Vita sellthrough "a marathon, not a sprint", says Koller

SCE America vice president of handhelds John Koller believes the Vita is well-positioned to make an impact over the lucrative holiday season and beyond.

"As we've said multiple times, it's a marathon, not a sprint. And it's certainly going to be a marathon for Vita," Koller told GamesIndustry in an interview on PlayStation's positioning this holiday season.

"It's going to be a very good, solid platform for us, one that performs very well."

"I think we've got a good holiday in front of us," he added. "We're confident in our position for the holidays."

Elsewhere in the interview, Koller said that "content drives hardware, that content;s king" and said he believes this season's releases will help push Vita ownership up.

"If you look at a game like Assassin's Creed: Liberation that's coming, it's a fantastic game. Call of Duty is going to be a very strong game, particularly multi-player is going to be fantastic. It's something you don't see on a dedicated handheld device or a mobile device, that console quality gaming opportunity. So we're big believers in Vita this holiday and beyond," he said.

"When you talk to retailers or publishers, they are equally looking forward to this holiday for Vita because they're saying, 'This is the time. This is what we've matched our marketing resources for and this is what we've kind of had in our back pocket from a content standpoint for some time.'

"And it's not just those two games. If you look at PlayStation All-Stars and Need for Speed and some of these other great games that are going to be launching, there is good content for both owners and intenders alike."

Koller acknowledged that Vita owners are hungry for big franchises and more games, and said that's why Sony pushed deals with Ubisoft and Activision - among other, unrevealed bargains.

"We're working with a number of publishers next year to try to get the best content and the best franchises so that once you get into a Call of Duty or an Assassin's Creed on Vita, you've got a number of great titles to follow the next year," he teased.

"It's really a promise. It's a promise you make to the gamer saying, 'Look, we love that you've come in through this path. We've got a lot more for you.'"

Thanks, Gamespot.