190°

Sony: 'We have to do a better job in promoting the Vita'

GameZone's Matt Liebl writes, "Just about a year old now, the PlayStation Vita has struggled to catch fire in the handheld gaming market. Sony, for a third time, has revised their estimated sales forecast for the Vita. I firmly believe it's too early to call the system a flop, but sitting around and waiting for it to pick up steam isn't going to cut it anymore. Even the 3DS required a price cut before it began selling to the masses. The point is, something must be done and Sony recognizes this, admitting today that they need 'to do a better job in promoting the PlayStation Vita.'"

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gamezone.com
gamebynight4111d ago

Well no crap, Sony. You've done virtually nothing to market the system. Doing anything at all would be better than what you've done so far.

BullyMangler4111d ago

they do not, less people know about the wiiU, so yep .

What sony deeds to do is, re-design the Vita . no comfort support unless one gets the COMFORT TRIGGER grips they made for it . those are awesome. .

Blastoise4111d ago

The Vita really doesn't need a redesign.
It's a nice looking machine, it's incredibly light & it's comfortable to hold

wolokowoh4111d ago

I don't pretend to know how many people are consciously aware things exist but the fact that Wii has sold 3 million units in the short time is been out and Vita has not managed that is suggests the opposite. I love my Vita but more people "wanted" a Wii U enough to buy purchase it. Handhelds usually sell as good as or better than home consoles. PSP is becoming the exception with PS3 probably catching up this year. Also the earlier example of Wii U already catching Vita's first with just it's launch.

jony_dols4111d ago

If Sony announce a price cut, GoW & a GTA title for the sytem, then it will definitely get sales rolling. It's a crucial timethe Vita, it's since or swim for the next few months...

SaiyanFury4111d ago

@Blastoise above

Yeah the Vita feels great. I recently bought NYKO's Power Grip for the Vita, and it literally makes the Vita feel like a big DualShock controller. Factor in, it doubles the Vita's battery life with it's own internal battery, it's completely worth the 30 dollars. Persona 4 The Golden has never felt better, haha.

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NameRemoved00174111d ago (Edited 4111d ago )

I think they should make an updated psvita with a 1080p screen, 4gb ram, micro sd up to 128gb, and tegra 4. Then it would be able to run games higher quality than the PS3. And they should also put an hdmi port on it, NFC, removable battery and 4g lte support.

DrJones4111d ago

Then it would be a whole new console.. No longer a Vita. And far more expensive.

Krew_924111d ago (Edited 4111d ago )

Phones are barely getting 1080p resolution screens, I've yet to see a phone with 4GB RAM the highest right now is 2GB, 128GB micro SD card is way out of the question, if anything they'll continue to use the same memory technology they use for the Vita right now. Tegra 4 would make the system cost too much.

Everything you just listed is just impossible, and I question if you even thought before posting this.

I don't know what Sony will make next, but I know most if not all of what you wrote is out of the question. Maybe NFC probably even 1080p resolution, but the rest I doubt.

But if you were right, expect the new portable to cost $400+

NameRemoved00174111d ago (Edited 4111d ago )

Vita is dead, android games already are past vita quality and the Tegra 4 is able to run console games at higher quality than the ps3/xbox 360. For them its either upgrade and make an appealing device or keep the outdatted vita and it will be just like the PSP and fail.

If you don't believe me Sony is already shifting to android devices for playstation mobile games with their new playstation app for xperia devices, its only a matter of time before theres some triple A ports available on android.

@Krew, you are wrong. Basically every new featured phone has a 1080p screen, Sony already has 1080p 5" screens it is 100% possible. 2gb of ram is all thats needed for android phones but they can go up to 4gb if they wanted to. Tegra 4 is not an expensive chip, most phone processors cost less than $25 to make. 128gb micro sd cards cost $60 how is this unreasonable? It is not impossible and it would be outdatted by 2x-4x more powerful phones in 6 months.

Krew_924111d ago (Edited 4111d ago )

I said 1080p phones are new, I never said they didn't exist. What I said didn't exist was 4GB of RAM on mobile phones.

128GB is unreasonable because Sony will ALWAYS use proprietary memory formats for their portable devices.

Phones are always getting outdated almost every month nowadays, they're nothing like gaming devices though. What I'm trying to get at, you're listing unrealistic specs right now. We don't even know if consoles next gen will have 4GB of RAM, so this dream list is not very realistic.

Don't get me wrong though, I pretty much bet everyone wishes what you wrote were true, but sadly it most certainly will not. Although, I don't know the future but that's why I said at the end, if it were true expect to pay a very high price.

Just look at phone prices, they pretty much have everything you listed, and MOST sell for $800+

Sci0n4111d ago

Vita already has 1080p support, one of the more recent updates allows you to watch downloaded vids in full 1080p. Games on the other hand that's up to the developers, we still dont have that much 1080p games on consoles.

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UltraVegito4111d ago

1.Marketing

2.Exclusive titles/healthy line up of games

3.Price

These are the basics to pretty much every console.

Sony certainly needs some work in all aspects,the sooner they learn this the better it will be for us all.

Peenutt4111d ago

for the vita its more to do with the price. amazon is selling the veta for 200 last i checked and that's were it should have been.

fredrikpedersen4111d ago

I've actually seen a bunch of Vita ads in Norway, yet I'm the only asshole I know who owns one

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brbobcat4111d ago

They pretty much ignored it at E3, and with the PS4 getting announced soon it looks like they'll ignore it again.

boybato4111d ago

hopefully not.... I mean it would be its birthday after all.(Us, at least)

NameRemoved00174111d ago (Edited 4111d ago )

I want to see the PS Vita relaunched with these specs so it is better than current gen consoles:
Processor: Tegra 4.

Gpu: Tegra 4 IGP.

Memory: 4gb DDR3.

Screen: 1080p Super IPS with 10 point touch.

Storage: up to 256GB Solid state with 4 micro sd ports that can take up to a 128gb micro sd. For a maximum storage space of up to 750GB.

Wireless:
Bluetooth 4LE.
4G LTE for GSM with dual sim support.
Dual Wireless cards for best wifi experience.

Battery: Removable 4000 MAH Battery that can be expanded to increase battery life.

Connections:
Headphone jack with high quality wolfson DAC + good amplifer.

HDMI/Wireless HDMI out with 7.1 surround support and up to 2k.

NFC for transfering saves/media between your PC, PS4 and other Playstation Vitas.

Other Notable Features:
Stream games from your PS4 in full 1080p quality.

Share with friends with NFC and wifi sharing.

Stream games from your vita to your TV and play with the vita or PS4 controller.

Cross platform support.

Play full quality PS3 games that have been ported to the PS Vita like: God of War, Heavy Rain and Infamous.

Full waterproof design and shatterproof glass.

Phone support - Use a GSM sim card and it will allow you to call/text people.

Price:

For a 128gb combo: $500, comes with pair of sony headphones, screen protectors, wireless charger + AC Charger, sync/charge cable and a 3 month Playstation Plus membership + 3 free ps vita downloadable games of your choice

juandren4111d ago (Edited 4111d ago )

hdshatter: First of all - WHAT? Do you even know the cost of any of those things you listed? You think Sony just has a crap load of hardware lying around in storage? I'm pretty sure you must be trolling. Secondly - would you care to fund that whole project? You could make some serious profit. Oh no wait you won't because it won't even sell 500 units a week. Remember it's still a handheld, not a console. And please tell me which Android or iPhone game's quality matches Uncharted: Dark Abyss?

rustyspoon804111d ago

If the PS4 gets announced on Feb 20th, that'd leave E3 for games. Sure the PS4 will still be in the limelight but there will be space at E3.
Also Sony tend to show their big guns before E3 which'd leave even more space for Vita.
Vita needs some more big games, Resi, Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter etc.

JoGam4111d ago

I think sony wont make the same mistake again. They showed their big guns before E3 then didnt really show too much at E3 we didnt already know.

Minato-Namikaze4111d ago

Vita had a strong floor presence, just not big stage presence

JWGoodson4111d ago

Isn't that just the truth... x_x

coptop14111d ago

I mean I wouldn't really say this is news...some might say #oldnews because everyone knows they need to do a better job haha

Bowzabub4111d ago

They're promoting it heavily in Home right now with the PS Home Arcade. There's a big Vita sitting right in the Hub. I'm calling it right now, if they bring the Home app to the Vita it will sell systems, the Home crowd are very devout fans. And it would become the greatest social app because Vita has the mic, the camera, party chat & Skype. Trust me, it would sell hardware.

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120°

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night DLC Adds Free Gameplay Modes

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has received a bunch of new DLC, including two new gameplay modes, for free.

90°

20 Best Survival Games of All Time

From base building to swinging willies, here are the best survival games around, which include a couple of less than obvious picks.

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culturedvultures.com
210°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

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eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel2d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga1d 6h ago (Edited 1d 6h ago )

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow2d ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo1821d 5h ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie19h ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow18h ago(Edited 18h ago)

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

14h ago
Hereandthere10h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Bond revealed that MLB The Show “always came up” in conversations between Microsoft and the Major League Baseball organization. “We always said, ‘We love this game. It would be a huge opportunity to bring it to Xbox.'” she recalled. However, when Microsoft’s efforts materialized, it put the company in an awkward situation where it had to send in pre-release consoles to a rival company.

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Notellin15h ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

14h ago
Hereandthere10h ago

Xbox executive Sara Bond has told Axios that Microsoft spent a number of years trying to get MLB The Show onto Xbox consoles. And when it finally succeeded in breaking off PlayStation’s long-held exclusivity, the company had to “trust” Sony with pre-release Xbox Series X/S consoles.

Hereandthere10h ago

They were too cheap/inept/lazy to develop their own mlb game, so they port begged for years and bribed the mlb to make the show multiplatform. Like i said many times, xbox brought nothing to the table their 24 years, ZERO.

OtterX1d 8h ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

RNTody1d 7h ago (Edited 1d 7h ago )

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno1d 7h ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Sheppard7t31d 5h ago

How did Sony kill the series?

Inverno1d 5h ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

14h ago
fsfsxii15h ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno14h ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

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