution and packaged format with a game card. The decision, Ryan says, will be down to the consumer.

“I think the world is going digital. I don’t think it’s a Sony trend, I think it’s a global trend. Consumers increasingly want to access their content digitally; increasingly they want to download stuff.

“Our perspective on this is to simply let the consumer decide. I think we’re at a kind of halfway house on this at the moment; it’s going more digital but there’s still a lot of people who want to own physical copies and touch it.”

The size of games may ultimately be the decider for consumers. “If you don’t have a big, fast pipe, you could be sitting there twiddling your thumbs for a long time waiting for the game to download. Lots of people just don’t want to do that,” says Ryan.

One thing that could hold Sony players back from adopting the digital format is the recent, very high-profile data breach at the company. Millions of account details were compromised last April, and the subsequent delay in informing consumers of what had happened caused some outrage.

But Ryan says the company has worked to dust itself off.

“The hard financial data would indicate that we have been forgiven – forgiven but not forgotten. We have to just do better.

“What surprised us was the speed and the extent to which our consumers came back to the network and are buying again.

“We should feel very humbled and ashamed of what occurred, and must ensure that it never happens again.”

Latest offering not just fun and games

REVIEW:YOU'D BE forgiven for thinking the PlayStation Vita is more of the same old. At first glance, it looks similar to the original PSP. It's only when you pick up the device that you realise it's very different.

The Vita, for example, has a 5-inch touch screen, and a touch-enabled panel on the back.

This makes for some interesting gameplay; instead of simply using the traditional analogue stick controls and D-pad, you can swipe the screen in some games to control play, pinch it in others.

Graphics, meanwhile, are incredibly vibrant and detailed, a cut above what you might have come to expect from a portable games device.

In fact, they are almost at PS3 level, just on a much smaller screen.

And say goodbye to the Universal Media Discs favoured by the PSP; the Vita uses game cards and downloads.

This instantly makes the games more compact to carry around with you.

The touchscreen used for controlling gameplay so well also makes it easier to scroll through the different screens.

Speaking of games, the launch line-up isn’t too shabby either. There’s a wide range of them, covering all Sony’s bases, from racing games to adventure titles.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss puts Drakeon the smaller screen but the game looks – and plays – almost as well as its PS3 counterpart. Modnation Racers also debuts on the Vita.

There are some games with younger players in mind too, from Little Deviants, which puts you in charge of saving the Deviants from the Botz through the course of a number of mini games, and Ben 10 Galactic Racing. There’s also a strong line up of third-party games including Fifa Football 12.

Because Vita is more than just about games. It’s also aiming to ingratiate itself into your social life. So not only do you have extras like Near, which finds 10 PS Vita’s close by and lets you know if they are friends, strangers or potential opponents, it also has a web browser and apps for Twitter and Facebook. You have Skype for video calling, or Netflix to stream movies and TV shows to keep you occupied on long journeys – provided you have internet access, of course.

There are one or two drawbacks, however, the most notable being the requirement for a memory card.

Forget about using any of your existing memory cards though; Sony has come up with a proprietary format for the Vita.

The battery isn’t removable either, although that’s becoming more standard these days with everything from phones to tablets all using built-in batteries.

IRISH LAUNCH SONY STRATEGY

THE ECONOMIC environment has changed utterly since Sony's last major console launch.

Not only do consumers have less money to spend, particularly on more frivolous items, but the country is also seeing a rise in emigration, particularly among young people. It's given Sony Computer Entertainment Ireland's managing director, Niall O'Hanrahan, something to think about.

"My biggest fear is that my target market is emigrating," he says.

Playstation Vita is targeted at the core gamer market; initially 18- to 35-year-olds, the age group leaving Ireland in search of work.

Despite this, O'Hanrahan is pleased with pre-orders for the device, and is confident Vita will be able to hold its own against the competition from tablets and smartphones.

"Because Vita is very much a social gaming device, a lot of people make comparisons between tablets and smartphones. This is not a smartphone, this is not competing in the smartphone area, this is not competing in the tablet area. This is about full-on, proper, true gaming experiences on the go," says O'Hanrahan.

"The technology into tablets and the rest don't allow for the full-on gaming experience that Vita will allow. Vita has been built to play games, and it does lots of other things but first and foremost it's about gaming, and very much social gaming."

O'Hanrahan isn't concerned about the timing of the February launch of the device. Despite missing the crucial holiday season in Europe, North America and Australia, he says it is the perfect time for Vita to make its debut.

"Retailers are delighted because traditionally February would be a very quiet month, so this will stimulate traffic instore and stimulate sales and revenue, which everybody desperately needs at this point in time," he said.

"We launch in February; we'll have our big day-one and it will tail off. This is what we always see with hardware launch.

"But then very quickly after that comes Easter, and after that we have confirmations and communions. That's where we start to broaden it to a wider audience. So the initial target will be the 18- to 35-year-olds, but then we come into summer time, which is when people go on holidays and look at portable devices."