2014 is The Year Of The Vita

Dealspwn writes: "The PlayStation Vita received short shrift last year, especially here in Europe. A tiny handful of big hitters aside, Sony's handheld rarely found its way into our sweaty palms, completely outgunned and outgamed by the 3DS in ascendancy.

But 2014 seems set to change all that."

[Mikey32230]

I don't think just because Sony puts some JRPGs on the vita means its the year of the vita.

I absolutely love my vita, but those games are not for everyone, although i would like to try some of them out.

For it to be a fantastic year for the vita i think i needs to have a significant price drop, and start being supported like any other console would.

This means getting all the mainstream, big time selling software. A REAL Call of Duty Port. REAL Sports game ports (NBA 2k has never appeared on the vita) MLB The show is a good start, how about a truly full fledged Fifa game.

And of course more orignal content specifically designed to show case what the vita is as a portable machine.

I think Sony should support it with more small non-gaming apps as well.

[Neonridr]

hard to ask for another price drop when it already received one. Not to mention the 3DS XL is the same price as the Vita and look how well it sells. Software sells hardware (especially in territories like Japan). The PS4 has helped sales of the Vita no doubt, but it's going to be great games that truly help define a year for any console / handheld.

[bothebo]

The PS4 has barely helped PSV sales unless you have numbers to show otherwise. Oh wait you don't because VG Chartz shows that your wrong and so does Sony's own numbers.
http://www.psu.com/a022466/...

The only reason people own both a Vita and a PS4 is because they are stupid Sony fanboys who will buy the product no matter what. However, only 10% actually used the feature!! This is roughly 3% of Vita sales and even then my previous point still stands that these are likely people who would have bought them both either way.

Otherwise I totally agree with you. It has to be software and it WILL NOT be indies. Indies do nothing for hardware. Big software will move the Vita. For instance, why not make an inFamous game for the Vita which unlocks content in Second Son or ties into the story of Second Son. By doing that you've just added a whole hell of a lot of value to the game and appeal to a broader audience than if it were just another infamous game.

The sad part is stupid Sony fanboys think indies matter: they don't in the grand scheme of things. Shahid Kamal Ahmad himself said "that indie are the future of gaming," however he also said that you only need to give indies "just enough to survive". So, how can indies be the future if they are given just enough to survive? He's contradicted himself. Without resources indies cannot grow and push boundaries so therefore it has to be large developers.

[Neonridr]

the PS4 release has definitely helped move Vita's in Japan, but there has also been some quality software that has released over there, so I can't say for sure that it's all due to the PS4 launch, but you have to figure that some people see the merit in owning both, I know I do. However I am finding that I am using my Vita more for the Remote Play feature rather than playing actual Vita games on the handheld.

[Hoika]

@bothebo: Go easy on the "stupid fanboy" remarks cowboy! You really do have a point here but everyone (with or without a point) talking about "fanboys" completely f**k up their statement... You're idea for Infamous is great and remote play simply does not get used as mutch as it could/should be. But saying only stupid fanboys bought a Vita and/or a PS4 is just dumb. Some people simply love those quirky Japanese games and Indies (I do), others feel Killzone, Uncharted, Tearaway and Gravity Rush are enough reason to buy a Vita (I do). And a shitload of people simply love Monsterhunter-like games, J-RPG's and handheld Indies (I do)... Just because Call of Duty didn't work on the Vita (which isn't the Vita's fault, Killzone proved that) doesn't mean the Vita sucks.

[Neonridr]

@Hoika - I bought my Vita used off a buddy and it came with Call of Duty, and I really, really wish it hadn't. I can't wipe that game from my memory banks unfortunately.. *shudder*

[MeLoveRamen]

Bothebo You don't know what indie means. Look at the list i posted eariler, non of them are indies and all are coming this year. Just because it isn't a western dood bro shooter or a western franchise doesn't mean it is indie. Most of the Japanese games that have and will come out for the vita are AAA, but people like you think they are indie because all you like are first person shooters or don't have interest in them because it doesn't have a gun in it.

[MeLoveRamen]

I personally think this might be one of the best years for vita for ME. I don't care about what other people think the amount of AAA games coming to vita this year are incredible. Note( AAA doesn't just mean big western franchises) I already bought Toukiden, Danganropa, final fantasy remake, and will buy one piece, Akiba trip, Freedom wars, Over My Dead body 2, Borderlands 2, Pixeljunk shooter ultimate, hotline miami 2,persona 4:dancing all night, Mighty no.9, Hohokum,the God of War collection, and Sly collection. I know most games won't appeal to the western audience because theres no dood-bro but these japanese games that are coming out for the vita are perfect for me on a handheld.

[Angels3785]

Isn't there already a damn good FIFA game? I have it and mlb the show and love it!

[Spontogical]

If 2014 is indeed the year of the PS Vita - then I will purchase one.

[ruefrak]

I think things are looking pretty good for the Vita in 2014. Aside from the ports of God of War, Sly Cooper, and Borderlands, you have a ton of indie games coming to it constantly. I know people complain that they want big AAA games on the Vita, but I think it works better with these smaller indie titles. And it has great games of a caliber you'll never see on the 3DS.

[bothebo]

Really indies games work just as well? Why don't you name a few that can even stand in the shadow of Tearaway, P4G, Gravity Rush, or Uncharted. I'll drop you a hint there aren't any! If you want indies go buy a phone not a $250 dedicated gaming device with proprietary memory.

[zeuanimals]

The biggest indies on the system take roughly 400MB and most are a lot smaller. The Vita is also $200, not $250.

Indies like Guacamelee, Hotline Miami, Luftrausers, and many others would never work on a phone without seriously gimped controls. And some of the most fun and critically acclaimed games of recent years have been indies and they do pretty damn well on PC and consoles so I'm pretty sure people love indies and with the ability to play them on the go is a massive plus.

I'd also put Guacamelee, Luftrausers, and Hotline Miami up there with Gravity Rush and Uncharted GA.

[ruefrak]

The problem with games on phones is they rely on touch and not controls, so the experience you get is different. You have things like angry birds or Candy Crush or a million farmville clones.
None of them hold a candle to FEZ, Guacamelee, Spelunky, CastleStorm, Gunslugs, Stealth Inc, Rocketbirds, Limbo, Thomas Was Alone, Escape Plan, Velocity Ultra, and many many more.
And sometimes, quite a few times, I enjoy them much better than Gravity Rush or Uncharted. I mean, I finished Gravity Rush and while fun, I'll never go back to it. But Stealth Inc is one that I keep going back to again and again.

[capt-schmo]

Some of the best titles this past generation in my opinion have been Indie titles that I've played on my Vita. Spelunky, Fez, Hotline Miami, Guacamelee are all pure gaming gold, and in my opinion a much better experience than anything you listed. Sure Tearaway is great and only possible on the Vita, but wouldn't make my top 10 list of the last 5 years, instead I would have Spelunky, Fez, and Guacamelee somewhere on that list.

I don't understand this argument that the Vita needs more AAA style games. Those have come out on the Vita in Uncharted, Assassin's Creed Liberation, and Killzone Mercenary. I've played those and they pale in comparison to the console experience, because games like that are better suited to the console experience.

As for saying that if I want Indies to go buy a phone, that is an insult to the greatness of some of these titles. They would never work without the precise controls of a dedicated gaming machine nor are they anything like the games you can get for "free" on the app store. They instead are reminiscent of an era where small teams created wonderful experiences. For example, Super Mario World had a team of just 16 people, yet is considered one of the greatest games of all time. Super Metroid was made by a team of 15.

[Delsin_Rowe]

Could respond back in the other article. Selling 68k the Vita is good since last year Vita was not even near 68k but lower so please stop telling me that I am high. Is PSVITA sales increase it another battle won and gaining more allies to keep the future of Vita Strong.

[jegheist2014]

e3 square enix comeso n stage localises ff agito aka type 0 for vita translation team would be pissed cuz english project coming outi n august.

or ff exclusive to vita like ff xv versus liek crsis core did that might be awesome or whole new ff game without shitty lightning in it

[Mikelarry]

don't mean to sound like a pessimist and I own a vita but every year we get an article with the same exact title the only thing that changes is the year at the end

[Codey47]

My sentiments exactly.

I were just going to write a comment on the same lines.
In fact I did a while back and had my head bitten off by the faithful.

http://n4g.com/news/1428769...

[Mikelarry]

some don't like the hear or read the truth it's life. you commented on your opinion some will agree some will disagree but one thing we can all agree on is the vita is not doing as well as we and sony hoped it would. its a great piece of hardware and its got lots of games i just cant put my finger on why it doesnt sell as good as the psp

[rodiabloalmeida]

You took the words out of my mouth, sir.

[zackacloud]

There is no market for my vita I mean what games u r talking about??
Uncharted, gravity rush, most wanted, street fighterxtakken, unit 13, assasign creed

And some bad games and sport games.

I really ended up by purchasing psp games 3rd birthday and dissidia and overs.

I thought I will find amazing games as dbz tag team, crisis core, birth to sleep, tales of, Dissidia , real fps games not missions and a lot of psp games that really make enjoy than playing my ps3.
Actually there aint games for vita.

[zeuanimals]

Uh... Is English not your native language? I can't make out what you're trying to say in the latter half...

[zackacloud]

Grammar is my enemy. However, I am trying to point out that ps vita library is so poor.

[TheRedButterfly]

XD Oh god you're joking right? It's gonna have a better year than any one before it (hopefully), but with the AAA console-exclusives that are set to come out, this isn't going to be the "year of" any handheld. Don't be ridiculous.

[MasterCornholio]

Most likely it will be year of the PS4.

Just my opinion though.

[SpiralTear]

I agree. Though we're getting more on Vita in 2014, it's clear that Sony's efforts on focused more on the PS4.

[SjizzleBizzle]

But still doesn't sell good

[Team_Litt]

Yeah, an average one.

[bjmartynhak]

What are the announced exclusive western AAA titles that I missed?

[zeuanimals]

AAA simply means the game cost a lot to develop and had a large team working on it. Most handheld games are not AAA games. And Western devs don't really work with handhelds, that's mostly Japan's thing. The Vita would be doing a lot better if it had Monster Hunter, Sony really messed up with not getting Capcom to bring it to the system.

One of the main reasons the 3DS did so well is because of MH. It sold the Japanese on the system and with a large enough fanbase, other Japanese 3rd party devs decided to work on it.

[Bundi]

So. . .none?

[Hicken]

Is that the only way it can have a great year? To have the one or two games that YOU want?

[TheFirstClassic]

No, I think the point is that to have a great year it should have a variety of titles that fall into different genres. Most of the games releasing on Vita now are mostly japanese focused, so I would say the lineup has some holes in it.

[Gamesgbkiller]

It may be better than last year.

I hope we hear more about new games in E3.

[fonger08]

I feel like there is an abundance of Vita articles today... it must be a slow news day.

[Yaay4me]

I have a PS4 but don't have the PSVita. I think for a lot of PS4 owners the concept of being able to play their PS4 games on their Vita (for those times when the tv is occupied, or you are too tired to sit in front of the tv and just want to play laying down and relaxing) can be a selling point for the Vita.

[TheRedButterfly]

Is that why you don't have one?

[Yaay4me]

Lol well, i didnt say i was one of them now did i? But in fact im speaking about myself, i personally would like that option.

[DanielGearSolid]

One thing I learned about Sony, especially with the Ps3

They believe in the term "Patience is a virtue"

[DualWielding]

It'll be the year of the Vita by default, last year was the year of the PS3 and 3DS but those two are really slowing down this year, expected for the PS3 but surprising for the 3DS... the PS4 and Xbone are still yet to really start and the Wii U is a non-entity as always, the 360 is completely dead at this point..... so yah.... 2014 can be called Vita's year by default, I don't think any other cosole will get as many exclusives

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

The 3DS line up is not as strong this year but it's still pretty solid. Bravely default,Yoshi,Smash bros, Kirby, Mario Golf: World Tour, Tomodachi Life, Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney, Persona Q and a bunch of indie stuff to name a few.

Personally I'm only interested for Smash bros,Persona Q and maybe Tomodachi life.

[MeLoveRamen]

Why is it that people only think the vita has indies. News flash all the japanese games for the vita are not indies, they are published by big companies, and AAA doesn't just mean western franchises, just because they are japanese titles that don't appeal to the west doesn't make them indies, they are full blown AAA games, and the vita has a lot of them coming this year.

[AnEwGuY]

This could have been an entire generation of the Vita, if Sony had been smart and bundled it with PS4, for the same price as the X1.

[zeuanimals]

Yeah, probably. The $500 or whatever bundles with Knack and other meh games sold pretty well just because people really wanted a PS4. They really could've really boosted the Vita's marketshare by bundling it, getting more devs to want to work on it.

[Skate-AK]

All I want is Freedom Wars.

[MorfiTM]

Okay, I'm really fed up with all of your bi***ing. You can only whine that there's no support from Ubisoft, EA, Activision, etc.

For nearly 2 years I, a poor Vita owner tried to boost Vita sales and provide after sale support for players so that they won't sell their consoles after a few weeks. As it happened in Poland I'm certain that you haven't heard about Vitabros Meetings (here's photos: https://www.facebook.com/pa...
There's no big AAA games because the platform doesn't look interesting to big publishers.

Want to change it? Then stop being miserable crybabies and take the reins over from PlayStation.
How? Every country has it's community based on different sites and forums.
Start small. Contact local indie developers and start harassing them by sending multiple messages to their Twitter and Facebook accounts to port their games to Vita.
I started doing it by myself procuring more support from Polish developers.
If each community gets even one developer then we will get some indies true, but thanks to the success people will be more willing for a mass action targeted at the biggest companies.

So what are you going to do? B**ch about it on N4G and try to be content when another game released years ago on PC, PS3, X360 releases on Vita? Or will you get your s**t together and already do something to change it?

[Bundi]

Lol. So adorable.

[inf3cted1]

Oh really? I thought 2013 was the year according to some people.

[zero_gamer]

The only game I bought for my Vita this year is a jRPG import, a game that is unlikely to be released here in the US this year. My Vita rarely gets attention otherwise, and I have been a Vita owner since the launch of the First Edition.

[Lou Ferrigno]

the day EA decides to bring NHL to the Vita is the day i shit a brick house and live in it for one month..

The sheer excitement would be mind blowing (literally) for me.

Of course i want more games broadened throughout the entire video game genre .. both western , eastern etc etc ..
Bring it all and make each game COUNT if they want to see Vita's success rate grow exponentially. :)

[RPGrinder]

"Tomodachi Life looks incredible, but we'll need more than that to stop the PS Vita from running riot this year."

Mario Golf, Kirby, Smash Bros, Persona q, Tales, Bravely Second= WTF is this article talking about.

Vita got a few games, great, but it is still a failed system with a pretty bad library.

[Elvis-20]

i think Playstation Now will help the PS vita somewhat, because it will solve the problem with memory cards of the ps vita being filled up quickly. As a result of that, the ps vita would become more appealing to the consumers.

[Protagonist]

It will be a great year for the Vita, that is for sure!

[leahcim]

Final Fantasy Type 0 Vita on PSN

Is all I want for this year, seriously Sony.

[blademaster09]

Hell yeah it is.