GenGAME writes: "Today, Sony doesn’t seem interested in grabbing (or making) games with real potential to become the face of Vita. So far, what are the best-sellers for the system? They’re dumbed-down handheld versions of games that haven’t been super-hot to begin with (I’m looking at you, Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet), dumbed-down third-party multi-platform games that are by that very fact unlikely to become front-line titles for a new system (Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty), or quirky little experimental games. It’s no surprise that they aren’t pulling sales – none of these games is an adequate substitute for real revolutionary game-changers."
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Come on, does anyone know what those look like anymore?
GTA is a system seller. Battlefield is a system seller. Monster Hunter is a system seller.
For third party games, GTA, Metal Gear, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Battlefield and maybe a real Call of Duty game would really get things going.
I heard the SAME thing about COD, Liberation, and Golden Abyss. When will you people understand? N4G consistently proclaims that people buy consoles for exclusive IPs right? Yet when it comes to Vita, it's all of a sudden acceptable for Vita to churn out inferior versions of pre-existing Sony IPs.
Hypocrisy at its finest.
"LOL Logic's idea of system sellers are multiplats haha."
You REALLY need to do your research before commenting. The PS3 versions of the multiplats I mentioned outsell PS3 exclusives. The PS3 version of BF3 outsold Killzone 3 2:1. So YES, a Battlefield game(multiplatform) would be a HELLUVA lot better system seller than KZ: Mercenary.
Numbers don't lie :)
In early 2011, it was reported that only 100k PSN members we're PS Plus subscribers.
http://www.computerandvideo...
Lets say(being generous) that this number jumped to 500k in the past two years...thats STILL not even ONE percent of the estimated 70 million UNIQUE PSN users.
It's been proven that Sony has dire PR/marketing issues. Why are we sweeping it under the rug and pretending that everything is okay? Hiding behind a disagree button won't make the Vita sell.
So Battlefield is a system seller and COD is not? Which is released, and I know the game has crap ratings....
Which means only naming these games (GTA, Battlefield, MonHun) does not equal a system sellers or even a good game, because lets be honest COD should be system seller.
And why are Sly Cooper, Person 4 Golden, LBP Vita and Soul Sacrifice not system sellers? I know some people who bought PSV just for Person 4 Golden.
Edit: is the PS+ subscribers world wide? UK only ?
If done right, a Battlefield game with the full FrostBite engine would work wonders on the Vita.
Btw yes, those numbers are worldwide.
Um, it's not a third parties job to sell another companies system. It's the companies job that made the system to sell it and increase their fanbase to convince the third party they should use their resources to make a game for it.
If a third party felt a console or handheld isn't going to do so well, why would they waste company time and resources to develop a game that might not sell so well? Unless the company who made the system set up a deal with a third party to help funding, it's their job to make a system seller, not a third party.
***"If done right, a Battlefield game with the full FrostBite engine would work wonders on the Vita."***
Why can't that be the case for, to put it in your words, "inferior versions of pre-existing Sony IPs" as well?
The problem isn't that that they are well established IPs. It's that the games just aren't good. A lot of good games on the original PSP were IPs that were established on console, The GTA stories, FF:Crisis Core, and Kingdom Hearts come to mind.
Well known IPs are what the Vita needs, not new IPs that people aren't going to be willing risk $250+ on. Gravity Rush could have had 10s across the board and it still wouldn't have pushed enough units to consider a "system seller."
The games just have to be good. Publishers and developers can't half-ass a game expecting the name alone to garner the sales. People aren't going to be throwing away their money like that in today's economy.
Could be a sleeper hit in the west too. It's fast and accessible.
Monster Hunter is a system seller,,, in Japan. Don't forget monster hunter games have rarely sold well in NA or Europe.
Oddly enough I think the best selling MH game outside Japan was on the Wii with a few million sold. Correct if I'm mistaken.
GTA has sold 10 million or so on psp despite hacking so that's a feat.
Enter the logic free zone.
if everyone that disliked these comments went out and bought a vita Sony would have some sales. just fake fans and sony bandwagoners that say all this good talk on the internet but dont deliver lol.
talk is all good but numbers dont lie.
What sells a system for one person, isn't the same for another. Some games have a bigger fan base and more people may buy a system for it...like GTA, GT, Pokemon, or Monster Hunter for instance. Then there's UC:GA which made me want to get a Vita. If it wasn't that then Gravity Rush may have pushed me to get one as it was very unique. P4G definitely would have pushed me to buy one, and if not that then YS: Celceta would be a 100% buy for me.
The Vita has plenty of games that people might be willing to buy the system for. Just because you have a narrow view, and think you know what all gamers want, doesn't mean that the system is lacking in appealing titles. If they are unappealing to you then so be it, but please stop acting like you speak for everyone. You know why COD wasn't a system seller for many on the Vita...because it lacked almost everything that made a COD game, and more importantly, people didn't have a lot of friends who had a Vita for them to play COD with.
I think one of Vita's greatest strengths right now is it's ever increasing library of games that appeal to more than just one group of people. There is literally a game that everyone could find appealing on the system, and as time goes by people will see more and more appealing games come for it. In fact, that's not just Vita's strength, but Sony's strength since they made the first PS1.
GTA sold well on the PSP before(LCS) and around the time it was hacked(VCS.) It's unfortunate that so many people pirated games because there were so many good games on the system that deserved much better sales than they received.
The truth is, Sony do not own a single IP that can sell handheld systems. Nintendo on the other hand have Mario Kart, Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon and have made sure the big third party system sellers are exclusive. Ie. Dragons quest, professor layton and monster hunter. Then there's silly stuff like Art Academy and Brain Training.
To even suggest that Sly and Persona are on that level is ridiculous.
Sony are quite capable of making these games. LBP i think is one that SHOULD be selling units. Its not that they aren't advertising it, but in the UK at least they advertise it in the wrong way.
A system seller though doesn't have to be any one specific IP, game, etc. Something that's a system seller to one person might not be to another.
Regardless. It doesn't matter how many system sellers are on the Vita if a lot of people have no interest for some reason or another. Look at the 3DS. Where was its system seller the first eight months of release? While it didn't meet Nintendo's projected sales, the 3DS sold far more than the Vita did during the same time frame and everything good was a port or a remake. Literally.
This is just opinion. You don't have to agree with my opinion, but having both the Vita and the 3DS, I feel that the Vita has, so far, received much more quality content.
The 3DS is finally coming out with more games I'm interested in though. Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate, Devil Summoner Soul Hackers, and SMT4.
@LOGICWINS(reply to a post below.)
"Right. Why the hell would I spend 250 bucks to play something I can already get on a console I already own?"
Uncharted Golden Abyss, Wipeout 2048, Unit 13, Gravity Rush, LBP Vita, Ragnarok Odyssey, Shinobido 2, Assassin's Creed Liberation, Escape Plan, Aqua Kitty, etc.
Before you say, I can play "Uncharted" on my PS3, how about this. I can play Mario on my NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, etc. Golden Abyss is a new game, LBP Vita is a new game, Wipeout 2048 is a new game, etc.
The 3DS owners spent $250 for nothing but ports, remakes, and shovelware during the first eight months. You going to go and bash that crowd? I'm not saying go and do so. I'm just saying it'd be hypocritical not to.
make it more affordable
A year after release the Vita still dosn't have a Flagship game and i fear it will never get one.
It needs interesting, unique, NEW games. Not smaller versions of something people can already get on their PS3.
@logic so nintendo gets away with it because they're nintendo,then that means every reviwer excluding pro Sony sites should not make a vita review because they'll wright it off as a port.
^^Because its Nintendo! Everyone and their mother owns a DS or at the very least knows a person that owned a portable Nintendo handheld at some point in their lives. Nintendo could start selling water guns and they would sell out if priced correctly.
Sony has NOWHERE near the same clout in the handheld gaming space, hence why Nintendo can afford to get away with rehashing 20 year old IPs.
@zebramocha- When reviewed, Vita ports should be held to the same standard as their PS3 counterparts. Sony said the Vita was a "console" in your pocket, so it should be held to console standards.
Yes and no. Nintendo counts on remakes/ports of classic games on their handheld systems, but you never saw them releasing Wii and 3DS versions of the same game at the same time and expecting people to go out and buy a 3DS because of it, just as Sony shouldn't expect that if they release a Vita/PS3 game that people are going to buy the Vita for it when they already own a PS3.
GTA is a system seller but I dont know about Battlefield
As for Monster Hunter It only really sells in Japan. I think people are understimating Soul Sacrifice & Phantasy star online 2, I reckon they'll shift a few Vita's over there. Soul Sacrifice is a game Sony are actually putting a bit of marketing behind for once lol. Heres hoping anyway
edit: Meant to reply to legendofflex above, woops
"Right. Why the hell would I spend 250 bucks to play something I can already get on a console I already own?" -LOGICWINS
"^^Either way, Sly Cooper, Persona 4, LBP Vita, and Soul Sacrifice are NOT system sellers. They just aren't.
GTA is a system seller. Battlefield is a system seller. Monster Hunter is a system seller." -LOGICWINS
WAIT A MINUTE....
So which is it?
@erimgard not all vita games have a cross buy function to them,it makes sense for specific games.
I agree with you logic anyway, Gravity Rush is one game. Lbp portable = Why the **** would I want it if I have Lbp 2 already? Golden Abyss doesn't hold a candle to the console versions either. Why would I want it? There is nothing like Gravity Rush on Ps3. So I WANT IT. Now I have it/ Along with Ps+ other games. Sly cooper people keep saying, i'd much rather play it on console.
edit-----------
Skrug...are you LISTENING? I never said Gravity Rush is a system seller, it most certainly is NOT a system seller. it is a good game that I want/have and is unique to PsV. You have to Read again....everything. Find out what a system seller is. Especially for a new console. The new call of duty in Novenber..sells Ps3's and 360's. MGS'4 was a system seller. Cod Vita was complete crap compared to the console version.
Again, find out what a system seller is before you start confusing 'good games' with 'system seller'. Dark souls is my fav game this gen...it will not ever sell systems.
Just because something is multiplat does not mean people will not buy systems for it.
There is no opinion on system sellers. To be a system seller, a game's release must suddenly sprout the selling of gaming systems regardless of Multiplat or exclusivity. There is no opinion on what sells systems. They either do sell them or they don't. Numbers don't lie.
He's being contradictory. He says he wants new IPs, but lists multiplats as system sellers. At the same time says Soul Sacrifice is not a System seller.
You say Gravity Rush is a system seller, but is it a system seller to Logicswins? I mean he did say Soul Sacrifice is not a system seller, in such a case, is Gravity Rush a system seller?
Edit:
Just read that Ragnarok Odeseey shipped some 250k copies across Japan, Asia and North America.
http://thesilentchief.com/2...
mario kart wii- mario kart 3ds
fire emblem wii- fire emblem 3ds
monster hunter wii- monster hunter 3ds
Lets not be freaking hypocrits here guys. hyprocrits are the worst gamers and vita and 3ds are doing the same thing right now.
Tired of haters and liars on here who dont know what the freak they talking about.
Get SE to heavily support the system like they did on the PSP. Sony needs its own "pokemon" and what I mean by that is to have an extremely fun portable multiplayer experience that would help define the platform. eh well that's what I think.
The new KZ game looks sick and has a lot of attention from gaming media so that could help
My under rated pick for system seller is soul sacrifice, it's these kind of games that could turn into big hit.
It takes time, I don't know how many times Sony has to say it it's not a race it's a marathon, games are coming out in 2013 and VIta will steadily grow but who am I kidding this in N4G where ts always Foom Articles for hits
VIta launched with 25 games how come none of the authors ever say that?
Wiiu and GTA will be fine in the long run.
Also didn't sony just recently address what steps they would be taking to push the sales of the Vita as far as support and advertising!?
Gravity rush 2, and warriors lair will hopefully come out this year too.
PS3 had tons of exclusives and none of them were System Sellers, specific ones can be DELICIOUS but what PS3 had going for it was a fuck load of GREAT GAMES....However, how this generation is? Great games don't equate to system sellers. What are this generations system seller? GTA-series....COD Series....Halo series....Pokemon.... Sony and PS3 had made a lot of new IP's, a lot of great 'AAA' titles, a lot of memorable new franchises. However, none of them were like ZOMG PS3's GOING THROUGH THE ROOOOF!!....
PS1 had system sellers, PS2 had system sellers, but what each Playstation console had that PS3 also has? A great range, a great variety of quality games that can't be competed with.
If the sales pick up more system sellers will come.
Edit:Killzone Mercenary, Tearaway, Soulsacrafice are all potential system sellers.
" They’re dumbed-down handheld versions of games that haven’t been super-hot to begin with (I’m looking at you, Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet), "
this sentence alone nullifies the whole article even if it states that the sky is blue.
The author had an interesting point and provided some food for thought, and then completely slaps gamers in the face at the end by marginalising two of the finest games to ever make their way onto a mobile platform. It's at this stage that you realize the author has probably never even held a Vita, let alone spent enough time with one to offer a valid opinion on what they're doing right or wrong.
A big ole vote down for this article, and for this site. Ridiculous.
It's a dumb statement to make, not just from the notion that it makes the author sound like a complete fanboy, but it also insults people's intelligence. Why he would make it is beyond me!
who the f$%@ inside sony decided to make a new exclusive memory card for the Vita* Sony seam to learn their mistake and their new cameras accept SD memory cards but I was wrong, Vita proves Sony have not learn..
I bet I'm not the only one who skip buying a vita because of the stupid over price useless new memory card and those who force themself to buy a memory card did not did it with a smile and a piece of mind.
If a next vita model comes with options for SD cards I may be tempted to get one plus it will have more games to enjoy in it and better screen and etc..
What i want from that bundle is the White Vita alone, like my psp, i got it with FFVII Crisis Core, the only game i bought it for lol, since 2008 till now, i havn't bought any new game for the psp.
and was one of the first big titles to land on ps3
System sellers are games that make YOU want to buy the system to play it. You know that word objective? Yeah it's the word that means people have different tastes and likes and wants. Well, now that we know that, we can come to the conclusion that... Any game can be a system seller to anyone at any time.
For me, for example, when I saw the gameplay compilation trailer for LittleBigPlanet Vita, Killzone Vita, and other games at E3 when the Vita was announced, I just HAD to get a Vita at that moment on. So for me LittleBigPlanet Vita and Killzone: Mercenary ARE system sellers, and I know of others who want to try them out too.
Just like GTA, some people HATE Grand Theft Auto, so for them that isn't a system seller.
Yes at the end of the day GTA might sell more, but it's not about everyone else it's about you and you only. Gaming is a hobby, you aren't supposed to do what everyone else does, develop your own tastes and any game can be a system seller.
I’m talking about Wii Sports, the current best-selling game of all time and the game that drove Wii to two solid years of sell-outs almost everywhere."
Lost me right there. Im pretty sure that Wii Sports wasnt a systemseller, and was bundled right from the beginning with the Wii
They talk about system sellers, then say Wii Sports as if this game sold the Wii; in actuality, the Wii sold the game since, as dafagemer says, it was bundled with every system.
A system seller is a game that makes people WANT to buy the system. A game that pretty much comes in EVERY box doesn't really qualify.
That said, if you're a gamer, I'd think the Vita's library is either full of them, or that the library itself qualifies to be one. There's certainly more worth playing a year into its life than there has been for any other system I can think of. Just seems like a lot more people want to pretend the games don't exist, for some odd reason.
Which is why we have this article.
How many people bought a Vita for P4G? Gravity Rush? Uncharted? How many will buy one for Soul Sacrifice? Tearaway? Killzone? PSO2?
The author, like many Vita detractors, assumes that, because these games don't appeal to him, they don't appeal to anyone. And they assume that a library of such games can't be as worthy- and in my eyes, MORESO- as a single "must-have" game.
Also as an owner of a GB, GBA, GBA SP, NDS lite, PSP 3000 handheld consoles I can quite safely say the Vita has more games out/coming out I genuinly really want than any other handheld since the GBA I had like 10 years ago when I was a kid. So that in itself is an achievement :p plus it has all these ps1 classics and I'm certan it will get ps2 classics in the notso distant future as the device is more than able-not to mention the inevitable ps4 connectivity.
I know this is where sony is making up money, but come on. We live in an age where memory cards have gotten dirt cheap, its misleading.
More sales = more games coming our way.
2) Price cut!
3) Give Vita it's standout game.
4) Annihilate the competition with a brutally unforgiving marketing campaign.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 – 5.96 million
Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 2.73 million
Mario Kart 7 – 7.73 million
Super Mario 3D Land – 8.0 million
Paper Mario: Sticker Star – 1.83 million
Mario Tennis Open – 1.07 million
Once could argue Uncharted was to be that game. Not sure how well it actually sold. Call of Duty did not capture the audience from console to Vita. Tearaway from Media Molecule could be that game. It looks fantastic.
You know what is getting stupid on the N4G forums? Each time some article puts down Sony the natural reaction seems to be to put down Microsoft.
You do realize that gribble is the only one to bring up MS on this article thus far right?
What is getting stupid on N4G are the people that jump the gun on a few comments and use that as their bases for their generalization.
) Memory price cut
) Huge games such as real cod,battlefield,gta,gt etc...
) Lower the price of the games. the games almost have console games price but really really low content compared to them -.-
) Put more freedom. Thinking about the limitations of the vita is like thinking about politics. Annoying as hell. I almost changed my mind for buying vita..
BOTH OF YOU ARE SPOT ON, i MEAN WHAT THE HELL DO GAMER'S EXPECT TODAY? Really, Port's if they even played the PSVita games they call a Port, than they would know that they are not a d@mn port!
and as for Price, not one other handheld game system has 128 MB of dedicated GPU ram! today other than maybe the Nvidia shield! aside from that the PSVita's graphic chip has dedicated 128 MB or ram just for it alone, vs' the Nintendo's 3DS of 6 MB! vs' the Smartdevices having 64 MB of VRram, but yet the PSVita is over priced?
the memory cards are there to slow down piracy! why do you think there is no direct access to the 4 GB of onboard flashable ram on the PSVita! because if there was there would be loads of Piracy , just like the PSP..look what happed to that handheld, great system but 3rd party developer's stop making games for it in the west because of UMD dumping online. Did you think Sony wanted a repeat of said Piracy, look i know Nintendo's Handhelds get pirated, but the games made for Nintendo's Hanhelds in budget vs' budget is not contest, name one freaking game on the 3DS that has a budget like TearAway, Or killzone M: do you think 3RD party developer's want to invest that much resources than just get their game pirated and dumped online?
ROI, many games on the 3DS may look and play fantastic but the cost in developing for 3DS in tool's and APi's is much cheaper than than what it is for the PSVita if you are going to take advantage of said hardware and not just a Mini, or a Playstation Mobile game experience!
these games take time and Money, yes you can turn out fast easy to play games for the PSVita like you could for the 3DS, but there already is a platform for that its called the freaking 3DS!!
Sony's main idea about the PSVita is just as it's always been with the PSP a living room console experience on the go, which from what i have played on the PSVita its making that in spade's in my Opinion.
OT
The biggest problem I've seen is too many people ask for something, then when it comes out they have to find something wrong with it, then make countless blogs and stories about how the Vita is "failing" to live up to the potential. I currently own a Vita, and my only real complaint is it cramps my hands; game wise there's some I like, and some I wouldn't even touch. I'm not gonna doom an entire console just because it's barely a year old and still having games being planned and produced; and to those who argue "a year is long enough" no it isn't; outside the PS2 with GTA 3 (Back in 2001) you can't really name a game that sold high numbers within the first year of the consoles' release date that wasn't bundled together.
I however do agree the price of the memory cards do need to go down; I'm waiting till the 32 Gig sticks drop in price before I pick one up so I can add more games to play instead of deleting/re-adding later.
The only people that complain about most of the Vita games not being worthwhile are the people who don't own a Vita. The people that own one generally give props to the good games that exist on the system, often in great abundance.
Since Vita owners are the only consumers for the publishers in this regard, it is only them that they have to care about. Sony are the ones that have to care about the detractors, as they are the ones spreading the FUD.
@Father
It isn't up to 3rd party to make a "system seller" for the Vita. That is up to Sony to get if they feel the need to have one.
What I do see on the Vita is a very diverse library of high quality games that get dismissed just because they are on the Vita. Vita owners however seem to be really loving these games, and state as much more often than not.
To me, the appealing games exist, Sony just hasn't done a good enough job getting that word out to the masses. Their Vita commercials and marketing leave a lot to be desired IMO.
In order for the Vita to sell better, third parties need to support the Vita. But third parties think the Vita can sell automatically better without their support. Stupid reasoning? Of course it is.
But hey, the Vita is at least getting better support when it comes to games compared to the Wii U. And gamers seem to forget that the Vita is getting better support and sales than the PSP did in it's early years.
Also people whining about the Vita not being good or cheap enough are just looking for a reason to whine. At least there are many reasons to buy it unlike the Wii U. Just saying...
Prime example: Rayman Legends boycott.
As for the Rayman Legends boycott, I by no means advocate not buying the game, but my enthusiasm for it has certainly been lessened. Ubisoft clearly doesn't care, so why should I? There are other, better looking games out there that I can prioritize my money toward. No harm no foul as far as I'm concerned.
downvoted.
FInal Fantasy
Metal Gear
Grand Theft Auto
Elder scrolls
Ground breaking new IP
Sony's current line up doesn't have any massive systems sellers, although they potentially have a few in Japan with Soul Sacrifice and ps3 multiplatform titles like Gundam and One piece
Have a good day my fellow playstation fans.
This is article ( if one can call it so ) is laughable BS!
There's just not enough big 3rd parties supporting the system with their big games , and the pool of adults who are willing to game on the go on a dedicated handheld isn't a very large one nowadays. The market has changed with rise of smartphones for adults.