The guys at Gamers Association put their heads together and presented their own opinions on how Sony could save the lackluster performance of the PlayStation Vita.
(PS Vita, Sony)
I dont think that it needs "saving" Is it dying already? Obviously it needs more games. But one of these guys says that it needs better social network integration...Really? I use it to play games !!! thats what its for!!
Abash - got it right. Look what Persona did for the Vita in Japan... huge sales spike. Thats what we need. Although I dont play COD, i think that its going to spike the sales when it comes to the VITA..
All it needs is exclusive/unique games. We don't know if Call of Duty will have a different campaing and Persona 4 is a remake of an old game. I think Sony should make a Loco Roco/Patapon game for vita. Loco Roco + Patapon + Gravity Rush + Little Big Planet would be a killer combo.
And yes guys, it needs to be saved, it's not doing fine. Only one third party game sold more than "160k" (which is fifa), the hardware only sold 2M worldwide, so the system is selling bad and third party sales are also very bad so of course they need to do something.
Multiplats (games you can have on your HD system with bigger screen), ports and remakes aren't working. They need more games like Gravity Rush (games you can only find on vita).
Don't believe me? Just look at the Gravity Rush sales and you will see that it's EXACTLY what people REALLY wants to see on vita. Now take a look at multiplats games like Mortal Kombat (which sold 50k lol?), Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (which sold 20k and is already dead in sales so early....) and some other games like UMvsC (which barely sold 80k). Super Street Fighter IV sold more than 800k on the 3DS, but I don't know how to explain it. The fact is that this strategy is not working for vita.
I am sure that if Sony make a Loco Roco, Patapon or more unique vita experiences it will sell much more and people will have much more reason to buy it.
Also, the price is fine, there is nothing wrong with the price. I believe the device is really worth the price, all it needs is exclusive games.
@Hisiru I think you're overreacting and you're probably going to have a heart attack soon, so I will have to give you a "disagree" for that, sorry. But yes, you gave facts, vita really needs exclusive games. Multiplatforms ("multiplats" is an ugly word, stop using it, please) are selling very poorly and people is always using it as a reason to buy a vita but if it's not selling then it's not what people want (like you said). Sony really needs a different strategy, and fast. As you said, games like Gravity Rush is selling well and multiplatforms/remakes are selling very bad, maybe it's an indication?
-edit- Also, lets give more time for vita. People love to complain about something that needs time (vita) and something that is not even out yet (WiiU), that's how it works nowadays.
i could have swore it just came out in febuary and only One game (a port) spiked the sales a decent amount. i could be mistakes tho, i forgot which planet i am on at the moment.
@PoSTedUP A decent ammount? Are you talking about Persona 4? Sales increased 50% but when you have 50% of a small number you will have a bigger, but small number at the end. Vita was selling something like "11k" in Japan, with Persona 4's release, Vita sold "30k" in one week and now it's already dead selling something like "14k" again. So it's not a "decent ammount".
@victorGma21 It's ok, you can give me a disagree, whatever... The problem is: 3DS sold third party games very well even at the beginning of it's life (just look at the launch sales for games like Professor Layton, Street Fighter IV etc). I don't know why Street Fighter IV sold 800k on 3DS and fighting games aren't even selling on vita. I don't want to hear the "third party games don't sell on vita" talk because I think this device has a lot of potential so I think Sony should do something to increase the hardware and software sales!
So you said "give it time" but it already has multiplats games and some other games, but the strategy is not working. 3DS didn't needed a lot of time and as I said, even core games sold well on this thing. I just don't want to see vita losing support but that's what is going to happen if sales continue to be this bad for software and hardware.
Sony needs a new strategy for the Vita. They can't let Nintendo go so far ahead in sales.
@hisiru VITA HAS EXCLUSIVES, and by that i mean, resistance, uncharted etc.. yes thoes Are exclusives. AND IF YOU MEAN it needs NEW FRANCHISES; you are terribly mistaken. PERSONA4; sales spike. Gtanturismo on the PSP; sales spike. MGSPW sales spike. ppl are Not going to buy the vita specifically for games like Gravity Rush. especially since the thing is 250-$300. it NEEDS ports and the franchises that already have a guaranteed foundation that everyone loves. that IS what is going to drive the vitas sales because even if they do come out with an incredible game, they will not spend money on marketing it at its current price in this economy, that would be ridiculous. a new franchise game COULD sell consoles if done properly, but its not going to happen anytime soon. WE NEED PORTS and old franchises, Granturismo, SOCOM, a NEW MGS, COD! battle field, and whatever the games are that yall like.
edit: and the price isn't fine, you think its worth it and so do i, but in this economy and with that price, the sales are really where they should be.
@hirsiu- the sales Are decent for the economy and the price, times have changed my friend this is as good as it is going to get for a little while if not longer. and you cant compare it to the 3DS, its a different handheld and Nintendo has been around for the LONGEST with their handhelds, think gameboy's <-----this is the reason nintendo sells so well plus they appeal to a wider audience whereas sony looks strictly for the hardcore and is just now starting to get more into the casuals, you defiantly see they psuh more hardcore games.
PoSTedUP You know I am talking about a big number of exclusives, and not just a "few exclusive games".
Persona 4 only made vita sell 16k more in Japan (for ONE week), which is not good enough to be called "spike in sales"
And you are wrong. People BOUGHT a vita for games like Gravity Rush, it even made the system sell better and this game is also having decent sales.
It DOESN'T need ports/remakes/multiplatforms. As I said before, those games aren't even selling, so that's not what people want, this strategy is NOT working. Just look at my post carefully and go make some research for the sales of games like Mortal Kombat, Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Even Metal Gear Solid HD Collection sold miserably in it's first week is already dead.
Sony is ALREADY spending a lot of money marketing it even on soccer games, television etc, TV shows etc. But the way they are marketing it makes it looks like you can simply have the same games on PS3. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1...
And don't try to use "economy". 3DS and PS3 are selling very well even with this "economy" (and they are old consoles already, vita is something new, it should sell better...)
-EDIT- "its a different handheld and Nintendo has been around for the LONGEST with their handhelds, think gameboy's <-----this is the reason nintendo sells so well plus they appeal to a wider audience whereas sony looks strictly for the hardcore and is just now starting to get more into the casuals, you defiantly see they psuh more hardcore games."
You could say that but how do you explain a crap Super Street Fighter IV port on the 3DS sell MUCH better at launch than any third party vita game? (like Mortal Kombat, UMvsC3 or Metal Gear Sold)
If the platform is so focused on hardcore gaming, why is those games selling much more on the 3DS? like RE: Revelations, Street Fighter IV (800k almost 1 million sales) etc?
Even Ridge Racer sold almost 500k on 3DS and it sold less than 100k on vita.
For me it's clear that Sony needs a different strategy. The current strategy is not working for both hardware and software sales.
gravity rush pnly just came out, and the sales didn't spike what are you rambling about? and dont ignore what i said about the fact and the state this economy is in, that plays a big part and you know this. and persona4 just came out these sales are likely to increase or stay the same for a little while. the sales actually spiked 150% in japan and 50% around the WORLD< that is good for right now with no games man. week to week from what i understand
dude you dont know what you're talking about and give any reasoning behind what you're saying and ignored a lot of what i said.. only ONE old franchise has been released and its selling great and selling more systems. uncharted and resistance i could see not selling systems because like you said you can get it on the ps3, but at the same time Resistance games sell like 2m and start off slow, uncharted is more or less the same, they are not big franchises like MGS or granturismo. and persona4 will sell systems in US because it does have a fan base here too. the price isnt gone to push games like uncharted, but person4, granturismo; yes it will. what pushed the the ps3? MGS, granturismo etc.
edit: the whole 3DS thing. the 3DS has a lot more systems sold than the vita. and nintendo has this thing on lockdown with the 3D handheld thing. great thing to have/market.
@PoSTedUP He is actually right, if you see Mediacreate/famitsu sales you will see that Persona 4 made the PSV sell better but it's still selling very bad: -When Persona 4 released, Vita sold 34,459 units (if you think it's good for a new system, then you must think again) http://www.gonintendo.com/?... -After Persona 4 released (one week after it's release), Vita sold 13,589 units http://gonintendo.com/?mode... So it's pretty much at the same situation as before. Persona 4 only gave a 20,000 boost for a console that is considered "new" didn't sold yet, so it had to sell much more than just a 20,000 boost.
I made some research and Gravity Rush is really selling well and it even increased hardware sales (at the same week).
You said "Persona 4 just came out and the sales will increase or stay the same", but it looks like you are wrong. The sales for Persona 4 dropped a lot. It sold 29,293 units last week and it will probably sell even worse.
So yes, vita had a 150% increase in sales but 150% of what vita was doing (12,383 units per week) is still very bad for a new system, so it only sold 34,459 units with this "150% boost"
I don't want to be in this fight but it looks like he knows what he is talking about and you are having some problms with your research.
Resistance sold 80,000 units, which isn't good as you said.
All the ports/remakes from imporant games you are defending are really selling very bad as he said. Maybe it's really time for exclusive games.
I don't want to defend him (by no means) but it looks like he gave you some facts and you are actually giving wrong info (you said sony isn't marketing the PSV, but it's actually making a big market for Vita, you said Persona 4 gave a big boost for hardware sales, which is not true).
let me explain: ok first i couldn't find anywhere where gravityrush pushed the console (my research might be off but maybe i was misled).
and i did say a big hardware boost, but you guys aren't understanding and completely ignoring the fact that i am glorifying the sales in a state of the bad economy. so imo the vita sales are good/ok for the situation it is in and it's price. a price drop plus (and again you are misinterpreting that "big" games i am talking about) persona4 was only one system seller.
"All the ports/remakes from imporant games you are defending are really selling very bad as he said."
i only mentioned one port/remake and it is not selling bad it's selling according to hardware and has pushed hardware according to economy and price. the other games i was speaking of have not yet released yet.
and i haven't seen the Vita marking, but i certainly didn't say they ARENT marketing the VITA, i clearly said that if they do have an incredible game they WILL NOT market it (the game) due to it being only a single great game, it would be a waste of money and not benefit them. i certainty haven't seen great marketing for Gravity Rush, have you? and if i haven't seen gravity rush on tv if not most websites, then im not wrong.
and when i said the sales will increase or stay the same, that was obviously a bad assumption for i am already proven wrong.
but anything else of what i spoke of was not touched on convincingly to make the rest of my claims false (only true to my opinion) because a lot of what i said makes sense in terms of this economy. ppl need to stop freaking out over the sales. a price cut and more games is the cure (speculation of games obv. opinion).
but i guess this is a debate on which games will sell hardware, and persona4 was a definite hardware seller. not gravity rush.
so the only thing i was off about was my obviously wrong assumption about the sales staying the same. that was kinda over the top.
@PoSTedUP I believe the bad economy has nothing to do with it. All the other current consoles are selling very well (for old consoles) and Vita sold worse than the original PSP (in some weeks in Japan).
There is nothing to glorify about Vita's sales, Sony needs to do something, or they will have problems in the long run. They can't let so many third party games sell so bad, what Hisiru showed is actually disturbing, I didn't know Metal Gear sold so bad in it's first week. Vita is probably going to lose some support, which is not what we (gamers) want.
As I showed you above, Persona 4 wasn't a system seller (by no means). It (the game) sold very well for a remake, but Persona 4 only gave the vita a 20.000 hardware units in sales and nothing else, Vita is selling bad again in Japan.
"i only mentioned one port/remake and it is not selling bad it's selling according to hardware and has pushed hardware according to economy and price. the other games i was speaking of have not yet released yet."
Japan isn't having any problems with economy, youre probably talking about OUR economy. I don't know why you are using it as an argument to explain why vita isn't selling in Japan (which is where Persona 4 was released).
"and i haven't seen the Vita marking (i might be wrong ok)."
Vita is always there. Soccer, boxing, ufc, NFL and even NBA. I don't know how you managed to miss every marketing. Also, where do you live? Are you telling me you never saw a vita ad on TV?
"but anything else of what i spoke of was not touched on convincingly"
Like what? I don't know about your conversation with Hisiru.
"to make the rest of my claims false (only true to my opinion)" How can it be true? I already gave you links.
"a price cut and more games is the cure (speculation of games obv. opinion)."
A price cut would hurt Sony's profit (a lot). They already spent a heavy money marketing it (I gave you a link for this), the hardware is still expensive, Sony already lost a lot of money this generation so why would they cut the price now? It wouldn't be good for them.
Also, I don't think the problem is the price. I won't say the problem is more "exclusive games" as people said above, but it seems to be the case.
I agree with you Hisiru. They need more games that are suited to handhelds. Sony's developers are going the right way about things I think. But the third parties just don't seem to take it seriously. They see Vita as another system to port games to. That makes them take their HD games and some of them don't even care about trying to make use of Vita's power.
They should at least try and be more creative. At least AC and Black ops are trying that though so we'll see how it goes.
Vita has a good presence at retail, its got a really solid lineup of games, and it has yet to be around during the Christmas season, so I think the trolls are just mad that the Vita is the best handheld gaming platform ever made. Playstation All Stars, Black Ops and Assassins Creed will catapolt Vita sales to a very high level during the holiday season.
"I believe it is because it is nothing new; it isn’t bringing anything to the game market that wasn’t already there."
"The simple answer? Games. PlayStation was so quick to pat itself on the back by beating Nintendo with a Vita launch line-up that put the 3DS to shame. Unfortunately, it seems like they stole two years of releases in the process."
"Considering the success received by the 3DS after its major price drop early on in its life cycle, doing the same thing with Vita would surely send systems off of store shelves. That said, I’m not sure a cheaper system is the right move at the moment."
I'm with the third quote, yet I don't think the Vita is losing MASS amounts of money on the Vita like he stated. It's actually been profitable from day 1.
but it is selling your statement is a lie i see yet another anti sony comment from you 360gamer come on surprise everyone make a positive comment on a ps3/vita game i dare you :)
For the entire life of the PSP we've been subjected to "How the PSP failed", "What Sony can do to save the PSP", "What went wrong with the PSP", etc, etc. And the PSP went on to sell something like 75 million units putting it close to the GameBoy Advance. Anyone remember any "What Nintendo can do to save the GBA" articles? And who can forget all the "Can Sony save the PS3" articles we've been subjected to over the years. Now they've turned into "Can the PS3 save Sony" articles.
It's no surprise to me that the games media would continue it's attacks with the PSVita.
Based on my observations the biggest problem of the Vita is the same problem that Sony failed to address & kept the PSP from total domination... addressing the PUBLIC PERCEPTION of PORTABLE GAMING DEVICES.
Nintendo addressed it and reaped huge rewards Now Apple and Android addressed it and reaped huge rewards
Sony can not expect what worked for PSOne, PS2 and PS3 will work for mobile devices like PSP & PS Vita.
Portable gaming devices will always be generally perceived & dismissed as "A CHILD's PLAYTHING" and Sony is not addressing that perception.
I am not saying saying the PS Vita does not need games like Uncharted, Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty or Assassins Creed in fact they should make 50% of PS Vita games.
Sony PS Vita games need to have games for children too to make it a well balanced platform. The kind of games that sell the Nintendo, Apple and Android platforms.
I am all for deep game play experiences but there is a huge market for simple Pokemon, and Mario games too, full priced or bite sized games like Angry Birds too.
I hope Sony will get off their high horses and level down with kiddie gamers too. I hope PlayStation Mobile will address this problems too.
If not then its PSP all over again or much worse now that Apple and Android is around.
honestly for me, the Vita is awesome. They just made a silly design because no video-out was an automatic fuck this device for me.
So if they add it in maybe the next "design", then I'll for sure nab one. Hopefully by then more Vita games will be out and simply not console ports. This is the PSP all over again when it launched.
You would think by the end of the PSP's "hot-cycle" where everyone started to know it was UNIQUE and PSP-exclusive IPs, that it would follow to the Vita. Nope...gotta show off that raw power by just porting console games in a different story and rehashed title.
1. A price cut- $189.99 would do just fine.
2. Cheaper memory cards- The prices are robbery at best.
3. Cheaper lower priced games that aren't minis $40-$50 for handheld games I mean come on.
4. A 4G version- So games can be played everywhere and not only Wi-fi
5. Better advertisement- Sony should be ashamed at themselves for their marketing plans.
Just to say a few things that could be done to ensure that Vita has a long life span but I would call for a successor to it in 2014
" 3. Cheaper lower priced games that aren't minis $40-$50 for handheld games I mean come on."
I see this comment often but I still don't understand the logic behind it. These $40-50 games are full production games, that happen to be on a handheld. They have the same quality and work put into them as $60 console games. Why would you expect a lower price?
The market demands the lower price. In this day and age mobile games are cheap and sure they don't have the fidelity as other games they show promise.
These games don't have the same quality as their big counterparts. I want you to show me a Vita game that is as deep as Skyrim, as graphically potent as Killzone, and controlable as CoD.
This is a fair critism because 10 bucks cheaper than the PS3 game might as well just buy the PS3 version and asking to spend more money for a Vita version so overall you just paid $100 is horrible.
This arguement is riddled across the internet because it needs to be addressed.
There's 2 games out right now, Gravity Rush and Uncharted Golden Abyss. Both received great reviews, great player feedback and both under $50. These 2 games are better than 90% of the console games released this year.
You cite 3 examples of (imo) great games, but how many PS3/Xbox360 games can beat those out either? Not many, and ALL PS3/Xbox360 games release at $60.
As far as I'm concerned, the tier pricing of Vita games is a model all consoles should follow.
1. Price cut= not needed. People WANT it; who wouldn't want to spend less on something they want or need? But it's not needed at all.
2. Give it a rest. The cards will come down the longer they're on the market, just like every new memory format. Just like every new technology, period. "Robbery" is the cost of being an early adopter. Deal with it.
3. This wouldn't hurt, but it also wouldn't impact system sales by much. It would, however, have a positive effect of software sales.
4. 4G isn't even widespread enough to make a difference. Besides, you're leaving out 3G.
5. Marketing is a given. But I honestly don't expect them to change, at this point. They may do SLIGHTLY more than what they did for the PS3, MAYBE.
A successor in 2014? That's just ridiculous. I don't know if you actually have a Vita, but you can kinda tell it's designed to be around for a while. I'd wager Sony is looking at having it be around for the duration of the PS4's life... that would kinda disprove your idea of a new system coming out in two years... on second thought, no matter how you look at it, 2014 is stupid.
Dunno why I bothered to try and reply to you reasonably, though...
The same thing happened to the 3DS and PS3. If it doesn't sell a billion in the first week... FAIL! If it doesn't have 27 exclusive games in the first month (unless it's the 360 which doesn't need exclusive games according to the fans)... FAIL! It'll blow over yet again. The Vita is awesome.
No matter what you say Sony will do what ever they think is best. They won't be listening to the articles written by people who have no idea how to run a milti- billion dollar company. Sony doesn't care how you think they should save the VITA. They have their own plans for better or for worse. It's up to them to decide what they will do. Just because you give suggestions doesn't mean they are plausible to them at this time or they are cost effective
oh my GOOD GOD! what's happened? I say: BRING IT ON! no matter how many ways these journalists want to disparage Sony products, they will have 0 effect on the sales.
desperation is a sure sign that things are not going your way
This site: Guys we have almost no visitors.. Other dude on the site: Why not put a critical vita article to unleash the trolls , fanboys and the lovers:) Other dude: i see what you did there ^^
PS vita needs games: Persona 4;) is an example of this. If atlas give more of this sort of games:D
I love my Vita, am are very happy with the games I'm getting. Even tough it's only 6 months old, it definately keeps up with the other consoles with exclusive releases in these slow months, maybe PS3 have a few more games every once in a while.
Multiplatform-games will offcourse do abit better, when the various game-engines matures, and the games start coming day-and-day with the other platforms.
- Really impressive what Persona 4: Golden did, 1 out of every 7 japaneese Vita-owner bought the game in the first week, in retail. And according to Atlus the PSP-version of Persona 3 had roughly 10% digital sales, in addition to the numbers reported on Media Create, so I would expect it to be atleast 1/6 of the J-Vita owners getting that. The upcoming Y's game look fantastic, but I don't think that will be nearly as much puill as the Persona game.
I don't think we'll see Vita-games burning up the retail-charts as often as 3DS or PSP-games did, since every title is available both via DD and at retail.
The price is fine for hardcore gamers and the quality you get. The problem is that the casuals don't mind playing games on their Iphones/Androids, wich usually looks like the average mini-game, with abit worse controls.
I think Vita could use a blog of their own. Not part of the current PSBlog.
Sort of like a mix of Gametrailers/Vita Game Heaven and the current blogs, but a application of it's own, with PSN-comment-system like on the blog, integrated into the Vita-system, but also available on the web. Where there is coming news each day, with interviews and trailers, done with devs of the soon upcoming games, including smaller unknown Mini's and PSN-games wich dosn't get the spotlight in most game-media.
And Near should be improved aswell, an external game documentation link, wich opened a webpage, where you could click R, then Resistance, then after clicking that the devs would tell the users there how they integrated Near into that game. Since alot of developers include lots of cool things there, but it's really hard to figure out how Near works in the various games.
I don't think that would be a system-seller in it's own, but it would improve the Vita-experience.
They could make it more comfortable to hold... I hate playing my Vita. The controls feel out of place to me and gaming even for a few minutes leaves my thumbs sore. It's really hard to aim in Uncharted: Golden Abyss and the constant indications to touch the screen, rotate the device and dust things off using the back are very annoying features. It felt more like a chore to play games than fun. Plus, it seems like 90% of the time, I'm watching stupid cut scenes.
This is the first handheld I can play without any hand-issues in my hands for 7-8 hours stratight, PSP/DS and 3DS gives me hand-cramps after an hour or two. So I wouldn't change the design, other than moving the speakers away from finger-area, and maybe have the accessory-input relocated for more convenience when carrying it. :P
There is some grips out wich you can buy wich will fix your holding issues, if you want it to feel more like a regular controller.
It's not that long cutscenes in Golden Abyss, sure it's more than the average handheld action-games, but most of them are much shorter than the console-games, however there were some more in the middle of the level, compared to the console-Uncharted. :P
There is also interactivity collecting treasures during the cutscenes, so if you don't care about the story, you can still try to catch treasures and similar during the movie. I really like the swipe-fighting, it felt natural, when you had to drag Nathan away from a incoming blow, and saw him dodge after your finger - and dragged your finger towards the foe, and saw him trying to punch after it. I'm aware that it's basically a QTE, but it felt much more fun rather then just seeing him dodge when pressing a button like in the console-games. A good evolution in my opinion, wich I hope to see more of.
I often found myself hidden sneaking around on the map, counting if there were few enough enemies to handle in a fistfight, rather then a shootout. Because the melee-action were so fun.
Everyone keeps bringing up game sales. Do people constantly need to be reminded of gamefly/disc replay/craigslist. I buy probably 1/4 of the games I used to new this generation due to having a job/life/the option of not paying full price for them anymore. Perhaps when people are not outside doing activities/vacations to pay for and the holidays come about sales will pick up drastically. I'm an early adopter of tech and remember playing resistance fall of man and ps2 games on my ps3 when it launched good things come with time. (wine)
U know what i,m gonna do? I am gonna bookmark all the so called game websites like yours (who like to think they are real professionals, who 6 years ago said ps3 was the new Saturn, who a year ago said 3ds is dead,...) and send you an invitation to my TROLL awards.
Then watch, by Christmas or early next year, there's gonna be articles, like "why is the Vita so powerful, is it the best handheld ever, why don't you have a Vita, etc.".
This won't happen. These journalists have been trying to bring the PS3 down since it launched, and even now when it's clear how awesome the PS3 is they can't seem to bring themselves to give it any praise.
Did capcom announce it as an exclusive for the 3DS? If not then there's a chance that they will also announce it for the Vita. Anyways TGS will reveal everything.
You can't save something that does not have a demand. Sony knew there was no demand for a new handheld prior to the vita release. A few big name games is not gonna help because those games are available on console.
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Oh wait, thats whats happening in a few months already
Abash - got it right. Look what Persona did for the Vita in Japan... huge sales spike. Thats what we need. Although I dont play COD, i think that its going to spike the sales when it comes to the VITA..
Joke, right?
O-T
EXCLUSIVE GAMES! and by that I'm not saying Exclusive spin-offs
And yes guys, it needs to be saved, it's not doing fine. Only one third party game sold more than "160k" (which is fifa), the hardware only sold 2M worldwide, so the system is selling bad and third party sales are also very bad so of course they need to do something.
Multiplats (games you can have on your HD system with bigger screen), ports and remakes aren't working. They need more games like Gravity Rush (games you can only find on vita).
Don't believe me? Just look at the Gravity Rush sales and you will see that it's EXACTLY what people REALLY wants to see on vita. Now take a look at multiplats games like Mortal Kombat (which sold 50k lol?), Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (which sold 20k and is already dead in sales so early....) and some other games like UMvsC (which barely sold 80k). Super Street Fighter IV sold more than 800k on the 3DS, but I don't know how to explain it. The fact is that this strategy is not working for vita.
I am sure that if Sony make a Loco Roco, Patapon or more unique vita experiences it will sell much more and people will have much more reason to buy it.
Also, the price is fine, there is nothing wrong with the price. I believe the device is really worth the price, all it needs is exclusive games.
I think you're overreacting and you're probably going to have a heart attack soon, so I will have to give you a "disagree" for that, sorry. But yes, you gave facts, vita really needs exclusive games. Multiplatforms ("multiplats" is an ugly word, stop using it, please) are selling very poorly and people is always using it as a reason to buy a vita but if it's not selling then it's not what people want (like you said). Sony really needs a different strategy, and fast. As you said, games like Gravity Rush is selling well and multiplatforms/remakes are selling very bad, maybe it's an indication?
-edit-
Also, lets give more time for vita. People love to complain about something that needs time (vita) and something that is not even out yet (WiiU), that's how it works nowadays.
A decent ammount? Are you talking about Persona 4? Sales increased 50% but when you have 50% of a small number you will have a bigger, but small number at the end. Vita was selling something like "11k" in Japan, with Persona 4's release, Vita sold "30k" in one week and now it's already dead selling something like "14k" again. So it's not a "decent ammount".
@victorGma21
It's ok, you can give me a disagree, whatever... The problem is: 3DS sold third party games very well even at the beginning of it's life (just look at the launch sales for games like Professor Layton, Street Fighter IV etc). I don't know why Street Fighter IV sold 800k on 3DS and fighting games aren't even selling on vita. I don't want to hear the "third party games don't sell on vita" talk because I think this device has a lot of potential so I think Sony should do something to increase the hardware and software sales!
So you said "give it time" but it already has multiplats games and some other games, but the strategy is not working. 3DS didn't needed a lot of time and as I said, even core games sold well on this thing. I just don't want to see vita losing support but that's what is going to happen if sales continue to be this bad for software and hardware.
Sony needs a new strategy for the Vita. They can't let Nintendo go so far ahead in sales.
VITA HAS EXCLUSIVES, and by that i mean, resistance, uncharted etc.. yes thoes Are exclusives. AND IF YOU MEAN it needs NEW FRANCHISES; you are terribly mistaken. PERSONA4; sales spike. Gtanturismo on the PSP; sales spike. MGSPW sales spike. ppl are Not going to buy the vita specifically for games like Gravity Rush. especially since the thing is 250-$300. it NEEDS ports and the franchises that already have a guaranteed foundation that everyone loves. that IS what is going to drive the vitas sales because even if they do come out with an incredible game, they will not spend money on marketing it at its current price in this economy, that would be ridiculous. a new franchise game COULD sell consoles if done properly, but its not going to happen anytime soon. WE NEED PORTS and old franchises, Granturismo, SOCOM, a NEW MGS, COD! battle field, and whatever the games are that yall like.
edit: and the price isn't fine, you think its worth it and so do i, but in this economy and with that price, the sales are really where they should be.
@hirsiu- the sales Are decent for the economy and the price, times have changed my friend this is as good as it is going to get for a little while if not longer. and you cant compare it to the 3DS, its a different handheld and Nintendo has been around for the LONGEST with their handhelds, think gameboy's <-----this is the reason nintendo sells so well plus they appeal to a wider audience whereas sony looks strictly for the hardcore and is just now starting to get more into the casuals, you defiantly see they psuh more hardcore games.
You know I am talking about a big number of exclusives, and not just a "few exclusive games".
Persona 4 only made vita sell 16k more in Japan (for ONE week), which is not good enough to be called "spike in sales"
And you are wrong. People BOUGHT a vita for games like Gravity Rush, it even made the system sell better and this game is also having decent sales.
It DOESN'T need ports/remakes/multiplatforms. As I said before, those games aren't even selling, so that's not what people want, this strategy is NOT working. Just look at my post carefully and go make some research for the sales of games like Mortal Kombat, Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Even Metal Gear Solid HD Collection sold miserably in it's first week is already dead.
Sony is ALREADY spending a lot of money marketing it even on soccer games, television etc, TV shows etc. But the way they are marketing it makes it looks like you can simply have the same games on PS3.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1...
And don't try to use "economy". 3DS and PS3 are selling very well even with this "economy" (and they are old consoles already, vita is something new, it should sell better...)
-EDIT-
"its a different handheld and Nintendo has been around for the LONGEST with their handhelds, think gameboy's <-----this is the reason nintendo sells so well plus they appeal to a wider audience whereas sony looks strictly for the hardcore and is just now starting to get more into the casuals, you defiantly see they psuh more hardcore games."
You could say that but how do you explain a crap Super Street Fighter IV port on the 3DS sell MUCH better at launch than any third party vita game? (like Mortal Kombat, UMvsC3 or Metal Gear Sold)
If the platform is so focused on hardcore gaming, why is those games selling much more on the 3DS? like RE: Revelations, Street Fighter IV (800k almost 1 million sales) etc?
Even Ridge Racer sold almost 500k on 3DS and it sold less than 100k on vita.
For me it's clear that Sony needs a different strategy. The current strategy is not working for both hardware and software sales.
dude you dont know what you're talking about and give any reasoning behind what you're saying and ignored a lot of what i said.. only ONE old franchise has been released and its selling great and selling more systems. uncharted and resistance i could see not selling systems because like you said you can get it on the ps3, but at the same time Resistance games sell like 2m and start off slow, uncharted is more or less the same, they are not big franchises like MGS or granturismo. and persona4 will sell systems in US because it does have a fan base here too.
the price isnt gone to push games like uncharted, but person4, granturismo; yes it will. what pushed the the ps3? MGS, granturismo etc.
edit: the whole 3DS thing. the 3DS has a lot more systems sold than the vita. and nintendo has this thing on lockdown with the 3D handheld thing. great thing to have/market.
He is actually right, if you see Mediacreate/famitsu sales you will see that Persona 4 made the PSV sell better but it's still selling very bad:
-When Persona 4 released, Vita sold 34,459 units (if you think it's good for a new system, then you must think again)
http://www.gonintendo.com/?...
-After Persona 4 released (one week after it's release), Vita sold 13,589 units
http://gonintendo.com/?mode...
So it's pretty much at the same situation as before. Persona 4 only gave a 20,000 boost for a console that is considered "new" didn't sold yet, so it had to sell much more than just a 20,000 boost.
I made some research and Gravity Rush is really selling well and it even increased hardware sales (at the same week).
You said "Persona 4 just came out and the sales will increase or stay the same", but it looks like you are wrong. The sales for Persona 4 dropped a lot. It sold 29,293 units last week and it will probably sell even worse.
So yes, vita had a 150% increase in sales but 150% of what vita was doing (12,383 units per week) is still very bad for a new system, so it only sold 34,459 units with this "150% boost"
I don't want to be in this fight but it looks like he knows what he is talking about and you are having some problms with your research.
Resistance sold 80,000 units, which isn't good as you said.
All the ports/remakes from imporant games you are defending are really selling very bad as he said. Maybe it's really time for exclusive games.
I don't want to defend him (by no means) but it looks like he gave you some facts and you are actually giving wrong info (you said sony isn't marketing the PSV, but it's actually making a big market for Vita, you said Persona 4 gave a big boost for hardware sales, which is not true).
and i did say a big hardware boost, but you guys aren't understanding and completely ignoring the fact that i am glorifying the sales in a state of the bad economy. so imo the vita sales are good/ok for the situation it is in and it's price. a price drop plus (and again you are misinterpreting that "big" games i am talking about) persona4 was only one system seller.
"All the ports/remakes from imporant games you are defending are really selling very bad as he said."
i only mentioned one port/remake and it is not selling bad it's selling according to hardware and has pushed hardware according to economy and price. the other games i was speaking of have not yet released yet.
and i haven't seen the Vita marking, but i certainly didn't say they ARENT marketing the VITA, i clearly said that if they do have an incredible game they WILL NOT market it (the game) due to it being only a single great game, it would be a waste of money and not benefit them. i certainty haven't seen great marketing for Gravity Rush, have you? and if i haven't seen gravity rush on tv if not most websites, then im not wrong.
and when i said the sales will increase or stay the same, that was obviously a bad assumption for i am already proven wrong.
but anything else of what i spoke of was not touched on convincingly to make the rest of my claims false (only true to my opinion) because a lot of what i said makes sense in terms of this economy. ppl need to stop freaking out over the sales. a price cut and more games is the cure (speculation of games obv. opinion).
but i guess this is a debate on which games will sell hardware, and persona4 was a definite hardware seller. not gravity rush.
so the only thing i was off about was my obviously wrong assumption about the sales staying the same. that was kinda over the top.
I believe the bad economy has nothing to do with it. All the other current consoles are selling very well (for old consoles) and Vita sold worse than the original PSP (in some weeks in Japan).
There is nothing to glorify about Vita's sales, Sony needs to do something, or they will have problems in the long run. They can't let so many third party games sell so bad, what Hisiru showed is actually disturbing, I didn't know Metal Gear sold so bad in it's first week. Vita is probably going to lose some support, which is not what we (gamers) want.
As I showed you above, Persona 4 wasn't a system seller (by no means). It (the game) sold very well for a remake, but Persona 4 only gave the vita a 20.000 hardware units in sales and nothing else, Vita is selling bad again in Japan.
"i only mentioned one port/remake and it is not selling bad it's selling according to hardware and has pushed hardware according to economy and price. the other games i was speaking of have not yet released yet."
Japan isn't having any problems with economy, youre probably talking about OUR economy. I don't know why you are using it as an argument to explain why vita isn't selling in Japan (which is where Persona 4 was released).
"and i haven't seen the Vita marking (i might be wrong ok)."
Vita is always there. Soccer, boxing, ufc, NFL and even NBA. I don't know how you managed to miss every marketing. Also, where do you live? Are you telling me you never saw a vita ad on TV?
"but anything else of what i spoke of was not touched on convincingly"
Like what? I don't know about your conversation with Hisiru.
"to make the rest of my claims false (only true to my opinion)"
How can it be true? I already gave you links.
"a price cut and more games is the cure (speculation of games obv. opinion)."
A price cut would hurt Sony's profit (a lot). They already spent a heavy money marketing it (I gave you a link for this), the hardware is still expensive, Sony already lost a lot of money this generation so why would they cut the price now? It wouldn't be good for them.
Also, I don't think the problem is the price. I won't say the problem is more "exclusive games" as people said above, but it seems to be the case.
They should at least try and be more creative. At least AC and Black ops are trying that though so we'll see how it goes.
"I believe it is because it is nothing new; it isn’t bringing anything to the game market that wasn’t already there."
"The simple answer? Games. PlayStation was so quick to pat itself on the back by beating Nintendo with a Vita launch line-up that put the 3DS to shame. Unfortunately, it seems like they stole two years of releases in the process."
"Considering the success received by the 3DS after its major price drop early on in its life cycle, doing the same thing with Vita would surely send systems off of store shelves. That said, I’m not sure a cheaper system is the right move at the moment."
I'm with the third quote, yet I don't think the Vita is losing MASS amounts of money on the Vita like he stated. It's actually been profitable from day 1.
Source: http://playstationlifestyle...
""I believe it is because it is nothing new; it isn’t bringing anything to the game market that wasn’t already there."
lol, fantards...
And who can forget all the "Can Sony save the PS3" articles we've been subjected to over the years. Now they've turned into "Can the PS3 save Sony" articles.
It's no surprise to me that the games media would continue it's attacks with the PSVita.
Based on my observations the biggest problem of the Vita is the same problem that Sony failed to address & kept the PSP from total domination...
addressing the PUBLIC PERCEPTION of PORTABLE GAMING DEVICES.
Nintendo addressed it and reaped huge rewards
Now Apple and Android addressed it and reaped huge rewards
Sony can not expect what worked for PSOne, PS2 and PS3 will work for mobile devices like PSP & PS Vita.
Portable gaming devices will always be generally perceived & dismissed as "A CHILD's PLAYTHING" and Sony is not addressing that perception.
I am not saying saying the PS Vita does not need games like Uncharted, Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty or Assassins Creed in fact they should make 50% of PS Vita games.
Sony PS Vita games need to have games for children too to make it a well balanced platform. The kind of games that sell the Nintendo, Apple and Android platforms.
I am all for deep game play experiences but there is a huge market for simple Pokemon, and Mario games too, full priced or bite sized games like Angry Birds too.
I hope Sony will get off their high horses and level down with kiddie gamers too. I hope PlayStation Mobile will address this problems too.
If not then its PSP all over again or much worse now that Apple and Android is around.
So if they add it in maybe the next "design", then I'll for sure nab one. Hopefully by then more Vita games will be out and simply not console ports. This is the PSP all over again when it launched.
You would think by the end of the PSP's "hot-cycle" where everyone started to know it was UNIQUE and PSP-exclusive IPs, that it would follow to the Vita. Nope...gotta show off that raw power by just porting console games in a different story and rehashed title.
Wait till it's been out a year, or at least longer than 4 months... revisit problem.
Seriously the damn thing isn't even 6 months old
also just because you own a vita is doesn't mean its doing amazing now does it?
2. Cheaper memory cards- The prices are robbery at best.
3. Cheaper lower priced games that aren't minis $40-$50 for handheld games I mean come on.
4. A 4G version- So games can be played everywhere and not only Wi-fi
5. Better advertisement- Sony should be ashamed at themselves for their marketing plans.
Just to say a few things that could be done to ensure that Vita has a long life span but I would call for a successor to it in 2014
I see this comment often but I still don't understand the logic behind it. These $40-50 games are full production games, that happen to be on a handheld. They have the same quality and work put into them as $60 console games. Why would you expect a lower price?
The market demands the lower price. In this day and age mobile games are cheap and sure they don't have the fidelity as other games they show promise.
These games don't have the same quality as their big counterparts. I want you to show me a Vita game that is as deep as Skyrim, as graphically potent as Killzone, and controlable as CoD.
This is a fair critism because 10 bucks cheaper than the PS3 game might as well just buy the PS3 version and asking to spend more money for a Vita version so overall you just paid $100 is horrible.
This arguement is riddled across the internet because it needs to be addressed.
You cite 3 examples of (imo) great games, but how many PS3/Xbox360 games can beat those out either? Not many, and ALL PS3/Xbox360 games release at $60.
As far as I'm concerned, the tier pricing of Vita games is a model all consoles should follow.
2. Give it a rest. The cards will come down the longer they're on the market, just like every new memory format. Just like every new technology, period. "Robbery" is the cost of being an early adopter. Deal with it.
3. This wouldn't hurt, but it also wouldn't impact system sales by much. It would, however, have a positive effect of software sales.
4. 4G isn't even widespread enough to make a difference. Besides, you're leaving out 3G.
5. Marketing is a given. But I honestly don't expect them to change, at this point. They may do SLIGHTLY more than what they did for the PS3, MAYBE.
A successor in 2014? That's just ridiculous. I don't know if you actually have a Vita, but you can kinda tell it's designed to be around for a while. I'd wager Sony is looking at having it be around for the duration of the PS4's life... that would kinda disprove your idea of a new system coming out in two years... on second thought, no matter how you look at it, 2014 is stupid.
Dunno why I bothered to try and reply to you reasonably, though...
Vita is fine. What's with all the doom when the system isn't even a half year old yet?
Did not WW sales go up 54% last week?
What gives?
Or do you mean reveal some games just to make it more awesome
That what i want .. and PSOne classics :)
desperation is a sure sign that things are not going your way
Other dude on the site: Why not put a critical vita article to unleash the trolls , fanboys and the lovers:)
Other dude: i see what you did there ^^
PS vita needs games: Persona 4;) is an example of this. If atlas give more of this sort of games:D
and please, more really exclusive games like gravity rush
Even tough it's only 6 months old, it definately keeps up with the other consoles with exclusive releases in these slow months, maybe PS3 have a few more games every once in a while.
Multiplatform-games will offcourse do abit better, when the various game-engines matures, and the games start coming day-and-day with the other platforms.
- Really impressive what Persona 4: Golden did, 1 out of every 7 japaneese Vita-owner bought the game in the first week, in retail. And according to Atlus the PSP-version of Persona 3 had roughly 10% digital sales, in addition to the numbers reported on Media Create, so I would expect it to be atleast 1/6 of the J-Vita owners getting that.
The upcoming Y's game look fantastic, but I don't think that will be nearly as much puill as the Persona game.
I don't think we'll see Vita-games burning up the retail-charts as often as 3DS or PSP-games did, since every title is available both via DD and at retail.
The price is fine for hardcore gamers and the quality you get. The problem is that the casuals don't mind playing games on their Iphones/Androids, wich usually looks like the average mini-game, with abit worse controls.
I think Vita could use a blog of their own.
Not part of the current PSBlog.
Sort of like a mix of Gametrailers/Vita Game Heaven and the current blogs, but a application of it's own, with PSN-comment-system like on the blog, integrated into the Vita-system, but also available on the web.
Where there is coming news each day, with interviews and trailers, done with devs of the soon upcoming games, including smaller unknown Mini's and PSN-games wich dosn't get the spotlight in most game-media.
And Near should be improved aswell, an external game documentation link, wich opened a webpage, where you could click R, then Resistance, then after clicking that the devs would tell the users there how they integrated Near into that game.
Since alot of developers include lots of cool things there, but it's really hard to figure out how Near works in the various games.
I don't think that would be a system-seller in it's own, but it would improve the Vita-experience.
So I wouldn't change the design, other than moving the speakers away from finger-area, and maybe have the accessory-input relocated for more convenience when carrying it. :P
There is some grips out wich you can buy wich will fix your holding issues, if you want it to feel more like a regular controller.
It's not that long cutscenes in Golden Abyss, sure it's more than the average handheld action-games, but most of them are much shorter than the console-games, however there were some more in the middle of the level, compared to the console-Uncharted. :P
There is also interactivity collecting treasures during the cutscenes, so if you don't care about the story, you can still try to catch treasures and similar during the movie.
I really like the swipe-fighting, it felt natural, when you had to drag Nathan away from a incoming blow, and saw him dodge after your finger - and dragged your finger towards the foe, and saw him trying to punch after it.
I'm aware that it's basically a QTE, but it felt much more fun rather then just seeing him dodge when pressing a button like in the console-games.
A good evolution in my opinion, wich I hope to see more of.
I often found myself hidden sneaking around on the map, counting if there were few enough enemies to handle in a fistfight, rather then a shootout. Because the melee-action were so fun.
As this has not happened yet they are clearly not worried about it.
So why should we be?
Piss and moan is all ppl do.
3DS needs saving from MARIO.
360 needs saving from the sheep.
Perhaps when people are not outside doing activities/vacations to pay for and the holidays come about sales will pick up drastically. I'm an early adopter of tech and remember playing resistance fall of man and ps2 games on my ps3 when it launched good things come with time. (wine)
You guys know the drill: Sony is doomed, hide yo kids, hide yo wife.
That used to be a saying.
Then watch, by Christmas or early next year, there's gonna be articles, like "why is the Vita so powerful, is it the best handheld ever, why don't you have a Vita, etc.".
*gulp*
XperiaRay