210°

Soul Sacrifice: A Killer App for PlayStation Vita? Really?

XPSTAR
The PlayStation Vita did not stride gloriously and manfully onto the marketplace, massive gonads a-dangle, as eager customers followed it down the street throwing money in its wake. Did it ride the sleigh of success into the stratosphere, pulled by golden reindeer that crap gold nuggets and rubies the size of grapefruits? It did not. Presumably because of the ghastly strain the latter would cause to the poor buggers’ anuses.

-Mika-4010d ago (Edited 4010d ago )

I don't know. SS is a niche game. I just don't see it being that killer app that will bring a huge boost of sales to the system. When next month NPD sales come through and if it in the top 5. I will honestly be surprised but I just don't see it happening. There has been no ads for this games at all. Sony is just sending this game out to die. Releasing a demo is just not enough to boost sales.

Godchild10204010d ago (Edited 4010d ago )

I think as long as its in the top ten or number eleven of this month, its still good. Ni No Kuni is a niche title and it was number 11, I believe.

And I think if Soul Sacifice reached the top five of this month, in a week, it's more than a killer game/App for the Vita.

Edit: Word of mouth is just a strong as advertising. A lot of games that had barely any advertisement, went on to sell well over time due to Word of mouth.

Natso4010d ago

Monster Hunter is a niche title, but no one seems to dispute the fact that it's a system seller.

I feel that people are saying this, just because it's the Vita.

Apollosupreme4010d ago

I get why people are excited about it. I've played the demo and it feels like a big budget, well constructed, well directed game but it's just not my tastes. I can see how people would be draw to this if you're a fan of the genre. The Vita need more games in every genre with this sort of production quality.

jek74010d ago

well i think this game can be a system seller if properly advertised. i never played a game this good in the vita. and thats just the demo. i can't wait to buy this game!

guitarded774010d ago

Wow... I agreed with -Mika-. I think I need to get my head checked. It is a niche title outside of Japan. Hopefully it will do well, but I don't see it moving many Vita units in the US. I could be wrong, but that's just how I see it. Doesn't mean it's not a good game, just the way it is.

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DOMination-4009d ago

Yeah its a niche title for the west. Just like MH. People in EU/US are not going to buy a Vita for this game.

I dont think Sony owns an IP thats a true handheld system seller. Maybe GT if they can put a career mode in would work.

Nintendo on the other hand have Mario, MH, Mario Kart, Professor Layton.. Even weird stuff like Brain Training and Art Academy all games that made people randomly buy a DS.

If Sony doesnt have such an IP or is not capable of creating something (i think they are but would rather put resources into ps4) then they need to get third parties onboard. I think FFX will do well. The other ones i can think of is Elder Scrolls and GTA. These would be system sellers.

Conan-O-Brady4010d ago

Wow..... That was very something. OMG,SMH,LMAO.

Shadowsteal4010d ago

It is to a LOT of people, I've been playing the Demo for HOURS.

miyamoto4009d ago (Edited 4009d ago )

Good fer ya.

Gravity Rush was sure a killer app fer me. Nothing quite like it.

Let's play games not sales figures.
Games are more fun than sales figures, anyways.

Mabuhay! Play Away!

sherimae24134009d ago

well im waiting for kat's next game, i hope it will be announce this year ^_^

CEOSteveBallmer4007d ago

off topic. are you Filipino? or youre just refering to sherimae?

SegataSanshiro4009d ago

Thank you for your valuable comment.

Braid4010d ago

Actually, it is.

I've played the demo, the story and the atmosphere was... well, almost perfect.

I'm just thinking that it might be too dark for some people's tastes, from what I can tell it's a quite depressing story with seriously brutal writing. It's a gruesome dark fantasy, kind of like Dark/Demons Souls, with a clever presentation and an engaging flow of events.

I'll be picking it up when it comes out.

matrixman924010d ago

do you think casual gamers care about story and atmosphere? All most people care about is if you can do sick 360 no scopez!! This will not make more people jump on board the vita IMO. If casuals cared about story or atmosphere at all, persona 4 golden would have been a vita seller. I have gotten over 50 hours out of it so far and I'm not anywhere close to being done. Its sad but majority of people just dont care about what really matters in games anymore.

Soldierone4010d ago

I think a lot of people care about shooters, so I agree with you there. Then again, why didn't everyone float over for Call of Duty?

At the same time Soul Sacrifice has a story, but the gameplay is really action oriented and easy to handle. You don't really have to search for anything and are constantly thrown into major battles, always doing something. So this should relate to casuals.

The issue is, casuals probably still find that too hard. So Sony needs really simplistic stupid games, along with shooters of the same caliber.

CommonSenseGamer4010d ago

Have you guys considered that these so called "casuals" do more than just play "simplistic stupid" games on their mobile devices? Maybe the Vita itself does not have wide enough appeal for casuals.

Soldierone4010d ago

@CommonSenseGamer

I have a phone with access to all the games. They are simplistic stupid games, there is no avoiding it.

The good games phones offer are available on Vita. Plants Vs Zombies, Cut The Rope, Even Angry Birds to an extent. The "console quality" crap is even available through PS mini's and some even released as full games.....

Look at whats popular. Angry Birds, simplistic. Words with friends, simplistic. Farmville, stupid.

Yet the Vita can go from simplistic and stupid to Uncharted and Soul Sacrifice, and people still are not buying it. Thats why they need a better mix of shooters, and possibly bring more casual titles in some way. After all what is the PS Suite for anyways?

CommonSenseGamer4010d ago

You missed my point. Why should someone buy a Vita if its more than casual gaming they are after. What app support does the Vita have?

Its not just about the games. Its about a device that best fits in with their lifestyle. Just because your focus is games does not mean it is for the masses.

Hicken4010d ago

You're finally right about something: the Vita doesn't have much "casual" appeal. But you know what?

It's not supposed to.

Likewise, neither Soul Sacrifice nor Monster Hunter are games that really appeal to casual gamers. Your second comment SHOULD read:

"Why should someone buy a Vita if it's only casual gaming they are after?"

And the answer: they shouldn't. Sony has given them no reasons to, and that's been by design. I know it's been said, and you don't seem to listen, but I'll say it once more: the Vita isn't for casuals.

That said, if there's anything that's mainstream for a handheld- particularly in Japan- it's Monster Hunter. You can think of it as like a more core Angry Birds, in terms of "everybody's playing it." And Soul Sacrifice is in that same vein, sporting comparable depth, gameplay, quality, and so on.

It's a well-crafted game in the vein of one of the most popular handheld franchises out there, and it's exclusive to the Vita. Capcom crapped out (did you forget Capcom, themselves, actually said MH would be awesome on the Vita?) and Inafune stepped up.

Maybe it won't be the runaway success that Monster Hunter is. Maybe it won't be THE killer app for the Vita. But to deny it's got the potential to AT LEAST be a system seller is short sighted.

But then, given how you've viewed the Vita all this time, that's to be expected from you, honestly.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4010d ago
Braid4010d ago

Well, I care. I play games for the story, I like games that emphasizes on the story, like Heavy Rain, Alan Wake, Metal Gear Solid. Gameplay is important as well but I sometimes can overlook the shortcomings. Bioshock Infinite, for example: that was some top-notch writing and presentation right there, but the gameplay is quite dull. I still played, and enjoyed the hell out of it.

I do agree with you though, majority of people don't care about the story anymore.

abzdine4010d ago

killer app maybe not, good game it definitely is!

Show all comments (53)
110°

PS Vita Exclusives Freedom Wars, Soul Sacrifice to Have Servers Shuttered

Sammy: "Two high-profile PS Vita exclusives, Freedom Wars and Soul Sacrifice, will have their servers deactivated on 24th December, 2021. Both titles, published by Sony in response to its loss of Monster Hunter exclusivity, were built around co-operative play, and maintained relatively dedicated communities to this day."

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pushsquare.com
Rangerman1208874d ago (Edited 874d ago )

Oreshika is also getting it servers shut down too. Big shame for these games. Honestly some of Vita's gems.

Snookies12874d ago

I'm surprised these were even still up! Loved the Vita though, had some great times with that handheld.

XxSPIDEYxX874d ago

These games deserve sequels or remakes. It was Soul Sacrifice that even got me into Monster Hunter.

Rangerman1208874d ago (Edited 874d ago )

Honestly surprised they never got ported to the ps4 or even PC. Since Sony won't give the vita another shot, wht not make a Vita collection? Could have Soul Sacrifice, Freedom Wars, KZ Mercs, Uncharted Golden Abyss, Murasaki Baby, etc. As a way to conmemorate the Vita.

CDbiggen873d ago

Freedom wars servers are still up? Holy shit.

jimbo6597873d ago

This why you never should have achievements/trophies locked to online only features.

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160°

It's a lonely but fun place - Top 10 PlayStation Games Stranded on Vita Island

"When PlayStation Vita released in 2012, expectations were high as Sony's previous handheld (PSP) was quite successful even if it could never quite match with Nintendo's handheld juggernauts." - Tyler Hall from Video Chums

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videochums.com
ZaWarudo2013d ago

Soul Sacrifice seriously needs another entry.

2013d ago
Fist4achin2013d ago

I would have added Killzone Mercenaries to the list. Overall, good list.

Lexreborn22013d ago

It’s not stranded until 2019, if people really wanted to get some great experiences out the way then they’d buy it. But there are so many stubborn people that made their mind up that won’t happen.

You can go on eBay, OfferUp it any social market place and get one from 70-120 WITH memory card and the games are dirt cheap. But I bet people feel like buying their 5th 3DS for 200 plus because of its color is better then checking out great games.

I guess it’s not always about the games

execution172013d ago

I could just never find one after I got a stable income, could find games all over the place though

rainslacker2013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

Quite a few of the games aren't dirt cheap. Guess it depends on what you like though. The Japanese anime games tend to hold their value quite well.

One can get digital games pretty cheap a lot of the time, and if they were smart, they'd have added all those vita games on PS+ over the years, and have quite an impressive backlog when they get their system.

2013d ago Replies(1)
130°

How Sony & Third Parties Attempted to Capitalize on Monster Hunter's Absence on PSV

VGChartz: “While the PSP definitely got off to a flying start in terms of sales thanks to the promise of console quality gaming on the go, things took a downturn in the following years due to a variety of factors including increasing competition from the DS & phones, and a lack of quality exclusives. In Japan, one franchise injected new life into the little handheld turning it from a decent seller into the must-have machine in the country - this was, of course, Monster Hunter.

Capcom's co-operative action-adventure series was born on the PS2 but found a much better audience on the PSP, where local ad-hoc play became somewhat of a phenomenon in the country. Each successive release sold better than the previous entry, culminating in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd clearing nearly 5 million copies. The stage was all set for the franchise to make the jump to Sony's new handheld in 2011, but in a surprise piece of news it was announced the series would instead be transitioning to Nintendo's new 3DS handheld.

With the audience still very much interested in buying a true next-gen successor on the Vita despite the hardware shift, other companies stepped in to attempt to plug the gap in the market, leading to a large variety of imitator franchises on the Vita. It's these series I'm intending to examine in this article - what they are (including many that actually pre-dated Monster Hunter or appeared alongside it on PSP), how many entries Vita saw, how well they sold, and how well they succeeded at providing a co-operative hunting experience.”

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vgchartz.com
Movefasta19932153d ago

Lol i remember soul sacrifice, i remember when people hyped it up to be the next monster esque game, it was fun for a while but it didn't do it for me.

Jaypi032152d ago

Honestly, story wise, I enjoyed it more than Monster Hunter, but it's comparing apples to oranges really.

Movefasta19932152d ago (Edited 2152d ago )

I don't play monster hunter for story, honestly the monster games have terrible stories but I still love them. I couldn't stand the bland environments in soul sacrifice and having to regenerate the abilities.

TheGamez1002153d ago

Freedom wars, God eater, Toukiden, and soul sacrifice I loved. Well the single player stories that is which is the one thing the mh games lacked to me. Very underrated games.

2152d ago
InKnight7s2152d ago

wow wow stop there lack of quality exclusives? Crisis Core FFVII, Dissidia, Dissidia 012, The 3rd Birthday, KH BBS, Type 0, other SE games, 2 GOW games, DW games, MGS Peace Walker, Dragon Ball Tag Tenkaichi (best DB on the go ever), tons of best anime games including Yu Gi Oh GX, Gundam, HxH, Naruto and so more, Megan Man X, Gran Turismo, 2 GTA games, without mentioning other PS exclusives and MH. PSP main issue was the HACK, without hacking I assume psp games would had sold much better. best portable device ever. with ton of PS1 classics.

Chaos_Order2152d ago

I actually thought Freedom Wars was excellent. Loved the setting, loved the combat, in some aspects I think it beats even Monster Hunter World. (Although MH's scale, scope and depth makes it better overall) I'd love to see a sequel or spiritual successor.