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[Dennis]

So here's the thing about that. iPhone is not the dominant mobile OS right now. Android is. And Android's prowess in videogames is limited right now.

Also, there are sexy Android handsets coming out all the time. So I'm not sure the launch of iPhone5 ( huge though it may be ) is a particularly black day for Nintendo or Sony. Plus carrier subsidies dampen the out-of-wallet pain from buying an iPhone.

I actually think iPad is a bigger threat than iPhone. Android is much weaker in the tablet space, so iPad's power is really centralized. And iPad is a more capable game system in several ways than iPhone.

OK, fine, I can substitute iPhone for a more general Smartphone and tablets argument.

 

[daakusedo]

The thread title is cool.

 

[miksar]

Vita will do well, but:

1. There is no real evidence to suggest that smartphones affect dedicated gaming handheld sales.
2. You gave an example of extremely unrepresentative sales data (right before 3DS's price drop and with higher PSP sales because of several new releases).

 

[corporate cheerleader]

alright starting to get bored by these threads

the fuck is going on

*reads thread title* Someone skipped English class, as far as I can tell.

 

[btkadams]

Because of the number of iPhones sold?

but you could say that about smartphones in general. not just the iphone. i do not believe the majority of consumers wanting to purchase the vita are buying an iphone 5.

 

[Gospel]

He's KAL2006. I wouldn't take anything he says regarding "Sony vs X" seriously because it's clearly obvious he'd support Sony no matter what outcome occurs.

Haha, true.

 

[Riposte]

The OP is much better than most articles on portable market.

 

[Dibbz]

If Vita gets CoD it will do massive numbers if it looks up to par with the PS3 and 360. The FPS genre is where the 3DS can not touch Vita.

 

[theBishop]

There's no silver lining for Sony punting Vita after the holiday season. It's pretty much in the same situation as the 3DS' initial launch. Lack of software can be forgiven in a holiday season, but not on in the 1st quarter.

Are you saying that all the titles announced for Vita's launch (or even launch window) will slip? Of the 10-or-so games already shown running on Vita, if 3DS had 3 of them, I'd buy one.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

You don't get this part do you?

The point isn't, "Why would I want to play this on a handheld?" certainly there are positives and negatives on that but the point is... why would I buy the same game twice? Why would I buy Final Fantasy vs. XIII on Vita when I have it on PS3? Why would I buy Metal Gear Solid HD Collection on Vita when I have it on the Xbox 360?

The answer is I'm not going to buy those games on Vita. I don't think Sony's plan is to just port PS3 games. If so, they are fucked already. But, an original Uncharted tells me they aren't fucking around with bullshit like that.

 

[JetBlackPanda]

If Vita gets CoD it will do massive numbers if it looks up to par with the PS3 and 360. The FPS genre is where the 3DS can not touch Vita.

I am not sure about this, most of the guys I play COD with don't even know what the hell a VITA is. All of there children know who Mario is.

Just saying.

 

[Sqorgar]

I thought portables in Japan became more popular due to lower development costs than the HD consoles. If the Vita has PS3-level graphics, won't it have PS3-level development costs too?

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

2. You gave an example of extremely unrepresentative sales data (right before 3DS's price drop and with higher PSP sales because of several new releases).

PSP hardware rose that week because of 3 new hardware SKUs actually. But yeah, it was also the week 3DS had it's pricedrop announced.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

I don't think anything would please me more than the Vita completely taking off and becoming ubiquitous.. but I don't see that happening.

Also, CoD seems PERFECT for a handheld. I've always really disliked it on Consoles because its not fun. It basically plays itself, but that LT lock on RT dead combo would be fucking rad on a super nice portable.

 

[btkadams]

I am not sure about this, most of the guys I play COD with don't even know what the hell a VITA is. All of there children know who Mario is.

Just saying.

why would they know what it is when the vita isn't coming until 2012 and there is no specific COD game that has been announced for it?

 

[Delio]

alright starting to get bored by these threads

the fuck is going on

Expect a billion more in the next few months apparently.

 

[Shadow of the BEAST]

Vita would be MUCH better for the japanese industry.

Even if it fails in the west. At least they get some experience with contemporary technology and have the ability to port their games to xbox360/ps3.

If 3ds becomes the new ds it would set back japan another ten years.

 

[JetBlackPanda]

why would they know what it is when the vita isn't coming until 2012 and there is no specific COD game that has been announced for it?

I suppose this is a good point, but I dont see COD doing all that well on a $250 handheld, when MW3 will be going strong by then.

 

[commish]

Piracy that somehow always seems to manage to skip Monster Hunter titles? Nah. I think the reason it 'sunk' was due to people simply not having much interest in it or the titles it had, at least until Monster Hunter hit. I mean, the DS has been cracked a long while and it still had titles to into the 20 million level.

And it's true that it fared better, but considering the massive power Sony represented after the PS1 and PS2, it would have been shocking it if hadn't.

PSP had many great titles... I don't think that's the case at all. I could probably name 20 great PSP games I loved easier than I could name 20 great DS games. Yes, DS was cracked, but you needed separate hardware to run the cracked games, and many of the DS users were younger, i.e, kids who are less likely to pirate.

 

[richiek]

So here's the thing about that. iPhone is not the dominant mobile OS right now. Android is. And Android's prowess in videogames is limited right now.

Also, there are sexy Android handsets coming out all the time. So I'm not sure the launch of iPhone5 ( huge though it may be ) is a particularly black day for Nintendo or Sony. Plus carrier subsidies dampen the out-of-wallet pain from buying an iPhone.

I actually think iPad is a bigger threat than iPhone. Android is much weaker in the tablet space, so iPad's power is really centralized. And iPad is a more capable game system in several ways than iPhone.

The majority of game and app sales are on iOS, not Android. Developers follow the money.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

I am not sure about this, most of the guys I play COD with don't even know what the hell a VITA is. All of there children know who Mario is.

Just saying.

Well, yeah. It's not out yet. Not shocking that most people don't really know what the Vita is. Not like everyone is like us crazies who watch e3 press conferences and shit like that. That's the kind of shit Sony (and in this case Activision) have to take care of when it comes release time. An awesome Call of Duty game will sell Vitas. Not saying enough to make the whole system, but it will be one of the huge steps forward for the system I think (if they put out a good one, not some shit port).

EDIT: Beaten.

 

[theBishop]

OK, fine, I can substitute iPhone for a more general Smartphone and tablets argument.

Yeah, I'm just not convinced yet that "mobile" in general is a deathblow to handhelds. I still think the quality disparity, even between iOS and DS is pretty vast.

There's an attitude on GAF that core gaming is a dying market for some reason, but it's only gotten bigger since I've been gaming (1989ish). The amount of money a publisher is willing to budget is astounding. The number of really great games seems to go up every year. My backlog keeps growing since 2008.

It's cool that "everyone else" is playing Farmville or Wii Sports, but I don't see the big publishers ditching core games any time soon. It's less risky in many ways.

 

[JordanLMiller]

So is Nintendo doomed or not?

 

[Delio]

Vita would be MUCH better for the japanese industry.

Even if it fails in the west. At least they get some experience with contemporary technology and have the ability to port their games to xbox360/ps3.

If 3ds becomes the new ds it would set back japan another ten years.

So Nintendo is holding back the japanese gaming industry. Oh man i hope sony saves them all.

 

[theBishop]

So is Nintendo doomed or not?

Yes, but not because of this.

 

[Always-honest]

yeah, but launching the motherf..... at christmas would have been the smartest thing on earth for Sony.

 

[Father_Brain]

There are already iOS game developers making games for Vita, as well as console/PC game developers making games for Vita.

Which developers are you referring to? Bioshock ain't a trend, even if you add in that new Sega IP.

I really think that this notion you're peddling of Vita getting better Western support than any previous dedicated handheld is wishful thinking. Yes, it's a net plus to Vita development that it can share assets and middleware with HD consoles and PC, but that's not a substitute for putting actual resources into Vita development, and I've seen precious little indication that either major Western developers or the publishers that fund them are eager to allocate those resources.

 

[fernoca]

Plus Call of Duty is a great Xbox 360 and PS3 seller. There's no guarantee that having it on the Vita might attract more people to it.

The recent Call of Duty games has also been released on PC, Wii, PSP and DS..and the numbers are not as high as the numbers from the other 2 cosnoles; neither people went all crazy to get said hardware for them. The Vita having 2 analog sticks and the possibilities of a direct port of a current CoD game for many would be as exciting as having CoD on the DS, PSP or Wii; the usual "Oh nice, the more the merrier" but not a system seller.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

My problem with the Vita for projecting good sales is that it seems like a portable PS3 except without the developers of the major PS3 games which seems like a bad situation to me.

 

[[Nintex]]

Vita will do well, but:

1. There is no real evidence to suggest that smartphones affect dedicated gaming handheld sales.

Where is your smartphone right now and what can you do with it?
Where is your handheld right now and what can you do with it?

People are lazy they can grab something out of their pocket that does a billion things like facebook, internet, youtube etc. dedicated handheld devices can't compete with that especially when the line-up is as shitty as the 3DS's right now. Just compare the handheld market with the 'time' market.

Let's say you use a
1) Watch(on the go)
2) Clock(at home)

Now here's a company that comes up with another product for 'time' that you can take with you that is in between those things. Would you use it? No.

 

[jump_button]

not really 3DS and Vita are nowhere near the same type vita will try and have water down PS3 game 3DS have Big N and let face it that all they need

 

[Pureauthor]

The majority of game and app sales are on iOS, not Android. Developers follow the money.

The big money right now isn't in general app sales either. Unless you manage to be the next Angry Birds. (You won't manage to be the next Angry Birds.)

 

[JWong]

I congratulate you for making a possible giant wall of text very readable.

Thanks!

 

[TheNatural]

1) Smartphones effect Sony more because its a $250 jack of all trades electronics device. How many people decide to buy a 3DS versus buying a phone? I think it's an overrated comparison because if people want a phone - they buy A PHONE. With a contract. Paying $50 a month. Vita is going to be seen as an expensive electronics device and is going to have the same problems the 3DS has had at $250.

2) The Japan stuff is bunk. YTD 3DS is still outselling the PSP despite virtually no games and a crap launch. The original DS also has sold 15 million MORE than the PSP - and is now basically a legacy system with no releases, so not surprising after the DS has kicked its ass for years PSP finally gets a little time of its own. 3DS price is dropping TO PSP's LEVEL. What do you think is going to happen when the 3DS drops to PSP's price next week?

3) Making ports doesn't matter if the games don't sale, no matter what the system is. There are plenty of console only games that could be ported to the easiest system to ever port to: the PC! And still, there are no EA Sports games anymore, not many fighters or platformers. Being easy to port doesn't mean success - it still costs time and resources to do it, no matter how easy it supposedly is.

The rest of your stuff reads like a PR statement. A couple comments though. Joe Blow Call of Duty player isn't going to give a jack fuck in the highest hills to go out and spend $300 to play Call of Duty on a portable when he had an HDTV at home and XBox Live to do it on. No one in a significant number really CARES about playing online shooters online on the go, I hate to tell you, it's not going to matter.

And I would say it's going to be a very similar situation as DS vs. PSP, because Sony still doesn't get it, and probably doesn't have the capability to really. The audience for the games they make and support aren't very crossover friendly to portable. You mention PS3 connection - when a shitload more people are buying the 360 version of games - what does it matter? What does it matter when the Vita's game lineup is virtually the same as the PS3's - that's put it squarely in third place in the West by far?

In the end, Nintendo's been doing handheld games for 20 damn years now, and has a lot of games that easily crossover to portables, and fit their pick up and play, simplistic, ages 1-100 approach.

Sony is still stuck in the same boat as with the PSP, trying to market to a demographic on one end that:

a) would rather just play the damn games on a console system on an HDTV instead of wasting $300 to play it on a 6 inch screen

b) and also have to deal with iPhone and android devices that their demographic more likely has than who Nintendo is going for.

Sorry, you're way off the mark.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Vita would be MUCH better for the japanese industry.

Even if it fails in the west. At least they get some experience with contemporary technology and have the ability to port their games to xbox360/ps3.

If 3ds becomes the new ds it would set back japan another ten years.

I don't agree, most J-devs aren't exactly shining on PS360 as is so moving to a handheld with similar pipelines doesn't seem like the best route. Meanwhile a DS/PSP to 3DS transition would be relatively painless and keep budgets in check.

3DS being more likely to succeed in the west would also put them in a better position worldwide.

 

[Vinci]

PSP had many great titles... I don't think that's the case at all. I could probably name 20 great PSP games I loved easier than I could name 20 great DS games. Yes, DS was cracked, but you needed separate hardware to run the cracked games, and many of the DS users were younger, i.e, kids who are less likely to pirate.

Let me ask you then: Would your list of 20 great DS games include 'Brain Age' and 'Nintendogs'?

 

[theBishop]

Plus Call of Duty is a great Xbox 360 and PS3 seller. There's no guarantee that having it on the Vita might attract more people to it.

The recent Call of Duty games has also been released on PC, Wii, PSP and DS..and the numbers are not as high as the numbers from the other 2 cosnoles; neither people went all crazy to get said hardware for them. The Vita having 2 analog sticks and the possibilities of a direct port of a current CoD game for many would be as exciting as having CoD on the DS, PSP or Wii; the usual "Oh nice, the more the merrier" but not a system seller.

You raise a good point about the possibility of Call of Duty on Vita being a straight port. That would dampen its significance for sure. But I think you're being purposefully aloof comparing Call of Duty on PC/PS3/360 to the other incarnations.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Plus Call of Duty is a great Xbox 360 and PS3 seller. There's no guarantee that having it on the Vita might attract more people to it.

The recent Call of Duty games has also been released on PC, Wii, PSP and DS..and the numbers are not as high as the numbers from the other 2 cosnoles; neither people went all crazy to get said hardware for them. The Vita having 2 analog sticks and the possibilities of a direct port of a current CoD game for many would be as exciting as having CoD on the DS, PSP or Wii; the usual "Oh nice, the more the merrier" but not a system seller.

Imagine a guy at Starbucks with a Vita and a headset barking out orders with COD. Not going to happen.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

I don't agree, most J-devs aren't exactly shining on PS360 as is so moving to a handheld with similar pipelines doesn't seem like the best route. Meanwhile a DS/PSP to 3DS transition would be relatively painless and keep budgets in check.

3DS being more likely to succeed in the west would also put them in a better position worldwide.

BUT GRAFIX AND RECOGNITION FROM GAMING JOURNALISTS NO ONE CARES ABOUT!

 

[Boney]

Let's say you use a
1) Watch(on the go)
2) Clock(at home)

Now here's a company that comes up with another product for 'time' that you can take with you that is in between those things. Would you use it? No.

Shouldn't the watch be handhelds, clocks consoles and something like a cellphone, which isn't as nice as a watch but also does other things be the the smartphone?

alright starting to get bored by these threads

the fuck is going on

Yeah the mentality of pitting everything against each other is getting pretty concerning too me. It's much worse when it's filled with cynics and trolls.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Imagine a guy at Starbucks with a Vita and a headset barking out orders with COD. Not going to happen.

Right but the guy in the booth next to him quietly staring at something in his lap with a cup of tea and a scone on the table is going to playing the exact same game.

 

[[Nintex]]

Shouldn't the watch be handhelds, clocks consoles and something like a cellphone, which isn't as nice as a watch but also does other things be the the smartphone?

I don't know, what I do know is that my smartphone is in my pocket so if I walk out the door I carry it with me at all times and I guess that's true for 99% of the smartphone owners. I'm not walking out the door thinking: "Oh shit, I got to take my 3DS with me as well".

 

[radioheadrule83]

Here is my story/thoughts (that doesn't really amount to shit, but I'll share any way):

I have owned every Nintendo handheld since the original gameboy, excluding the virtual boy, of course. I never owned a PSP. I am pumped for the Vita, don't give a fuck about 3DS. So far at least, Sony is promising games, 3DS is offering more Mario.

Maybe a bigger statement about Nintendo's failing with the 3DS was that I was excited for it when it was announced. Then I played it, and then saw the lack of games. And now, at this point, believe I will probably never buy one.

I know it's been said a good amount, but I am fucking tired of buying nintendo systems for only nintendo games. Their handhelds at least have gotten some old Square remakes that have had my interest, but I'm over buying Final Fantasy for the billionth time as well.

Wat?

Nintendo DS has what is one of the best software libraries of any handheld ever made. 3DS' launch titles weren't amazing, but aside from lacking a title as big as Mario 64 (now rectified with Ocarina of Time), what has been on offer has been much better than what was on offer during the first months of DS' life. Yes, there's a lot of ports and shaky efforts - and it could do with new software - but that is clearly down to how rushed the launch was. Good software is on the way.

You chastise Nintendo for having their flagship Mario titles, as if it would ever be realistic that they would forgo those... I'm betting you don't reserve the same judgement for Sony when they're giving us more Wipeout, Uncharted, Buzz, Little Big Planet and Hot Shots Golf (there's been like 9 of these). I'm not saying its bad of Sony to be releasing games in those franchises -- because they're good games, and that's exactly why Nintendo are releasing Zeldas, Metroids, Mario Karts, Pokemon, Animal Crossings, and Paper Marios -- they're good games.

You characterise Nintendo handhelds as having only Nintendo games, but if the Nintendo DS is anything to go by that won't be the case -- they may not have always had high quality, high effort releases, but Nintendo DS did have some of the biggest franchises in handheld gaming: Phoenix Wright (Capcom), Layton (Level 5), Dragon Quest IX + Final Fantasy (Square Enix), Guitar Hero On Tour + CoD games (Activision), GTA Chinatown Wars etc. The 3DS is a much more capable machine and already, in this so called drought, 3DS has Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil Mercenaries, Ridge Racer, Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell etc, with more Resident Evil (which looks great) and a port of MGS3 on the way. It'll have had new Nintendo titles in Kid Icarus and Steel Diver in its first year, a Pilotwings game - which hasn't been around since N64, not to mention the built in stuff like AR games and Faceraiders... and its a 3D camera. A 0.3MP 3D camera, but a 3D camera none-the-less. But yeah, its just fucking Mario. Need I remind you its only been out 4 months?

Its also kind of silly to compare the software available for a handheld thats out right now with hypothetical Vita releases as if every Vita game announced so far is going to hit day 1, on launch day - next year. Games like Bioshock, so far, only exist in written word on the internet.

 

[JasoNsider]

What in the flying hell? Another thread was needed for this? :/

 

[Dibbz]

I am not sure about this, most of the guys I play COD with don't even know what the hell a VITA is. All of there children know who Mario is.

Just saying.

I get what you're saying but surely it is appealing to CoD's audience (teenagers) to play CoD at school/college. I'm sure if Vita does get a CoD it will attract a lot of attention mainly because it will be the first portable that replicates the home consoles controls.

 

[onipex]

By the time Vita hits the 3DS could have a Mario game, Mario Kart, a RE game to go alone with the already released spinoff, a MGS port, a Pokemon spinoff or two, and some RPG Japan may care about.

Vita will do well and could start out stronger than the 3DS did, but the 3DS will already have a lead that will keep growing as long as the hits keep coming. The best thing that could happen to Vita is for it to launch with a new Monster Hunter game, but I'm sort of convinced that the 3DS could get a Monster Hunter game too.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Yeah the mentality of pitting everything against each other is getting pretty concerning too me. It's much worse when it's filled with cynics and trolls.

And cheerleaders.

 

[Shadow of the BEAST]

I don't agree, most J-devs aren't exactly shining on PS360 as is so moving to a handheld with similar pipelines doesn't seem like the best route. Meanwhile a DS/PSP to 3DS transition would be relatively painless and keep budgets in check.

3DS being more likely to succeed in the west would also put them in a better position worldwide.

Yea but at the same time... the ds and probably the 3ds makes ports to consoles impossible.

which pretty much locks them out of the rest of the world.

 

[theBishop]

The big money right now isn't in general app sales either. Unless you manage to be the next Angry Birds. (You won't manage to be the next Angry Birds.)

Yeah, not to take anything away from the Angry Birds developer, but my impression is that the success of a mobile game is much harder to predict than a console game. Plus you can charge a lot more.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

Putting the tea leaves aside, it seems like everyone has been going crazy ever since Nintendo announced the 3DS price drop. I'm pretty sure it's not the end of the world for either portable. I guess I'll just enjoy the theater before a new shred of Wii U information is released and people start obsessing over that again instead.