Is Quality Holding The Vita Back?

As more reviews of Vita games pour in, something is becoming ever more apparent. Expectations are too high. I am not denying that there are a few reviewers out there that appear to have agendas; although this is not verifiable and is based entirely on good old fashioned gut feelings garnered from the trends on particular sites. Many will relate to that and many will think it convenient, but no one can deny — coincidence or not — that the recent slew of so called ‘system sellers’ have been getting rather low scores. Having said that, we have to also acknowledge that a good amount of reviews are written with honesty, even if the score displeases some folk.

[LX-General-Kaos]

I think the quality of the platform is fine. Only the price needs to be adjusted. Once the price is set appropriately, and lower than a home console offering, I predict the Vita flying off shelves and surpassing the weekly numbers of the original PSP.

Another pretty sizable factor is that I believe that there are too many PS3 ports, and not enough unique AAA content like Gravity Rush. Sony also needs to find a way to muscle back Monster Hunter to their platform for Japanese sales. Which is the most important part of the world for hand held success.

Rated E For Everyone

[GribbleGrunger]

Agreed, but I think this heightened expectation is largely due to the fact that Sony push the technology more than the fun factor... not always of course, but enough to persuade some to make the wrong comparison.

Nintendo know what they're doing when it comes to advertising. They push the fun and hardly ever (if ever) push the technology. This, I believe, is why comparisons are seldom used outside of Nintendo products and so the 3DS is automatically associated with 'fun' and gameplay. Sony need to learn this from Nintendo to avoid unfair comparisons

[LX-General-Kaos]

Interesting points and well said

[LOGICWINS]

Whats holding the Vita back is that people don't want to pay $250 to play ports of games they already have. Once Vita gains more unique titles, it will do better.

Also, I SHOULD be able to play ANY PS3 game on my Vita via remote play on my Wi-Fi connection.

[tehpees3]

Well they are right by pushing the technology within the system since they want people to know it is for those people. Its just challenging for Sony to persuade PS3 owners to jump on Vita.

[tiffac008]

Its not only about advertisement but support as well.

Ninty stopped supporting the DS when the 3DS was released and along came the 3rd party developers. Sony on the other hand is still supporting the PSP. So a lot of Japanese 3rd party developers have not jumped ship yet.

Not to mention games that have a western audience will not be localized because the PSP is dead outside of Japan.

Its like the Vita is being sacrificed in the number 1 handheld market (Japan) just for a few additional sales for its predecessor.

The Vita will not succeed without Japan.

[bothebo]

@ LOGICWINS

Should I brand dumb ass to your forehead? You asked for authentic Vita experiences and we ARE getting them! Exclusive LBP, ACL, Ragnarok Odyssey, COD Declassified and so on. Don't even try to play that card.

[Sanquine90]

Dude, your respond is really fresh because you love the Nintendo entertaiment systems. #1 price is to high i agree with. #2 they stop making it an portable ps3.. 3# As you described we need our own creative games > Tear away and gravity rush are the games i hope to see more of in the future.

[GribbleGrunger]

Those games will come eventually but Sony really do need to stop making 'slick' adverts and just concentrate of showing people having fun while playing them. This is something that Nintendo do very very well.

[Sanquine90]

Yeah, just like NINTY adverts. A beautiful girl and her enjoying playing a 3ds. My girlfriend prefers the vita but if i pick my 3ds up she wants to play mario kart or proffesor layton ( the ds version)

[ShoryukenII]

I agree. When people talk about reasons to buy a Vita, they always bring up Uncharted: Golden Abyss. That game is horrible compared to its console counterparts. It is just a downgraded iPhone version of the PS3 games and that is where the Vita is at right now.

Sony needs to make more games like Gravity Daze, Tearaway and Soul Sacrifice. That is what will make people buy a Vita. Especially Tearaway.

Media Molecule said that they noticed Vita games put touch features in just because they could. I couldn't agree more and that is one of the things that ruined Uncharted. I think Sony just needs to make new IPs and not give them check lists.

Final thing. Why do hardly any Vita games have multiplayer? I'm pretty sure the PSP had multiplayer... When they have Uncharted 2 & 3 with multiplayer then the Vita version without it, that just makes it seem like an inferior machine.

TL;DR-Sony has learned nothing from the PSP.

[zebramocha]

@gen then what's the difference between 3ds,it has port of games like 15 years old.

@logic the vita ports are of newer games not just old ones,like I said the 3ds has ports too.

Like what?

[LX-General-Kaos]

The ports are there, but as of now there is much more unique AAA content available at the moment. At the end of the day nobody is safe from ports, you just need balance.

[Death_Grin48]

Vita is like a PS3... so why have games for the Vita when it's better to play them on the PS3?

[Nerdmaster]

I don't think the price is the only thing that needs to be adjusted. I bought one and even with price out of the question, I still don't like it.

The lack of good games is what is holding it back. I have three games for it: Uncharted, Ragnarok Odyssey and Project Diva F (I bought it during my trip to Japan - there were so many advertisements that I felt compelled to buy it). None of them are that fun. I also downloaded some demos, like Gravity Rush, Katamari, but didn't get excited to buy any of them.

Maybe I'll start liking it when they release some great RPGs for Vita.

[GribbleGrunger]

I still don't understand where this idea that there are no games comes from. Unless you have a very obscure taste for games, there are plenty of Vita games to play, from arcade, pick up and put down games to huge, time consuming games. A little research with google soon puts a stop to this misconception.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

And then you have PSMobile, minis, PSP and PS1 games.

[Nerdmaster]

@GribbleGrunger

Quantity and quality are two very different things. Even in the quantity department, Vita is still lacking.

I admit that some of Vita's games, while I don't really want to play them, I would buy them if I had nothing else to play. But as I already have so much to play on my PC, 3DS, PS3 and even Wii, I don't have time or desire to buy "it doesn't look so bad" games.

All the PS1 and PSP games I wanted to play, I already played on my PSP.

[rpd123]

Spot on about the PS3 ports. Trying to sell it as a PS3 on the go is the complete wrong way to approach it. They have to give it it's own identity.

Price could also be lower, it's certainly not helping. And include at least a 4GB memory card for God's sake.

[Akuma-]

''The Vita games are regularly compared with their console counterparts. What makes this particularly galling — even if you think it warranted — is that they compare 6th and 7th generation console games to 1st generation Vita games. Many developers have said that the consoles are more or less maxed out, so how can it be realistic to expect a teething handheld to match this lofty standard? ''

^^ this explains why a lot of vita games get bad reviews which in turn discourages a lot of potential buyers and game development studios. the vita is way better than the 3ds and as a lot more potential but my feeling is that most reviewers expect low quality from nintendo and a lot of reviewers grew up nes fanboys because nintendo has been around for over 3 decades(game console department). theyll give low quality nes games good scores a lot of times basing them on there own merit but with vita games they rate it according to the merits of console games. people might not want to admit it but the 3ds is a low quality toy and it doesnt take the vita to illustrate that. the initial asking price was insane for the 3ds and i think its still too high for such low quality.with nintendo products it is expected to be low quality and low tech but with sony it is expect to have high quality with the latest tech. fun is subjective and is a euphemism used to describe a lot of simple and bland games. i guess some people think its torture to play LBP, killzone gt5 and other games. those games can be fun depending on the player. throwing rocks in a pond can be fun.

the vita needs to acquire more big name games where potential buyers feel like they are high quality games with high ratings worth their time and not watered down games with less quality and features they are use to on consoles.

[GribbleGrunger]

The 3DS isn't rubbish, it has a lot of very good games on it. I can't agree that reviewers have lowered their expectations for the 3DS either; this is more to do with expectations for the Vita being too high, as my article points out.

@Arius Dion: I agree that expectations should be high, but what I'm trying to point out in this article is the fact that expectations are 'too high'; in other words, unrealistic. And I agree, Sony are almost asking for that comparison because of the way they are advertising the Vita.

[Gr81]

Sure it has to be with expectations being too high. Expectations should be high when it comes to gaming, whether its M$, Sony or Nintendo.

Vita's issue stems from having a flawed mission; Attempting to be a console on the go rather than a gaming handheld, there is a difference. That is why Vita games are compared to PS3 games, Sony asked for that comparison.

The price, while it may be high, is justified by the tech, but the games aren't motivating would be consumers.

Its unfortunate, its a slick handheld, well made with quality, but consumers buy a video game system for the games and that is what is holding Vita back.

Think back to the GameGear and Lynx vs Gameboy.

[LOGICWINS]

"Attempting to be a console on the go rather than a gaming handheld, there is a difference. That is why Vita games are compared to PS3 games, Sony asked for that comparison."

EXACTLY!

[zebramocha]

How us the vita having console like games different from the 3ds?luigis mansion,street fighter,Mario,Zelda,resi,monst er hunter ,were consoles games ,you people act like the vita only do console type games.

[Death_Grin48]

The truth hurts, huh? You show your pain every pro/non/anti-sony article you comment on.

At the end of the day, the 3DS has triumphed over the Vita with sales and game quantity AND quality, and it will continue to do so for the rest of its lifetime. The Vita is still a great system, but if it continues to go at the rate it's going, it will fail harder than the PSP. You and the rest of the minority can bash and be ignorant all you want; nothing is going to change for your benefit.

Peace...

[Fullmetalevolust]

I think Sony not knowing how to market and advertise the Vita is hurting it. The games range from great (Uncharted, gravity rush, ragnarok odyssey, AC:L, NFS, etc...) to fun (frobisher says, Montezuma, etc..) to just fine (PS3 ports). It will get its own identity as soon as we see dedicated vita games.

[GribbleGrunger]

That's the thing though; I think there are games out there that help the identity of the Vita... perhaps not as many as one would hope, but definitely there. The trouble is that the press concentrate entirely on the games they want to compare to the consoles. Smart As is the perfect example. It's a fun and family friendly game that fits perfectly on the Vita but the media just let it pass unnoticed because, at the moment, they're still fishing for hits with the now tried and tested approach.

[NYC_Gamer]

PSV doesn't have enough support/original content

[josephayal]

The PS vita is a little more than twice as powerful than the IPad 4

[Gamesgbkiller]

Price cut on memory card

more Vita only games

new IP's just for Vita

Then the Vita will be on top ... ya :)

We wait and see

[Kingthrash360]

The only problem with it is the "quality now" trend of this generations gamers. Or these reviewer who think its ok to compare a handheld to a console. Console has large games, some up to 15gigs. Handhelds up to 4. Doesn't matter what specs it has that's a huge difference that reviewers don't seem to realize.

[GribbleGrunger]

Yes, that's one of the things I was trying to get at. I'm not saying that expectations should be lowered for the Vita, but they should take into consideration the device these games are on. Of course, I can't just ignore that Sony have helped to incubate this misconception with their advertising. A degree of realistic expectation from the media would help though, especially considering that the media are supposed to be the informed minority and represent the voice of gamers and not of the angry mobs that get off on hate.

[Kingthrash360]

Yup, ur right it is Sonys fault for the confusion, still these reviewers should realize this too. Its sad what things are coming to in articles these days. too much drama. feeding off mistakes to get hits on thier articles/reviews. Its to a point where articles/reviews dont have much to do with the games perfomance at all. if anything is hurting the vita or even gaming itself it's the media with all this hate and nit picking.

[Williamson]

I do agree about the price being too high as i recently bought the ac3 liberation bundle for $199 and thought that it was a great price point for it.