PS3 and Vita Combo a Possibility

Would a PS3 / PS Vita bundle be enough to pick up lagging PS3 sales at the tail-end of this generation and lay the groundwork for a firm PS4 release? The question is not out of the realm of possibility. PlayStation UK boss Fergal Gara told CVG as much an a recent interview, and I don't think Sony is currently in a position to deny a “try anything” tactic to get themselves back to the forefront.

It's no secret that Sony, as iconic as the brand is, has seen its sales straddling behind that of the Xbox 360. And with the upcoming release of the Wii U on the way it's not hard to see their position becoming ever more tenuous. Ben Kuchera of Penny Arcade recently laid out Sony's problems in a piece here, so I won't go through them in detail if only to say that Sony seems to be the captain of a battleship that is seemingly out of ammo and in dire need of some repairs at dry dock if they they have any hope of taking over any more territory in the next few years.

"We'd have nothing against that whatsoever," Gara told CVG of the bundle possibility, "And it's not out of the question that we would do that this Christmas if we wanted to.”

"We put together packages for retail, and there's no reason why we shouldn't create a 'Vita plus PS3' bundle, which could feature games that use cross-play, as well as include a PlayStation Plus subscription that both devices could use."

It's certainly a good idea. The cross play capabilities between the Vita and the PS3 are a great advancement in handheld gaming, and Sony's new strategy to give you the Vita version of a game for free if you buy the PS3 version -something they call Cross Buy- is a fantastic way to promote this ideal. It also strikes at the very heart of what Nintendo is trying to do with the Wii U, although Nintendo does it in a much more concise -and possibly cost effective- way.

The one wrinkle in this strategy? At this point in the generation (the end) I can't think of anyone who would now be willing to shell out the money for a PS3 with the new console announcements right around the corner. The fact of the matter is, if you've already waited this long to get one...you're far less likely to jump on the bandwagon now.