DoA?

In a world of corporate spin and carefully worded PR speak, it's rare to hear a developer truly speak what he or she feels. That's not the case with Lyle Hall and Matthew Seymour of UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System developer Heavy Iron Studio though, as they recently let fly with a few jabs at Sony's upcoming super-portable.

Hall believes there are lessons to be learnt from the 3DS's slow sales so far, saying:

If people aren't willing to pay $249 for a Nintendo 3DS why would they pay $299 for Vita? People don't want to carry more than one thing in their pocket, that’s why Android and iPhone have done so well, they are the devices of choice, they offers multiple functions outside of gaming

Just as Vita does, of course. It was Seymour who really spoke out about the machine's chances at launch though:

With all due respects to Sony and Vita, it's a car wreck. And how about Xperia Play? I'd love to pull up the numbers on that.

Of course, Xperia Play hasn't received anywhere near the marketing that Vita undoubtedly will, but has the tide shifted too far one way: do consumers want a machine that's predominantly gaming or a useful device that offers gaming on the side?

We want to know your thoughts, so let 'em loose in the comments below.

[source gamesindustry.biz]