Ubisoft: ‘It’s Too Early to Say Vita Won’t Be a Success’

IGN:

Ubisoft has faith in PlayStation Vita. After the announcement of Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation last week at E3, we sat down with Ubisoft senior vice president of sales and marketing Tony Key to find out why the company is still interested in supporting Sony’s handheld despite its disappointing sales.

[dangert12]

I have this huge feeling...vita will explode when the price drops lower say around 25% less then It Is now...

[Emilio_Estevez]

That and COD + AC exclusive spinoffs will really help it.

[TheFirstClassic]

Yeah I think both of those games will help push sales. I really want to see ghost recon on the vita, or else some other tactical shooter. Something like fb2, with multiple objectives, big maps, and plenty of choice and strategy.

[raytraceme]

I am really surprised by ubisoft lately. They have been showing off new ip's and are being pretty supportive of new consoles like vita and the wii u. Keep up the good work (and get that drm off the pc)!!!!!

[fei-hung]

@cpayne93

I take it you have not played Unit13?

Highly underrated and largely overlooked.

I bought the game on release and only started playing it yesterday. Boy this game is good. Tactical shooter with very good stealth elements.

It may not have multiplayer but it does have a co-op mode which is pretty good.

To make up for lack of MP, they have put 2 things in which I find awesome:

1) daily missions that challange leaderboards and there is constant feedback and info.

2) How well the game is connected to other gamers including sp levels.

I might get a lot of flack for this but I am enjoying Unit13 way more than I enjoyed Uncharted GA!

[guitarded77]

I just ordered mine last night due to the $50 credit amazon is giving with the system. So basically the system is $200 with the credit and that was the motivating factor for me to finally purchase. The only problem I have now is there isn't a huge catalog of Vita games yet. When CoD, Assassin's Creed, Killzone, LBP, Final Fantasy, etc, etc, etc come out for the system, they will start moving them. But I'm mostly interested in new IPs. Can't wait to get the damn thing in the mail this Friday.

[TheFirstClassic]

@fei-hung I don't have a vita yet, so no. But I've watched gameplay, and I am definitely certain I will get that game. It might have had points knocked down for lack of competitive mp and story, but it still looks pretty awesome for what it is. I just forgot about it for a while, but I still had it in the back of my head to get it once I get my vita.

[allyc4t]

I believe a pricedrop is all the Vita needs right now to push it over the edge. $250+Memory Card+ Games is a little steep right now.

[Shadow Flare]

I seem to recall the 3DS doing very poorly at launch. So they had to slash it's price. Vita is a good product. It will pick up once more games are out

[live2play]

you recall incorrectly

it was the media and peoples sheep mind that exaggerated the whole thing

3ds was their fastest selling hardware

but it wasnt selling enough for NINTENDOS OWN HIGH GOALS

but the media and sheep minds such as yours spun it and it just snowballed from there

[live2play]

and since nintendo did not have games coming out soon to drive sales

they slashed the price to gain momentum

if both vita and 3ds had the 250 price BUT ALSO HAD GAMES
they wpuld have no problem selling

[live2play]

i know i know
its hard for your sheep mind to comprehend

afterall you were spoon-fed all this doom talk

but you never really bothered to check your facts

nintendo SET THEIR OWN HIGH GOALS

they wanted to meet them

3ds wasnt selling poorly

IT WASNT SELLING ENOUGH FOR NINTENDOS OWN GOALS

[FriedGoat]

As a 3ds owner from launch I can tell you the first six months were DIRE. The games were poop the system software was worse ands I deeply regretted buying it. The vita on the other hand I haven't put down!

[live2play]

lack of games plain and simple

you have games people want

they will pay the price

if you dont, then they dont

[kingdavid]

@2CaCL

Companies dont price drop after 6 months to attain their "own high goals".

If the 3ds was making enough profit, they would not have done it. Simple.

[solidjun5]

"but the media and sheep minds such as yours spun it and it just snowballed from there "

funny. A sheep calling people sheep.

[a_bro]

I expect an overload of Vita Games at TGS, just because Japan is a mobile centric country.

[CommonSenseGamer]

It wont be a success unless something changes. I'm holding off but keen to get one if things start to pick up.

[SSKILLZ]

cod for the vita with zombie mode and monster hunter

Bang ! you got sales in the U.S and Japan.

[Shaalashaska]

PS Vita will do good regardless of what anyone says.
Ubi needs to show us a gameplay walkthrough of AC3 Liberation!

[etownthree]

I will end up getting one... But after a year when some better games come out.

And that inevitable price drop.

[AznGaara]

Just downloaded the game I bought the Vita for (Gravity Rush) and I'm not regretting it one bit. The best gaming experience aside from Journey and Mass Effect 3 I've had all year. If they keep pumping out unique tittles like this and make sure companies support their games with a spaced out dlc plan, like Escape Plan, the system will be fine. Looking forward to ACL in the fall.

[SonyStyled]

is anyone else a future vita owner? if so how come you havent picked one up yet? im curious as to why a large audience has skipped the vita thus far. i myself am a future vita owner. just havent bought one yet because im too happy with my PS3 so i have no feeling like im being left out or missing something if that makes any sense. ill probably pick one up around the holidays for myself

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

I haven't bought one yet mainly because of the price. If there were must have games on the Vita that appealed to me I would be tempted to get it at it's current price though. As of now I'm mainly just waiting for a price drop.

[DigitalAnalog]

It's the games. In fact, now that Gravity Rush is released I plan on picking up a Vita today. Why didn't I get it with U:GA and other fun games? Because I want VITA games and not just simple console experience, I want my mobile experience to be different from the PS3, hence why my PSP is full of party games, monster hunters and patapon.

Ah Patapon, when will thou be released on VITA?

[MasterCornholio]

Didn't you know that gravity rush was originally a PS3 game? If what you want are small bite sized games in my opinion it's better to stick with your smartphone because handhelds are aiming to provide a console quality experience on the go.

Edit: By Vita games you mean games that take advantage of the systems unique features (for a portable handheld) like games like Mutant Blobs which was an extremely fun game not possible on the PS3 due to the touch screen controls or escape plan is another one (even though it could work on an smartphone device.

XperiaRay

[DigitalAnalog]

You explained it pretty much with your "edit:" statement.

[swansong]

I have been enjoying my Vita since launch. I feel it was worth every penny of the $350 I invested (32gig card). I will say this though, If they dropped it to $199.99 and included a 8gb card, the Vita would sell very well. I would probably invest in another one for my kids. As is though still a worth while investment and Gravity Rush is really cool. Also enjoying Mortal Kombat and Resistance:burning skies. I can't wait for the new Lego Batman too.

[Fullmetalevolust]

I picked a psvita up for a really good deal, and I am loving Gravity Rush so far.
It's just great hardware, great interface, it handles great. I can see people's reluctance to buy until their favorite games come out. I bought mine cause I couldn't pass on the amazing deal and I haven't regretted my purchase one bit.

[SpinalRemains138]

That's just it! No one who has purchased it is regretting it. All the hate is coming from people who don't have one. How can you mock something you aren't familiar with?

[josephayal]

Sony miss the Christmas rush of 2011. Which will sell more on Christmas season, ANYWAY...I think with Christmas boost and black friday 2012 the PS VITA has a high chance of selling 10 million Units WW without any Problems(specially the AC White Bundle)

[fei-hung]

Xmas and Black Friday will be crazy if Sony markets a COD bundle at a decent price in Americas and Europe.

In Japan, they need to bundle it with Monster Hunter at a decent price.

If they get COD marketing right, they might sell shit lotsa Vitas, but more so, they will put Nintendo in a very awkward position with the 3ds.

[ARC3582]

If the Vita Call of duty has an even moderately entertaining multiplayer it'll be aaaaall the boost it needs in America and Europe, and as soon as a new Monster Hunter releases for it it'll explode in Asia. Wait till all the big games hit the vita, then decide if it's a failure...

[Skateboard]

I'm loving Gravity Rush. It is a must buy if you have a Vita.

[BlaqMagiq24]

Gravity Rush was THE reason I bought a Vita. For any future Vita owners or anyone who hasn't bought Gravity Rush yet (or both), what the hell you waitin for? Go buy these now!

[jek7]

yes i just played it and it is awesome!

[BlaqMagiq24]

It sure is. I just can't stop playin! (Except when I have to go to work lol)

[miyamoto]

“We’re happy to support any cool new hardware system out there. Assassin’s Creed is exactly the type of brand that needs to go on there because we need to put our best stuff on that system.”

Well said Uber Ubisoft

[jek7]

wow ubisoft is one cool company

[SpinalRemains138]

Of course it's too early. The device has been available for 3.5 months and has sold over 2 million I believe. Why all the hate?

I guess the guys who can only dance in front of a Kamera need to do something....

[Ascalon94]

I finally picked up a Vita from Target. Got a 10% bonus from my friend who is an employee and the $50 giftcard that also gave me spending money for it. As of right now I only own MLB the show, but I have to say this system is amazing. Imagine a Iphone x PS3 in the shape of a PSP.

[Xof]

Vita is great. Of course it doesn't look good now. Japanese consoles NEVER look good in the first year because most of their games are, you know, Japanese, and can take a year or more to get released outside of Japan.

I mean, good God, just look at where the 3DS, or PSP, or DS was in their respective first years. Or the Wii. Or the PS3. Or the PS2.

This is most assuredly NOT rocket science, folks.

[Hicken]

Gravity Rush= excellent. I've actually only got two retail Vita games, but they're full of content. Add P3P to that, and it's more than enough for me. Little stuff like Trials of Montezuma, plus apps like nico nico and facebook, and I'm VERY satisfied with my Vita.

Hearing companies like Ubisoft say they'll support this great handheld is pretty promising.