Roundtable: Saving PlayStation Vita

Will Sony's portable meet an untimely death? The GamesIndustry International staff looks at revitalizing the Vita.

[Sinner101GR]

unpossible. (not trolling)

[Army_of_Darkness]

$200.
Exclusive JRPGS.
Will buy.

[GribbleGrunger]

There is a far more interesting article on the front page

[donniebaseball]

Here's to hoping the Vita does better, because if it doesn't third-party support will dry up and then the platform will really dry up.

[Anon1974]

I agree. The Vita could certainly be doing better and 3rd party support is understandably turning towards smartphones from the 3DS and Vita, but you know what I find a bit interesting and is completely overlooked? Aside from the fact that everyone says Vita sales are bad but no one will say what they should be selling in today's market.

Consumers are spending more on the Vita than the 3DS.

Think about it. Nintendo said the 3DS moved 1.1 million units from Jan-Mar and something like 1.8 million between Apr-Jun. If we average out the monthly data for that first quarter and approximate for March, than from March to Jun the 3DS has moved about 2.16 million units at $169 a pop, so consumers have spent roughly 365 million on the 3DS.

We know the Vita hit 2.2 million at the end of Jun, but other than that we don't know how it did in Japan before it's launch worldwide at the end of Feb. Sony says they shipped 500 million in Japan, but who knows what was sold during that period. Some estimate somewhere between 350,000 to 400,000. But just for the sake of argument, let's say it was half a million before the worldwide launch at the end of Feb.

So if the Vita sold 1.7 million units from it's worldwide launch until the end of Jun, at $249 each that means consumers spent approx 423 million on the Vita.

So consumers are spending at least as much, if not more on the Vita than they are the 3DS, and yet we're lead to believe that the 3DS is ok but the Vita is somehow a pariah beyond redemption. People are always saying how the Vita's price is holding it back. How do they figure when consumers are clearly speaking with their wallets, and seem willing to spend more on the Vita?

And I can't stand the disingenuous Dreamcast comparisons. If we're talking about the sales of the Honda Civic, and I were to spout off with "Yes, but it's not selling nearly what the failed Jango forklifts were selling in 1976 in their first year," people would rightly look at me as a nutter, wouldn't they?

Consoles are a different market altogether. It's not 1998 anymore. We're in the midst of the greatest economic downturn in a generation. Previous mobile gens never had to contend with the something like half a billion smartphones/tablets on the market. There's just so many things wrong with the Dreamcast comparison it should make any thinking gamer shake their head in a mix of amusement and disbelief.

If you're going to make a comparison despite the fact that we're currently in a mobile device market the likes of which we've never seen, at least look at other mobile devices like the DS, GBA, 3DS, PSP, etc - and then be honest enough to admit how different a battle the 3DS and Vita are facing compared to other mobile device gens.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I just can't get over how poorly researched and thought out gaming articles are these days.

[jetpacksheep]

This Christmas period should help out the Vita a lot. You have AC:Liberation and Call of Duty: BOD that are bound to attract different users and sell well under the branding, combine it with Xmas slowly approaching and more hardware will be flying off the shelf too.

[DivineAssault]

Vita is fine.. Slow n steady 10k systems in each region monthly until the price drop nx yr.. After that, it will no doubt spike up in sales... It has decent (tho cld b btr) support at the moment.. All i can say is i know things will only get better for the thing.. Its a sexy machine & by far the best handheld ever made.. Nothing is perfect but this is the best gaming mobil device anyone could have...

Anyway, ill be helping em get saved by buying up more games as they continue getting pumped out every week.. I can honestly say that i enjoy getting games on my vita more than getting them on my consoles.. Pick up n play anywhere w trophies & online makes it awesome...

[ronin4life]

Sony isn't in the same position they were in when their slow and steady approach actually worked .. if it isn't what helped put them where they are in the first place.

I wouldn't cry doomed just yet or anything, but that doesn't mean things don't look bad.

[3-4-5]

as a 3DS owner I want the Vita to do awesome. If it keeps doing bad, then Nintendo doesn't have any competition and has no reason to drop prices or try harder with their games.

It could effect the quality of games Nintendo puts out over the long run because they have nobody behind them fighting for the starting spot to put some pressure on them.

I hope they both do well in the long run. And everybody else should do.

People who want Sony or Nintendo to Fail are weirdly perverted in their life views.

How could you want another human or group of humans to suffer or do bad ?

How evil and sadistic.

[stage88]

It doesn't need saving.

Next.

[yesmynameissumo]

It doesn't need saving. It needs time.

[CommonSenseGamer]

Wanting the Vita to succeed wont make it so, Sony has to widen its appeal. A price drop will help, so will more games but I don't know if that's enough. It simply has no momentum, not even with the release of LBP.

[RubyToTheMax]

I like all the press about the PSVita. Makes me proud to own one.

[shammgod]

Ragnarok f***in Odyssey!!!

[medziarz]

CoD:BOD AC3:L NFS:MW

with this triple-A trio the Vita is going to rock;
add to that the excellent LBP:V and U:GA,
the serviceable annual sports: Madden, FIFA and MLB:TS,
the AAA fighters: MK, MvC, SFxT,
the AAA JRPGS: P4:G, Ragnarok,
the other Sony franchises: R:BS, MNR, W2048,
the exclusive games: Escape plan, Gravity Rush, Soul Sacrifice,
many other games, bigger and smaller,
and finally the PSP library as well as PS1 classics and even minis,

and we get the most COMPLETE lineup for the first year of a console EVER,

but that want stop the ANTY SONY LOOM, GLOOM, and BASHING thats been going on every year for the last 6 years

[forestfrog]

I'm a frog