Hey, Sony. Hi. Jason here. I’ve got an idea that will make you guys millions. “Millions, you say?” Yes. Millions.
See, what I’ve learned over the past few months is that the Vita, while powerful, is most useful not as a substitute for what I can play on my console, but as a portable emulator of PS1 and PSP games. I can use it to revisit familiar classics or check out old games that I missed back in the day. Xenogears on the go!
I imagine that, as time goes on and more of our old consoles are shelved or discarded, this ability to access games from the PS1 (and PS2, and PS3, and so forth) on next-gen hardware will be the only way to really preserve gaming’s history. And it’s a history that deserves to be preserved.
So here’s what I propose, Sony. A way to make your hardware necessary to anyone who wants to revisit their past. Netflix for video games.
We pay a fixed sum — let’s say, $US40/month. In exchange, we have access to your entire back-catalog of PS1, PS2, and PS3 games, to stream and play any time on PS4 and Vita. We could either download games to our systems — maybe a fixed number per month — or stream them using your fancy new Gaikai tech.
Granted, you probably won’t be able to get the licensing for every single third-party game — I’ve heard some insane stories about Japanese games where nobody actually knows who owns the rights anymore — but as long as you keep a healthy library and update it as much as possible, people will be happy to keep paying. I sure will.
And maybe you want to resell some old games with shiny new PS4 packaging, like you did with collections like God of War and Ico/Shadow of the Colossus for this generation. That’s fine. Just don’t put those games in the library.
Millions, Sony. Millions.
Comments
15 responses to “One Thing Sony Can Do To Make The Vita And PS4 Must-Buys”
Seconded… I would love to stream Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to my Vita. Granted, I would prefer to download it to the hardware and actually have it run natively, but if they are going the Cloud route, we will take what we can get!..
Oh man, San Andreas on a vita! Would definately sway me into getting one.
GaiKai?
It’s already planned yeah?
No?
That’s what I thought the plan was too but not sure if you’ll still have to pay per game or per month to use Gaikai.
I’m like you though Jason, I brought a second hand PSP because I’m not interested in new Vita games and really only wanted them for PSone games and that’s all I use it for. If I want to play a new game that will engage me, I’d want to see it on a console or PC, not on a handheld. Just something about the experience, it doesn’t bring that level of engagement for me that console/PC gaming does and that’s why I won’t buy a Vita
I am obsessed with my Vita. I spend about an hour and a half on public transport everyday and share my TV so…
everyone has different circumstances. A longer commute would probably encourage me to buy a Vita or 3ds but as it is I have a 15 minute bus ride to work so there’s not the time to engage a game fully before having to turn it off. When I do get home I either go on the PS3 or PC. For me it’s the perception of what’s the point of a handheld device to use at home when you have a console or PC? I suspect a lot of people also feel that way hence why the Vita never really took off and it took a fair while for the 3DS to sell
that’s it
Kind of like Marvel Unlimited, everyone’s doing it nowadays.
I’d like some new, engrosing, AAA-like titles on Vita. That’d make me buy one.
at that price, i think many people would pass. myself included. closer to the netflix pricing structure, and we might just have a deal.
i am really interested to see what they do with this though. they could make it quite epic.
At $40/month they would want to be giving Vita’s away for free
Can we start a petition on this, I know I’d buy a Vita just so I can play all the classic PS2 games I used to own before I regrettably traded them in for my PS3 and 4 games
Did anybody else just here a voice in their head say:
Why make Millions when we could make….. BILLIONS!
It would definitely interest me. I’d be able to find some of the more obscure stuff, and it might even help them with getting people to pay a little more to get to download it. Everyone wins. I know I would love a great version of some of the early PS1 games I loved, like Die Hard Trilogy.
Sony can also push for more interesting smart screen apps, having discrete processing power on the remote-play device itself.
For instance when you need to enter that download code It should have option of entering it through the Vita.
May be managing background downloads on the PS4 or dedicated game maps manuals etc through the Vita would be great.
In essence the tighter the integration between the two the better, but it needs a true hit on it’s own like the ones now being delivered through the PS3. It needs to be an exclusive, it can’t be a niche game like something media molecule brought. I’m thinking Mass Effect\MGS4 like [system seller].
And I truly hope remote-play works by taking over the WiFi infrastructure seamlessly like the Wii U, rather than having to be on the same WiFi network and connect separately and all that nonsense, If at this point that’s technically feasible.