The Vita Is A Great System—Too Bad Sony Screwed It Up

Kotaku - If you've seen a commercial for the Vita, you've probably heard Sony's big tagline. "Get console-quality gaming with the PlayStation Vita." Not a bad selling point, and maybe the Vita does offer console-quality gaming. But it sure as hell doesn't offer console-quality games.

[tachy0n]

"If you've seen a commercial for the Vita, you've probably heard Sony's big tagline. "Get console-quality gaming with the PlayStation Vita." Not a bad selling point, and maybe the Vita does offer console-quality gaming. But it sure as hell doesn't offer console-quality games."

DAFUQ?

NFS Most Wanted PSVita, Uncharted, Gravity Rush, Wipeout 2048, Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD fury among others disagreee.

after owning a PSVita since release all i got to say is that all other handheld devices are rendered to useless when it comes to the gaming department against the PSVita.

journalists claiming these nonsense, is proof that they are getting paid by nintendo or Apple to kill the PSVita.

[AcidKill]

That's what I'm starting to think too.

[ABizzel1]

The Vita is amazing, but it needs:

1. More games (has some good ones, but needs a library of good ones)

2. Infinitely better Marketing (Sony needs to fire the Marketing division or give them the budget they need)

3. Price drop on the consoles to $199 and the Memory by 1/2 (4GB $10, 8GB $15, 16GB $20, 32GB $50). I understand why the memory cost so much. It's proprietary and moving up from a 16GB phone to a 32GB cost $100. But most people settle for the 16GB phone, and the Vita offers no internal memory in the first place.

4. Cross Buy & Cross Play on as many games as possible released through PSN and PSMobile.

To be honest they just need a completely new business model for the entire division as far as how to market their products, the value of competitive pricing, and reestablish their brand with a new generation of shoppers who grew up with Apple & Samsung being the go to brands, vs. Microsoft & Sony.

[Ducky]

No, the journalists are getting paid by Sony. It's all a ploy to make people sympathize with Sony and buy Vita.

WAKE UP SHEEPLE.

... oh wait, it's Kotaku. I don't think anyone's paying them. Article like these just come naturally to them.

[JoeReno]

Kotaku as been on the forefront of anti PS3/Sony anything this entire generation, not suprised that they are still at it. They are the fuel to the fire of the "Console wars".

[LOGICWINS]

"journalists claiming these nonsense, is proof that they are getting paid by nintendo or Apple to kill the PSVita."

...yeah, that zombie apocalypse is comin REAL soon too right tachy0n?

[Mr-Zex]

You know with a username like that people might actually expect some intellect from you, turns out your LOGIC is FLAWED..

[LOGICWINS]

My logic is "flawed" because I enjoy hearing about conspiracies?

[Mr-Zex]

How is getting paid by corperations/people or even general bias a conspiracy? The majority of the time there is always a reason behind something, Kotaku are obviously doing this for some benefit so you tell me what it is..

[LOGICWINS]

"How is getting paid by corperations/people or even general bias a conspiracy?"

Ummm...when there's no proof?

[zebramocha]

@mr-zex logicwins name is all wrong it should be "spin doctor" or "sir twist-a-lot" because that's all he/she does.

[Mikito11]

...

[testerg35]

zebramocha, wait.. so with all these conspiracy theories you're calling Logicwins "spin doctor"?? LOL... yes he's the one that's "sir twist a lot".

Well atleast you guys are blaming Nintendo and Apple this time and not MS.

[zebramocha]

@testerg Those names are not for his/her comment in this article but other article where he/she took those statement out of context.

[jaymart2k]

"Get console-quality gaming with the PlayStation Vita."

Tell that to the Call of Duty fanboys.

[Temporary]

CLICK THE LITTLE "Kotaku+" UNDER 'READ FULL STORY'.

VOTE "WTF?" AND "NO".

KOTAKU IS A PLAGUE ON THIS WEBSITE.
AND SO ARE MY CAPS.

[Jinkies]

Do you ever think Sony would just come out in an interview and blast the doom and gloom articles, like shame the websites doing it. I mean if I was them I would be speaking out about it, saying how we're trying to please everyone and be successful but people keep putting us down.

With the amount of these articles we get, especialy from Kotaku I don't know why they would ignore them. I wish someone would bring it up in an interview, let them defend themselfs

I mean it would be a little sly but I don't see why Sony don't play the sympathy card, the sites would be shamed and at least then these articles will hopefully vanish

[LOGICWINS]

"Do you ever think Sony would just come out in an interview and blast the doom and gloom articles, like shame the websites doing it. I mean if I was them I would be speaking out about it."

Unlike the faceless keyboard warriors on the Internet, Sony's PR staff doesn't need to resort to immature tactics such as verbally lashing out on one of their detractors. The PS3 just broke 70 million and this past weekend proved that there are people out there who want a Vita...just at a better price. Actions speak louder than words.

"The whole doom and gloom thing isn't some made up, exaggerated BS, it's been here for years all they would be doing is pointing something out."

That would accomplish nothing except for giving Kotaku more publicity. MOST gamers don't care about what Kotaku says to begin with...hence the PS3 breaking 70 million units.

[Jinkies]

@LOGIC

Who says anything about being "immature" and "lashing" out.

The whole doom and gloom thing isn't some made up, exaggerated BS, it's been here for years all they would be doing is pointing something out. I mean this sort of thing is getting worse, all they would need to do is point it out and say they don't understand the articles when they are trying their hardest...which they are I'll give them that.

[rainslacker]

In an article a few months ago I commented to the author who wrote it(sorry don't remember the topic...something about PR), and he said that despite the fact that Kotaku continuously bashes Sony, they still get invited to private events that they hold to show off new games and stuff. He even recalled that one game shown was completely bashed the next day on Kotaku. He stated, "In the end, some exposure is better than none".

While we may not see the logic in this, there has to be a reason why Sony (or anyone else in the industry) doesn't speak out against it. Possibly to keep discussion alive amongst the community at large.

[Moncole]

And than people complain when Vita games get compared to console games in reviews.

[crinale]

An article from Kotaku, lol.
Move on, guys.

[ceballos77mx]

Sigh...another Kotaku "vita is dead article" give it a FRACKING rest we get it you guys think is dead, enough with these looser articles.

[izumo_lee]

People complain that Sony hasn't advertised as much as they should have & now people are complaining that Sony is advertising?!!

Ok Kotaku we get it. You guys over there are still upset that Sony got up in your face for jumping the gun on Homes reveal when they asked you to wait. Now your site has been sort of the laughing stock of the gaming media & has become more of the 'National Inquirer' of gaming.

Next time maybe do some REAL journalism before writing an article that is indicative of the downhill plunge your site now is.

Seriously is this even worth talking about?

[Tetsujin]

"Now your site has been sort of the laughing stock of the gaming media & has become more of the 'National Inquirer' of gaming."

I'd say more of the Wal Mart paper called "Weekly World News." National Inquirer is also a lot funnier than this joke site.

[Slyfamous]

This sound very much like the stuff that was about the PS3 at its beginning and we all know how that story ended.

[Mr-Zex]

Journalism use to have standards, now even a monkey could walk into an internet cafe and acidentally post an article on Kotaku that's complete jibberish and somehow thats labled "Journalism", what the hell happened to the human race? :/

[wishingW3L]

It really blows my mind that Kotaku still has a 3/3 rating star on N4G... -______-

[talisker]

How to get rid of clowns, forever - instructions (Windows):

1. Click "Start" and type “C:WINDOWS\system32\drivers\ etc” in the Search field at the bottom of the Start menu. Notice: N4G page separates the last word in separated commas, it should be without a space after the backslash.

2. Right-click on the “hosts” file and select "Open." Choose "Notepad" as the program you wish to use to open the file, and click "OK."

3. At the bottom of the document, type “127.0.0.1” (without the quotes), followed by at least one space, followed by the URL of the website you want to block. For example, if you wanted to block “kotaku.com” you would enter “127.0.0.1 kotaku.com”. Do not put either "http:" or "www" in front of the names of websites you wish to block; doing so will result in the site not being blocked. You are blocking the entire site regardless of protocol.

4. Save the document and restart your computer. Any attempt to visit the site you blocked in Chrome, IE, Firefox or any other browser will result in an error message.

5. Spread the word. Make clowns starve.

[Glasscocked]

While you may not agree with the source, this article does have a valid point. The Vita is struggling, the high profile games that were supposed to bring gamers to the system haven't, and it is starting to be looked down on by developers because it does not have as large a user base as the other devices it is competing against.

The users here may lambaste Kotaku by saying that they are putting a negative spin on the Vita but I would argue the inverse true here at N4G. The difference is that the Vita *IS* doing poorly and some part of the article rings true. A handful of us may love the games we love but that doesn't make the general public want to buy the system when supposed "system sellers" like Uncharted and Call of Duty are viewed by the general public as less than stellar. When a company like Activision lets a bad developer with a mediocre track records develop a title for it's AAA franchise you can clearly see it is being looked at a lower tier system.

[CommonSenseGamer]

its difficult to guage just how well or poorly the Vita is doing at this momemt. Sure its sold less than projected but are the low sales still within an acceptable threshold to make the Vita a going concern.

Some of the stores in New Zealand have heavily discounted the Vita to a rediculous, lower then 3DSXL, price however, I'm unsure if its to just clear shelf space for more popular products or if its a genuine push to help the Vita gain some momentum. $299 for the wifi model without a memory card is a good deal but something is still holding me back from buying it for my kids for Xmas. If someone could guarantee me that the Vita will be around for years to come and have heaps of great games and lots of suport from the development community then I would probably buy one. But if the Vita is destined to become the new PSP Go then I would rather spend $299 on something else for them. I suppose I'm overly cautious as I was one of those who purchased a Go just to have Sony drop it from their product line a short time after.

I said I was going to give the Vita a year before I decided to get one but I'm thinking I might need to wait another 6 months to see if if still has sales momentum post Black Friday and Xmas.

[wtfbbq8]

1. Memory card too expensive
2. It seems most Vita games are remakes.
3. Don't just assume Americans love Shooting games.
I want more RPGs.
well thats about it.

[iwin86]

Why is the guy from kotaku complaining that Persona 4 (a remake from a 4 year old ps2 game) is the best pvita game ?

the best 3ds game - Ocarina of Time - is a remake from a 14 (!) year old N64 Game.

[aquamala]

I have a Vita, and it's true memory card prices are ridiculous, and games are not console-quality, article is right.

[tachy0n]

somebody has even played with a PSVita at all.

most PSVita games are priced between $35 - $40 which is right for what they offer, 10 hours+ gameplay at console quality, check out NFS Most Wanted PSVita at least.

funny enough Wipeout HD looks better on the PSVita than on the PS3.

Memory card prices will eventually come down later on.

@LOGICWINS

it must be a pretty perfect world you must be living on since you dont believe in corruption.

[testerg35]

tachy0n, is Sony part of that corruption or is it just everyone else except for Sony?

[andrewer]

Exactly what I've been thinking since I bought it...the week after its launch. It has so much potential, but its on the wrong hands...

[XboxInnovation]

Sony is like the staggering hobo coming out of the bar at 2AM and everyone else is laughing at him.

[joeorc]

"Sony is like the staggering hobo coming out of the bar at 2AM and everyone else is laughing at him."

and than that drunken master than whups up on you and than you wonder what the hell just happened as someone else help scrape's your limp body off the pavement.

LMAO

[XabiDaChosenOne]

Title is a bit unoriginal, Kotaku is getting lazy. If your going to constantly bash Sony, at least have the decency to switch up the flavor once in awhile.

My top 3 Kotaku "Playstation smearing campaigns" In no specific order of quality, relevance etc.
1.GT5 loading debacle: http://kotaku.com/5608849/v...
2. Sony's apparent ghostly appearance to the world: http://kotaku.com/5960411/h...
3. Last but not least, Kotakus distasteful FFvs13 cancellation rumor: http://kotaku.com/5927645/r...

Thanks for all the uninformative and false information you have provided over the years kotaku, you have done the gaming community a great service with your work.

[Rageanitus]

its been out less than a year

[InTheLab]

This guy has had the system for 2 weeks but tries to sound like he's had 10 months of bad gaming experiences.

While I agree with the memory card issue, everything else in this piece was shameful and misleading. Like his point about greed. Companies have to make money, so instead of charging you an extra $100 at launch, Sony tried to compete with the other handheld WHICH SOLD FOR THE SAME PRICE.

Every one of his points were misleading like that. He made it sound like the only memory available was the $100 card, instead of the 4,8, and 16 which are cheaper.

He ignored the games that are well received and jumped on CoD.

He even called the $180 holiday bundle greedy because you apparently, HAD to buy the $100 memory card with it.

Kotaku is the TMZ of gaming.

[Hufandpuf]

"But I have been playing my Vita and marveling at how great it is. That's why I wrote this article. I think it's a shame that Sony screwed up such a great piece of hardware."

I don't think people read articles anymore, I think they just read the headlines and interpret the story as they see fit. The author loves his Vita, but there's no denying that the Vita is struggling more than it should be because of Sony.

[Hicken]

Is the article saying he actually enjoys his Vita? There's that line, but what about everything else said?

Very little is actually his own opinion. He points to metacritic when it suits him (Call of Duty, which has gotten much better reviews from gamers than actual "reviewers") but ignores that and cites instead Kotaku itself(Uncharted) when that proves his point. Assassin's Creed and LBP- which are critically acclaimed, aren't different enough to be worth buying.

EVERY conceivable positive is spun into a negative: all the games people say are good are barely decent, the ability to play PSP and PS1 games is a downside. He says some BS about the thing being ergonomically uncomfortable(just got done with a 3+ hour session; no problems). The proprietary memory cards are harped on for like THREE paragraphs, but at no time does he mention why Sony says they went with this memory format.

The article is completely and utterly trash; what you quote is about ALL that comes close to being "positive." He doesn't claim to like any features or games; he simply uses that comment to try and do exactly what you think he's done: be objective about it.

He hasn't. It's evident in every sentence that his purpose is to paint a picture of an utterly useless device with NOTHING going for it.

And you know what? It wasn't necessary to read the article to know the contents:

IT'S KOTAKU.

They have, for years, produced poorly constructed articles whose only purpose is to color Sony in as negative a light as possible.

C'mon, man. Don't fall for the okey-doke.

[blackblades]

It's the journalism and you consumer that bleeping the gaming industry mainly sony.

[Schawk]

And sony fanboys diss the wiiU for having a crap launch lineup and ports,, the vita is a total joke anyone who purchased one of these would have been better lighting the fire with the money

And yea i bet every fanboy who owns a ps3 purchased one of these to play the same games only carpper versions "Suckers" ,i dont see the point but its good enough for sony drones i suppose
yea blame the ipod and andriod apps when its your own fauly sony you screwed up.