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James
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by James »

Xantiriad wrote:Vita sales are starting to look terminal.

http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/14/36455 ... record-low

Sadly PS+ may well be the last throw of the dice.
Such a shame. I adore my Vita; some of the best gaming moments I've had this year have been on it. As much as I'd argue the PSN, Minis and PS1 catalogues provide plenty of games to enjoy on Vita, it's hard not to feel that Sony have to get more third party support if they want to turn this around. :-(
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Xantiriad »

Me too. I have been a big fan of it, but sadly without public support and an install base no one is going to risk developing for it.

I still maintain Sony's decision not to retire the PSP was a mistake. TGS this year featured more PSP games than Vita ones, and that sent completely the wrong message.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by NokkonWud »

There is a real lack of quality titles coming and Sony have, throughout the life of the Vita, kept alarmingly quiet. Releasing Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty aren't what Vita owners want, because at £35-£40 they'll buy the more polished home console releases.

I was listing all the major games in 2013 that I was looking forward to, there wasn't a single Vita game that I know of that excites me in 2013, that's a major worry.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Sean »

It's a real shame how things are playing out with the system. The machine itself is incredible, and, there are some fantastic games on it, but no one, from developers to games press, will get behind it.

It's embarrassing how Black Ops Declassified has been handled. It's the biggest game franchise in the world, and, they gave a poor developer 5-6 months to make it. It hurts everyone. At the very least, I'll be curious to see if Black Ops trojan horse's some Vitas into households. Certainly won't do anything to help in Japan, but, maybe clueless westerners who don't follow game reviews will still buy it, and, we could see a slight bump.

GameStop black friday deals just showed up, and, they have a PS3 bundled with Infamous 1, 2, FoB, Uncharted 1 and 2, for $199. Conversely, they have the Vita Assassin's Creed bundle at $199.

So, a PS3 with 5 awesome games, or a Vita with 1 pretty good game for the same price. Gee, I wonder which will sell more...

I don't know, I'd like to think Sony has a plan for it, but, if they do, they need to execute now. Cut the price, or something.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by NokkonWud »

It wreaks of PSP all over again, as if Sony are all too happy to go at their own pace with it. It's an incredible bit of hardware and, barring financial reasons, I would never have sold mine, but the biggest insult I could probably give is that it's two biggest third party games of the year, seemingly the ones they were banking on, have arrived with Assassins Creed and Call of Duty and I don't care, I don't feel like I am missing out on some special experience and, if I never played them I don't think I'd grow to be disappointed by that.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by mik »

NokkonWud wrote:It wreaks of PSP all over again
I'm sure Sony wishes, in its fondest, wildest fantasy, that this was the PSP all over again. I do too, frankly. But there's no way in hell that the Vita is going to get to 70 million+ sold in its lifetime--or mine.
NokkonWud wrote:Releasing Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty aren't what Vita owners want, because at £35-£40 they'll buy the more polished home console releases.
This argument doesn't ever wash with me (because I definitely DO want those games on the Vita), but it's a real example of the no-win situation Sony is in with this hardware...

Focus on original, platform-specific titles = "where are the system-selling, AAA games like Call of Duty?"
Release versions of the flagship, AAA games = "why would I play this when I can play it on a console?"
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by NokkonWud »

The issue is that they're not the AAA. Releases, they're very clearly spin offs and are advertised as such.

My comment regarding Vita isn't to do with quality or sales, but the way in which Sony themselves seem completely at a loss as to what to do with it. There's very clearly a lack of focus, as if they threw it out there to have something to compete with Nintendo without actually being sure on what it's identity is.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by mik »

Some are spin-offs, some are not. Both serve to prove the point. If they're offshoots (even interesting ones, like Liberation), folks cry foul because they're not getting the real AAA game. If they are the same as the console release (and many, many* are), the refrain is "why play this on Vita when I can play it on my 50" TV?" It's ludicrous.




* NFS Most Wanted, Mortal Kombat, Rayman Origins, UMVC3, PS All-Stars, SFxTekken, the Lego games, the list goes on and on...
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by NokkonWud »

There has to be a reason to play the vita version, whether its continuing out the house, free Vita versions with PS3 copies etc.

You have to have either an equal release that benefits from portability (NFS) or be truly unique to Vita (Gravity Rush) or be a AAA release that feels like it was built for Vita from the ground up (LBP Vita), it's clear to tell when something is being half-asses.

Advertising Assassins Creed III Liberation as having 'Incredible touch screen combat' (which is how they are advertising it primarily on TV in UK) is not selling me something I know I can buy for the same price but for a more polished, bigger, more complete version on PS3.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by mik »

Well, I bought ACIII on the Vita and NOT the console version--precisely because it offers something that the console version does not: a more interesting (to me) character, setting, and potential for a more unique story angle all swayed me in that direction. It's not a half-assed version of ACIII. It's a different game with many of the same mechanics.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Buckled Kipper »

I've been waiting to post about this all day since seeing the COD review scores while at work. I'm getting really sick of the general games media and there reaction to the Vita. I'm not trying to suggest that COD should be a high scoring game (the single player is pants) but it is by no means a 3 out of 10 game. I found that the online played great, and although obviously parred down, feels like a real first for handheld gaming which left me with a smile on my face. I got kicked out of lobby's a couple of times but nothing I havn't experienced on a home console. The reviewer were miffed because they didn't get early review copies and posted their pieces based on one days play. Shoddy, shoddy journalism.

It seem to be a trend with the the gaming press to put the boot into the Vita at every opportunity. Reviews for Assassins Creed & Need For Speed pissed me off as well. They seemed to spend their whole time concentrating on what's missing from the console version rather than talk about what the game is. From what I've heard NFS (hopefully getting it soon) is practically Burnout Paradise in your pocket which can only be a good thing, yet all the reviews focused on how there are less cars in the city than the console version. I can't help feeling that if some of these games were released on the 3DS they would be reviewed a lot better.

Every Vita article will constantly tell you how there are no games for the Vita which drives me up the wall as its simply not true. I've spent more hours on my Vita than any other platform this year and just really hope things pick up for it. Yes Sony have made mistakes, but they've also done a hell of a lot right.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Buckled Kipper »

NokkonWud wrote:There is a real lack of quality titles coming and Sony have, throughout the life of the Vita, kept alarmingly quiet. Releasing Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty aren't what Vita owners want, because at £35-£40 they'll buy the more polished home console releases.

I was listing all the major games in 2013 that I was looking forward to, there wasn't a single Vita game that I know of that excites me in 2013, that's a major worry.
Granted, we don't know a lot about what's coming out in 2013 but Persona 4, Tearaway & Final Fantasy X are all must buys for me.

And Killzone looks very pretty as well.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Sean »

I'm with you 100% about the way the press has handled the Vita. It'd be nice if the media would put as much effort into actually covering the games out on it as they did blasting Declassified. When LittleBigPlanet came out, the few sites that *were* talking about it, were calling it the best LBP game yet, but, most sites ignored it.

There's a real self-fulfilling prophecy happening with the product. Lots of journalists saying they don't know who the product is for, when, it's *clearly* for all different types of gamers. Hardcore, casual, mobile, and at home. It's really not that hard. Yet, even though it's a gaming device, barely anyone ever talks about it. To date, Giant Bomb has only reviewed 13 Vita games, one of which was written in one day (Declassified). Where are their reviews for Dokuro, LittleBigPlanet, Tales from Space, BlazBlue, Disgaea, Fifa/Madden/MLB, Motorstorm, Unit 13, Silent Hill, etc...? Why don't they ever bring up PlayStation Mobile on the "new releases" part of the bombcast? These sites all exclaim "WHERE ARE THE GAMES!?" and then refuse to acknowledge when new games come out.

That goes for a lot of game sites (hell, even PlayStation's own podcast barely ever mentions PSM), but, GB pisses me off the most, because they'll say stuff like "So, hey, the Vita, remember that thing?" and then purposefully ignore new games on it.

The only sites that I think are doing a good job of covering the Vita / PSM, that I've seen, are PSNstores and IGN.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by NokkonWud »

Buckled Kipper wrote:
NokkonWud wrote:There is a real lack of quality titles coming and Sony have, throughout the life of the Vita, kept alarmingly quiet. Releasing Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty aren't what Vita owners want, because at £35-£40 they'll buy the more polished home console releases.

I was listing all the major games in 2013 that I was looking forward to, there wasn't a single Vita game that I know of that excites me in 2013, that's a major worry.
Granted, we don't know a lot about what's coming out in 2013 but Persona 4, Tearaway & Final Fantasy X are all must buys for me.

And Killzone looks very pretty as well.
Absolutely Persona 4. Tearaway looks interesting but I wasn't as blown away by the trailer as everyone else, but I hope it's great. FFX did nothing for me when it was released 11 years ago, but I know a few big fans of it.
Killzone will look stunning, but we're still waiting one with a half decent SP. MP could be interesting though, definitely. Really enjoyed Killzone 3 in MP and I know there's a lot of fans of both Killzone 2 and 3 on these forums.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Xantiriad »

@Sean

The online games press have been largely dismissive of handheld gaming in general; for a number of years too.

The fact the 3DS has pretty much held its own despite all the competition from smartphones is rarely reported: its games get lip service from a lot of sites.

This is largely due to a vocal minority who decry all handheld gaming (see the comment threads on any 3DS or Vita story) and their own analytical data which will show less interest in the handheld side of the hobby. That's not to say there are less gamers, just that those folk are less likely to visit these sites: probably due to the lack of content in the first place.

The combination of weak PR, cost of ownership and the perceived failure of the PSP in the west have held the Vita back since launch. The press played a part in that, but I do feel the larger blame rests with Sony. They've got a lot better, just not quickly enough.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Sean »

You're absolutely right. Without a doubt, Sony has flubbed creating Vita awareness. One only needs to look at the amount spent on its launch marketing. $50 million for Vita versus $500 million for Kinect.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Buckled Kipper »

Xantiriad wrote:
The online games press have been largely dismissive of handheld gaming in general; for a number of years too.

The fact the 3DS has pretty much held its own despite all the competition from smartphones is rarely reported: its games get lip service from a lot of sites.
That's a very good point. I sold my 3DS about six months ago so havn't actively been keeping up with its releases, but I couldn't name any games new or coming soon for the 3DS, and I go on game sites daily.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by magicjoef »

Definitely agreeing with the majority of posts on this one. Due to the time I spend on my Vita, I don't get through huge chunks of games, but even so I want to feel excited about the system, but instead I feel like Sony are just letting it die off.

It is a real shame, especially considering the quality of the hardware. However, Sony charge too much for the games, don't update the PSN Store quickly enough, and seemingly have done very little to rally developers around the system. Things like, you know, trying to sell units!

Having said that, I love grabbing a few minutes of Virtua Tennis or Lumines and I've also played quite a bit of FF IX via the PS One Classics. I also have Gravity Rush sitting untouched, but I might be starting that on a long train ride I'm taking soon.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by mik »

Bleh...

http://penny-arcade.com/report/editoria ... e-punished

I can't even take issue with the CoD complaints, because I haven't played it (I don't doubt that it's poor), but shit like this paragraph in particular just reinforce what's already been said in this thread--there's just a basic lack of knowledge about what's available (and good) on the platform:
What are they going to do when they go to the store, ask about Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation? Another big-name game with middling reviews. Resistance? That was abysmal as well. We can pray that a knowledgeable clerk will be able to point them towards Retro City Rampage or Gravity Rush. The best Vita games remain amazing, but sadly niche, titles like Rayman Origins or Lumines.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by NokkonWud »

It must be said that Lumines: Electronic Symphony is amazing and easily the game I played the most on my Vita. I can't recommend it enough, it's fabulous.
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