160°

The Sony Syndrome: PS Vita's Biggest Problem

Punching Beta: "Is Sony’s console success the reason for their handheld devices’ failure? Sony have always enjoyed a successful run in the console gaming market with the PS1, PS2, and despite the lacklustre start of the PS3, Sony’s current generation console has still managed to outsell the Xbox 360 regardless of its high price and late entry (one year behind the Xbox 360 to be exact).

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iamnsuperman3930d ago (Edited 3930d ago )

The problem with the Vita is giving people a reason to get one in the first place. I hear the Vita has an amazing console to game attachment rate it just getting consumers to initially buy the thing which is the problem.

To be honest Sony can't compete with well known games like Pokemon who sell for the name (i.e people know what it is and would probably buy it regards of quality). What they need to do is release the system at a much lower cost because at the moment the 3DS has the price and big names like Pokemon in its favour.

Also release some stereotypical female and younger crowd games on the Vita to get them interested as I hear they make up the most of the user base when it comes to handheld gaming.

The PS4 PSV combination is a good idea from Sony but they need to have a bundle that is maximum $100 (preferably $50) more than the One's price of $499. It wouldn't seem so bad (price wise/value for money) when people are debating should they buy a One or a PS4 with Vita or just a PS4

Thehyph3930d ago

I like how your comment is better than the article in both content AND grammar.

Death3930d ago

Software drives hardware. Outside a small handfull of Vita specific games, there isn't much to buy it for. Sony needs a killer app and some fresh content on a regular basis. By fresh I don't mean ports either.

Even at a lower price, the Vita won't sell without the games to back it up. The proprietary memory isn't helping much either. High memory costs and mediocre software isn't a good combination. Plus isn't helping them on the software side of the business model either. If you have Plus and a Vita, not much incentive is left to actually buy software. With low software sales, development is less attractive to third parties.

Hopefully PS4 integration will make more give the Vita a second look.

Becuzisaid3930d ago (Edited 3930d ago )

This comment makes zero sense. There are a ton of games for Vita, hence the extremely high attach rate of software to hardware. The average Vita owner owns 10 games. That's extremely high, and wouldn't be true if the Vita did not have games.

You are correct about ports though. Sony needs to stop depending on ports of old games (though I would like a Sly trilogy collection for Vita). And the prooprietary memory is a huge problem as well, but was done to combat the overwhelming piracy on thee PSP.

Hicken3930d ago

You know, your argument is more compelling when you have some substance to it.

You say there aren't any games worth playing, then say that, thanks to Plus, there are no games worth buying. Somewhere in all that, there's an admission- not intentionally, of course- that the games on Plus are worth playing... otherwise, they wouldn't be worth downloading, and therefore wouldn't potentially cannibalize retail sales.

I wonder: why do you expect anyone to believe you, anyway, when your every Sony-related comment is a negative, even to the point of ignoring reality?

levian3930d ago

I bought a used vita a month or so back, and I have barely found any games for it. I got Uncharted and Gravity Rush off PS+ and that's keeping me busy, and I'll be getting Soul Sacrifice soon, it looks awesome.

But aside from those three games, there isn't much exclusive on the Vita. Almost all the games listed as the best games on Vita are indie games, which I could play much easier on PS3/PC, and much cheaper on PC.

The Vita needs games similar to the PSP - if they made a God of War and Final Fantasy for the Vita, I'd be a happy customer.

Death3930d ago

Hey guys,
I just picked up a Vita and renewed my subscription to Plus. What Vita specific non-ports are out there worth buying? Persona4 is the highest rated game on the system. I plan on picking it up as soon as I can find a retailer that has it, but it's not a system seller. Vita sales suck. If you guys don't think it's a lack of compelling software, what do you think it is? I hope not the price, because it is a very capable machine for the money.

tiffac0083930d ago (Edited 3930d ago )

Well for me Gravity Rush and Soul Sacrifice are two original games that are worth getting on the Vita but you probably already have Gravity Rush downloaded via PS+.

I am also looking forward to the release of Toukiden and hopefully we also get a localization of God Eater 2, Mind=0 and Freedom Wars.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3930d ago
adamandkate3930d ago

I agree entirely. My big issue is the cost of it. I have a 3ds and a 360. Ive preordered the ps4.

I want a vita but cant justify the cost, willing to swap my 3ds for a vita tho! :)

Its an expensive handheld, oh if only they offered a payment plan :P

sonicjam3930d ago

Used psvita are a lot more affordable than the new one lately.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/of...

Ilovetheps53930d ago (Edited 3930d ago )

First off, that was a great, well thought out comment.

And I agree mostly with what you said. I keep hearing great things about the Vita. Everyone that has the Vita seems to enjoy it a lot. I just haven't bought one yet. The main reason is the price of the system. $250 is too much for me. I remember when the 3DS came out it wasn't selling well, but when the price was dropped it started flying off of the shelves. If Sony dropped the price of the system, I'd start considering buying the console.

Another huge issue of mine is the memory cards. The memory cards are just too expensive. I don't know why they chose to use a proprietary memory card instead of just using a standard one. I have PS+ on my PS3, so that means that I have many PSV games just sitting there waiting for me to play them. Having all of those games makes me want to buy a Vita, but then I just think how much it will cost to store those games, and I just decide not to buy the system.

And for the general audience, they definitely do need that system selling game. They have quite a few games that look good, but they don't have one that just stands out and makes people buy the system. They need their Pokemon game if you know what I mean.

I really do want a Vita, but I just don't like the pricing strategy of it. The handheld looks amazing though. They just need to give me a little more incentive to buy it. But once they do that, I will buy a Vita.

dcj05243930d ago

Yeah. When sony dropped the price in japan to $200 (conversion rates are a little messed up) it started selling a lot better. They dropped the price with a big software title (Soul Sacrifice ) coming very soon. The same happened witg toudoukien (spelled it completley wrong) the hardware sales spiked again. People want to buy the vita. If they dropped the price to $200 and a big game like a GTA V spinoff was coming in 2-3 weeks then hardware sales in the west would spike massivley.

GribbleGrunger3930d ago (Edited 3930d ago )

I agree, the hardware is great and the games are now there. I don't think it's a matter of Sony changing anything though, I think it's more a case of changing the public's perception, which isn't helped by some media outlets still complaining about it having 'no games'. Something that Vita fans find highly amusing.

Nintendo are Nintendo and ONLY Nintendo can get away with using the same characters and releasing similar games, year after year. This is how Disney cemented it's characters into history and it's how Nintendo have done it too. There's nothing wrong with that, before anyone complains ... Sony can't do that, and neither can Microsoft. They're always accused of 'milking' a franchise when they do, but ironically, that's the only way of establishing a system selling character.

Quite the dilemma.

MastaMold3930d ago (Edited 3930d ago )

@gribblegrunger, Very well said agreed with everything you wrote and as a Vita owner that's how I feel. The memory cards do need a price drop and Sony should bundle a 8gb card with every Vita at least my opinion. Also I hope Sony releases a 64gb memory card cause my 32gb is running out of space.

Sent from my Sony Xperia Z

Concertoine3930d ago

I wouldnt call nintendo's use of franchises "milking" per se. More like "riding". Mario kart could feature completely different characters, but they chose the established mario. The mario rpg games are very unique but replacing mario with other characters wouldnt change much. Theres only 2 major mario releases per console traditionally, a 3d platformer and a 2d one ( the wii is an exception with galaxy 2). The rest is all party and sports games that nintendo relies on the mario ip to sell.
A "milked" franchise ignores evolution and makes only aesthetic or trivial changes, then sees an annual or sub bi-anual release schedule. Namely the guitar hero games and COD, with assassins creed approaching milked territory.

rainslacker3929d ago (Edited 3929d ago )

Sony or MS could certainly milk a franchise if they wanted to. People damage done from the criticisms on the internet would be minimal to the mind share they'd receive in the way you're talking about.

Otherwise, I'm personally glad they don't milk a single franchise to much. Even when they do milk it's not overdone. Variety is the spice of life, and the Vita has system sellers now if you're into the kinds of games that are on the system. Thing is though, not everyone is into those games enough to justify the price of the system, or more likely the added cost of the the ridiculously priced memory cards.

BTW...I currently have 30 retail games, and a slew of PSP/PS1 downloads for my Vita, and desperately need another memory card, which I'll wait for a price drop for. A few of those 30 games I would consider system sellers for me.:)

Salooh3930d ago (Edited 3930d ago )

I disagree , Vita is cheap when you compare it to the smartphones and even if you see it expensive people won't go and buy it because it's cheaper ( Only few do that )

People will buy something because it interest them and how do you do that ?. By focusing in the core gamers not causal because casual have many options and most of them already have smartphones that can play these games. Vita right now is for casuals and look how it's doing. Vita+indies=just a smart phone without the feature of calling..

It need REAL MULTIPLATFORMS and A PLAN FOR EXCLUSIVES TO RELEASE GOOD AMOUNT OF THEM EVERY YEAR . Basically , it need to be a portable console and Remote control is a good step for a device like that. Price don't really matter when you eagerly want something. They need to make it useful and when they do that vita will be a cool thing that everyone want to get one..

Salooh3930d ago

I'm not saying it shouldn't get a price cut . I'm just saying the main problem is not the price. Same with the memories because games are not there to make me need to buy a memory so i don't care about the prices until they release games i'm interested in ..

3-4-53929d ago

Vita needs:

* Another Tactical RPG

* 2-3 turn based JRPG's with good stories and content.

* 1-2 solid FPS games with content and online multiplayer

* 2-3 3D Platformers that are good.

* PS Allstars # 2 with an actual good fighting idea and some actual good characters, instead of PS B-team.

* 1-2 solid to good sports games with content to last.

A lot of their decent to good games are kind if niche games and if they are more popular, they then screwed up 1-2 things that turns people off from the game.

The games they have are good 4th and 5th games but it hardly has any system sellers ( obviously ).

There are games I'd want to buy but not a ton and there isn't the ONE game I HAVE to have yet.

Another good JRPG (85-92/100 ) and it will sell better.

It seems to be "trending" in the right direction slowly and I think it will be a great system to have 4-5 years from now but it still needs more good games.

It has some on the way so we also need to be a little patient.

chestnut11223929d ago

I am Wondering Why Sony Let Crash Bandicoot be bought. It is one of their best sellers. Crash will really appeal to Younger Generations these days and can compete against Mario games.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3929d ago
sherimae24133930d ago

just like what in the article says

*despite the lacklustre start of the ps3*

im pretty sure sony can turn the tables for the vita too, not in a term that it will beat the 3ds in sales, but to managed to make it user base grow and will continue to support it for a long time, specially it is integrated with ps4 ^_^

despite the psp's shameless piracy no one can say its a failed platform 70million userbase is no joke

Salooh3930d ago

I'm with you on the bad start point . I know that vita just needs more time but what's different about the vita is that it doesn't have multiplatforms support . PS3 multiplatforms made me busy until the ps3 started to stand in it's own feet but i don't get that in the vita. It's in my closet for a long time. I just test games in it then throw it back . I'm not really a fan of indies , only few makes me happy. The others are just childish and boring to me. I'm speaking in all platforms not just the vita..

sherimae24133930d ago (Edited 3930d ago )

well people easily disregard the vita in games because they dont see anything that interests them and only few 3rd party games are announced.....

but actually that doesnt show all the games that are actually in development for the vita may it be 3rd party or sony owned
i knew a few people here knows whats on the pipeline but i guess people just need to wait for official announcements ^_^

those aaa games will come sooner than later

iceman063929d ago

I agree with this. Add to this the fact that Sony is essentially trying to battle with supporting several consoles. It's a difficult balancing act. I expect that once the PS4 is released, there will be a re-release campaign for the Vita...much like the refocus that they made with the PSP. I don't know if it will reach the 70 million sales as the PSP. But, it will continue to sell. Most people are really just waiting for a price drop.

rainslacker3929d ago

I think a lot of it has to do with marketing. I do believe that the Vita has several "system sellers" to many gamers, but outside the internet most people either don't know about it, or don't know about those games. Basically the system sellers aren't being advertised. They did a little of that when it first released, but the commercials here in the US were pretty lame.

Everyone I know that has used or seen my Vita wants one once they see some of the games I have for it. So far the only ones that haven't picked it up because of my own showing off have stayed away because I'm honest enough to tell them they should at the very least get a 16GB memory card, which makes the system rather expensive.

sherimae24133929d ago

true very true, the ordinary people is not aware to some or more of the games thats been released on the vita....

only its dedicated fanbase and core gamers can keep up on whats on the vita and its future releases...

sony is the only one who could adress this issues...

givemeshelter3930d ago

Price factor compared to the 3DS and big titles ON the 3DS happens to be a big hurdle for the Vita. Then when you add in Smartphone and Tablet mobile gaming that competes with the Vita's demographics of buyers, the Vita has a major uphill battle.
Nintendo does well on brand name alone for mobile gaming. Sony has to lower the cost of the Vita in line with the 3DS to compete and secure bigger name titles.
The Vita is such an amazing handheld.

shivvy243930d ago

If vita got a new daxter game then I will scream like a girl ! What vita needs are great AAA games like what we saw on the psp ! Vita has a good amount of games I want but it needs system sellers like an exclusive gran turismo , infamous , gta and games like daxter, clank ! Man I would love a proper resistance vita game !

Salooh3930d ago

Why when i say that people disagree with me -.- .

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150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos1d 6h ago (Edited 1d 6h ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers1d 2h ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken13h ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g23h ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing22h ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H923h ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola19h ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn66921h ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle21h ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg1d 14h ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos1d 14h ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion1d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola1d 9h ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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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.

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ChasterMies21d 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_looken21d ago

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

Cacabunga21d ago

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

just_looken21d 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-6421d 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_Long21d 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.

Einhander197221d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic21d 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 21d ago
DivineHand12521d 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.

Joe91321d 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_Observer21d 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.

S2Killinit21d ago (Edited 21d 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.

Joe91321d 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.

S2Killinit20d 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 20d ago
Christopher21d 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.

CrimsonWing6921d ago (Edited 21d 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.

S2Killinit20d 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_Mal21d ago (Edited 21d 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.

Christopher21d 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_looken21d 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

Einhander197221d ago (Edited 21d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic21d 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.

romulus2321d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218321d 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.

S2Killinit20d ago (Edited 20d 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.

mastershredder21d 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.

crazyCoconuts21d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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