Has the PlayStation Vita Failed?

Japan might still be excited about Sony's handheld, but as the first-year anniversary of the system's Western launch nears, software is looking dismal.

[majiebeast]

Been awhile since we had 1 of these...

[TheLiztress]

I like to think that the Vita is just a late bloomer; that its library is going to rival that of the 3DS. Right now though, it's not looking good. But the Vita still has a chance to do well.

[rrquinta]

I hope so. I really love the Vita, and I want it to succeed. I also want more great games to play on it!!

[TheLiztress]

Same here. I mean, the Vita can offer a different experience than the 3DS. And I'm not saying one is better than the other. But rather, both are great in their own way.

I just want more from Sony when it comes to the Vita library.

[FriedGoat]

@TheLiztress
The vita library is equal to if not surpasses the 3DS library and it is not even a year old.

I have had both since launch. The 3DS had next to nothing for a year, and then Nintendo rushed out a bunch of mario games to make sales. Sounds familiar to what they've announced for the WiiU today actually, excluding the Zelda, but they do have an HD remake in there too, very familiar.

[UltraVegito]

Same,the Potential for this system is so Vast.

I hope sony manages to snag in more IP's like soul sacrifice and Gravity rush.
Sony needs to realize they have a amazing system and what it needs are it's own games.

The Vita is far from a failure in my eyes,and far too early to deem a failure from others just yet.

[mandf]

More doom and gloom Attention n4g this type of crap hurts n4g not help it

[rrquinta]

Did you even read the article? I point out the facts and how I HOPE things will change, but right now it just doesn't look good for the system.

[mandf]

Don't write an article if you don't want a conversation. You headline is complete fanboy drivel. You are not helping this industry. The points you make and defend are how you see it. The 3ds and 360 were in the exact same spot the first year but no one wrote about that. We have had at least a 100 articles about the same exact thing about the vita. Don't you think it's getting old. Stop writing sensational titles and you will get better response from the gaming community until then it's still a crap fanboy article for hits. Learn from this.

Every new console release has the same issues. It's just some websites like to magnify or gloss over problems as they see fit.

[PinkFunk]

rrquinta,

Besides your awesome domain name "t.co", the title you chose for your article is sort of aiming for that sensationalist crap we're trying to avoid, especially considering the subject of the article.

Now, the fact that you post a comment reply only 3 minutes after mandf defending your article seems to me to indicate that you're awfully aware of the 'feedback' you'll be getting from N4G.

And if you spent any time on this website, you'd know without a doubt that a title to an article like this is considered poor sensationalism. In other words, we've seen this sort of article before, with different pros & cons.

So um, I did read your opinion piece (despite really wanting to avoid it). It was OK. IMO, considering this has been a hot topic and we've seen 100+ articles just like this one, if you wanted to set yourself apart, you might consider doing a full analysis of the subject, rather than a comparison about exclusives.

But w/e. Your title doesn't suggest this "hope" you're talking about; it's not original, and its main purpose (whether you know it or not) is to fish for hits.

edit: Nevermind on the t.co, don't know why it appears as that.

[rrquinta]

I'm sorry you guys feel that way. Honestly, I love the Vita and have been disappointed that we don't have ANY games to look forward to on the system. The 3DS, which had a slow start, at least had games you knew were coming at some point in the future. I'm hopeful that E3 will change this with some big announcements, but right now, Vita owners don't have much to look forward to.

[Good_Guy_Jamal]

"The 3ds and 360 were in the exact same spot the first year but no one
wrote about that"
Are you for real? I mean are you kidding right now? I mean what rock were you under when 3DS was being torn a new one everyday about its low sales which weren't even as bad as the VITA's?
I'd understand if you'd just said 360 cause who remembers 7 years ago but 3DS?? Come on now.

[joeorc]

"Did you even read the article? I point out the facts and how I HOPE things will change, but right now it just doesn't look good for the system."

you point out the 3DS get's all these games but , the problem is the PSVita's development resources take longer to make games due to the fact the development of asset's are far greater for the PSVita than it is for the Nintendo 3DS. Could games be churned out faster, you bet just look at Playstation Mobile. but that is the thing Many of the games being made for the PSVita that are in development for the system are in fact lager development times required more resources made for games.

Take a look at Tearaway, KILLZONE for the PSVita look at any 3DS game and none sofar are anywhere near that budget or resources. Or time required to make such software.

Its not the same type of Handheld , the 3DS was not made for the market of Your Handheld combined with the smartphone and tablet market. the PSVita is. the longer this goes on the less and less the 3DS will be able to take advantage of that unified platform. The 3DS is arm 11's with 128 MB of system Ram a Pica 200 WITH 6 MB of dedicated video ram. GREAT FOR NOW BUT IN THE NEXT 2 YEAR'S YOU AND I BOTH KNOW NINTENDO WILL PUT OUT YET ANOTHER HANDHELD.

WHILE THE PSVita IS A QUAD CORE cortex A9 with 512 MB of system Ram, and a Quad Core SGX GPU with 128 MB of dedicated Graphic ram. even 2 years from Now PSVita will still be viable for development in parity with the higher spec's smartphones and TaBLETS. The 3DS not so much!

[dwightmccarthy]

I don't think it's failed as a handheld console but Sony failed to take advantage of its big start at launch. And i think they could do more to compete with mobile games by having more of those type of games on the PSN with trophy support and other online features

[landog]

i have not bought one yet, but it is getting more tempting, ragnarok looks good, soul sacrifice too

it just needs a few more rpg's to keep me busy, then i will grab one up. already own persona 4 and disgaea,

don't want ports, want NEW rpgs, throw in some srpgs and something like advance wars, plus we need some true hack and slash dungeon crawls, not a terrible port of a terrible port of a game that was on iphone first (dungeon hunter was NEVER a good game on ps3, iphone, or vita)

[Ult iMate]

Dungeon Hunter Alliance is not a port of any other game. It's a different game made specifically for consoles. It's a rather decent game with better design & gameplay than of mobile versions. But still not worth $40 though.

[SmokingMonkey]

I love my Vita,

I wake up to it (wake up club) + trophies!

I play Smart As, everyday!

I love building in Sound & Shapes! (Check out my Metroid level. Search: Diortem)

...and I LOVE littlebigplanet. Building a Venture Bros level; 35+ hours building SpiderSkullIsland.

It's tough to sell an adult handheld, that's why 3ds/ds has such stellar sales compared.

[wildcardcorsair]

I completely agree when you mentioned RCR and Mutant Blobs. The talented devs that work alongside Sony could easily save the Vita but Sony likes to sell the Vita to PS3 owners with features and is constantly downplaying the importance games and new IP

[Jamesmanguyperson]

I think as the system ages they will steadily improve much like the PS3 has with better exclusives and content. At least, that's what I'm hoping for.

[Thirty3Three]

No. Period.

It's been one year. Stop saying it failed. The PS3 was the same way at first, and despite its slow start (and many 'doom & Gloom articles...) It's selling more than the Xbox 360.

God; sometimes I think people just write these articles to bash the console.... Stupid fanboyism.

[wildcardcorsair]

Fanboyism isn't involved here at all actually as the author states she does want the vita to succeed. As for your PS3 "example" keep in mind the 3DS beat the lifetime sales of the PS3 in Japan.

[TongkatAli]

We should be happy Nintendo is doing so well guys. That fanbase love handheld gaming and will buy the Vita after a price cut. Handheld gaming is here to stay, I HOPE!

Although I wish the Nintendo fanbase would take the higher ground and be the example of how fanbases should act, some Nintendo fans act like crackheads and their favorite saying is "It has no games"
That meme came from the Nintendo/Xbox fanbase last gen.

I never once said that about the N64/Gamecube/Xbox 1/ 360/Wii. Gaming was so much better back in the day, so chill, Now its nerdy and embarrassing.

I bought a Vita for my sister for her birtday 4 gb memory card, got her SunFlowers, she loves it! . You should have seen the stares I got asking for a Vita, they were pushing you should get a Wii U, "I already have one" their reaction "Ohhhhh *smile*" fanboysim has gotten so retarded and it is much worse now

[EddieNX]

You're absoloutly right , I bought a PSP about 3 years after it came out and bought about 20 Games to play catch up and had the time Of my life. I already have a vita and It's Great. No denying it's a smart fun device.

It has amazing games already, but the difference is Nintendo Has much more recognisable , system selling brands. That not to say NSMB2 is a better game than gravity rush , quite the opposite but it does shift systems which in return brings more and more support.

What Sony needs right now is one of the following.

A- Vita Gran turismo with huge tv advertising and bundle , i predict a Vita GT will be at least anounced this year
B- GTA Vita or a GTA collection for Vita with overhauled graphics , Kinda like what Windwaker is for Wiiu
C- Metal Gear solid Vita - Exclusive or Remake.

Sony fans should just no , it's on course to do Gamecube/N64 numbers and they are two of my personal favorite consoles with my faorite games.

The PS1 trashed the N64 in sales but both were different and neither was better. I see something similar between 3DS and Vita...

[Fel08]

SONY really dropped the ball with the VITA. It could've been an amazing success, but the lack of advertisement, support and AAA games really didm;t do the system justice.

[theherp80]

I agree, they really had something going at launch and kind of messed it up after that. They need more games that show off what the system is capable of. More cross platform play is great but there needs to be better reasons for it like LBP where you can use the vita at the same time as playing the ps3 version. MLB almost has it with the continuation of play, but it should be able to pick up where the game left off, not just uploading save files. They're going to have to promote the hell out of it before the next gen consoles come out otherwise it might be hard to gain any ground afterwards.

[boybato]

great games are not made overnight... I will give it one more year, in the event that things does not pick up then thats when I could safely say that the Vita is a failure.

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

lets comeback in another year and ask the same question.

[CommonSenseGamer]

This time in 12 months, unless Sony do something, we'll be reading articles along the lines of "Why the Vita failed".

The Vita is a capable gaming device but there are so many more options available to consumers nowadays. I know that Vita owners find it hard to see that fact but it is just that, a fact. The majority don't seem to want or care about having console style games that require physical controls and they certainly don't want to pay console prices for games either!

Sony can drop the price but really what they need to do is open the vita up to support the Play store to give the Vita more mass appeal. Software sells systems, if consumers are not interested in the software then the system won't sell in the numbers needed to sustain it ongoing.

[Hicken]

Are there better options to gamers? Dedicated gaming devices aren't supposed to cater to "consumers." They're supposed to cater to gamers; no portable device out there does a better job of that than the Vita.

You can talk about your Nexus all you want, but it's not better at gaming, and that's what the Vita is made for. The consumers you keep talking about aren't part of the market the Vita is trying to capture, anyway. I mean, why would you criticize a sports car for not selling to the minivan crowd?

Like LOGICWINS, your name and your comments don't mesh.

[Pedantic91]

IMO it's more like this:

* Too few games being localized.

* Too many announced games that haven't been heard of in months.

RPGs ? there are plenty of RPGs (both released and coming) for the Vita you're just not looking hard enough:

Danball Senki W
Demon Gaze
Dragon's Crown
Eiyuu Densetsu: Sen no Kiseki
Eiyuu Densetsu: Zero no Kiseki Evolution
Final Fantasy X HD
God Eater 2
Guardian Hearts Online
Lord of Apocalypse
Oboro Muramasa
Ore no Shikabane o Koeteyuke
Phantasy Star Online 2
Picotto Knights
Rainbow Moon
Sei Madou Monogatari
Soul Sacrifice
Tales of Hearts R
Tales of Innocence R
Totori no Atelier Plus
Unannounced Nippon Ichi title
Valhalla Knights 3
Ys: Celceta no Jukai

Granted, most of them are ports/updates but it's better than nothing.

The Vita isn't profitable (yet) enough for the developers to develop for it. and it's install base is too low.

If Sony announced:

-50-70$ official price cut
-a price cut on memsticks
-announced more first party titles
-announce more games to localize
-and maybe an update that adds folders and removes the "100 app limit"

that would surely help the Vita get up on it's legs again.

Though i fear that this years E3 may be too focused on the PS3(possibly the PS4/Orbis as well).

[crazysammy]

I stopped reading when you said you loved games like "River City Rampage" Retro City Rampage is the name, but hey you loved it so much you probably already knew that.

[rrquinta]

Sorry, I had a typo and I thought I had fixed it. It's fixed now. Actually had been following the game since it was first revealed in Nintendo Power... (facepalm)

[CommonSenseGamer]

Don't defend yourself. I've owned all of Sony's consoles (currently have 3 ps3s in my house) and had multiple PSPs and even the PSP Go but because I did not personally buy into the Vita it makes me an xbox fanboy. Before the Vita was released and advocates were talking it up I was skeptical (because I loved the form factor of the Go) however, after 12 months of abysmal sales I'm more convinced now that it will fail than I am that it will succeed. There is no evidence to suggest that it will succeed. Supporters will come out and list all the upcoming games they can think of but hey, they did that in 2011 to support their argument that the Vita could not possibly fail and would triumph sales wise in 2012.

I recently purchased my son a Vita for Xmas so I've even got some hands on experience with one but it still has not won me over. There is nothing on the Vita software wise I want to play and everything else about the Vita pales in comparison to my Nexus 7 tablet which I now take with me everywhere.

[oONinjavitiSOo]

@commonsensegamer cool story bro. Have fun with your weak $0.99 crap games. Anyone that considers phone games as a viable gaming platform is automatically downgraded to casual gamer in my eyes. But whatever I guess if you like it that's cool. Just don't expect me to take anything you say gaming related seriously. Sorry if this hurts people's feelings but to me phone games have a long way to go to compete with the vita and 3ds.

[kayoss]

Agree that the vita is not doing better but to predict that its doom is jumping the gun and premature. After 3 months of it being release I've read countless of similar articles about the doom of the vita. But the Wii u is on a similar path as the vita and so far i havent heard any of these doom story regarding the Wii u. As of right the Wii u is selling way below its expected numbers but why noone bashes it? I remember the 3ds to be on the same boat too until it got a price cut. Rerelease this article with some changes after another year when Sony possibly make some changes to make the vita more enticing. You might want to add " I was wrong" to the end of your article title too.

[ShinFuYux]

The system is finally becoming a year old. Since its year of life span we've seen great games like Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, Gravity Rush, Little Big Planet, Need for Speed and so much more.

The system also has the essential apps that most people use (Web Browser, Alarm, Music, Video, YouTube and Email) and yet people still complain.

It's a great system, I have hopes for it, I can't wait to play DOA5+ on it, I can't wait to see the graphics for Killzone on it, I'm sure Tekken and Gran Turismo is coming on it. It's been announced that Final Fantasy Type 0 is coming to the states (i know it's a PSP game but who cares? More games to play on my vita.)

[tubers]

Where's your reliable source for FF 0 coming to the West?

Latest I've read in Siliconera was that they will do it if there demand is big enough but that's an "if".

[porkChop]

No.

[wiiulee]

if psvita hasnt failed, it will never truly compete with 3ds like the psp attemted to do against ds....3ds is skyrocketing right now....especially with new game announcements from nintendo soon

[tubers]

It will always play 2nd fiddle to the 3DS sales and software count. Still, can't say for sure it won't have an amazing library on its own that can stand against 3DS top tier software.

SO FAR (emphasize), VITA 2013 doesn't look like it'll be able to stand up against the competition.

Destination Playstation for Feb is a retailer event.. so expect leaks only..

E3 is likely to focus on the next gens..

It seems pretty hard to fit the VITA in THE spotlight for 2013.

Again, not saying anything is written in stone here.

A lot here also say that the VITA will be a late bloomer.. then all the more reason not to buy one for now.. (you get benefits such as better hardware revision later, cheaper software, cheaper system [inevitable price cut])

So there's another "VITA problem".

[strigoi814]

Woot writer is bored and has nothing to do i guess...mr. Writer get a life