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[Skyzard]

Because the way a console launches and the way it is recieved early on can have a big impact on its future sales. When you generate a ton of hype around launch (like with the wii or an apple product) it gets every talking about it and gets more people interested. It is far, far harder to achieve this outside of the launch period. This is why peripherals released halfway through a generation tend to struggle.

Also i think the bigger issue is that we are still waiting for the big games to come out. If you don't have the big games to push the system and you can't advertise your product because your worried people will be disappointed and sell it, why are you eve releasing it yet?

I think it is clear Sony was too confident with the product and over estimated the market interest and ability to purchase and invest in a next-generation handheld, especially one with mainly niche strict followings.

However, the fact that they realised the market isn't interested at the moment gives them all the more reason to hold off a huge advertising push showcasing what is mostly the same launch games. When they are confident in their upcoming lineup I'm certain they will bump up the ads. In fact, I'm hoping from a little before the new big games come out till the end of the year they flood vita ads. Coupled with a price drop, especially of memory cards and the flock of games coming out which will give them great advertising footage, it's hard to be too worried. Like I said, they need more of a push then the current lineup at the current price.

 

[Marche90]

Sony really needs to hurry up to come with the price cut with the Vita. I know all of what they said this week, but at this point, without that many games to look forward, that's the only thing that will keep them competitively in the market.

 

[AdventureRacing]

Wow, that's better than I expected to be honest lol, I thought it was somewhere along the lines of 1.1 million.

I doubt it would even still be on the market it the numbers were that bad.

It's been clear since the start of this generation japanese game developers have always been very reluctant to jump on new hardware, giving them ample time/incentives and preparation for a new hardware transition isn't necessarily going to change anything. Western 3rd party devs had no problem with transitioning from the PSP to the Vita, there should be no other reason why Japanese developers wouldn't follow suit.

I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm saying that sony released a new handheld which is almost completely reliant on 3rd parties without making sure they were on board first. That is sonys problem, it's not any other companies responsibility to help the vita get a foothold in the market.

Also i'm not sure that western 3rd parties are transitioning that quickly to the vita at all. In fact it would be hard for them to transition from PSP to vita when they never really supported the vita in the first place.

The PSP also had some success in the Japanese market (unlike the west where its software failed miserably) so maybe that is why they are holding on longer.

 

[Cipherr]

The turnaround is nuts considering how we all want a price cut now. It was all good a year ago.

Thread: Playstation Vita = TWO HUNDRED FORTY NINE US DOLLARS ($249)

When you look at how hype that thread is.... Seriously, you have to wonder, maybe its not so much the price. 99% of that thread was on-board at $249, but now everyone feels a price drop is needed. Perhaps if the library had filled out more by now the price wouldn't be as much of an issue?

There were a few though that had that feeling:

Nice price for what we were all expecting, but I think it will have much the same problems as the 3DS at that price.

 

[donny2112]

So basically, in very round numbers:

Japan: 850K
U.S.: 700K
EU: 700K

As I said in the last NPD thread, I have no idea what Sony does at this point. Waiting until they can make a graceful exit is simply too painful to contemplate. Trying to cut the price and competing at the level the market would accept (if it would accept it!) would hurt their bottom line tremendously. Simply killing it would be extremely embarrassing, and ironically would bring the system more notice from the wider public. Best solution I have is to retreat from all other regions except Japan, and keep it a system they nurture in their home territory. Let the hardcore import it if they want it.

But it's only selling marginally better in Japan (and 3/8ths of that is launch week sales, so it's basically been "dead" in Japan, too, since week 2), so it doesn't make sense to double-down there and cancel everything else.

 

[Erethian]

And this isn't necessarily Sony fault but more so to with the fact that Japanese game developers hate change.

It doesn't have anything to do with hating change, it's because in Japan the PSP continues to be a more viable platform than the Vita and Sony is doing a horrendous job at convincing third-parties otherwise.

 

[goldenpp72]

Well, it beat the 32x and virtual boy combined, wonder when it will outsell kinect.

I love the Vita hardware but man, it's a shame the game support is so crap right now, the best portable ever is being marred by having little to play -_-

 

[Road]

So is it confirmed that this handheld generation is tracking behind the previous DS/PSP one? Cause if so... I CALLED IT!

Shocking news:

 

[To Far Away Times]

This holiday season will be "make or break" time. If the Vita doesn't find a hit game by then, I think it's over.

Japanese sales will be interesting. One system plays Monster Hunter and Nintendo games. The other one plays a small handful of western games. Japan really loves their portables though, and if the Vita is going to turn around, I think it has to start in Japan.

I can't see the system surviving on western support very long. Even the DS had pretty lousy western support.

 

[MYE]

Shocking news:

Damn

 

[markot]

Its not 249 though, the memory card shit doesn't help. They got greedy, should have stuck to SD.

 

[AwRy108]

I've heard a lot of casual and hardcore gamers express major interest in the Vita, but I guarantee that the price point and the lack of a "killer app" are the two things holding these people back from making a purchase.

For what it's worth, I have a 3DS and I actually think it's pretty much a piece of shit when stacked up against the Vita; but, regardless, it's selling well b/c it's priced right AND it has a few Mario titles. I also think that the 3DS XL is going to make life for the Vita even more difficult b/c the bigger screens on the XL--while no where near as sexy as the Vita OLED--are competing directly with one of the Vita's biggest selling points: dat OLED.

I love the Vita, and it saddens me that we live in a world where so few people are enjoying them; and, on the same token, it's a real bummer when you see numbers like these b/c it only radiates doom and gloom for the existence of dedicated handheld game devices.

 

[goldenpp72]

I've heard a lot of casual and hardcore gamers express major interest in the Vita, but I guarantee that the price point and the lack of a "killer app" are the two things holding these people back from making a purchase.

For what it's worth, I have a 3DS and I actually think it's pretty much a piece of shit when stacked up against the Vita; but, regardless, it's selling well b/c it's priced right AND it has a few Mario titles. I also think that the 3DS XL is going to make life for the Vita even more difficult b/c the bigger screens on the XL--while no where near as sexy as the Vita OLED--are competing directly with one of the Vita's biggest selling points: dat OLED.

I love the Vita, and it saddens me that we live in a world where so few people are enjoying them; and, on the same token, it's a real bummer when you see numbers like these b/c it only radiates doom and gloom for the existence of dedicated handheld game devices.

My main issue with the vita is lack of unique software, when I bought one, I got wipeout (not bad), hot shots (not bad), uncharted (pretty damn good), ninja gaiden (shit), katamari (very poor attempt) and lumines (great but too anemic in content, too expensive).

Since then.. gravity rush has hit, and now they announce one more interesting game from media molecule and that's supposed to save vita. Vita might become a console with some niche beloved games, but if they insist on pushing the 'its ps3 but portable version!' thing, it will die. That element is a nice perk, not a reason to plunk out 300 bucks for one.

 

[Ran rp]

The turnaround is nuts considering how we all want a price cut now. It was all good a year ago.

Thread: Playstation Vita = TWO HUNDRED FORTY NINE US DOLLARS ($249)

When you look at how hype that thread is.... Seriously, you have to wonder, maybe its not so much the price. 99% of that thread was on-board at $249, but now everyone feels a price drop is needed. Perhaps if the library had filled out more by now the price wouldn't be as much of an issue?

There were a few though that had that feeling:

I believe the mandatory, overpriced proprietary memory cards are what made the $249 price less appealing. Most people were on board when they thought they only had to pay $249 for a fully functioning machine but many turned their heads when they realized that that wasn't the case.

 

[Megadragon15]

The turnaround is nuts considering how we all want a price cut now. It was all good a year ago.

Thread: Playstation Vita = TWO HUNDRED FORTY NINE US DOLLARS ($249)

When you look at how hype that thread is.... Seriously, you have to wonder, maybe its not so much the price. 99% of that thread was on-board at $249, but now everyone feels a price drop is needed. Perhaps if the library had filled out more by now the price wouldn't be as much of an issue?

There were a few though that had that feeling:

You do know that when this thread was started, the 3DS was still selling for $249, right?

 

[metalslimer]

The turnaround is nuts considering how we all want a price cut now. It was all good a year ago.

Thread: Playstation Vita = TWO HUNDRED FORTY NINE US DOLLARS ($249)

When you look at how hype that thread is.... Seriously, you have to wonder, maybe its not so much the price. 99% of that thread was on-board at $249, but now everyone feels a price drop is needed. Perhaps if the library had filled out more by now the price wouldn't be as much of an issue?

There were a few though that had that feeling:

As it has been proven time and time again just because Gaf thinks something is amazing does not translate to the world. And just because Gaf shits all over something doesn't make the market thing the product is shit (see Kinect). The whole 249 amazement was looking at the entire situation from the perspective of someone on the internet. The problem with a lot of these things is that perspective tends to get lost and the idea of everyone is just like me and likes what I like gets brought in.

You do know that when this thread was started, the 3DS was still selling for 249, right?

Even if the 3DS was still 249 dollars Vita probably wouldn't be performing much better. Also I see people in that thread who got it right. Nintendo left themselves some nice wiggle room to drop the price. Of course they cut it so drastically that they ended up losing money for a while. Sony pretty much set themselves into 249 for a nice period and they gave Nintendo an entire year to turn things around and react.

 

[bigtroyjon]

it's hard to be too worried.

uh huh.

 

[Skyzard]

My main issue with the vita was lack of unique software, when I bought one, I got wipeout (not bad), hot shots (not bad), uncharted (pretty damn good), ninja gaiden (shit), katamari (very poor attempt) and lumines (great but too anemic in content, too expensive).

Since then.. gravity rush has hit, and now they announce one more interesting game from media molecule and that's supposed to save vita. Vita might become a console with some niche beloved games, but if they insist on pushing the 'its ps3 but portable version!' thing, it will die. That element is a nice perk, not a reason to plunk out 300 bucks for one.

False.

 

[Narpas Sword0]

Its not 249 though, the memory card shit doesn't help. They got greedy, should have stuck to SD.

I would have bought one if it came with 8GB on board and let me insert my microSD card for more. $249 and 0GB is a joke.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Sony had nothing to do with the PSP's success, it's all thanks to the third parties.

Sony's success with ALL of their game platforms has been due to third parties.

 

[UncleSporky]

You do know that when this thread was started, the 3DS was still selling for $249, right?

Sony's not competing with Nintendo, though.

 

[goldenpp72]

False.

Alright, show me all the high rated beloved exclusives vita has apparently been (or will be) bombarded with.

 

[jello44]

probably for the best

Oh Japan, don't ever change.

Judging by the games in the commercial... P4:The Golden helped sales in Japan a bit, that new Miku game(and bundle) probably will too. It just needs Monster Hunter to really take off.

Anyway, I love my Vita, but sometimes the way Sony treats it makes me a bit weary for the future of the handheld. I hate to be pessimistic about it because it really is a fantastic system. Some of the crossplay ideas are great, buy one get it for both and now they are doing it with full retail titles makes it better. Upload your saves and you can pick up where you left off when you travel and can't take your PS3 with you. (Like I do when I go to work.)

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

False.

It's a better argument than "the market will surely magically realize that this system is just the best thing since the cheeseburger all we need to do is come up with a unique, polished, attention grabbing advertising campaign and lots of system-selling games." The recent announcements for the Vita have been good ones, but this system needs a lot more than that plus your hopes and dreams.

It doesn't matter how many times people post that the 3DS is shit and how amazing the Vita is. It's all exceedingly irrelevant. The market has proven time and time again to rarely care about critical opinion.

Sony's success with ALL of their game platforms has been due to third parties.

They did a lot of localizing for the PS1. Granted, a lot of those games weren't theirs, but they did a lot of work.

 

[Cipherr]

You do know that when this thread was started, the 3DS was still selling for $249, right?

Of course I am. I probably posted somewhere in that thread. Not sure what in that post of mines you quoted makes you think I didn't know that. People were excited for that price on its own completely separate of anything the 3DS was at that point. They felt for the hardware it was a no-brainer. Most still do, thats why I posted that maybe its the software thats the issue and not the price of the hardware.

I mean, a few of us were kicking around the idea that it would come in at 299 or 349 prior to the announcement.

 

[liger05]

As soon as as I saw the memory card prices I wasn't interested. I already had a 3ds and the memory card prices basically made sure I wouldn't get a vita. Now knowing that in Japan the 3ds will get far better third party support than the vita I will purchase a Japanese 3ds before even thinking about getting a vita. I really can't see how developers would choose to go with the vita over the 3ds.

 

[The Horror the horror]

Sony's success with ALL of their game platforms has been due to third parties.

And that isn't a good thing.

 

[Byakuya769]

Shocking news:

You joke, but I was stating blasphemy when I predicted this in the spring. It will be interesting to see what happens with the 3DS around the time DS took off into the stratosphere.

 

[itxaka]

Shocking news:

[IG]http://i.minus.com/i5e3S67MYQ9DH.png[/IMG]

Nintendo pls.


Wtf is with nintendo and handhelds, wow.

 

[IrishNinja]

Younger Audience?

For Fuck Sakes, Nintendo and Apple got that shit on Lock Down

No, the shit that made Vita sell so bad was the stupid stubbornness of Sony

Let's release titles @$39.99-$49.99 then realize that's asking to much and slash them < 6 months for almost half the price

i get the 2nd point (and agree) but ignoring that market left them in a pretty bad way, it's obvious there's not enough alone in the usual PS console market to sustain them, they kinda tried that last gen too.

let's pretend the hardware & software were reasonably priced: you still think this strategy alone would suffice?

 

[Skyzard]

Alright, show me all the high rated beloved exclusives vita has apparently been (or will be) bombarded with.

It just needs more games. It was only a launch. A single major push. The next one or two are right around the corner. Makes no sense to ditch its strongest selling point as a powerful mini console. First reactions to a vita IRL playing wipeout or uncharted are very positive.

Ports and series continuation is the current gaming market. New IPs are too risky, but it seems we'll see our fair share in one way or another, especially the infinite small studio productions that will come.

In this climate there just needs to be more games + more ads. If that doesn't work, phase two will be slightly cheaper + new ads and more announcements. If for some bizarre reason that does not work then I will be .. disappointed lol. Still, the vita ought to survive one way or the other. Can only confidently tell which in a year or so.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

You joke, but I was stating blasphemy when I predicted this in the spring. It will be interesting to see what happens with the 3DS around the time DS took off into the stratosphere.

Here's what will happen: the 3DS will continue to climb, but not at the speed which the DS did. Dozens of analysts and gaming forum denizens will claim that the 3DS is doomed because it was unable to match its predecessor, ignoring the fact that it was the best selling gaming system ever. Handhelds in general will again be scorned.

Just remember kids, the smartphones are out to kill us all.

It just needs more games. It was only a launch. A single major push. The next one or two are right around the corner.

MOMENTUM

 

[8byte]

Nintendo pls.


Wtf is with nintendo and handhelds, wow.

M. M.

Marketing. Mario.

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

Wtf is with nintendo and handhelds, wow.

 

[AwRy108]

You joke, but I was stating blasphemy when I predicted this in the spring. It will be interesting to see what happens with the 3DS around the time DS took off into the stratosphere.

I don't think the trend will be the same. The DS had a huge surge that was directly related to Brain Training, Nintendogs, and loads of casual shovelware; but now the droves of people buying this kind of drivel can just get their fix for $1 at a time on their smartphones. Mario titles will still move systems, but not at the insane rate the the DS was selling during its hey-day.

 

[Skyzard]

MOMENTUM

Can shift.

 

[metalslimer]

Can only confidently tell in a year or so.

I think we'll 90% be able to tell where Vita is heading after TGS and 99.9% after the holidays

Can shift.

It never has for a product selling like Vita though. Of course miracles do happen.

 

[Teletraan1]

It's subjective.

The screen on mine cracked after taking a fall off of my 3 ft tall nightstand and landed on carpet. Durability falls under quality, and that's not what I would call quality.

Especially since my 3DS and PSP have both taken the same fall numerous times without so much as a scratch.

Larger screens are more prone to breaking from a fall. Its science. This does not equate to a poor quality product because it cant take a fall like a product with a smaller screen. If you have habitually dropped game systems off this nightstand the only quality concern is the quality of your judgement.

 

[Skyzard]

I think we'll 90% be able to tell where Vita is heading after TGS and 99.9% after the holidays



It never has for a product selling like Vita though. Of course miracles do happen.

Seems legit.

Vita is revolutionary in a number of ways. The potential is pretty limitless, especially at this early stage. Money and games would seem pretty relevant to gamers.

 

[IrishNinja]

Takao has returned.

haha, i seen it too

Does anyone have Dreamcast figures for a comparison?

oh god please dont do this man

This was a pretty prescient thread too (with some less prescient posts). Fun stuff.

wow, some of those quotes are...man, the blinders are powerful.

That's not the problem here (well actually yes it is because Vita's attach ratio is crap) but anyway the real issue is where are all the games that are going to make people buy Vita's. Selling to your current market is a recipe for disaster.

some of your posts (like this one) don't get enough credit, man

Can shift.

serious question: how often has this happened after such a dreary start? before pointing at the 3DS, please take price cut + guaranteed several-million-selling software churned out as factors, 2 factors sony either can't or won't do.

 

[itxaka]

?

 

[Metallix87]

Shocking news:

Any chance we can add in GBA to this?

 

[AdventureRacing]

Of course I am. I probably posted somewhere in that thread. Not sure what in that post of mines you quoted makes you think I didn't know that. People were excited for that price on its own completely separate of anything the 3DS was at that point. They felt for the hardware it was a no-brainer. Most still do, thats why I posted that maybe its the software thats the issue and not the price of the hardware.

I mean, a few of us were kicking around the idea that it would come in at 299 or 349 prior to the announcement.

Well with the memory card and it ended up ending higher than 249$ anyway.

You joke, but I was stating blasphemy when I predicted this in the spring. It will be interesting to see what happens with the 3DS around the time DS took off into the stratosphere.

I don't believe this at all. Before the last handheld generation the most any generation had reached was like 120 million pieces of hardware sold (as far as i remember). In the DS generation there has been something like 230 million pieces of hardware sold. Trying to repeat that sort of success was always going to be incredibly difficult.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

Can shift.

If your business plan depends on miracles, such as Sony coming up with a fantastic advertising campaign, or the market suddenly deciding a specific arbitrary Vita game is worth buying an expensive piece of hardware for, maybe it's best to just assume that the momentum will not shift.

But I was more commenting on the often cited phrase of the last-place console, "all we need is to gather some momentum and it's all coasting from here." Even if we got a spark of Vita sales, who is to say they'd snowball? Or even maintain themselves?

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

It just needs more games. It was only a launch. A single major push. The next one or two are right around the corner. Makes no sense to ditch its strongest selling point as a powerful mini console. First reactions to a vita IRL playing wipeout or uncharted are very positive.

Consumers have spoken and they don't give a shit about "Vita's strongest selling point".


Honestly, it's game over for Vita. 2.2m is horrendous....

Needs more advertisements? There has been ads, but there is no buzz because people don't like it. Graphics and dual analog sticks are things only GAF cares about. Sony designed a system like it's 2001. From a marketers standpoint Vita is a poorly positioned nightmare.


Needs more games? True, but no 3rd party in their right mind is going to support Vita.


Needs a price cut? Sony can't afford it.


I simply do not see a path of market success for Vita.

 

[MYE]

Sony's marketing team should take note of this

It works!

Marketing a system for 20something year old tech-head bros doesnt

 

[Father_Brain]

Not the way things are going. TGS needs to be huge for Vita, like mainline-exclusive-FF-huge, since Nintendo has Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest now.

There's still a small chance that SE will throw some actual weight behind Vita (as with PSP before it) and move a decent chunk of systems there that way. Small, but even that seems more plausible than the miracle SCEE and SCEA are seemingly praying for.

 

[AdventureRacing]

First reactions to a vita IRL playing wipeout or uncharted are very positive.

Where are you getting this information? It may be true but i can't help but feel you're just making it up.

serious question: how often has this happened after such a dreary start? before pointing at the 3DS, please take price cut + guaranteed several-million-selling software churned out as factors, 2 factors sony either can't or won't do.

It has never happened (as far as i know). People like to list the 3DS, PSP and PS3 but none of them started anywhere near this bad. They also all had far more going for them than the vita does. It may well turn around but it is far from a foregone conclusion.

There's still a small chance that SE will throw some actual weight behind Vita (as with PSP before it) and move a decent chunk of systems there that way. Small, but even that seems more plausible than the miracle SCEE and SCEA are seemingly praying for.

As time goes by this becomes less likely though. If they haven't actually started developing these games than sub 10K weekly sales would have to be making them think twice (espcially when the 3DS is really starting to do so well).

 

[zroid]

That's more than twice as many units as coins I am going to collect in New Super Mario Bros. 2.

 

[Satchel]

It's a shame. It's seems like nice tech but honestly, almost everyone outside Sony die hards knew this thing would flop harder than Feck did.

People don't want PS3 games on the go. Especially a device that barely counts as portable. It's huge.