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Sony defends Vita OLED to LCD switch: differences are 'relatively imperceptible'
Though the screen in the Vita Slim is LCD, it will not feature a drastic decline in picture quality from the undeniably rich and vibrant OLED screen found in the original Vita, according to Sony UK managing director Fergal Gara. "When we introduced Vita with the OLED screen that was considered - and it was - the pinnacle of screen technology," Gara told VG247. "It was a beautiful screen and LCD at the time would have felt like a compromise." "What's happened in the interim is LCD screen technology has improved significantly," he added. "Whilst some think there's a subtle difference between the two, we think it's relatively imperceptible." Gara then goes on to explain that the new LCD screen allows Sony to build a smaller, lighter Vita while maintaining its processing power and battery life - a feat not possible with the attractive, but more power-hungry OLED display. Gara echoed these sentiments in an interview with Eurogamer. "[The LCD screen is] giving bigger advantages than disadvantages - it's helping with the battery life, with the thickness. We think they are bigger wins than any subtle - if any - reduction in visual quality." As we reported earlier today, the Vita Slim is slated for release in the UK on February 7. The updated handheld has been available in Japan since October, but there is no word yet on when or if it will make its way to North America.
Sony UK has 'pool of stock' to deal with 'dead on arrival' PS4s
Sony UK has prepared for any malfunctioning PS4 consoles, including the dreaded "blinking blue light" error. PlayStation UK Managing Director Fergal Gara told Eurogamer Sony has a stock of PS4s ready to deal with any consoles that are "dead on arrival." "One thing we've done within our stock allocation is make sure we've got a pool of stock to deal with any 'dead on arrival' issues," Gara said. "It's not a vast volume, because there's no evidence to suggest we need a vast volume to deal with that. But our consumer services helpline is there to support gamers and solve any problems that do emerge." When the PS4 launched in North America on November 15, reports of isolated issues started to surface. Now, with the PS4 enjoying the most successful launch week in UK video game history, Sony says the roll-out has benefitted from the extra time between regional launches. "[There has been] no major panic or changes required, but little bits of fine-tuning, not just on our side but also on the publishers' side," Gara said. "So, some small little glitches on some games that can be ironed out, patched and tweaked before it comes into Europe." Gara concluded, "the great news is there isn't anything serious."
Mega Pack, Remote Play boost Vita momentum in UK
Sales of the Vita handheld increased by more than 100 percent in the UK over the summer, leaving Sony feeling optimistic for the portable's future. "Vita had a good summer, the Mega Pack is one of the things that has boosted performance by more than 100 per cent," said PlayStation UK managing director Fergal Gara . "It's now in growth year-on-year. And you've seen several pieces of news at Gamescom which will only help. So that means we can feel optimistic." As Gara mentioned, Sony attributes much of this success to the release of the Mega Pack, a collection of 10 Vita games installed on a single 8GB memory card which has a retail price of £35 ($54.57). The Mega Pack is also available as a pack-in game with certain Vita systems for £170 ($265.06). Both the bundle and the standalone game made their retail debut on June 21. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president and CEO Jim Ryan also believes the Remote Play functionality of the PlayStation 4 will provide a boost to the handheld's sales. "The ability to play all 32 PS4 launch titles using Remote Play does a lot for the Vita catalogue," said Ryan.
Sony UK boss: What PS4 does is more important than how it looks
When Sony revealed the PlayStation 4, it didn't reveal the PlayStation 4 – at least not physically. Sony didn't show off the actual PS4 hardware, aside from the DualShock 4 controller and a revamped PSEye, and a few viewers considered this a cop-out. There was "a bit of cynism" from fans following the conference, even though Sony presented more important things for a next-gen system, PlayStation UK managing director Fergal Gara told Video Gamer."It's much more important to see what the damn thing does," Gara said. "The shiniest piece of black, green or purple plastic ever, you know, whatever, so what? It's not the most important thing."After all, "a box is a box," as Gara puts it. However, if the PlayStation 4 is striped in shades of metallic black, green and purple, it could very well matter. Good luck making that color scheme work in any living room.
Sony would consider bundling Vita with PS3
While it hasn't confirmed any concrete plans to do so, Sony would at least entertain the idea of bundling the PlayStation Vita together with the PlayStation 3. Sony would "have nothing against [a bundle] whatsoever," Fergal Gara, managing director of PlayStation UK recently told CVG. Fergal added that it could conceivably happen as early as this Christmas, if Sony wanted.Such a bundle would be a natural candidate for games that feature crossplay functionality, he said, and could also include PlayStation Plus, which now functions across both devices. With Sony trying very hard to push the interconnectivity between Vita and PS3, a bundle would certainly make sense, and it sounds like Sony (at least in the UK) isn't opposed to the idea.Should the concept come to fruition, the only question is whether or not consumers feel the same way.
Sony UK: Vita price cut timing 'still under discussion,' not this year
Leading into a holiday season against an increasingly successful 3DS and even a new iPhone, Sony still isn't considering cutting the price of the PS Vita. PlayStation UK managing director Fergal Gara told Eurogamer that while Sony is considering a price cut, it won't happen until next year at the earliest."We always aim to establish price cuts," he said. "So the question is not so much if, but when." Rather than drop the price, Sony is opting for bundles in the UK, "for example wi-fi Vita plus LittleBigPlanet at the £200 price point. There's the wi-fi product again plus FIFA 13 plus Uncharted Golden Abyss plus LittleBigPlanet at not much above the £200 price point."Timing on an official price cut, and not just an effective one that throws more things into the box, is "still under discussion," Gara said. According to statements made by Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida at Gamescom, Sony is working on reducing the cost to produce the Vita, and will only drop the price once that is achieved.
Sony: Retail still important in wake of Gaikai purchase
While Sony has made a substantial investment in the Gaikai game streaming service – to the tune of $380 million – the company is still committed to retail, Sony UK's Fergal Gara told MCV. Fergal noted that UK retail is undergoing "a bit of a readjustment," referring to the trouble that retailers like GAME have suffered recently.Still, despite the issues being faced at retail, Sony plans to continue leveraging brick-and-mortar – the company will use retail to demonstrate Wonderbook, for example. He added that he hopes retailers, and not just specialist retailers, will stay committed to stocking games as well, especially considering that the next generation of gaming hardware is right around the corner.Of course, Sony is intent on creating a new cloud service, so it will be interesting to see how the company's next offering will fit into the retail structure. One example to follow might be that of GameStop, which makes a substantial chunk of change selling redemption tokens for digital goods at its many retail stores.
Sony VP in UK and Ireland talks Vita pricing, says bigger memory cards on the way
Sony's Vice President and Managing Director from the UK and Ireland, Fergal Gara, talked with Eurogamer at the PS Vita launch last night in London, and said there's a lot more in store for the new handheld console. The current pricing and memory concerns are the results of "early days."On price, for example, Gara says that the system is priced as low as Sony could get it on launch day, "not a lot above an iPod and a hell of a long way below a good tablet." Given the hardware included, Gara says Sony "priced it as attractively as we could afford to, frankly," with an eye toward creating a lasting product over the next few years.Gara also admitted memory is a concern, with hefty downloadable games filling memory cards up quickly. Having learned from the Japanese Vita release, he says, Sony is already securing memory, chips and deals to release bigger cards in the UK, and presumably in North America as well.
