Exactly How Does the PlayStation Vita Have "No Games?"

SuperPhillip Central writes, "A common statement among some gamers is that Sony's struggling handheld, the PlayStation Vita, lacks software, even going as far as saying it has zero in the way of competent games. Of course, a lot of these people are simply trolling, but the idea that the Vita is starving for content is simply a falsehood. I would like to back the falsehood statement with some games that prove that the Vita does, in fact, carry a rather robust library of software."

[RaikRhythm]

Don't forget about Ragnarok Odyssey. Soul Sacrifice will be coming soon as well.

[ritsuka666]

I enjoyed Gravity Rush as much as anyone, but if Sony wanted this thing to sell they needed bigger guns. They needed a Monster Hunter, a Metal Gear, and they needed a new Final Fantasy akin to Crisis Core.Here we are coming up on a year since Vita launched and I can only think of two games coming for it in the next 6 months, Sly 4 and Ratchet. That's not good news for Vita.

[AcidKill]

I can help you think of more Vita games coming in next 6 months.. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus, DOA 5 Plus.

You're Welcome.

[GillHarrison]

All ports, I think he meant new games. The best game I own on the Vita is Persona 4... which is also a port.

[Soldierone]

So tired of "its just ports" comments. Why did that suddenly become a bad thing? With PSP it was "I wish it could play the actual games, not these spin offs!" Now you get it and it becomes "well its just a port" Really? Do you see these "ports" on your phone? no. its a technological advancement and you can't appreciate it.

and the OP says "needed" instead of "needs" so what Vita is dead now? ....

[Godchild1020]

You are clearly forgetting all those Japanese only releases. The Vita has games coming out and where the system needs the most help at, is in Japan.

The year is not even over, wait until next year to say there is nothing coming in the next 6 months.

[gamerpiggy]

Japanese system sellers are usually simply niche titles in the states. Saying that the Vita lacks a big system seller is not putting forth any kind of agenda: it's simply the truth. No one is saying that good Vita games don't exist, but ritsuka is correct in saying that a killer app doesn't.

[Godchild1020]

@Gamerpiggy, I never said he was wrong about the Vita needing a system selling game or two.

I was just pointing out that there are more than the two games he points out, that are coming out in through next 6 months.

[Agheil]

Did people forget about Killzone:Mercenary & Tearaway?

[Tonester925]

@gamerpiggy

The USA doesn't equal the world.

[Ryo-Hazuki]

Persona 4 and PS Plus are system sellers to me. Looking forward to Soul Sacrifice and Teraway next year

[JoGam]

Dude stop fishing.

[SamPao]

They need the big guns of those 3rd parties, thats all. The games are great, ABSOLUTELY great! but there is still no GTA und stuff. I DONT CARE ABOUT THOSE GAMES, because for me the VITA is perfect and sony is doing a great job.
but to sell more, they need them..

[Wolfbiker]

There is Metal Gear and FF Type-0 'should' make its way over here.

Maybe consumer ignorance is the Vita's biggest issue.

[sdozzo]

It's not the number but the type and quality of the games.

[gamerpiggy]

Maybe in terms of the quality of the console, but not necessarily in sales. The DS has, what, 7 games that Metascored over 90? I'm not saying a Metascore is an objective standard, but it's not a bad comparison to make.

[strigoi814]

First: they complain about the dual analog sticks (sony introduce vita)
Second: they complain about price and memory card not included (sony give a bundle with 4gb memory)
Third: they complain about vita has no games(sony gave you shooter,racing rpg,platform,fighting and even Augmented reality gaming..and now im loaded with psvita games and psp that i cant finish
????? Whats next people whats next?? you people seems unsatisfied..my goodness

[oONinjavitiSOo]

Pretty sure that the people that complain about the ps vita don't even own one. Sure there are some owners with valid complaints. But as a whole the people that don't have one complain and say there are no games. Gamers this gen.....what a joke!

[tubers]

Lastly: They lost again to Nintendo (PSP vs DS)

[Wolfbiker]

If selling 70+ million consoles is "losing" I'll take a loss every time.

[Dark11]

The Vita need good exclusives like
castlevania mirror of fate , resident evil revelations etc

[Cam977]

Maybe Peace Walker should've been held back for the Vita?

[WeAreLegion]

People have no idea how to utilize the Vita. They never will. Their loss.

[Xof]

Is this really a question that needs to be asked? The Vita has plenty of games, sure, but the release scheduling is godawful. The Vita went from June to the end of October with zero notable game releases and only 2 or 3 retail releases period.

And right now the Vita is in a similar state.

Couple that with routine PSN updates bringing nothing to the Vita, weeks and weeks in a row.

Sure, the Vita has good games. Thing is, a good third (at least) of those good games are only in Japan, and the rest of 'em all came out in clumps leaving the Vita's release calendar painfully empty. This isn't rocket science, folks. Anyone who's been paying the least bit of attention has picked up on the fact that the Vita's been getting crap support.

It's normal for a console early in its lifespan to have few game releases. That's why publishers make an effort to stagger game releases or rely on smaller digital offerings to maintain a steady stream of content. Sony has failed to do either of these very basic things, so hence the illusion of "no games."

[Hicken]

Vita's got about as many games released in its first year as the 3DS did at the same period of time(about a hundred). Actually, it may be getting games a little faster. In any case, there's no shortage of titles to play, and that's NOT including PS1 and PSP games.

Where was the "steady stream" of games for any of the other systems this gen? They've all seen their fair share of droughts, and none of them have had really stellar first years. In all honesty, the Vita's probably got the best first year library since the start of last gen, if not before(I mean PS2's gen as last gen).

The illusion comes from various "media" outlets and individuals repeating the mantra until it becomes the default in people's minds. There is validity in the "repeating it enough times makes it true" saying.

Sony's failure, as it has been all generation, has been with their marketing. They simply don't advertise the Vita's games enough; at least, up until recently, they hadn't. These days, you'll see plenty of commercials for it on Saturdays and Sundays during football games.

And that makes sense, as their target demographic coincides very well with the audience that watches both college and professional football(more the former than the latter). I can't speak for how they've done outside the US, but here, at least, that advertising has picked up in the last month or so.

As for earlier in the year, however, I can't say I saw ANY ads for the Vita or any of its games; that also makes some sense, as Sony is well-known for starting their hardware off with word-of-mouth advertising, and the people who bought one early-on are the type to keep up with and know the games coming out, anyway.

None of this translates into the 3DS-like sales people seem to expect the Vita to be capable of, and are consequently bashing the system for not achieving. But anyone with a brain could look at the hardware and its launch lineup and see that the target demographic was much smaller.

What the Vita needs isn't more games(not in the way it's usually meant) or even a price cut. What it needs is an aggressive marketing campaign to ingrain it into the minds of people who should be interested.

[Xof]

And you've missed the point. As have all the fanboys who clicked "disagree." I'm not talking (at all) about how many games the Vita has, I'm talking about the frequency of release.

The Vita has gone weeks and weeks, even months, without any releases retail or digital. That's inexcusable. Even when the 3DS was at its lowest point last year, Nintendo still managed to get a game or two released every other week or so, and still managed to add /something/ to the eShop. Sony not doing the same betrays a startling level of incompetence and is very clearly the reason why so many gamers have so poor an impression of the Vita.

[amaguli]

There are plenty of great games that I have played for the Vita. Gravity Rush, Persona 4 The Golden, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Ragnarok Odyssey, Orgarhythm, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (also on 3DS), BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend.

I really don't understand why people are saying there are no games for the Vita. If Sony was any good at marketing, they would have really focused on Person 4 The Golden, Gravity Rush, and maybe even Ragnarok Odyssey as the system sellers for the Vita.

Oh well, I guess Nintendo is so ingrained in the minds of gamers when it comes to handheld consoles that it probably doesn't matter in the end. Just look at the PSP, despite "common knowledge" the PSP had a great library. Hopefully people will realize that the Vita can coexist with the 3DS.

[dennett316]

They don't mean it literally, they mean there's no games to persuade them to invest in the new hardware. There's no decent exclusive games on it - though that should change with PSN titles appearing on there boosting the numbers - it's all ports or spin-offs of home console franchises that people have already played to death.

Uncharted is all well and good, but there's been three of those games on home console where they're meant to be played. You're relying on the few who desperately want to play Uncharted on their way to work or college...that's not a large audience.

[SoundGamer]

The 3DS sells like crazy.

Now tell me how many of the games that push big numbers are not, as you put it, " ports or spin-offs of home console franchises that people have already played to death"?

[Sithlord-Gamble]

The 3ds sells like crazy bc its a "kids" system!
From the games to the controls.

For every adult that plays video games, theres 2 or more kids in that same household that play.

Im not a fan of nintendo, I own a vita/ps3 ... but best believe nintendo is the first product I purchase when it comes to my children.
Its just more family/kid friendly.

I dont have to worry about Mario shooting guns & ripping off heads.

Nintendo is the Fisher Price of video games ... so of course it sells more. They cater to a larger demographic of consumer: children.

[TheFirstClassic]

All the best 3ds games are ports or spin offs. Mario kart, 3d land, zelda, RE, all games we've experienced on console. Heck at least Sony isn't updating psone games and porting them to the vita.

[creized1]

The same way people said sh!t about the ps3 until 2008.
Just give it a lil time.
Not saying that it hasn't got any games ofcourse

[refocusedman]

As a vita owner I have to say that that the system does have games but, they lack the obligatory must have titles. The system was stacked with launch titles and from that point on the releases have been very inconsistent. Sony themselves have stated that its been difficult to get 3rd parties to develop for the vita and I believe the consumer has picked up on that. If you take a look over at the 3ds their selection of upcoming games is significantly more robust than the vita. Come to think of it maybe sony didnt feature the vita at e3 because maybe they didnt have much to show.

[SoundGamer]

I actually counted. Within a year of the 3DS' release it had about 100 games for the system (in North America).

Within 9 months of the Vita's release, close to 80 games (in North America) have been released.

The Vita's lineup is actually pretty robust taking it to its anniversary. The only thing is, most of the titles are digital.

Both systems are releasing games at about the same pace.

[PurpHerbison]

Doesn't matter what game gets released. It's still the Vita at the end of the day and it won't do very well. Would of rather seen the money and effort go into something else.

[ziggurcat]

it has no games because idiotic doom and gloom "journalists" think it doesn't.

[Soldierone]

People that cant afford the Vita, can't afford to buy handheld games, or are just simply trolls keep chanting problems. An actual Vita owner might go "I'm happy, but I want this game" and the trolls go "VITA HAS NO GAMES!!!!!"

Get a Vita, its awesome.

[ElementX]

I think the Vita's lineup contains too many PS3 franchises. Sony needs to work with companies to produce Vita exclusive franchises.

[TheLastGuardian]

I think the PS Vita's library of games is excellent. There's plenty of great games that make PS Vita a must have for core gamers. Persona 4 Golden, LittleBigPlanet PS Vita and Gravity Rush alone are enough reasons to buy a Vita. I've had my Vita about 5 months, I've played about 15 PS Vita games so far and I haven't disliked a single one of them. Most were great or even amazing. PS Vita has some of the best handheld games I've ever played. Some people are just too hard to please.

Maybe they don't like Sony or handhelds in general so they say the Vita has no games regardless of whether it does or not. They don't know, they don't keep up with all the games being released and announced for the Vita. Nobody ever mentions games like Lumines: Electronic Symphony which is the best game in an amazing series and Mutant Blobs Attack is another hidden gem and so is Dokuro. People tend to forget that the Vita is region free, I've taken advantage of that by ordering Japan only titles from Play-Asia. I don't mind if a game is a port or a spin-off, a good game is a good game. I never played Persona 4 on PS2 so it's like a brand new game to me and P4G is the best way to experience it.

The Vita has more than enough great games. I can't even keep up with them all. Even if there weren't enough games to play on the Vita, I would wait patiently for more Vita games to release while I game on other systems.