Why We Hope The PlayStation Vita Isn't The End Of Sony's Handheld Ambitions

Why Sony could have done more to save the Vita, and could do more if it had another crack at the handheld market by using it's PlayStation 4 success.

[SaveFerris]

I think it would be a hard sell for any company other than Nintendo to release a handheld in a market dominated by games playable on mobile phones.

[annoyedgamer]

Its not a hard sell, Sony is just stupid. They mismanage almost every division of their company. First it was the handheld now it is their film arm. The Vita was the device we were begging for..the only problem with the PSP was the lack of a second joystick. I would spend hours playing an old Medal of Honor game using the D-pad to look around, it was horrid yet I played anyways.

Now that a joystick was released what does Sony do? Not support the device and leave it barren with only a few JRPGS. Its pathetic. They did eventually get a COD title on it, but it was another pathetic attempt. It was so bad that fanboys took the time out of their busy computer schedule to write fake 10/10 reviews here on N4G.

What Sony refuses to realize is the original PSP launched in 2004. Most of us were kids back then, we had the time to fool around with games, now we are all in college and are dealing with a vastly more dangerous and difficult world. We simply do not have the time to play around with sub par hardware or a lack of support.

[Captain_Mushroom]

Absolutely well said. Like you've completely read my mind. When I saw Uncharted on the Vita, I immediately thought of all the incredible, possible games on that wonderful machine. A new/spinoff from GTA, God of War, Call of Duty (the one we got... let's just all agree it shouldn't even be called CoD) and so on. But, it's like Sony said, "Screw it", after a few years.

[C-H-E-F]

So why is the nintendo handheld doing so well? it's not the fact that it's a handheld it's how they promoted it. The vita was doing well until they started promoting the ps4 after that, that's when the vita basically died in the public / developer eyes. because Sony quit backing it.

[rainslacker]

It's not really a hard sell. Just have to make a device that is accessible without all the strings attached, and get the games on it that appeal to a broader audience and show enough support to keep getting people in to buy it.

Truthfully, with some minor redesigns to the way they handle DRM/memory cards on the system, and some major backing of the games for the system, they could still make the Vita successful, because as it is, it's powerful enough, and fully featured enough to actually appeal to those that want more than just mobile gaming....which is the market that these consoles cater to.

They aren't going to do that, but it would be possible. Unfortunately, should they decide to do it, they may have a problem getting people to trust them with ongoing support, and that's going to be the case even if they make a new handheld.

[_-EDMIX-_]

100% agreed because of the current demographic right now in the handheld and mobile space I don't know if it's a good idea that Sony even returned to making handhelds.

There's just not enough room for another player there's barely enough room even for Nintendo as they sold 60 million 3DS's in comparison to 160 million DSs.

The market is just really different than it was 11, 12 years.

I personally think even if they got their memory card situation sorted out and the price was a little lower that they likely we're not going to move that much handhelds I just think the current market cannot sustain such a product.

My business opinion is that they probably should not create another handheld after PS Vita's sales.

That is not to say as a gamer I do not want another PlayStation handheld done successfully merely that my business opinion just does not see that being really feasible or really a great idea financially.

[legionsoup]

If I can get a PS3/360 quality experience (or better) on the go, count me in. Vita was pretty close. Uncharted looked amazing, but Borderlands 2 was ...decent. The fighting games were great as well, like Marvel vs Capcom 3 and SFxTekken.

[Loktai]

Sure, PSnow on vita ;)

Half kidding.

[EddieNX]

They make great phones, why not just merge the two sectors.Nintendo would be wise to do somethin similar. A smartphone with detachable buttons.

[OhMyGandhi]

they tried that already with the Xperia PLAY...

[MatrixxGT]

Yeah and that phone by today's standards could maybe...maybe run candy crush.

[Protagonist]

Sony is to be held responsible, that is for sure! but people/gamers/social medias were spreading bs about the Vita within the first year, at a time when the system actually got supported by Sony with a sett of great triple A games. But many wanted Sonys new handheld to fail nomatter what (because fanboys are weird like that). It does not matter whether wanting a followup, cause IMO it is not going to happen. At least not a dedicated handheld gaming device. Then again, what the heck do I know...

[shuvam09]

It was the memory card prices...
They were insane during Vita launch...
A 100 bucks for a 32 GB card???
No thanks...

And BTW if handheld gaming was to die, then people wouldn't have supported SMACH Z and PGS on Kickstarter...
PGS is currently on Kickstarter, and people have funded it to 3 times the initial target, even though they haven't showed any prototype...

[Protagonist]

I said this many times before: I have had my 4GB since launch and never needed to upgrade, since I only buy physical copies. It was never an issue for me with the exception of digital only games and I still manage to get two or three Vita games on it and I prefere it that way, since I finish my games and delete them afterwards. Had the memory cards been cheaper from the get go, some people would still have complained just to make the Vita fail, it would not have made any difference. Also the memory cards are cheap now, I recently bought a 8GB for less than 15 bucks to go along with my Vita TV.

And I never said handheld gaming was going to die... I mean just look at Pokemon Go.

[Loktai]

Def had nothing to do with memory cards at all. That was just an insider type Web forum complaint. Actually
most people who walk in and buy a handheld may have just complained after the tiny included card fills up... but if you buy physical release games, it DOESN'T fill up at all. Certainly the average person did not give a shit about mem cards. A 4gb card fits many games and you can delete and redownload, it's a handheld the games are small in comparison to a console or PC.

The issue was the name, nobody knew what the vita even was. Name it psp2, and you'd have had people buying it on name alone.

[BlackIceJoe]

I hope Sony does make another handheld, because the PSVita has been great. I'd add R2, L2, R3 & L3 for the next system, because touchscreen just isn't as great as those buttons would be. I also would add onboard memory that can be used as a hard drive to make games run better and cut down on load times.

[subtenko]

Just focus on the ps4, and support eh psvita like twice the ps3's life cycle.

[Fist4achin]

I would be in for another hand-held from Sony if they did it better than the Vita. Don't get me wrong, I love to play my Vita, just the memories cards, charging cable, lack of L2R2 buttons and dropping of support kind of tampered things. If they don't do those things, I think it could be a success. Also, some more deals on games like Monster Hunter and Persona/SMT would solidify the deal for me.

[dorron]

I'm not paying 250€ again for a nextgen handheld just to play 8bit games...They would have to prove they will support it properly and leave all the memory cards crap out.

[C-H-E-F]

Yeah, I think this is definitely Nintendo's market. Sony definitely has the most powerful handheld console, and it's a great console with great games on it, but the sales are just not that good. I mean it's not far behind the Xbox One, but at the same time it came out 2 years before the Xbox One.

I don't think they will be focused here for a few years, they will probably just continue to push the VR and PS4+++