What The PS Vita Needs To Survive

Techologie- Sony’s PS Vita handheld gaming system has had its fair share of scrutiny, both before release and post release. Being a huge believer in the handheld, both pre-release and post-release, I’ll be damned if I dismiss the PS Vita this early in its lifecycle.

[Embeepee]

I don't think the PS Vita can survive in today's market tbh. Consumers aren't interested in playing in-depth games like Uncharted on the go; they'd much rather simple smartphone apps (which are 50x cheaper too!). I wouldn't be surprised if Sony discontinued the Vita by January 2014, which is a shame because it's a great piece of hardware.

[ritsuka666]

I agree..

Vita has mediocre launch lineup to interest me but the fact remains that at this point in time, I’d be a fool to buy one at the current price point coupled with the dreadfully lacklustre software selection on the shelves.

[tehpees3]

It is looking hard for Vita though it isn't doomed yet. Perhaps people are just against Sony's decisions about the memory cards or something.

Selling Vita on a "console quality" handheld isn't the right kind of tactic this time. During the DS era PSP was the only handheld capable of that but 3DS is capable of everything PSP had. It can have console quality games as well as the quirky handheld games DS was known for.

[medziarz]

There's no future for the Wii U, it's dead on arrival, its traditional market has now been dominated by PS3 and 360s, the price is high and additional expensive storage is needed.
It's very tough for the consumer to justify a new system that's going to cost him around $400, and $60 for each game, when there are cheaper PS3s with the same functionality and hundreds of stellar games for 10, 20 dollars and whole series for $40.

NOW REPLACE THE WORD
Wii U with PS Vita
PS3 with smartphone
and 360 with tablet
BIASED HATER JOURNOS and people that already belive their propaganda ! ! !

[tubers]

or buy the cheaper 3DS with similar entertainment values.

[Summons75]

I disagree a lot of core gamers hate cell phone games because of the lack of depth to them. A game like angry birds is amusing for 5 minutes where uncharted can be played for hours. The vita is perfect on the go gaming just like the ds except Sony is once gain failing to do what the ds is great at, having dedicated ips only for the vita. People want to buy a ds because its the only place to play Pokemon. Vita has one or two hardly known ips and he rest are spin offs, just like the psp.

[andibandit]

I think playing UC in the peace and comfort of your own home is a whole diffrent experience than playing it on the go. I'd rather just wait than pull out my Vita in the train/bus/car, cause my focus would keep getting interrupted.

[dark-hollow]

I really seeing this generation of handhelds as the last one IF nothing major changed in the industry.

Yes I know that 3ds and vita games are leagues above smartphone games but the issue is, what's the real purpose of a handheld in the first place?

Its to provide entertainment on the go, people used to take their phone, a DS or PSP, a sometimes digital camera and a dedicated mp3 player for music.

All these stuff because phones alone weren't good enough and were only for texting and calling. Now smart phones have a vast library of phone cheap games, good cameras that rivals the point and shoot ones, a decent sound quality for music and everything in between. Now there is no reason to bring all these stuff with you like it used to be because the smartphone fill these roles, sure it may not have games as good as dedicated handhelds, or a camera comparable to a DSLR, or a sound quality on audiophiles level, but its "good enough" for the average cunsomer.

Honestly, how many 3ds, PS vitas you see in public compared to the ds and PSP days? The only explanation is Most people now buy those handhelds but play it in home, then why bother make them a handheld? Why not just release their games on a home console? Even if you intended to take those with you out, the battery on those systems is pathetic compared to the older handhelds, and you can't quite enjoy it on the go with such weak battery level.

[Knight_Crawler]

Sony should just give it the PSP Go fate and release the PSP 2 with a new relaunch.

I am not sure who decided that it would be a good idea to release a hand held device at that price and not many games but they need to get fired...this the PS3 all over again SMH.

[eferreira]

umm you know the ps3 sold over 70 mil consoles and that's a bad thing?

People said the ps3 was a failure and it still outsold the 360 with it's higher price point.

You can't judge a system that isn't even a year old.

[Embeepee]

@eferreire, the PS3 has SHIPPED 70m units. Shipped =/= sold. X360 has sold 70m and PS3 has sold 68.3m, so the X360 still leads by 1.7m. And that gap will probably be at 3m by January 2013 because the X360 sells better than the PS3 during the holidays (due to Xmas being a western tradition and the X360 being more successful in the US and UK).

But yeah, I agree that you can't judge a system that's only a year old.

[CommonSenseGamer]

@eferreira:
You can't compare the Vita story to the PS3 because unlike the PS3, which also happened to be the cheapest blu-ray player on the market for a while, there is no reason for anyone to buy a Vita if they have no interest in the games currently available for it. Its not like it features a rich app store, usable cam, good media support or cellphone features.

I'm a long time gamer but have not yet purchased a Vita due to a lack of games I'm interested in. Furthermore, its poor sales has me wondering if buying one would be a mistake as I'm unsure of its future.

[Blackcanary]

Well this Gamer is and i love my vita i play it on the train at work and on the bus and out about when i'm board uncharted was perfect when i went to Miami and Paris. And i know quite a handful of consumers that play in-depth games on there phones including RPG's so stop acting like you know what people want.

[JellyJelly]

If they were smart they would have made an Xperia Play 2 instead. A phone designed for gaming.

[caseh]

I would be inclined to agree except that the Xperia Play is built on Android and as such; MAME, Genesis, SNES, PSX etc emulators are free as are the roms/images if you know where to look.

No income from anything other than the hardware itself in an oversaturated mobile market. On top of that most games on Android are built for touchscreen.

http://www.techradar.com/ne...

Sony's mistake is they want to keep releasing classics for each system but instead of making an emulator so we can play the games we already own they keep releasing 'classics' thinking they will sell well, not the case.

[josephayal]

Resident evil 6

[GreenRanger]

It needs a big hug.

[Indo]

The price is what holding the Vita back. Ppl see the Vita and then see the PS3, which both are equally the same price. Which one would u buy? . A lot of ppl got iPhones and Androids which offer more so that they don't even bother seeing value investing into a Vita. And the games aren't that appealing either. Except a select few.

[bunfighterii]

Lower price, 3-4 true AAA system sellers done right, an 'App' store (harness its power for more than just games- it could easily handle a good web browser (Chrome), an email client etc. It needs more than just $45-$60 games coming out every 2 months.

[Hicken]

lmao at the first comments in here.

"...3DS with similar entertainment values.."
"...mediocre launch lineup... lacklustre software selection..."
"Consumers aren't interested in playing in-depth games..."

More amazing than the mentality displayed in these comments is the number of agrees they've gotten.

[tiffac008]

Sony needs to turn things around in Japan which is the biggest handheld gaming market but only if they stop supporting the PSP and have all the 3rd party developers make games for the Vita.

The games does not need to be exclusive it can be multiplat. New games are being released on the PSP rather than the Vita which is definitely hurting the sales of the newer device.

And I still believe that adding at least the smallest memory card for free with every Vita purchase can help. Making it a standard purchase will just look like a hidden cost in the eyes of the consumers.

[iHeartHelloKitty]

A 600$ phone is cheaper?? A 800$ iPad is cheaper?? Stupid boycotts and non gamers don't buy the PS Vita. I was much happier with my Vita than my 3DS since more games were released on Vita for me. Uncharted,Gravity Rush,Shinobido,Wipeout,Disgea, AssassinCreed,Persona4,PSallsta rs,Unit13,RagnarokOdessey, and more later...(bioshock,soulsacrific e,MonsterHunter,GodofWar). 3DS I had TalesofAbyss,ZeldaOoT3D,Splint erCell3D,SuperMario3DLand,Paper Mario,SuperSF4, and the Sims3...later after like 2 years Animal Crossing, Luigis Mansion,MonsterHunter3D. Notice I've played TalesAbyss on ps2, I've played Supersf4 on xbox360, I've played ZeldaOoT on 64, I've played Sim3 on 360, I've played MonsterHunter3 on Wii! Only new ones I played Paper Mario, SuperMario3D, and later Luigi mansion and Animal Crossing. So what's wrong with Vita?

[CommonSenseGamer]

Google Nexus 7" is cheaper. When used with a PS3 controller it provides a fantastic gaming (and all round) experience for a lower cost than the Vita.

[medziarz]

There's no future for the Wii U, it's dead on arrival, its traditional market has now been dominated by PS3 and 360s, the price is high and additional expensive storage is needed.
It's very tough for the consumer to justify a new system that's going to cost him around $400, and $60 for each game, when there are cheaper PS3s with the same functionality and hundreds of stellar games for 10, 20 dollars and whole series for $40.

NOW REPLACE THE WORD
Wii U with PS Vita
PS3 with smartphone
and 360 with tablet
BIASED HATER JOURNOS

[iHeartHelloKitty]

Why you mentioned Wii U? It's going to be ok. Relax.

[medziarz]

i'm exposing double standards and propaganda in the media

[CommonSenseGamer]

@medz:

Actually no, your just coming across as immature.

[medziarz]

I'm just showing how the journos manipulate people's opinions.

"a lie repeated 1000 times becomes the truth"
- Dr Joseph Goebbels, natzi propaganda minister

Depending on the agenda, they can make something into a new cool thing that's gonna change the way we game or a dead overpriced and gimicky relict by just replacing the names in repeated mantras