Why PlayStation Mobile Could Be The Killer Feature For Vita

One Hit Pixel: "A look at why dirt-cheap PlayStation Mobile games could be just what the Vita needs."

[LOGICWINS]

If your spending $250 on a gaming handheld...you aren't cheap. So I don't see how cheap games would be an incentive to purchase Vita. If saving money were that big of an issue, you wouldn't have a Vita in the first place.

[DivineAssault]

Hey man, vita isnt expensive, the memory is.. That little handheld is definitely worth every cent of the $250 & then some... Having the option to play phone games on it is just a perk cuz some ppl like those games.. Its got a huge variety of choices for games brother.. PSN, PSP, PS1, PS minis, PS Mobile soon, & of course PS vita games.. I agree that its not a huge incentive to go out & buy one just for this but when u add it up, its a major incentive.. Especially since the software is picking up now..

[LOGICWINS]

Well, "expensive" is relative to the person. Joe casual wouldn't pay $250 for a Vita. If that were the case, the Vita would be flying off shelves...not struggling to find a decent sized install base.

For a person who understands the tech behind Vita however, $250 might seem like a bargain...even a steal.

[zebramocha]

@logic skype allows the vita to make phone calls,that can be beneficial if don't have a phone,I might be wrong but I believe the iPod and 3ds can't do that.

[doogiebear]

@ Zebra: If u bought a Vita before buying a cell phone, than u got bigger problems. Like no life.

[Raoh]

Hey man, vita isnt expensive, the memory is..

I have to agree. I want a 32gb card but I refuse to pay even $80 for it. The new format I think is what hurt the vita the most.

When plus is official for vita it may help but i'll stick with my 8gb card for now until the prices drop more.

[DivineAssault]

This handheld isnt really designed for casual gamers tho it does provide them with options.. I see your point however if u think about it, 3DS is $170 & $200 for the XL.. The price difference isnt major but storage is.. The price will drop on it in 2013 for those who see it as too expensive.. By how much remains to be seen.. The way i see it, this little machine can do things even the PS3 cannot do (cross game chat).. I see more incoming 3rd party games on this than 3DS as well.. Thats just me tho.. Its a great machine & very under appreciated.. 3DS is cool too but i havent even used it in a very long time & doesnt do 1/4 of what this does.. Popularity & sales dont determine what i like as a gamer.. Games do & this is definitely providing.. If u like core games on the go, vita has em..

[AWBrawler]

@Zebra I've been making skype and google calls from my ipod for almost a year now, and I ca Text from my 3DS! look up you facts first

[Wolfbiker]

He clearly said he might be wrong.

[Christopher]

Going to have to go with LOGIC on this one. Cellphones serve a much wider purpose than a gaming console. Sure, you can go and make that whole "It's got Skype" case again, but I'm betting a heck of a lot more people have a phone number than have Skype, let alone a device with Skype on hand at most times of the day.

This is going to be a good bonus for Vita owners, but I highly doubt it's going to be a killer feature. Vita needs a lot more exclusive games (third-party support, honestly needed) and much cheaper memory cards. It wouldn't hurt to see it drop down to $199 as well.

[Knight_Crawler]

Mods give this man a well said.

I never understood that with Sony, they make top of the line sexy products jammed packed with the latest tech but when they release the product they have to sell them at an expensive price and sometimes at a loss and a year later they make a cheaper model...why not just make a cheaper model to begain with or make an expensive model and a cheaper one so people have choice.

The PS3 slim (not the super slim)is what Sonys launched PS3 should have been and sold at US$450 instead of $600 or for Sony ahould have offerd both for those who can afford $600.

Mark my words Sony will not drop the price for the Vita but first quarter next year they will annouce a a new model Vita that will sell at a cheaper price.

Edit: I know some of you may say that Sony can not release a cheaper model becuase the tech is new and new tech is expensive but this is only telling me that Sony is either rushing R&D and they are way behind in technology compared to the other companies who cam make products just as good as Sonys and sell them at a cheaper price and still make a profit.

[SkittlesLikesPopcorn]

@ night crawler

Sony releases expensive products because they are bleeding edge, not because "they are way behind in technology compared to the other companies who cam make products just as good as Sonys and sell them at a cheaper price and still make a profit."

What other handheld has the technology that even comes close to VITA at this time? None.

You get what you pay for. Thats all it is. PC's are more expensive than consoles for the same reason... they are bleeding edge and provide the best technology that is available on the market. Its not because pc part manufacturer's cant make cheap parts... its because they are way more powerful and advanced with every iteration.

What amazes me is that console gamers want their next gen consoles or hand helds to be cheap. I think you guys are nuts for that. You should WANT the next xbox or ps3 to be $500 or $600. Why? Because once your console is released its not getting an upgrade. EVER. for the next 10 years you will be playing on this machine. Do you really think this is the time to cheap out?

I for one hope sony prices PS4 at 500$ at least. I want it to be a really powerful machine.

If price is such a problem for some of you that you cant even afford 500 dollars over a period of 7-10 years... then why not by a gameboy classic for 5$ on ebay and call it a night? You can tell all your friends what a bargain you got. Who cares if everyone around you is playing games that look 3 generations ahead...

[Wolfbiker]

Dude the Vita is well worth $250....go try and buy a Galaxy SIII without a contract and tell me that's reasonable.

[Christopher]

***Dude the Vita is well worth $250....go try and buy a Galaxy SIII without a contract and tell me that's reasonable.***

It may be well worth it, but the audience for devoted handheld games aren't going to pay what they do for a cellphone. Even then, many people don't pay more than $300 for a cellphone as most don't buy them out of contract.

$199 would be a great price point for the device this Holiday Season, IMHO. Over $200 seems to be a barrier for technology devices of this sort, but once they get below them they tend to do much better.

[profgerbik]

I am cheap. Took me forever to finally buy one and when I did, I honestly didn't buy a single game for it for a couple months. Simply because I could not afford them.

Honestly has nothing to do with the Vita's price, it's well worth the money. I just cannot keep up with the prices of games these days, plus I want to play so many at one time.

It is a great incentive for all those phone whores, who think mobile gaming is the only gaming. I personally would rather play mobile games on my Vita also but don't get it twisted.

You can read below to see how I honestly feel about mobile games in general. I really don't care for them or the whole concept as a whole. That is just me but even with what little business experience I have, I know that grabbing ahold of that market is a very smart decision.

Like I said before sadly, a huge majority of people only care about phones now. It is just a trend that I don't see fading anytime soon nor do I understand but it exists and people love their flash games now all the sudden again..

-_-

[tiffac008]

Bro you know the price of the Vita will go down, probably as early as next year. Its the nature of the console business. So this talk of the price point on the device is really only temporary.

Like DA said the memory card is really expensive. At least the smallest available one should come free with every Vita purchase.

[edgeofsins]

The irony of your name. The Vita has graphics almost as good as the PS3 but in a much smaller and portable form. It has more RAM then the PS3, a 5 inch OLED touchscreen, a back touch panel, a battery(these batteries aren't cheap), and more. If you basically had a fully portable PS3 with even more big hardware features how the hell can you think it isn't worth $250, the same price as the PS3. For the near power of a PS3 along with the other costly features this handheld provides $250 is cheap as hell for this device when it launched at that price.

[josephayal]

The PlayStation Vita is beautiful and Powerful device, It just needs more software and Apps

[andibandit]

i'd problably throw some marketing in there too.

[DigitalRaptor]

PlayStation Mobile isn't really that much of a killer feature for Vita, cause they're bringing the service to Android, so millions of phone and tablet users will buy it for their Android device rather than buy a Vita to play those games.

I'm not supporting that notion, but it's relevant to point out.

[jujubee88]

I saw that point a year ago. And, you know what? If it is a good thing, why complain?

(That's my philosophy on love as well.)

[Soldierone]

That isn't a bad thing since all purchases are cross compatible. So at the end of the day you preferred a phone to buy all the apps, well guess what? Come buy a Vita and get all those apps for free on it, plus play better games and get better features.

It's kinda like Sony's "game library" from PS Plus, a bunch of games to get you going on day one.

[nevin1]

Now people are praising mobile games since its comming to Vita?

I thought you people hate mobile games?

[jujubee88]

... I should report you for racismsisms.

This is not just mobile games. I mean, have you actually played the games? Heck, even I haven't.

Also,

mobile games = no buttons integrated ever

PSM + VITA = buttons forever (varying on developer and game)

And, again, let's not just paint this in broad strokes. This is going to be an ENTIRE cross-platform, cross-device initiative by Playstation.

Everyone should be rooting for this thing to succeed and buy these games.

edit: @nevin1 ... why are you Pm'ing me? Use your bubs. You have tons of them!

[nevin1]

I figure you wouldnt come back to this page and the fact you only have 3 bubbles.

Or am I missing something?

[Hicken]

... so if Sony does nothing to boost the appeal of the Vita, they've abandoned it, but if they DO decide to make an attempt at tapping into the casual market "you people" keep saying it needs to capture, suddenly it's hypocritical?

What do you want them to do, then?

Besides, don't act like we didn't all know exactly what Mobil was before it launched. Have you been making this complaint the entire time, or did you decide to voice your opinion only now that the service has actually launched?

[MaxXAttaxX]

People used cheap $1 to argue against the PS Vita. And now that it has them, they say it's no good.
People seem to complain no matter what.

Also, touch-only games suck. Unless they're $1.
That's why Sony and Nintendo's handhelds are better suited for more core games. True controls.

[wastedcells]

Thought the playstation mobile games were mostly PS1 games and minis? Which are already on the vita.

[AznGaara]

I believe its a creative suite that allows people to develop apps and games for certain "playstation ready" android phones. Its now confirmed that people can use it to create apps and games on the Vita

[wastedcells]

Oh cool. Thanks.

[Bowzabub]

Doesn't this launch tomorrow? (10/3)

[jujubee88]

Just launched and is currently live on VITA's Playstation Store front. It's located on the top bar once you launch the Store.

http://n4g.com/news/1093913...

[Bowzabub]

Thank you

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

I don't get why people are saying Vita owners can afford expensive games, so that's why they won't buy the cheap ones...

That makes no sense. Even the cheapest iPod touch is $299 right now.

http://store.apple.com/us/b...

If anything, Vita owners are getting the better deal here.

[profgerbik]

Sadly it will be a killer feature. I know for many mobile games aren't anything to a person who takes technology and gaming seriously but many do.

I mean it is some what sad that even powerful Android and iphones only performance checking games are Angry Birds.. They always test Angry Birds as if it has something to prove. My crappy old Android can run Angry Birds, I have no clue why every single test video with phones that is the first game they test.

Regardless of my babbling about my personal issue with mobile games, people love them and sadly that is mostly all anyone talks about. I don't know why but flash games are mentioned more than games that actually deserve the credit. Just this flock of sheep I suppose keeping the nightmare alive.

I ain't saying I don't enjoy a little flash game on my phone every now and then but it has gotten a little ridiculous.

Seeing as that is what's popular right now though, this actually probably will be a killer feature for the Vita, many will love to able to play their favorite Mobile games with buttons and the Vita's beautiful responsive touch screen.

I ain't into this mobile trend, let alone the idea of phones even being gaming devices but it's happening and right now it's what the people are yaking about. I mean to me it's gotten so bad it is even hurting the gaming industry because mainly a bunch of little kids (or mindset of) all just want iphone 5's because everyone else has one. Then they don't have much money to spare after buying that crap on top of having to pay out of the ass just to keep the phone on.

So kudos to Playstation for thinking smart and tapping into that market where other handhelds haven't. I'll give them that even though this is truly something I don't care too much about.

[crxss]

yay for cannibalism! Sony seems to do this a bit, especially with all the formats they've made in the past.

[Bolts]

What kind of people would buy a Vita unless you're some rich kid carrying one in your backpack. Between my S3 and my laptop my hands are freaking full.

[zeph94]

Hows about they get a monster hunter game on it, that would persuade me to buy one real quick

[mobiusoneac4]

Why would Capcom throw that kind of development money around on a DOA platform with no advertising? All hope lies with Soul Sacrifice now.

[metroid32]

The big problem is both sony/nintendo although Myamoto has said the 3rd iteration of 3ds will take the latest technologies into consideration they both need to be potable ie Ultra slim and ultra sleek in their design and also they need to use state of the art materials basically what high end phones are to be honest ?

In other words they need to be as portable as say the biggest Samsung mobile maybe a bit bigger with HD video playbk and a HD camera plus they both need to be uquipped with lots more ram to handle 720p ie Resident Evil Revelations in SD/3D on Original/XL models and SD/HD/3D on 3DS Pro for e.g or Unchartered vita on SD on Vita original and HD ie 720p on Vita HD.

Same graphics engines just more RAM will achieve this ? or Ipads/Iphones/Androids/ect will end up dominating portable gaming so Ninty/Sony think hard before you throw another Handheld out the door i want big improvements,you can take big risks and make it expensive as it plays the same games only in tru HD so it can only add to the sales of a game and also keep the HD and 3D purists happy.

[Rayansaki]

LBPV is the killer app for vita. Just look at the creations, theres already FPS games, racing games, lots of touchscreen puzzlers, RPGs with a couple levels already done, hell, fruit ninja has a pretty hardcore port there. There are full games with save points, dozens of levels and options menus! And it's all free.

[silvacrest]

sony could make significant ground in the mobile phone arena if they made a xperia play 2 which took advantage of this newly released store

[GasTankKiller]

I've had my Vita since June 2012, and yesterday I traded it in. At this point I think its going to take a lot more then just mobile games to help Vita become what I was hoping it would become by this holiday season.

Sony's got a hard road ahead of them when it comes to the Vita. I know many of you will disagree with me on that statement. The fact is that there are other handhelds still holding there ground.

Yes, I understand that the system has not been out for a year. However, 3rd party support just isn't there yet, and it may not be for sometime.

[kiba342]

Vita does need games, I cant lie about that!

[redtideone11]

memory is fair your only going to buy it once so if you buying more then one you are doing somthing wrong.

[cfountain]

I bought the Fuel game. Only $0.49. I'll buy more games later once I get my money.

[Soldierone]

I think it's good for Sony because now they can target both crowds. You have the hardcore actual gamers which is what the Vita was made for, but then you have the casual "OMG ANGRY BIRDS!!!!" people too. Who spends more money? Well depends. The casuals will be throwing money at anything that looks cute, while the hardcore are more picky but spend more per purchase. At the end of the day Sony wins.

The question now is how will they push PS Mobile to gain those interesting apps, and focus on both side. Plus how will they change the marketing appeal now?

[fredrikpedersen]

...and much the the YouTube app, it is not available in Norway. :s

[Pillsbury1]

They need to release an Xperia play 2.