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[Liberty4all]

I agree with the article's overall message, although it's poorly written. Vita + memory card + game is going to run around $350. It is close to an iPad, and a lot more expensive then the direct competition (Nintendo). Plus there are no killer apps to make it worth buying. The thing really is just too expensive to grab a lot of people. The PSP is my favorite handheld of all time and I don't even want a Vita.

The issue is this: Entertainment time is limited as is peoples budget for new gadgets. I surf even more than I used to thanks to my iPad and Playbook ... That is time that used to be spent gaming. Between console, tablets and PC ... Many just don't have the time or money for another device ... Especially one that costs over 300 bucks. Most people will look at the Vita, say "that's cool" but not something they have the money to buy or the time to use (even if they did have the money).

Consider that smart phones and tablets are also often subsidized by carriers ... There is a reason most people go that route.

 

[tuffy]

I don't think 3DS is out of the woods in the west either. Nintendo have played their biggest cards for western gamers ...and It's hard to see what their next system seller is for this market (other than another Super Mario Bros).

I think Pokemans may sell a system or two.

And that's the key, really. Given a title or titles that are compelling enough to be worth the price of the system, people will spend the cash to get it. Historically, we know Nintendo has those kinds of franchises. Sony, on the other hand, is much more reliant on 3rd party efforts. That's where a lot of pessimism about the Vita comes from.

 

[Cheebo]

Funny how the media is desperately trying to convince us "handhelds are shit. Buy more smartphones/IPads"!

Hilarious!

Who are they trying to convince? iPad's sell more than every game system out there combined with ease every month without any help from articles like this. It's different markets. iPad is a computer, and an extremely popular computer at that. Not some game system the media is trying to prop up.

 

[Maedhros]

Hardcore gamers on GAF are infatuated with the system but the rest of the world wants iPods, iPads and iPhones.

This is the day I'll stop playing portable games. What a shitty future (aside from the few gems).

 

[flyinpiranha]

A good response. I just don't know how many people who owned DS and PSP systems are switching over to Angry Birds/smartphones exclusively and aren't doing it just from growing up. .

I can speak to this somewhat. I want a Vita, a lot. But I just can't justify that much money on the system. It's too expensive. I got burned on the 3DS and to be honest it was not the generational leap I was hoping for. I do wish I would have waited for the Vita. But now I am giving my "newer" Android phone to the girlfriend and I'm buying a better one.

While I want the Vita the price is absolutely wrong. The games are too expensive. I mean, why am I paying $30-40 for these when PSN and XBLive have better games for half the cost? And many of those games have better iterations for cheaper now. Plus memory cards? I have a decent PC rig with a newer video card, a 360, PS3, and a Wii, I got rid of a DSi and DSi XL when the 3DS came out and also had a PSP (gave to a friend's son) ... I'm not against buying gaming products. But as much as I want the Vita, $300 minimum to get started is just out of the question.

As much as I know the games aren't the same on my smartphones, I'm leaning towards that for the time being to satiate my handheld and portable needs until the Vita drops in price, I've never paid more than $100 for a phone and with Amazon App store and quite a few dime and quarter sales on the Android Market I have quite a few decent games that I can play.

I know they aren't what I'd get with the Vita, but at the current price, it's just not worth it.

 

[dark10x]

It's too expensive. I got burned on the 3DS and to be honest it was not the generational leap I was hoping for. I do wish I would have waited for the Vita.

I was also burned by 3DS, but I can assure you that Vita is the real deal. When you see some of these games running in your hands it really is incredible. It FEELS like a mini-PS3. The Vita has come much closer to matching PS3 than the PSP came to matching PS2 back in 04. It's really incredible and some of the most fun I've had gaming in a long time. The screen is large enough and of high enough quality that it actually ends up feeling surprisingly immersive.

iPhone comparisons, I can deal with. But iPad!? Seriously?

I actually think the Vita is more comparable to an iPad, personally. I'm always going to have my iPhone with me, but the iPad was always something separate that I would carry in a bag with me. Outside of cases where I need a tablet, I've been carrying the Vita with me much more often now so it has kind of replaced my iPad for entertainment purposes.

 

[B!TCH]

I don't get it. Would 'hardcore' gamers rather play games on a home console or on a portable console? The way people defend the existence of the 3DS and PSVita you would think the preference of 'hardcore' gamers is the latter.

I think the cross-platform play (like in this ad, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfBFx051pWM) is PSVita's most compelling feature. Does that work on every PS3 game or is it just a select few?

 

[elohel]

If they do that, they basically admit they have no idea what they're doing or what they're talking about.

absolutely

and why wouldt they say some negative stuff at launch to stir things up?

 

[Rollo Lawson]

call me old-fashioned, but i still feel that the difference between an angry birds and an uncharted still counts for something...and its something that is too often overlooked in these analyses

 

[Father_Brain]

I think Vita's biggest problem in the West is that Sony is chasing an audience (18-30-year-old males who are interested in playing dudebro games on a handheld) that simply doesn't exist, at least not in the numbers needed to sustain an entire platform. But perhaps the sales figures will prove me wrong.

 

[mescalineeyes]

call me old-fashioned, but i still feel that the difference between an angry birds and an uncharted still counts for something...and its something that is too often overlooked in these analyses

yes, one is perfect on the go, the other is much better on the console it originated on.

 

[B!TCH]

call me old-fashioned, but i still feel that the difference between an angry birds and an uncharted still counts for something...and its something that is too often overlooked in these analyses

I guess the question I would ask you is would you rather play Uncharted on a PS3 or on a PSVita?

 

[Maedhros]

yes, one is perfect on the go, the other is much better on the console it originated on.

Perfectly playable and enjoyable (as people have said/reviewed on forums) on the go too, even better than the last entry of the series. Also, the game isn't on the console it originated. Seriously... stop this bs.

 

[SmokyDave]

yes, one is perfect on the go, the other is much better on the console it originated on.

Ouch.

 

[Castor Krieg]

I don't get it. Would 'hardcore' gamers rather play games on a home console or on a portable console? The way people defend the existence of the 3DS and PSVita you would think the preference of 'hardcore' gamers is the latter.

In Japan it clearly is. Time will tell if this will catch on in the west.

 

[mescalineeyes]

Perfectly playable and enjoyable (as people have said/reviewed on forums) on the go too

Debatable.

even better than the last entry of the series

http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-vita/uncharted-golden-abyss
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/uncharted-3-drakes-deception

yeah, I don't think so.

Also, the game isn't on the console it originated

Which is exactly what I was referring to.

Seriously... stop this bs.

I beg you.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

The window for the 3DS' "failure" was extremely small and has long passed. A steady flow of Nintendo titles will keep it outselling pretty much everything else on the market for a while.

I think all this bullshit is coming from the fact that the Vita is in fact in that state of uncertainty that every new platform goes through, even if it is inevitable that it will grow into a perfectly viable and healthy platform. It happens every time and these "experts" never seem to get used to it.

 

[Kai Dracon]

Isn't asking why hardcore gamers would play a powerful portable console rather than a proper console, the same as asking why anyone would use an iPad as a computer rather than sit down at their desk and use a proper desktop computer?

 

[mrklaw]

People don't look at it that way because they need a phone. That's a bill they would have regardless.

When you buy a car do you factor all the gas you'll need to buy into the price?

not everyone needs a high end smartphone. Even if you want a smartphone for internet etc, a cheap android is less than half the price of an iphone, and the tariffs are half the price too

 

[NemesisPrime]

I wonder if this will spawn Year of the Vita threads

Anyway... I am a hardcore gamer and frankly I have decided to do my portable gaming on my iPad when on the move. It just is a much more "rounded" device for my mobile activities (movies/browsing and gaming). I also don't agree about the "hardcore" part... I play a lot of roguelikes on my iPad.... you don't get any more hardcore than that TBH.

My 6 year old has a 3DS ofc

 

[RurouniZel]

Portables and Home consoles need to merge in the future. Take portable on road, come home and plug into dock with HDMI out. Play game on TV at home. Repeat. Win.

That's the roadmap to success.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

I was also burned by 3DS, but I can assure you that Vita is the real deal. When you see some of these games running in your hands it really is incredible. It FEELS like a mini-PS3. The Vita has come much closer to matching PS3 than the PSP came to matching PS2 back in 04. It's really incredible and some of the most fun I've had gaming in a long time. The screen is large enough and of high enough quality that it actually ends up feeling surprisingly immersive.

You nailed it. The Vita is an incredibly impressive piece of hardware. Playing FIFA yesterday there were times when I honestly forgot I was playing on a handheld.

 

[Maedhros]

Debatable.



http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-vita/uncharted-golden-abyss
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/uncharted-3-drakes-deception

yeah, I don't think so.



Which is exactly what I was referring to.



I beg you.

If it's debatable why do you even use it as a fact then?

Also, how metacritic even make the point invalid?

 

[Foffy]

The window for the 3DS' "failure" was extremely small and has long passed. A steady flow of Nintendo titles will keep it outselling pretty much everything else on the market for a while.

I think all this bullshit is coming from the fact that the Vita is in fact in that state of uncertainty that every new platform goes through, even if it is inevitable that it will grow into a perfectly viable and healthy platform. It happens every time and these "experts" never seem to get used to it.

Quite. I doubt we're going to see a platform fail on the level of the Virtual Boy ever again, even though some claimed the 3DS was going to be the second coming of that. This industry has grown too much to let the failures of the past repeat unless the console/handheld manufacturers went out of their way to make it so.

And honestly, why should any of us give a shit how much money market X or Y makes? Just buy what you like. Unless you have stock in the company, there's very little reason to want things to be one way or another, as long as there are still games you want.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

yes, one is perfect on the go, the other is much better on the console it originated on.

at this point they both have versions that are meant to be played either way...in both cases the difference is huge and i imagine that has influence. a lot of these things i read seem to be working from the assumption that people automatically prefer the bite size gaming

I guess the question I would ask you is would you rather play Uncharted on a PS3 or on a PSVita?

honestly, either. but thats just me. however anything stationary fits my lifestyle less and less these days, so the vita is right on time for me.

 

[Maedhros]

I guess the question I would ask you is would you rather play Uncharted on a PS3 or on a PSVita?

Either. I really don't care. I like playing things on the go just as much as I like playing things on bigger screens. One experience don't make the other less enjoyable at all.

 

[gato_busta]

(Reuters) - Sony Corp's Vita hits the United States on Wednesday, the latest in a long line of mobile gaming gadgets in the spirit of Nintendo's Game Boy and Atari's Lynx.

In the spirit of Atari's Lynx... Stopped reading at that point, I really can't take anything after that seriously.

 

[Cipherr]

the other is much better on the console it originated on.

Careful with that, you being in that glass house and all, lets not get people pointing out all the smartphone ports from consoles (you know, the systems those smartphone ported games originated on) that play better on those original consoles due to being able to use the proper control scheme they were designed around.

You are just asking for someone to throw that shit in your face.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

it's almost like people are pretending that so-called "hardcore gamers" don't exist any more.

i mean, come on. we're talking a portable ps3 vs an iphone...if that doesn't count for anything then, imo, something is wrong

 

[Cipherr]

it's almost like we are pretending that so-called "hardcore gamers" don't exist any more.

i mean, come on. we're talking a portable ps3 vs an iphone...if that doesn't count for anything then, imo, something is wrong

There's gonna be a lot of crazy. Its been bottled up since the 3DS began its run of success which sort of forced folks to put a cork in it since last October or so. The Vitas woes are like a freaking tension release valve.

 

[Kai Dracon]

Portables and Home consoles need to merge in the future. Take portable on road, come home and plug into dock with HDMI out. Play game on TV at home. Repeat. Win.

That's the roadmap to success.

Things are going this way and it's probably inevitable.

What's aggravating a lot of people, and what some in the industry (like Iwata) are concerned about, is wrecking gaming by not getting there in an intelligent way.

A lot of the "gaming hardware is over, smartphones for everyone" crowd doesn't actually seem to comprehend there's a difference between Angry Birds and any other kinds of games. They also don't understand why devaluing games could actually be harmful to anyone.

When the Wii appeared, there were crazy panicked reactions from gamers, literally pleading with developers and publishers to not "destroy" gaming by making all games "waggle games" and abandoning traditional game design concepts and values. The joke is that the real threat ended up not being the Wii, but the smartphone / tablet craze. There are even plenty of ditto-head geeks who have jumped on board with just playing "finger pokey" swipe games and smile and look blank when you ask "what about games that benefit from a different interface".

The thing is, I've talked to a few people in the "newjack" industry and game development, and they've drank the kool aid. They've convinced themselves there's no difference between Real Racing controlled entirely by tilting an iPad with a virtual button for gas, and Gran Turismo - both as an interface AND a product. Their answer to traditional games is "they're just behind the times, they should be redesigned with Multitouch! Like Infinity Blade! Why can't Street Fighter be like Infinity Blade? Then it would be much more popular. This kind of gaming is the future! It's what everyone wants to play!"

Yes, it really is THAT bad. That is how a lot of these people are thinking.

 

[DECK'ARD]

Isn't asking why hardcore gamers would play a powerful portable console rather than a proper console, the same as asking why anyone would use an iPad as a computer rather than sit down at their desk and use a proper desktop computer?

The bigger the production values you push the more people want to experience them in the best way possible.

Releasing Vita entries of a franchise still fresh in the memory from the mainline entry doesn't help either. If things like COD are released in the same window as another console one it just mutes the impact of the Vita's version.

Vita needs an identity distinctive from PS3 as much as it needs one distinctive from 3DS.

 

[Mr_eX]

I have said it before but if the Vita was a phone I would trade in my iPhone for one but I'm not going to buy a handheld console for $250 when I already have an iPhone and an iPad.

 

[gkryhewy]

In the spirit of Atari's Lynx... Stopped reading at that point, I really can't take anything after that seriously.

You're right. Vita is the spiritual successor to the TurboExpress, not the Lynx.

 

[Kai Dracon]

The bigger the production values you push the more people want to experience them in the best way possible.

Releasing Vita entries of a franchise still fresh in the memory from the mainline entry doesn't help either. If things like COD are released in the same window as another console one it just mutes the impact of the Vita's version.

Vita needs an identity distinctive from PS3 as much as it needs one distinctive from 3DS.

I'm not so sure... Sony's "dream" with portable Playstations since day one, seems based around the idea of the player having the option to play the same games (effectively) wherever they feel like it and wherever is convenient for them at the moment. (See suggestions upthread about the convergence future.)

Vita pushes this even further with cross platform play and save file compatibility.

COD is actually a great example. What if you have the fully functional Vita COD, using the same multiplayer information and stat tracking, so that people can always be playing COD with the same level progression and personal data? I have to think that would be scary popular with COD fans. COD anywhere, all the time, and never lose progress.

 

[DECK'ARD]

Portables and Home consoles need to merge in the future. Take portable on road, come home and plug into dock with HDMI out. Play game on TV at home. Repeat. Win.

That's the roadmap to success.

Vita would have had a lot more perceived value if they'd kept the TV out, and you wouldn't have had the 'do I want this sort of experience on a small screen vs. what I know it's like already on the big screen' problem. It would have given people the choice.

Sony didn't want to nobble the PS3's appeal though in any way, so they now have the task of making the Vita compelling enough in its own right.

Content as always will decide it, it's securing that content that may be the problem for Sony. The higher the development costs the more potential for return you have to show.

 

[Duxxy3]

You're right. Vita is the spiritual successor to the TurboExpress, not the Lynx.

I've owned both of those failures!

 

[gkryhewy]

I have to think that would be scary popular with COD fans. COD anywhere, all the time, and never lose progress.

What is the incentive for Activision to make the investment in developing this level of product for Vita?

 

[Maedhros]

What is the incentive for Activision to make the investment in developing this level of product for Vita?

If Sony is interested, money. It's the best incentive for Activision, am I right?

 

[fluffydelusions]

The handheld market is fading? Didn't 3DS just become the fastest selling handheld ever? The 3DS sold more than PS3 last week in the US...

 

[dark10x]

I wonder if this will spawn Year of the Vita threads

Anyway... I am a hardcore gamer and frankly I have decided to do my portable gaming on my iPad when on the move. It just is a much more "rounded" device for my mobile activities (movies/browsing and gaming). I also don't agree about the "hardcore" part... I play a lot of roguelikes on my iPad.... you don't get any more hardcore than that TBH.

My 6 year old has a 3DS ofc

I also have an iPad, but the games just aren't up to the same standards as those on Vita and the limitations in the hardware show when gaming on a 10 inch screen. On iPhone, things are small enough that the lack of details become less obvious, but at 10 inches you can clearly see how simplistic most of the games really are.

The Vita has served as a decent replacement for my iPad at the moment. The browser is very usable for the type of browsing I do on a mobile device (GAF, various new sites, etc) and it has Netflix and Facebook apps for those tasks as well. The iPad is better at all of those things, but the Vita does pretty well and sports vastly superior games.

I think they're both worth owning, though.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

It'll sell if it's $79? Well duh

What's remarkable is that Sony could give Vitas away and they would lose less money per unit than they did on the PS3 at launch

 

[gkryhewy]

If Sony is interested, money. It's the best incentive for Activision, am I right?

So folks are hoping that Sony dumps a truckload of money in ATVI's lap. Sure, sounds like a sustainable business model.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Kinda how I feel. Can't wait for the first NPD!!

Stuff is sold out everywhere around here, I think the NA/EU numbers will be quite high.

 

[DECK'ARD]

I'm not so sure... Sony's "dream" with portable Playstations since day one, seems based around the idea of the player having the option to play the same games (effectively) wherever they feel like it and wherever is convenient for them at the moment. (See suggestions upthread about the convergence future.)

Vita pushes this even further with cross platform play and save file compatibility.

COD is actually a great example. What if you have the fully functional Vita COD, using the same multiplayer information and stat tracking, so that people can always be playing COD with the same level progression and personal data? I have to think that would be scary popular with COD fans. COD anywhere, all the time, and never lose progress.

This scenario would only work with the same content being playable on multiple platforms. People won't buy the same game twice, development is also not simple enough to just pump out a Vita version of any title.

Vita is a very awkward platform indeed, both to place in the market and in terms of how to get people to develop for it. It's in an awkward no-man's land.

Like a lot of things Sony do, the ideas are there but it's all a bit confused in how it's brought together. Vita's best chance I'd say is its system-on-a-chip ending up in other devices, so it has it's own ecosystem. I think PS3 is going to work more against it than help it.

 

[MarshMellow96]

What is the incentive for Activision to make the investment in developing this level of product for Vita?

If there was significant demand for it, perhaps? Seems like enough people buy the shitty DS and iPhone versions, give time console parity and dual sticks, I'm sure they'd turn up in droves.

That engine must be pretty cheap to develop for now, too.

 

[D6AMIA6N]

In my opinion, the main issue with the Vita is that it is too expensive, rivaling the cost of a full fledged home console. Proprietary memory is also a total Sony dick move. Based on my expert analysis, I see the Vita likely selling less then the PSP in it's life span.

 

[Maedhros]

In my opinion, the main issue with the Vita is that it is too expensive, rivaling the cost of a full fledged home console. Proprietary memory is also a total Sony dick move. Based on my expert analysis, I see the Vita likely selling less then the PSP in it's life span.

You're a better analist than the one in the article. You just forgot the "If these things don't change during Vita's lifespan".

 

[gkryhewy]

If there was significant demand for it, perhaps? Seems like enough people buy the shitty DS and iPhone versions, give time console parity and dual sticks, I'm sure they'd turn up in droves.

That engine must be pretty cheap to develop for now, too.

There is no iPhone version, and the DS versions have been pretty cheap ports without the sort of advanced network functionality that is proposed here. In order for a COD like that to be a worthy investment, Vita would have to drastically outperform its market expectations... but without a COD like that (and perhaps even with it, given that 360 is the lead COD console) Vita will not outperform its market expectations. Chicken and egg.

Do people want to buy two copies of the same game just to have one to play over Wifi? Not many, I think.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

If there was significant demand for it, perhaps? Seems like enough people buy the shitty DS and iPhone versions, give time console parity and dual sticks, I'm sure they'd turn up in droves.

That engine must be pretty cheap to develop for now, too.

Not to mention it probably wouldn't be too difficult or expensive to port over the PS3/360 version of whatever CoD they come up with next and spice it up with some Vita-only features.

There is no iPhone version, and the DS versions have been pretty cheap ports without the sort of advanced network functionality that is proposed here. In order for a COD like that to be a worthy investment, Vita would have to drastically outperform its market expectations... but without a COD like that (and perhaps even with it, given that 360 is the lead COD console) Vita will not outperform its market expectations. Chicken and egg.

Do people want to buy two copies of the same game just to have one to play over Wifi? Not many, I think.

All this talk aside, CoD is already confirmed for Vita anyway.