Does the Vita have a future?

[Saraldra]

I personally think Sony will retire the Vita fairly soon, perhaps this year.

It's painfully obvious that their focus is squarely on PS4, while the Vita sits neglected with only a few token releases.

I love my Vita, and as long as there is a steady stream of RPGs to play on it, then I'm happy. Though i wish Sony would give the system a bit more attention.

 

[Mika]

I doubt the Vita has a future. Although a few great games were released with it, it was pretty clear they weren't going to stick with it. There aren't nearly as many games for it as for other devices. Since they came out with the PS4 they've been focusing on that for the most part.

 

[TonyMHFan]

I personally think Sony will retire the Vita fairly soon, perhaps this year.

I don't know why they'd suddenly put an end to the constant stream of releases they've been doing. Aside from that, the Vita pulls in a profit - why would they cut off something that's giving them money?

Another thing to consider is why would Sony toss aside its PS4's remote play companion that it has spent time marketing? They have a phone and tablet that can do it, but those are quite expensive options for people considering the cost of the devices themselves and other things such as a new data plan. If the Vita was taken away they'd have nothing to offer the 'regular joe' PS4 owner that was a portable way to remote play - the PSTV only allows you a cheap remote play option in another room in the house.

Forgetting any of that, this year is definitely not going to happen as the Vita's end. IGN has an incomplete list of games getting released on the Vita in the West and that totals 115 titles. It's a wide range of Sony games, Western/Japanese Thrid parties, and Indies.

It's painfully obvious that their focus is squarely on PS4, while the Vita sits neglected with only a few token releases.

Sony has released 3 AAAs just from themselves in the past 6 or so months, with another slated for early 2015. I wouldn't deny their focus on PS4, they'd be fools not to have it there given its resounding success, but the Vita doesn't just get a few token releases. Aside from the AAAs, Sony has their XDev studios pumping out a lot of games for the Vita, even exclusives. Murasaki Baby springs to mind immediately as a recent release.

Though i wish Sony would give the system a bit more attention.

They gave it a lot of attention at PSX, 2 dozen game announcements and lots of facetime. Both the President of SCEA and the head of 3rd party relations came out strongly for the Vita, the latter ending his segment screaming out "Long live the Vita!". Sure, they're employees so they should speak well of their company's device, but that only goes so far. I don't imagine he got a Christmas bonus for exclaiming something like that.

 

[TonyMHFan]

I doubt the Vita has a future.

At its worst, assuming Sony suddenly cancels every project, the Vita's future is continuing to be an Indie developer's paradise with the Vita receiving titles that the PC/mobile phones gets shortly after that release or having them release alongside/before PC/mobile phones.

That's not a bad future to have in store at all.

Although a few great games were released with it, it was pretty clear they weren't going to stick with it.

They've stuck with it to this point.

There aren't nearly as many games for it as for other devices.

Comparing something like the PS3 to the Vita isn't fair. The PS3 has over triple the amount of time the Vita has had to accumulate games. A more fair comparison would be to take the PS3's first three years and the Vita's first three years - The Vita has more games in that timespan.

The PS4 doesn't have many more games than the Vita, many are on the Vita or getting ported to the Vita. OctoDad: Dadliest catch is a PS4 exclusive lost to being multi-platform with the Vita. Resogun, the PS4's Indie Game of the Year last year, was sent to the Vita as well.

Since they came out with the PS4 they've been focusing on that for the most part.

As well they should. They're in a pitched battle with Microsoft and that war isn't won by splitting time with the Vita. At E3 every ounce of the main show's airtime was given to the PS4, if I remember correctly. That airtime was used to slam into Microsoft's approach to things and won a big battle for the PS4, which screamed forward to 10 million sales - bringing the Vita along with it for the ride. Sony has said PS4 sales have generated Vita sales, which is to be expected because of remote play and people who had an Xbox 360, but changing allegiances adopting the PlayStation Ecosystem.

Also, even though all the main airtime was given to the PS4, that didn't mean the Vita wasn't shown off on the floor and in other ways. Sony execs were sitting down for interviews for various Vita titles, etc.

 

[Mika]

Comparing something like the PS3 to the Vita isn't fair. The PS3 has over triple the amount of time the Vita has had to accumulate games. A more fair comparison would be to take the PS3's first three years and the Vita's first three years - The Vita has more games in that timespan.

The PS4 doesn't have many more games than the Vita, many are on the Vita or getting ported to the Vita. OctoDad: Dadliest catch is a PS4 exclusive lost to being multi-platform with the Vita. Resogun, the PS4's Indie Game of the Year last year, was sent to the Vita as well.

Ah, I apologize for the confusion but I wasn't comparing it to the PS3, or any of the other larger consoles either. I meant to compare it to the other handheld devices. It'd be foolish to compare a handheld device to a larger console. Perhaps I am unaware of some of the games, but I often go into gaming stores and I've never seen a section as small as the Vita has gotten, even when it was first coming out and comparing it with the time frame that other devices have gotten.

As well they should. They're in a pitched battle with Microsoft and that war isn't won by splitting time with the Vita. At E3 every ounce of the main show's airtime was given to the PS4, if I remember correctly. That airtime was used to slam into Microsoft's approach to things and won a big battle for the PS4, which screamed forward to 10 million sales - bringing the Vita along with it for the ride. Sony has said PS4 sales have generated Vita sales, which is to be expected because of remote play and people who had an Xbox 360, but changing allegiances adopting the PlayStation Ecosystem.

Also, even though all the main airtime was given to the PS4, that didn't mean the Vita wasn't shown off on the floor and in other ways. Sony execs were sitting down for interviews for various Vita titles, etc.

While I do understand giving the PS4 more attention, I feel that they should still give the Vita some love. Either way it's more up to the game companies to choose, it just seems game companies are choosing to go with other handheld devices. But once again, perhaps I'm just missing the vita somehow.

 

[TonyMHFan]

Ah, I apologize for the confusion but I wasn't comparing it to the PS3, or any of the other larger consoles either

Interesting, that's certainly what most people do.

Perhaps I am unaware of some of the games, but I often go into gaming stores and I've never seen a section as small as the Vita has gotten, even when it was first coming out and comparing it with the time frame that other devices have gotten.

I don't know where you live or what game stores you're talking about, but in my experience GameStop loves the Vita to death - its employees not so much though, but that's a conversation for another thread. My 5 or so GameStops in my area get all the new physical releases for even the most niche of niches. Have you ever heard of the Hyperdimension Neptunia Series? Niche on its own, even more niche when you look at their spin-off into an idol game like Hatsune Miku's. My GameStops got several copies. Obviously my GameStops don't necessarily speak for all of them, and indeed there are GameStops that treat the Vita abysmally (I guess its up to the manager's what to do? I can't imagine another reason for the non-uniform treatment.), but I've seen other people speak of their GameStops like mine as well, moreso than otherwise.

GameStops have also started stocking 64GB cards 'under the table', sort of. They bring in the Vita cards from Japan and call them used accessories. Currently, no other retailer has more than a 32GB card in North America to my knowledge and in neither North America nor Europe has the 64GB been officially introduced by Sony. Why? Can't say I'm tuned into their radio station to know.

I would say that BestBuy and Frys, which are tech stores in general not gaming stores, treat the Vita very well as welll. Frys frequently goes above and beyond what other retailers do in aggressively pricing Vitas and Vita games for sale in bundles or otherwise, in addition to keeping up on most releases. BestBuy isn't quite as 'Gung-Ho' about it, and even I've seen BestBuy's with abysmal Vita selections, but it seems more often than not that you'll get to see a nice sized Vita selection. No niche releases whatsoever, but all my BestBuys at least got in Borderlands 2, then you'll see other titles like Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time which is fairly recent as well.

Now, if we were talking about normal retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R US, etc there'd be no ability to even slightly sugar coat the Vita's situation with them. It's understandable considering the Vita's woes in sales, but it is unfortunate to have to see.

While I do understand giving the PS4 more attention, I feel that they should still give the Vita some love.

If you see my post in reply to the other person, you'll see I talked about Sony going hardcore at PSX. Sony does a lot of things wrong with the Vita and I'm happy to admit them, but that is something they did right and it shocked the hell out of me. I expected the Vita to be there and talked about, but I definitely didn't expect what happened. I actually only thought the Vita was going to have one, big (possibly exclusive) game teased with maybe a couple other titles. I don't quite believe Resident Evil 2 Revelations is that big title I was hoping for, but it sure comes pretty damn close and when combined with the 13 other titles definitely works out to blow my idea for PSX out of the water.

Either way it's more up to the game companies to choose, it just seems game companies are choosing to go with other handheld devices.

I wouldn't disagree a lot of Western developers are looking away from the Vita, but to be fair they're also looking away from the 3DS as well. We live in an era where handheld consoles are probably going to be gone in a decade. EA has dumped support of not only the Vita, but also the 3DS saying they flat out don't believe either device will be around in three years and if they are not anything close to the level of smartphones that they're now focusing on. I'm disappointed, but I can't say I blame them. I'm sure others will follow suit. Warner Brothers already isn't the best of friends to handhelds just putting out not too amazing in terms of execution LEGO games and Ubisoft has seemingly started to look away from the Vita, given various factors like their toning down releases and such. Ubisoft caved to fan demand and brought Child of Light to the Vita, but if they didn't miraculously hit whatever magical number that was hit, we'd have been looking at a 2014 that I honestly can't even name a title they released. They do have two upcoming games planned, Tetris Ultimate and
Cloudberry Kingdom, but that's it for 2015 for the Vita.

But once again, perhaps I'm just missing the vita somehow.

Look into it! You might find you like it, I'm certainly happy to answer any and all question you might imagine about it. It's near and dear to my heart.

 

[Mika]

I don't know where you live or what game stores you're talking about, but in my experience GameStop loves the Vita to death - its employees not so much though

I'm actually pretty shocked about that. I regularly visit 4 different GameStops around here and they are all slim pickings for the Vita. Just yesterday I stopped into our local GameStop in attempts to find a copy of Rune Factory 4 (Which they never seem to have). Our GameStop puts all of the handheld device games together and the Vita only had a very small section on the bottom corner of the shelf. Heck, there were more Nintendo DS (not 3DS), even PSP games than Vita games. Our GameStop usually puts the older content in the back, they barely even have PS3 games out now. There were, I think, 3 used Vita games on the other shelf also.

A friend would always look for Vita games and complain about how he couldn't find any in any stores. We have a few local used game stores, which I can't be bothered to remember the names of, and they only occasionally get in Vita games. I remember having to order multiple games from Amazon for him because they simply weren't sold around here.

I would say that BestBuy and Frys, which are tech stores in general not gaming stores, treat the Vita very well as welll.

I've never heard of Frys before. I don't often go into BestBuy, and I definitely wasn't looking for Vita games last time I was there, but I don't seem to remember even seeing any vita games. I was wondering around the Playstation and handheld games areas too. Our BestBuy isn't the largest though, their whole game section was slim.

Now, if we were talking about normal retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R US, etc there'd be no ability to even slightly sugar coat the Vita's situation with them. It's understandable considering the Vita's woes in sales, but it is unfortunate to have to see.

I don't even bother going to those kind of stores to look for games. They always seem to be priced higher and I can't discuss the games with the people at the counter lol.

I wouldn't disagree a lot of Western developers are looking away from the Vita, but to be fair they're also looking away from the 3DS as well.

True, which is a shame. In all honesty, around here the handhelds are quite a bit more popular. Most people have multiple handhelds, but only one Xbox or PS. Perhaps it's because of it being a college area? Not sure if that would have anything to do with it though. I know the Gamers Guild and other game clubs, along with all the guys from the CS area are big on the handheld devices. 3DS being one of the most popular. A few like PSP's also. There were 3 guys that tried to bring the Vita into popularity there but they gave up and joined the others.

Look into it! You might find you like it, I'm certainly happy to answer any and all question you might imagine about it. It's near and dear to my heart.

I'll be sure to take a look at the Vita games in the future. Right now I'm trying to stay away because that Steam sale took my monthly gaming "allowance" And I just have to buy awesome looking games when I see them.

 

[TonyMHFan]

Our GameStop puts all of the handheld device games together and the Vita only had a very small section on the bottom corner of the shelf. Heck, there were more Nintendo DS (not 3DS), even PSP games than Vita games.

The order of my stores in terms of inventory goes:

1. Nintendo DS - These are all in those little paper CD cases in a big box in the middle of the floor though, expect for one of my GameStops which oddly enough displays some of their DS games in a big glass case you'd see if you were displaying coins. The prices are atrocious as well, I sure as hell wouldn't imagine paying $20something for a DS game. I can't be surprised though, I went into a GameStop across the state which was huge with wide selections of everything and perused the Wii section for the hell of it and saw games like Kirby marked @ around $50. I almost broke out laughing.

2. Nintendo 3DS - These are placed on the wall next to the Wii/Wii U stuff.

3. PlayStation Vita - Placed in front of the PS4 section on a 4 shelf game rack with 2 lower racks for accessories. Some stores use both sides, others only one side.

4. PlayStation Portable - Non-existent game selection. My GameStops even have signs saying they won't accept anything related to them anymore. I think the same goes for the DS as well, makes sense considering they can't get rid of what they have,

We have a few local used game stores, which I can't be bothered to remember the names of, and they only occasionally get in Vita games.

Well, just as you can't be bothered to remember their names I'm sure they're just as not bothered to get in Vita games. They kinda depend people on trading stuff in and realistically how much could anyone expect them to receive? I'm shocked they got anything at all, ever. I mean, you're looking at around 10 million Vitas sold with most of them in Japan I'd assume. Whatever amount that isn't in Japan is spread out across all of North and Sotuh America, Europe, and Africa. The probability of there being a pocket of Vita owners to draw from is low, low, low.

I've never heard of Frys before.

I never heard of it before I owned a Vita, honestly. Their retail locations are wholly in the West, I believe. They hold a large online presence though, they're one of the few retailers to put together things like PS4 and Vita bundles. (Albeit refurbished bundles.)

They always seem to be priced higher

Yeah, that's a fact. I look to look since I'm in a place like Wal-Mart all the time, but I've never expected, nor have I ever gained, a good deal on a game.

Perhaps it's because of it being a college area?

Makes sense to me, if you aren't a kid with a handheld you're probably a college student who simply can't have the time to use consoles or afford their high upfront fee + long term investment (games, controllers.)

There were 3 guys that tried to bring the Vita into popularity there but they gave up and joined the others.

I was hoping for a happy ending, but was saddened by their abandonment of the faith.

 

[LitoLawless]

I think the PS Vita has a really good future. They just released the slim version, and they have a lot of games that I wouldn't mind playing. I had a PSP way back when, and I would use it for a lot of things. Now, I don't think the same thing would happen with the Vita, but I do think that I'll love it just as much as I did my PSP.

 

[fire421]

They probably won't retire it but I doubt there will be many games coming out for it. Maybe a few indies but that's about it.

 

[TonyMHFan]

They probably won't retire it but I doubt there will be many games coming out for it. Maybe a few indies but that's about it.

IGN's incomplete upcoming games calender lists 115 games for 2015 alone, not all of them are Indies either. Definitely over half, but there are definitely 'bigger' games than that on the docket.

 

[Goldie]

I don't think the Vita will completely die out anytime soon but I do think it would take a lot of effort from Sony to keep it alive because there are just way better options at this point. Having to carry a bulky device isn't very practical these days and since you could just use your smartphone to game it's not entirely necessary to bring out a specialty gadget anymore. I think if they lowered the price and made it more compact it could work.

 

[joshposh]

I call it a slow death. They are slowly pulling resources away and letting it go to the curbside. Look what happened to the original sony portable. Old technology will be let go eventually.

 

[kittyworker]

I think we can't compare Vitas performance against the PSP. The Vista had a lot more competition when it came out and it could have done worse. I think its future depends really on whether people feel the need for a portable gaming device when they have their Android and IPhone. There is an opportunity for Sony to push the Vita through a game interacting on both the PS4 and Vita, whether it will take off is a different story.

 

[Mika]

The order of my stores in terms of inventory goes:

1. Nintendo DS - These are all in those little paper CD cases in a big box in the middle of the floor though, expect for one of my GameStops which oddly enough displays some of their DS games in a big glass case you'd see if you were displaying coins. The prices are atrocious as well, I sure as hell wouldn't imagine paying $20something for a DS game.

Wow, nothing here gets a paper CD case. If it doesn't have a case, it gets a generic case with a yellow cover and the title slapped on.

Huh, $20 is actually pretty normal for a new DS game here. Some of the used go for $8-13. And we have the glass case at all of our GameStops here lol. The used copies are put in a big glass case, and new ones have their boxes put on the shelf without their game, or are kept behind the counter on display. I think it was due to a lot of thefts since all of their games are that way.

Well, just as you can't be bothered to remember their names I'm sure they're just as not bothered to get in Vita games. They kinda depend people on trading stuff in and realistically how much could anyone expect them to receive? I'm shocked they got anything at all, ever. I mean, you're looking at around 10 million Vitas sold with most of them in Japan I'd assume. Whatever amount that isn't in Japan is spread out across all of North and Sotuh America, Europe, and Africa. The probability of there being a pocket of Vita owners to draw from is low, low, low.

True, not to mention the lack of Vita owners here. They do get quite the selection though because they pay higher than what GameStop does. GameStop here just pays terrible rates, it's not worth even selling it back to them. I know they work based on sales... but it's rare to find them buying any game back for more than $3. I don't want $3 back for a game I spent $40 a few days ago, might as well keep it.

I never heard of it before I owned a Vita, honestly. Their retail locations are wholly in the West, I believe. They hold a large online presence though, they're one of the few retailers to put together things like PS4 and Vita bundles. (Albeit refurbished bundles.)

Makes sense why I don't know it, I'm pretty far to the east. That's an interesting bundle though, handheld and console together. Now if only I had a PS4 and a Vita...

I think its future depends really on whether people feel the need for a portable gaming device when they have their Android and IPhone.

I think most gamers would choose the handheld device over what a phone can do. I sure do. Gaming with a phone can be alright, but they can't handle any of the better games and unless you buy a controller for them, it can be very difficult to use. I could see them getting some competition from the lower end games on the app market, but a lot of games take more processing power than most phones are capable of right now.

 

[petrushka]

I don't know why they'd suddenly put an end to the constant stream of releases they've been doing. Aside from that, the Vita pulls in a profit - why would they cut off something that's giving them money?

It does? I was under the impression that Vita underperformed, pulling in decent numbers during its debut before falling catastrophically on its second week - to the point that PSP, its predecessor and released in 2004 besides, actually beat it in terms of units sold. It spikes when a popular game is released like Gravity Rush, Tearaway or Persona 4: The Golden but then falls to abysmal numbers again after that.

I also think that ~10M units in a three-year span isn't really that good, especially considering that Sony had already pulled out all the stops with its release due to the PSP and PS3 not bring in the numbers they were hoping for. It's not uniquely popular in Japan either, having sold 3.5M+ versus Europe's 2.85M, NA's 2.12M and everywhere else's 1.11M units. It's pretty evenly distributed and while it has its fair share of good games, it failed to take the market away from Nintendo, it is nothing compare to the 80.82M units sold by the PSP and the market is moving away from hand-helds and focusing on mobile.

I don't think Sony will just scrap it because they'll be losing their hold on a substantial market, but I don't think Vita is a priority either.

 

[TonyMHFan]

It does?

Yes. In fact, PlayStation is Sony's only profitable division. Just look at the financial reports released by Sony. I didn't say the Vita pulls in money like Bill Gates, but it does make an appreciable profit.

I was under the impression that Vita underperformed,

That it underperformed in console sales doesn't mean it can't make money. It means just it isn't a worldbeater. There is more that goes into making a profit than just console sales. The Vita has the highest attack rate of any console, pulling in cash for Sony from their games and others. I personally own nearly 200 games for the Vita. I believe the attach rate is somewhere around 30.

 

[gillman]

1.The slim Vita was release in JUNE and was sold out for over a fucking month. Almost all stores when through 2 restocks before they were able to keep the thing in stock.

2. There are more games coming out for that systems, constantly, than most others at the moment. Most people don't notice them because they are oddball titles like "Danganronpa" or "Neptunia," but that system has a ton of stuff. I think in the six months I have had it I have bought between two and three games a month and wanted to get another most months.

Also, if you have a GameStop that sells 64 gig cards... I kind of hate you. I had to import mine from Japan. Oddly, not much more expensive than getting a 32.

I can see why people might thing that the system is "failing" as GameStop NEVER has titles. The last time I bought a game there the guy behind the counter LITERALLY SAID TO ME "We still stock these?" The thing is, it isn't because games aren't coming out and they aren't selling. You stop releasing games when they aren't doing well. I can order a dozen games that have come out recently, physically, on Amazon. The reason that you can't find that stuff at Gamestop is that most people with Vita's buy digital.

You can't even blame people for buying digital. A large number of the games simply don't come out physically, and the one's that do you would have to pick up... probably at a Gamestop. I am sorry, but I don't want to get questioned about pre-ordering the new Madden, joining a club, getting a new credit card, or my Game Informer subscription status every time that I want to buy an amiibo or new release. Oh! You only got two? Great! So they have both been opened! For no reason! Thanks!

 

[Johnny Hopkins]

It is going to retire soon I would say. Sony has not put enough effort into the vita as they should have, and it shows. There are not many games for the system and will die a slow death.

 

[TonyMHFan]

There are not many games for the system

You must not have looked at the library.

and will die a slow death.

That means it wouldn't be retired soon, as you say you believe it to be. At this point having a 'slow death' means it would be dead generally at the end of its normally expected life cycle.

It's not going away anytime soon. There's not logic in dropping the main Remote Play device for the PS4 that they spent millions investing in. It also has ~150 games coming this year alone over the next 10 months so its guaranteed all this year and a big chunk of next year with all that momentum.

Sony literally just announced a new game for the Vita yesterday.