130°

Sony: The Future For The PS Vita Remains Unclear

We may not see any more Western triple-A titles for the handheld.

Sony Computer Entertainment president Andrew House has admitted the future of the PS Vita is still up in the air following the launch of the PS4.

Speaking to IGN at this week's Develop Conference in Brighton, House responded to concerns about whether the handheld's days as a portal for triple-A titles are behind it by explaining the company is waiting to see how things progress.

3-4-53566d ago

* If you go Art Style > Realism, then the graphics don't have to be as mind blowing and you can just worry about the fun.

Nintendo has no problem selling 3DS games even though almost NONE of them look better than Vita games.

* Colorful Art Styles
* Wide Variety of Games
* Fun games that appeal to lots of people
* Variety in genre

3DS does this well, and it helps sell units.

Just follow the blueprint Sony....it's already there and you have the bonus of being the more powerful handheld anyways.

Vita has games.....the "problem" is that the games it has only appeals to like 5% of gamers.

KonsoruMasuta3566d ago

Sony isn't even pushing the Vita graphics like they once did. Yoshida even said that graphics will become less of a focus on the platform.

Derekvinyard133566d ago

Problem is that bonus of being more powerful doesn't mean a thing without games to show it off, reason I bought a PSP was because of the gta series which in my opinion are the best games on it, I will never buy a vita because it has nothing like that. San Andreas stories, infamous spinoff then I'm in but that's looking highly unlikely

XiSasukeUchiha3564d ago

I also feel your pain, Naruto my ninja!

Off topic: by the way how's Iruka?

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3564d ago
nidhogg3566d ago (Edited 3566d ago )

"We may not see any more Western triple-A titles for the handheld."

I'm pretty sure there will still be Western AAA Vita games in the future. Only haters tend to be pessimistic about it. The headline of this news, like many others about the current issue regarding the Vita, is just another heavy statement in order to be click-bait. Journalists -- how they love to exaggerate.

KrisButtar3566d ago

As a Vita owner I highly doubt there are Western games coming. There isn't any triple A's that are even TBA for the system(could be wrong though). Which is a shame as I bought it in hopes for the Western triple A's. If Gamescon goes by without any big news, I myself will consider the system dead or just some accessory to my PS4.

I still recommend the PSP to people over the Vita. I love the Vita hardware but it has not released games that a lot people expected and they seem to be going further away from that as well.

Soldierone3565d ago

On the show floor of E3 there were no new western games. It was all Japanese games or indie stuff. Heck the focus of the Vita section was Disgaea.(Not complaining about that game at all, I want it really badly)

Also the studios that made the Vita exclusives so far are either gone (Resistance studio) or working on PS4 games (Bend and GG) As of this moment, besides a few Japanese studios, there is not a single studio making a Vita title. Not even third party ports.

If GamesCom doesn't change that I may attempt to sell my Vita.

KrisButtar3565d ago (Edited 3565d ago )

@Soldierone

That is really disappointing about the E3 showing. Disgaea franchise is good and one I like but its not that popular. My Favorite PSP game is an Eastern one but its niche, which is in the same boat as Disgaea.

There was a rumor that there was a Bethesda game coming during the launch window but it never happened. I bought my Vita for AC3L and was hoping for more to come.

Indie games I guess are fun, I've play a number of them but I'm more drawn into games like Assassins Creed, Skyrim, Fallout, RDR, GTA, FarCry Darksiders, MetalGear

The best games on the Vita are ports, so its no wonder the thing is not selling as most will have those games on consoles. Who would buy a Vita for a for a port? Like who's bright idea was to fill the system with ports. It needs spin offs, new spins on franchises, good exclusives etc.

GamesCom is going to decide if I continue supporting the Vita or selling it also.

Edit: kinda went on a rant there didn't I? lol

Darkstares3566d ago (Edited 3566d ago )

"Only haters tend to be pessimistic about it."

Oh, so IGN are now haters are they? Sure thing.

Mind listing all those AAA western games that came out in 2014 and are coming this year?

Killzoner993564d ago

IGN is the most anti-Sony gaming site there is. Don't believe this crap.

ArchangelMike3566d ago

I thought the answer is obvious - cross platform games. So I buy a game for the Vita and know that I can also play it on my PS4. Simples. But still keep making games for the Vita dammit!!!

Anon19743566d ago (Edited 3566d ago )

You don't hear that much on here, but I couldn't be happier with my Vita. I enjoyed games like Uncharted and Gravity Rush, but to be honest, when I'm on the go I much rather prefer smaller indie games that I can jump in and out of. When I'm using it it's because I usually have a bit of time to kill in a dr's office or the like. And people act like multiconsole releases somehow don't count as games but of course nothing could be further from the truth. I skipped Rayman and Walking Dead on the consoles and I'm loving the hell out of them right now on my Vita. If there wasn't a single game that released from this point forward I'd still probably have 2-3 worth of games that are out now I want to play out of the couple hundred games on the system.

And the fact that I can now use it as a PS4 extender is just icing on the cake. I was stuck in a hotel room a few weeks back away from my family and passed the time by playing Assassin's Creed 4 on my PS4 at home via remote play. I used it to Skype with my family first and hey...if I got really bored I could always fire up Netflix.

For me, the Vita's been great, and a great value when paired with PSN+. All these Vita doom stories just make me shake my head. Considering Sony's now pushing out new Vita hardware in the form of the PSTV, it's not like they're going to be pulling the plug anytime soon. If anything, as the hardware install base grows between the latest sales surge and the PSTV, I'm sure we'll see more games as more developers take notice. A strategic price cut on the Vita hardware before the holidays and to me I think the Vita's poised to take off. But even if it doesn't, doesn't change the fact that I'm enjoying the hell out of mine.

SuperSquirrel3566d ago

I'm the same. Skipped The Walking Dead and Rayman on PS4 and got them for Vita and am really enjoying them. I've had the Vita for going on a year now and there are some big highlights for me. Good for the kids too with the Lego games etc.

BX813566d ago (Edited 3566d ago )

I really enjoyed mortal kombat and uncharted on the vita I thought the rest were crap. Sad they didn't focus on the vita like I thought they would. I'm sure Sony is content with the amount they will sell as a secondary screen for the ps4.

Anon19743565d ago

The rest of what? The other roughly 198 games out on the system currently? You've played all those and can attest to the fact that aside from the two games you mentioned, the rest are all crap?

Ok there...

JBSleek3566d ago

"You know, if you can play your PlayStation 4 content at will on Vita, then does that obviate the necessity of having Triple-A content or not?"

Scary statement for Vita owners.

URNightmare3566d ago (Edited 3566d ago )

It's a PS4P. That would be good for those of us who own both a PS4 and a PSV. It would drive sales of both systems it seems.

TheGrimReaper00113565d ago

a PS4P = PS4 Portable?

If that's what youu meant, then no. No no no no no no!

Last time I checked, portable means literally ANYWHERE! Unless you have some great internet, you aint playing your ps4. Besides, is that their plan?

So they are basically saying : we give up on vita. Please buy ps4. thank you :(

joeorc3566d ago

on the very same token, any and every Game that is AAA budget has always been coined ie: "a Watered Down PS3 port" or "why play a liveing room console game on a 5" screen"

So Sony has taken that to heart, because the majority of the Media and games see it that way by default! when Uncharted GA, or Gravity Rush came out one of the very 1st complaint's, was ..i would rather play this on the PS3!

So Sony is doing exactly what many gamer's complained about, the fact that the gamers that may want those living room console experience on the go are far outnumbered by the gamers that just want a living room console experiences.

Thus to Sony it makes more viability to move the Playstation Vita priority of a Mobile platform to be that of a Micro-Game console platform. It does not mean that there will be no AAA exclusives on the PSVita it just means as of right now its not really worth increasing the number in development.

its beter to go with the Playstation TV is the priority "Vita" development 1st and PSVita mobile 2nd since they both play the same games its not really a problem other than the camera and back touch pad support not getting priority treatment in PSVita game development now.

Spotie3566d ago

BREAKING NEWS: QUESTIONS ATE NOW STATEMENTS!

Film at 11.

TheDivine3565d ago

Idk why Sony thinks people would rather play their ps4 games on a small screen with less controller input options than on a big HDTV. Handhelds sell to people who either want portable gaming (usually no internet around) or people like me who want more original unique exclusives. I buy handhelds because they have games not on consoles, not to play console games through the web with a crap resolution and tons of choppy lag.

Give me stuff like GOW, MGS, FF, Persona, Jeanne D'Arc, Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, GTA Stories, Valkyria Chronicles, Syphon Filter, Kingdom Hearts and the other games that made the psp a huge success. Indies are great as an appetizer but not the main course. Remote Play is a novelty that doesn't actually work well enough to anything other than a novelty. The controls aren't as good, the text is unreadable, and it lags up and is too glitchy. Make more games period. Approach third parties, Publish ports others won't fund. Localize stuff yourselves. Look at Nintendo who published tons of third party games that the dev or publisher didnt want to like Dragon Quest, Bravely Default, and others.

Do anything other than make excuses.

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

Read Full Story >>
techraptor.net
ChasterMies11d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken11d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga11d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken11d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6411d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long11d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197211d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
DivineHand12511d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91311d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer11d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91311d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit10d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
Christopher11d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6911d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit10d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher11d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken11d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197211d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2311d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218311d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder11d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts11d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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80°

Sony May Soon Let You Decide How Much NPCs Talk In Games

Sony has patented to add multiple dialogue modes to let players switch between how many conversations with NPCs they want in the game.

blackblades17d ago

Sony is like the only ones outta the 3 that has atuff like like this pop up changing thing in ways.

just_looken17d ago

Sony in the past has always been first at bat with new ideas/tech but in the end never fully use it or just toss it away.

blackblades17d ago

I think they did use some but yeah most usually never happened but at least they thought about it. Sony seeks things like this and other, Nintendo seek different ways of playing going by there different controler designs and console designs.

just_looken17d ago (Edited 17d ago )

some of the other stuff sony want's/owns never used
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://www.eurogamer.net/s...
https://metro.co.uk/2023/03...
https://decrypt.co/114754/s...

monitor/adjust game difficultly as you play
https://www.techradar.com/g...

Sony nfts
https://www.theblock.co/pos...

Pay ai to play the game for you
https://thebusinessofesport...

Oh all the above last 12 months

I just imagine a evil scientist with test subjects when it comes down to sony recent patent reports.

Kaii17d ago

Will we get dialogue options that won't spoil puzzles in a matter of seconds? :p

280°

Judge rules in PlayStation's favour in $500m patent infringement lawsuit

Genuine Enabling Technology was seeking damages, claiming the tech allowing PlayStation consoles and controllers to communicate infringes its rights.

Read Full Story >>
gamesindustry.biz
S2Killinit19d ago

Big victory for Sony. And a long time coming.

DarXyde19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

Crazy to think the savings from this lawsuit allows them to develop one AAA game.

Make it Bloodborne 2, please and thank you.

19d ago
Profchaos19d ago

Sounds like patent trolling they tried the same thing against Nintendo with the same pattern.

Motion and control input traversing over higher and lower frequencies seperate from each other allowing the controller to do both

Pyrofire9519d ago

Patents suck. Most of them are complete garbage.

Knightofelemia19d ago

So to recoup the money Genuine is going to take on Nintendo or Microsoft next. I hate patent lawyers they are some of the worst bottom feeders out there.

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