Despite initial reactions from analysts that Sony's new handheld PlayStation Vita is a bit pricey, from $249 for the Wi-Fi version to $299 for the 3G version, the Japanese firm is optimistic that the product will deliver huge profits over the next three years.

Part of that assumption is hinged on the notion that Sony's PlayStation Network currently enjoys the patronage of over 50 million users, pointing to the possibility that bulk of these gamers will grab a piece of the new portable console, which the company said will be rolled out in stages beginning by end of this year.

Experts said that Sony is banking on the new PS Vita for recovery of the losses it incurred when the PlayStation 3 was released to the market five years ago, which according to a Reuters report led to some financial bleeding for the firm.

Aside from that, Sony counted some more years before the game console registered profitability but experts are flagging a different scenario for the PS Vita, which is being touted to break the sales figures of the PS3, and a lot quicker.

While Sony has emphasised that the handheld, formerly dubbed by the company as NGP, will not function as a smartphone, Jay Defibaugh of MF Global told Reuters that the PS Vita will erase the presence of PlayStation from the market, outselling it first and possibly nudging it to extinction.

All these because, as Defibaugh stressed, "the handheld market has more exposure to the increasing popularity of smartphone-based gaming."

With that positive outlook, Sony may well be on its way for a hit this time after years of languishing and catching up on the success of its main rival Nintendo and with the emergence of smartphones and other devices as viable gaming platforms.

This should also explain why the PS Vita carries a sticker price that according to many in the gaming community was very expensive but seen by analysts as surefire way for Sony to recoup its losses on the strings of misses it endured for years.