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Worst Case Scenario for the Vita

sun-drop

Member
i love my vita.

had a psp2000 which i hardly used and was worried this would be a repeat .. but yeh ..i find myself in bed at night and playing the thing pretty often.

and it's a no brainier when on trips or extended nights away from my ps3.


awesome product.



same ol same ol from the doomsayers .... lets see what happens once monster hunter is out in the east, and madden in the west.
 

Fredrik

Member
Worst case scenario is that Sony won't drop the price and simply rely on games to sell the system instead, and without better sales and more third party support it'll be "Dreamcasted" within a year.
 

Drkirby

Corporate Apologist
They all implode and cause the end of the world and the universe as we know it.


Or the unit doesn't sell to well, has a couple of dozen good games, and is the product is used as an example of ideas and how well they worked in the coming decades.
 

ShirAhava

Plays with kids toys, in the adult gaming world
Worse case scenario is if it had one analog stick and came out with a 1994 add on to make up for it *ba dum ching* but seriously if they keep the vita @ $250.00
for another year that would be Baddd...system needs a price drop more than anything else
 

Medalion

Banned
Worst case scenario is that Vita comes in 2nd place...

No really, Vita will be fine and Sony will make portables after Vita

And Im not crazy about their lineup but too many fanatical psp lovers for it to be hopeless
 

zoukka

Member
Worst case scenario for me: the platform will not get portable friendly games and I won't buy it because of this.
 

Card Boy

Banned
I'll stand by what I've said, I will always like and appreciate Sony as a game company but they really do not understand what it takes to make a dominating handheld, and they never will. I also stand by the thought that they really need to start focusing some heavy-duty time and money to develop the definitive handheld FPS because that is the one thing they can likely deliver that will make people drool in a way that only their hardware configuration can nail.[/B]

Personally the last thing i want is more FPS's on the market. What would make me wanna get a VITA is RPG's or some crap like Pokemon or Monster Hunter. I got heaps of FPS's on my PC and PS3 already.

Also they need to focus on a more casual and all ages audience like Nintendo and Microsoft, instead of the 18 to 40 year old hardcore audience. On your FPS comment, I wonder if Activisions planned COD game will give the VITA a lifeline?
 

aeroslash

Member
It's amazing what not securing monster hunter did to this machine.

What i really find amazing is that some people even in this thread, are still expecting a Monster Hunter for the PSV in Japan even though the 3ds is selling 10 times better and will get the next numbered entry...

For me the worst case scenario for PSV is what's happening right now. I've never imagined failing this way (and yeah, for me it's failing).
 

wondermega

Member
Also they need to focus on a more casual and all ages audience like Nintendo and Microsoft, instead of the 18 to 40 year old hardcore audience. On your FPS comment, I wonder if Activisions planned COD game will give the VITA a lifeline?

They'll need to crank the price way down for this device to be more casual/kid-friendly, right? Isn't their whole point of making the Vita, that they want to appeal to a more hardcore and adult demographic to begin with?
 

Card Boy

Banned
They'll need to crank the price way down for this device to be more casual/kid-friendly, right? Isn't their whole point of making the Vita, that they want to appeal to a more hardcore and adult demographic to begin with?
Yeah that goes without saying haha.

I find it ridiclous the VITA is so close to the price of a PS3. It also doesn't help i can get an iPod Touch for half the price (at least in my country)
 

Acosta

Member
Worst case for me is that it falls from my hands and breaks, so I have to buy another one.

Some of you worry too much.
 

GorillaJu

Member
Worst case scenario is that people just don't appreciate how great this little system is and it doesn't ever catch on to the level it deserves. I have mine and absolutely love it – it just needs more games.

It's hard to get people to get on board with the price of software as high as it is - but I think many don't realize how much of a difference a well-designed device makes. It's lovely and the amount of control options makes it even better.

Gravity Daze deserves to be the year's big hit. I doubt it will, but I guess so long as developers continue to make engaging, creative games like it, they'll retain a loyal and appreciative customer base
 
I don't think it could've been any worse until now tbh. That doesn't mean they can't still turn it around. Market leadership was never in the books imo but depending on how this year's shopping season pans out they might still carve a niche for them.

Now if the shopping season is another underwhelmaton the platform will be zombified me thinks. Third party projects will get canned/not green-lit, making the platform unattractive for consumers etc., vicious circle and all.

It's amazing what launching later, at a price considered to be a massive barrier after the slow 3DS after-launch period and Nintendo going after DS audience+ did to this machine.
Fixed. Launching considerably later is probably what hurt it the most (after the undisputed market leader no less). There are more blunders like the lack of BC but in that special case Sony dug their own grave with the ill-advised UMD format for PSP. It was probably some MiniDisc reject's pet project or something.
 
I find it ridiclous the VITA is so close to the price of a PS3. It also doesn't help i can get an iPod Touch for half the price (at least in my country)

It's actually even more expensive than the PS3, at least in Europe, which makes it the most expensive console on the market right now.

But the price is not bad for the hardware IMO, unfortunately not many seem to think so :/
Your average Joe sees the Vita in the store costing almost a hundred bucks more than the 3DS and being more expensive than even the HD consoles, they won't see that it's actually a good deal for the great hardware it has.
 

orioto

Good Art™
Worst case scenario is rather Samsung announcing a powerful windows phone dedicated to gamers (ala xperia) with xbox live integration and lots of exclusives.

But even without that, i would say the WCS is bad surprises like Mortal Kombat shows that dev don't really give a shit and have no budget for big Vita titles. At E3, Sony struggles to show some efficient support, they lower the price a little but it doesn't work (cause what it needs is the combo of a good price + new launch software).

But as long as there is no killer phone with a pad, there is still a place for that product, so Vita will then stay in coma for many month and suddenly reappear from the ashes when they finally touch the psp market with a good price in japan (like 149).

Now in the west.... It'll take not only the generous efforts of devs, but also probably some real thinking about what should be a good Vita offer for a known ip.
 

dwu8991

Banned
It's actually even more expensive than the PS3, at least in Europe, which makes it the most expensive console on the market right now.

But the price is not bad for the hardware IMO, unfortunately not many seem to think so :/
Your average Joe sees the Vita in the store costing almost a hundred bucks more than the 3DS and being more expensive than even the HD consoles, they won't see that it's actually a good deal for the great hardware it has.

the wifi is more expensive than a 160gb ps3 !!!
 
I'm very worried about the Vita too. The PSP has a second life with all the japanese devs supports, but it looks like they're going to support the 3DS this time. But still, Nintendo stole this christmas with the massive 3DS price drop, I doubt that the 3DS will dominate that much next year, plus there are probably tons of japanese Vita games still on progress that will be released by the end of the 2012. I guess that considering the disapointing sales a lot of these will be ported to 3DS or be canceled, but we'll trully see the effect of these low sales in a year or two as editors will stop making new games for the system. You don't cancel a game that's been in production for a year or two like that.
 
I feel like this has been mentioned so many times before, but sales-wise, Vita's launch was even worse than 3DS's launch, and the 3DS at least had Mario games coming for it. People like to point out the comeback the 3DS made, but the Vita is not in the same position.

3DS´s comeback is only happening in Japan. It´s under preforming in the west. I would say that is a very bad thing for the 3DS especially after 80$ price cut and Mario games are out.
 

Brera

Banned
This is the major problem with Vita.

They keep trying to create handhelds that copy exactly what you can play on your home console. Nintendo tries to make their handhelds very, very different from consoles for a good reason. They try to create experiences with their handhelds that you can't get on your TV. You couldn't get stuff like dual screens or touch screens on a console before (well before Wii U).

Handhelds are meant to feel like a seperate and unique experience from your tv.

As soon as you try to make a handheld that reproduces console stuff, gamers will just say "Meh...I'd rather play the new MLB on a larger TV".

This is such a myth.

Most of Nintendo's outout is portable versions of their mainline systems.

Starfox? Zelda? Mario Land? Mario Kart?

Lets not use double standards...
 
I'd like Sony to drop a few dates at E3.

Give us a steady stream of games. Let 3rd parties go nuts with announcements (including games only on PSN).

Drop a PS1 emulator date. Drop a few more dates for apps.
 

zoukka

Member
This is such a myth.

Most of Nintendo's outout is portable versions of their mainline systems.

Starfox? Zelda? Mario Land? Mario Kart?

Lets not use double standards...

All of the known IP's on their handhelds are customized for portable use or just work as a portable game by default (Mario Kart/NSMB).

It's the one thing Nintendo consistently keeps doing right.
 

DiscoJer

Member
Fixed. Launching considerably later is probably what hurt it the most (after the undisputed market leader no less). There are more blunders like the lack of BC but in that special case Sony dug their own grave with the ill-advised UMD format for PSP. It was probably some MiniDisc reject's pet project or something.

The UMD is why the PSP was as successful as it was. Or a contributing factor.

It allowed near PS2 quality games by offering large amounts of storage long before flash cartridge capacity caught up. It made most of the top selling games on PSP (LCS, Battlefront, NFS, etc) possible.

Being optical media, it's cheap and easy to make. This allowed niche companies to do physical releases most cost effectively than on the DS. Sure, MH caused the PSP to dominate in Japan, but look at all those adventure games and low tier RPGs it's gotten - that's possible because of the cheap optical media.

Yes, with poor programming it could be slow. But this was solved years ago when flash media finally caught up to optical media in capacity at a cheap price - you could simply install the game to the memory stick. Again, it was up to the programmers to implement it, but the solution exists.

Going to cartridge means the Vita has no advantage vs the 3DS - no backwards comparability (without rebuying games on PSN and hoping they work) and for niche companies, it's no longer cheaper to produce physical copies than the competitor.
 

Polk

Member
Not having the Vita Call of Duty game for launch was a big mistake. If they had managed that, I feel the Vita situation could be completely different.
Am I the only one who want but unique handheld experience on the go, not portable version of the console titles?
Why would I buy Uncharted or COD for Vita if I can get better game for PS3?
 

herod

Member
Worse case scenario is if it had one analog stick and came out with a 1994 add on to make up for it *ba dum ching*

No, I think being trounced in sales by a system that only has one analog stick when having dual sticks is your major USP is the worst case scenario.
 

DiscoJer

Member
All of the known IP's on their handhelds are customized for portable use or just work as a portable game by default (Mario Kart/NSMB).

It's the one thing Nintendo consistently keeps doing right.

That's debatable - Mario Kart and NSMB are clearly console style games to me. Not to say Nintendo doesn't have things like Brain Training but a lot of their DS/3DS games could be on consoles.

Beyond that, if you go with so called "portable" games, then you compete directly with iOS, where Sony cannot compete. The only space they can compete in is the high end.

They just need the top quality console style games - that's the sticking point - Sony doesn't want to use their best teams, third parties show little interest period, so...the Vita is just sort in limbo.
 

BigDug13

Member
That's debatable - Mario Kart and NSMB are clearly console style games to me. Not to say Nintendo doesn't have things like Brain Training but a lot of their DS/3DS games could be on consoles.

Beyond that, if you go with so called "portable" games, then you compete directly with iOS, where Sony cannot compete. The only space they can compete in is the high end.

They just need the top quality console style games - that's the sticking point - Sony doesn't want to use their best teams, third parties show little interest period, so...the Vita is just sort in limbo.

So since they can't compete in the portable game front, what was the point in adding the expensive touchscreen? If every game is to take advantage of all the buttons and dual analog sticks, they really inflated their price with that touchscreen.
 

MaddenNFL64

Member
The vita will be fine. People just havent caught on yet. Im tellin ya, their marketing blows. When people really know its out there, people will get it. Just gotta give it time.
 
What i really find amazing is that some people even in this thread, are still expecting a Monster Hunter for the PSV in Japan even though the 3ds is selling 10 times better and will get the next numbered entry...

For me the worst case scenario for PSV is what's happening right now. I've never imagined failing this way (and yeah, for me it's failing).
I share your view bro.
Lest there's some grand miracle the vita's situation is painted with a grim oily black pastel....
 

2+2=5

The Amiga Brotherhood
I think that the situation is not so black, japan is lost but in the rest of the world the difference with 3ds is not so big, games will come and the playstation suite will open the gate to indie developers.
For me it's only a matter of time but with no doubt a great e3 is of maximum importance.
 
for people in the know about this stuff.

How big will NSMB2 be for 3DS in the West? Will Vita be need something huge to counter come august?
 
for people in the know about this stuff.

How big will NSMB2 be for 3DS in the West? Will Vita be need something huge to counter come august?

It's pretty huge. NSMB on the Wii outsold the Galaxy games put together. When Nintendo released a special red Wii with NSMB, it was sold out in my local GAME store in under a day.

And with Nintendo going download/retail, potential sales are just going to increase. Sony would be wise to have some sort of big title out for then.
 
Worst case scenario happened when Sony being Sony threw everything into the Vita hardware for no reason at all and then got greedy and didn't give consumers internal memory, just so they could shove more proprietary bullshit down our throat that is super expensive compared to SD cards. A touchscreen? Great, they needed to do that but a rear touchpad, wtf is that? The psp is already massive and they put a touchpad on the backside of it, for what? They put in Wi-Fi, great...every portable should have Wi-Fi. 3G, great!!!!!! Oh wait, you can't use the 3G to actually play games on it?!?!?!! Horrible horrible decisions by Sony.
 

Log4Girlz

Member
Worst case scenario is they bury all the Vitas in the desert someplace and all that material concentrated in one spot causes a singularity and the earth is destroyed.
 

Erethian

Member
Can someone post LTD numbers and maybe some useful comparisons (PSV vs 3DS LTD, PSP vs PSV at this point etc...)

Kazerei posted this in the Media Create thread, where we have the most data. As far as US/Europe goes its launch was well below PSP.

Note: SDC is the Dreamcast.

WFULL.png
 
I don't know how it could be generally accepted that they are taking a "huge" loss on anything, when no one but Sony knows how much they sunk into the Vita. I can't imagine the R&D for Vita is massive.

I can't imagine Sony making a profit on this device as currently priced. One, it has an oled display, yes it is small but it still costs quite a bit to produce. Two, It has a touchpad on the back of it, touchpads are not all that cheap. Three, the mobile graphics processor is quite cutting edge as well, not cheap. Same goes for it's cpu, this all adds up.
 

BurntPork

Banned
Same as is the worst case for any console.

Sony launched it at a high price. But they should have done. Makes more business sense to squeeze as many $250 sales as they canbthen drop the price, than it does to start at a lower price. I suspect next year everything will be fine and people will be talking about how the WiiU is doomes. Rinse, lather, repeat.
At least one person here is so certain of Wii U's doom that he's already moved on to PS4! :lol
 
I would say the current situation is pretty close to the worst case scenario. The Vita is the newest "Playstation" system out there and it demonstrates perfectly how much importance that name has lost, both from 3rd party developer and consumer support. It's certainly not how it used to be when a new Playstation platform launched.

I would not say everything is lost, though. It's still very early and a few smart decisions (whatever those might be) and a strong will from Sony could surely do some good. I very much doubt it's as "simple" as getting a Monster Hunter or Call of Duty or just any one game, though.
 
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