The Vita is in big trouble, but it can be saved

GamesRadar - Is Sony’s newest handheld finished? Not yet.

[MmaFan-Qc]

oh look, a new doom and gloom blog about the ps vita, how original.

btw, "The PS3 Has No Games".

[JoGam]

I think "Doom and Gloom is the new thing. Everyone's doing it now. Smh. It's like people just sit around thinking what to write when a light bulb goes off with an idea...I'll write another Doom and gloom article. It's no way people can get enough. S/

[Diver]

game journalism is in a lot worse shape than the Vita.

[Mounce]

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOM!!!

[GSpartan777]

Sadly, it guarantees hits here on N4G. And it's the primary reason the majority of these articles written for.

[GribbleGrunger]

In another 5 years when the Vita is still going strong, the authors of these many 'Vita can be saved' articles will simply say: 'I told you.'

It's boring and irrelevant. Sony do not see it the same way as a fanboy sees it. They just make the hardware, sell the hardware and hope to make a profit. There is NO race in Sony's philosophy and there is NO comparative thinking.

[andibandit]

Sorry but in 5 years mobile phone games will make the vita look prehistoric

[BitbyDeath]

@andibandit, mobile phone games will remain irrelevant until they get buttons and stop asking for money to advance.

[joeorc]

"Sorry but in 5 years mobile phone games will make the vita look prehistoric"

really? who is going to make those very expensive 3rd party published Game's?

This is what is quite funny, you do know the PSVita is Using the very same High end Multiple core Arm Cortex processor's right? Now what is the basic Core Processor in the Mobile Arena for smart devices? it sure in hell is not Multiple core when they make games for smartphones!

Even in 5 year's time from Now the largest % of smartphones will still be dual core 1.2 to 1.4 GHz core with a Mali400 or Adreno 225, or an SGX 500+ series GPU's.

The PSVita contain's a Quad core Arm Cortex A9 CPU and a Quad Core SGX GPU. With i might Add has 128 MB of dedicated GPU ram! wth Smarphones and Tablets only have 64 MB of video ram.

if you want to talk about outdated, the Nintendo 3DS and the 3DSXL has Arm Core 11's for the CPU and Pica 200 GPU with 6 MB of Dedicated GPU ram! now that is Outdated even now vs' what the PSVita has in it.

Hell.

Even than Single core 1.2 GHz TO 1.5 GHz will still be in use in quite a large number of consumer's hands!

that will still be the largest % in consumer's hands, and Application store games sell cheap but rely on as large a % of people to purchase your App. that will still be APPLICATION'S ie: GAMES MADE FOR SINGLE TO MAX DUAL CORE being the main target for game development even 5 years from Now, with still no where near the % of Dedicated GPU ram for mobile devices than what the PSVita has in it today.

[Diver]

sorry dudes but I've played some phone/tablet games and I can't think of one that holds a candle to vita games. there are more game capable phones on the market now than there will ever be vitas so where's all these titles that will kill the vita.

look how long game capable phones have been out an no blockbuster cept angry birds. if any console had gone that long without a bunch of blockbuster hits they would be kicking the dirt over them and putting up a headstone. you people an these ridiculous articles make me laugh. bawl all you want but the facts an peoples actions prove me right. no phone or pad is touching the vita. not now an not in years.

go ahead an hold on to your desperate hate. i have been reading these stupid "phones and tablets are the future" articles for over three years.

[meganick]

It's clearly not a "doom and gloom" article. Even the headline makes that obvious. It says "The Vita is in big trouble." That's not an opinion, that's a fact. It's not selling well. You can't really deny that. Then it says "but it can be saved," and then the author goes on to explain what changes he thinks Sony should make in order to make the Vita successful. How does that qualify as "doom and gloom?" If you want to see some real doom and gloom articles, go to the Wii U page. Some jack-off actually took time to write an article about why he thinks Nintendo should scrap the Wii U and release a new console in 2014, which would be astoundingly stupid.

[Godchild1020]

"The price cut needs to extend to games, too. $40 for a top of the line Vita game is a fair price, but $20-$30 would be a far better for the majority of its library. "

I know this is a Vita article, but should the price cut of games extend to the 3DS as well? Seeing as how some, if not most games are 40 dollars on the 3DS. At least the ones, I have pick up.

"In this day and age it’s hard to imagine there are many who would pay full price for PSP titles like Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, Riviera: The Promised Land, or Secret Agent Clank, but all would be quickly embraced as freebies. The same goes for the huge backlog of PSOne games on PSN."

I agree, it will get people to sign up for plus (As long as Uncharted, Gravity and Wipeout stays) and enjoy some of the games they may have missed or just play some of the games they had once before and want to play them again.

It would also give consumers the push to purchase Vita titles and not wait for all of them to come to plus. Because we all know not all of them will come to plus.

[GribbleGrunger]

Well, clearly the backlog of Vita games is no where near as large as the PS3 backlog, so it is obvious that at some point the Vita will start to get PSP and PS1 games too. At which point the media will have yet another negative angle for their articles.

[meganick]

3DS game prices should definitely come down. I can kind of understand the $40 price point for top-of-the-line Vita games because it's a powerful HD portable with higher than usual development costs. But I can't imagine 3DS games cost as much to develop as Vita games in general.

[tweet75]

it always takes every playstation system 2-3 years to reach its stride. Great games will come and with the recent price drops sales will pick up. As long as the software is good over the next few years vita will be fine.

[Gamesgbkiller]

Just cut the prices of memory cards and I'm going to be happy :)

[tachy0n]

or at least they should make third party memory cards like from sandisk etc....

[meganick]

I'd have to say that's my main gripe with the Vita. Also, I think in the near future, Sony should just sell the Vita with a built-in hard-drive as a standard. I'm thinking maybe like 20 gigs or so, with the option to expand of course.

[Cocozero]

If COD couldn't save it, then nothing can.

All it can hope for now is just the hardcore playstation fans to buy it when the price goes down.

[Sanquine90]

Cod was terrible ;) if it was anything near call of duty blops 2 it would sell a lot more

[stage88]

@Cocozero

Please, just stop.

[JoGam]

Cod is dying slowly now.

[Sanquine90]

I hope the vita will ever flourish and i will laugh so hard at all the trolls. I remember the ps3 *2006* good times :D All my friends laughed so hard (when they bought a xbox 360)because i bought the ps3. Then ps3 got many awesome games now :) they pay money to go online and i pay money and get free games :D Who is laughing now A**holes?

[Janitor]

I'm laughing actually.... at your "I pay money and get free games" comment.

Priceless fail, and so far 11 agrees. The idiocy on this site amuses me.

[Welshy]

Incorrect. He paid $50 and recieved well over $100 worth of games.

So yes he paid, but he still got free games.

At the very least PS+ is 100% optional and removes not one single feature outwith auto-updates from the completely free PSN service.

Go sign out of your Live profile on your 360 and tell me how many features you actually have left. You can't even voice chat in any way with your friends without paying for christ sake!

Apart from the fact it's insane that Xbox is the only platform that charges you to play 50% of all your games and blocks at least half of the consoles features being bad enough, it locks you out of subscription that you already pay like Netflix.

But just ignore that and revert back to your shell and pretend Live isn't a rip-off and that PS+ isn't a good deal.

I've owned both sytems since launch and it infuriates me that i'm made to pay purely on the grounds that they can get away with it and the masses believe it's miles superior purely because you pay for it.

More money =/= better quality.

[ALLWRONG]

"So yes he paid, but he still got free games." Apparently free cost money, and if you stop paying, they take the free away.

:D

[Welshy]

Your name is quite fitting @ALLWRONG.

If you gave me $50 and i gave you $100, you got $50 for free, but putting money in there in the first place for some reason removes the free stuff part by your logic?

[DonMingos]

Move on. Nothing (new) to see here.

Trending topics on N4g at the end of 2012:

-"Vita is dead"
-"WiiU was dead on arrival"
-"Xbox Live is Dead"
-"PS3 has to many exclusives, sony should think about profits, not gamers"
-"handheld dedicated consoles are dead thanks to phones and tablets"

Future trending topics (2013/2014):

-"Steambox is dead"
-"Xbox 720 is dead"
-"How sony should look at the PSVITA success to save the PS3"
-"The 3ds is dying, 3DSi is the answer"
-"Why the wiiU is winning the console war"

Incoherent Doom and Gloom sites are incoherent

[Hanso]

"PS3 has to many exclusives, sony should think about profits, not gamers"

This is the best LMAO xD

[stage88]

Haha, no doubt so jealous xbox gamer. Just wait until that guy finds out about Playstation Plus! "Sony are giving away too many free games"

[EddieNX]

This^

Analysts try and deliberately lie and Misslead to gain hits. The wiiu is off to a great start sales and software wise and hardware wise.

The ps vita is a bit sluggish but it's nearing the 4M mark , things could take a big turn. It's stil a baby in the west...

[MegaLagann]

If I could like this a thousand times I would.

[NewsWithFriends]

price drops in 2013 no surprise there and ps+ library of games will help save the vita

[aquamala]

always funny to see the same people defending Vita and trolling Wii U, and vice versa.

[NeXXXuS]

Just pray for the vita and maybe it will turn to Jesus Christ to be saved.

[PantherDST]

The same was said about the PSP, yet it went on to sell 75 Million units. If you like handheld gaming buy it, if you don't skip it and leave it on the shelf.

[CommonSenseGamer]

You don't need to buy a Vita to enjoy handheld gaming, that's just arrogant.

[Hicken]

Way to fail. Again. He didn't say anything like that, not even REMOTELY close.

What he said was that a Vita is worth buying if you like handheld gaming.

Not tablet/smartphone gaming, like you want to equate it to.

People who play on handhelds- people who BUY handhelds- want handheld games. Tablets are like Tiger electronics handhelds from the 90s: pretty good for a game or two, but still nothing like a Gameboy or Game Gear.

What is it with you and others thinking that the sales of smartphones and such automatically translate into danger for handhelds? Can you show some correlation between the boom in smartphone and tablet sales and a decrease in dedicated handheld sales? Can you prove that these consumers buying smartphones would normally have bought handhelds?

Can you prove ANYTHING you say, or are you simply seeking out small bits of information here and there that SEEM to support your claim and presenting them as such, while ignoring any and all evidence to the contrary?

[CommonSenseGamer]

Whether it will fail or succeed is just pure speculation right now. What we do know is that first year Vita sales have been much lower than Sony expected and they have dropped their forecast twice in the last 12 months as a result. Bundle deals, PS+ and cross-play have done little to lift sales as we constantly see the Vita only outselling the original PSP.

The Vita cannot be compared to the PS3 in terms of its slow start as unlike the PS3 which was the cheapest blu-ray player on the market for a time, there is no reason for anyone to buy a Vita if it does not have games people are interested in. I recall articles stating that in the first 12-18months of the PS3's life-cycle that most people were buying them for media playback and not gaming. It would be interesting to see just how the PS3 might have feared if it had not been a trojan horse for blu-ray back in 2006.

The big problem right now, regardless of price or what games are available for it, is that the Vita is not on the consumer radar. The holiday season is upon us and consumers would rather buy a 7" tablet, smartphone or 3DS. What compelling reason does a consumer have for buying a Vita over the competition? I'm sure Vita owners will produce a list of games or the fact that it has physical controls but if these arguments have not helped the Vita gain traction before now then why would they make a difference now?

I know I'll get heaps of disagrees but that will not change the fortunes of the Vita. That will take a lot more action on Sony's behalf however, Vita over tablet/smartphone gaming is running a similar race to Sony's Mini-Disc over iPod in the late 90's and look how that ended. Didn't matter how good Sony proclaimed mini-disc to be the fact of the matter was they completely missed the boat on what consumers wanted.

I personally give the Vita another 6-12 months to establish itself before Sony cuts its losses and focuses its efforts on the PS4.

[DonMingos]

What do you fail to see is that you can't make an analogy between gaming handheld vs smartphones and Minidisc vs MP3 player. The mp3 could play every music the minidisc could but it was all digital.

The vita aim at the gamers who like to play some deep and home-consolelike games on the go, while a smartphone is a phone that can play games, but not the kind of games people look for in a handheld like the vita.

So while both Minidisc and mp3 players aimed at people who listned to music (same market), the vita aims at gamers while smartphones aim at people who may or may not like to play a game now and then.

So I don't believe the people sony aimed for this handheld wouldn't buy a vita to buy a smartphone instead

[CommonSenseGamer]

no, you're dead right. Sony is not competing for the same consumer dollars in the mobile electronics space...oh wait, yes they are.

Both Apple and Android now market games for their respective decives which puts a device like the Vita in a direct firing line. As for tablets and smartphones not offering console like experiences....rubbish. Maybe that was the case 12 months ago but things have changed. Have a look on Youtube for the best Android and iOS games and you'll see gameplay and visuals comparable to console games at a fraction of the price!

Like it or not portable devices like tablets, smartphones and the Vita are all competing for your gaming dollar. Unlike the Vita however, the other devices offer a hell of a lot more besides gaming making them better value for money. Why do you think 7" tablets are this years hot holiday item? As a parent I would rather get my kids tablets for gaming than a Vita as its a much more versatile and cost effective option.

[Sanquine90]

Not on the consumer radar? i have 20 collegues who own a vita now ( Thanks to some awesome advertisiment everywhere )

[rainslacker]

It may not be that they're in direct competition. In fact I haven't seen anything really that would suggest that Sony is going after that market with the Vita.

It may be more that Sony isn't able to pick up the consumer interest from people that may have brought one, like say with the PSP, because now those same consumers have a smartphone/tablet which allows them to play games on the go. To those consumers there is no reason for them to buy a Vita, simply because their current, or more accessible/portable phone/tablet gives them all that they require for that purpose. On top of that I think a vast majority of people would prefer to only have to carry around one device, so they would obviously pick the one that provides the most functionality, and the most important of that being a cell phone.

This hypothesis doesn't really explain why the 3DS is doing so well though, as obviously there is a market for both mobile gaming and phone/tablet gaming.

Another thing to consider is that many people probably don't know how much more powerful the Vita is over the PSP, or even modern smartphones. A lot of these people that may buy a smartphone may be playing games that look above and beyond a PSP or 3DS game, so they may think they've made the best choice for their needs. This one I can back up a bit more because every person I know that plays mine falls in love with it from the get-go. I think it's a testament to how good the system really is, and it's not something Sony is really getting the word out about.

[joeorc]

"I personally give the Vita another 6-12 months to establish itself before Sony cuts its losses and focuses its efforts on the PS4."

You right there just pointed out the direction of the PSVita' if you have not noticed the trends and movement's in the market is Mobile devices with direct or wireless connection to a central Media Hub.

why in hell would Sony scrap a device when they can in all likelyhood bundle it with both the PS3 AND THE ps4 DOWN THE LINE! its about building an ECO system, why do you think on the very same day Sony showed the PSVita on stage Sony Showed off Playstation Suite IE: Playstation Mobile as it is known now, or the fact that Sony out right purchased Sony Ericsson, renamed is Sony Mobile, getting a theme here.

its no longer just about dedicated game handhelds anymore Sony knows this, they are not blind, instead of just making a system that has chips that are not like the rest of the smartdevice's in the Mobile market, Sony made a dedicated device that can run the very same mobile applications and games the high end smartdevices can. and will be able to even 5 years from Now. Just look at the WiiU for instance, long before it was released, smart phones were being geard along with Tablets to hook up to smart TV's LCD tv's and top set box'es, IE: 2nd screen functionality. why drop the PSVita if the PSVita can be your 2nd screen device already.

Already Amazon online retail bundled the PS3+PSVita as a bundle in 2012 black friday week, Sony already said they were looking to do that later them selves.

it's freaking common sense!

CommonSenseGamer

[metalgod88]

I don't even understand why people think the vita is doomed. It's by far the best handheld system ever created. Games are somewhat pricey, but these are games that for the most part have almost everything the ps3 counterpart has. Its OS runs smooth as silk and the games that are made for it are definitely higher quality than that of the original psp. There are a great number of games already out and more are soon to follow.

I just wish that people would realize that it actually takes TIME to make a game. And it takes a little bit more time to make a game on new hardware.

I think that if sony is able to lower the price and offer bigger bundles, they may be able to sell more handhelds, but yeah..I think the vita is just too pricey. I bought it for the original price, but traded in my elite xbox in order to justify the cost XD( I never played my xbox).

[Veneno]

I got my white Vita on Black Friday and I'm already convinced that the Vita in its first year has already surpassed the PSP in quality of hardware, games, online capabilities, and apps.

It's incredible that Vita has done this in it's first year, and it will only get better from here on out!

[rainslacker]

The thing is, outside of the gaming community, people just don't know all of this. Sony hasn't really marketed it as all that (at least in the US). I do know that anyone that I've let use mine loves the hell out of it, and know 2 people that picked one up in the last month because of that, and 1 that will buy one by the end of the year.

I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiment about it's quality, and don't for a second regret my purchase.

[metalgod88]

Actually, now that you mention, I really didn't know the release date of the Vita. I just walked into Gamestop one day and saw the Vitas sitting in the back and asked if they were already out and sure enough, they had already been released a week prior. I live in the U.S. and didn't even know the release date, although, I don't own cable so I'm not watching tv a whole lot these days.

I really hadn't thought about how they advertised the Vita, but that's certainly a great point. How are you going to sell a product if nobody knows it even exists? =P

[Darth Gamer]

I know mine isn't in trouble, I love that little guy! :)

[evilhasitsway]

as far as im concered the vita is garabge dont get me wrong im a sony fan but the vita was a waste of time and money. ps3 well lets just say i just sold mine its dead and time for a new gen system xbox well xbox is way over due for a new system.

[Veneno]

Sorry to hear you didn't like your Vita. Although you didn't say you actually bought and used one, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you did.

But I honestly believe that Sony isn't like Nintendo and Microsoft and just expects EVERYONE to buy their hardware the first day or even year. You should have waited to buy it for a reason that compels you to buy it. Whether it's a certain game, feature, or price. For me it was the amazing Black Friday deal and I've been loving it ever since.

Maybe there will be a game in the future that comes out that will bring you back in.

[JasonKCK]

in trouble compared to what? 3ds has been out longer and smartphones dont count. would rather have the controls and the power of vita over 3ds and smartphones.

[animegamingnerd]

10 bucks says next year we will see the same with the 720 and PS4 when they come out

[Belking]

Rough road ahead for the Vita. With the addition of smart phones and tablets makes it much harder for it to gain any ground.

[Veneno]

Ok, parrot.

[Belking]

No problem fluffer.

[MegaLagann]

N4G of the Past: PS3 IS DOOMED! 3DS IS DOOMED!
N4G of the Present: WII U IS DOOMED! VITA IS DOOMED!
N4G of the Future: PS4 IS DOOMED! OUYA IS DOOMED! 720 IS DOOMED! STEAMBOX IS DOOMED!

Seriously, all these baseless claims are getting old.

[Veneno]

Yeah when the doom articles spill into Nintendo, Microsoft, and Valve and graduate past Sony products, you know sh!t is getting crazy!

[MultiConsoleGamer]

I'm more concerned about Sony than I am about the Vita.

Vita is a damn fine machine with a solid game library. If it fails then this will be another unjust tragedy like the death of the Dreamcast.

[Veneno]

I'm not sure how you separate Sony and The Vita. They're one in the same.

[strigoi814]

my girlfriend is using my vita..whenever im busy on my ps3 and btw we do play all star battle royal together 2 vs 2..online and she got my back and i got hers. And shes enjoying little big planet vita a lot.. So i dont think my vita is doomed for me..

[boybato]

Like you good sir, I bought a Vita so that it compliments my PS3 console gaming(there even was a point where I would only play with the Vita as opposed to my PS3), let the brother borrow it every once in a while as well. ;)

[Bladesfist]

Just purchased a vita which will be my only console (I game on PC). I wanted to play littlebigplanet and game on the move so I thought it would be fitting.