Read the entire tweet here
https://twitter.com/LimitedRunJosh/status/878807264156684288
Basically Atelier or other high profile Vita games would need at least 5,000 copies. At $50 they will have a hard time moving the last 1000 copies.
This reasoning is bullshit.
It's not all "well the Vita folks moan more about price and it took more than a day to sell!"
They're different types of game. Yes, some people like multiple genres, and yes, some people buy full sets of games, but some people have a narrower focus and the audience for rpgs and shooters are different.
(However yes, if they're fully relying on full set-ers then they might be a bit screwed because some people are starting to burn out on that front).
It's also a multiformat release whereas Atelier wouldn't be so interest was split across formats for those who wouldn't want to buy both, and one of those formats was released first. Not even just first, it was released at a point when the other version was still unconfirmed. People with both consoles might have opted for only buying one of those, and opted for the former because it was the one that was available. Had they been available at the same time they might have made a different choice, but they didn't have that option.
(But if we
are comparing print runs, Dariusburst sold 2800 standard PS4 copies, 2000 limited editions, and is on the way to selling 4000 vita copies. That's a total run of 8800 copies. All at a higher price point. I wouldn't exactly use that as a metric to prove that 5000 sales of Atelier is unworkable).
They also need to consider that a decent portion of their fanbase is international, and while you can switch accounts relatively easily on PS4 it isn't as easy on Vita.
For people who don't want to deal with the hassle of account switching or don't have extra memory cards (or who can't account switch because they'll lose access to their PSM titles... yeah, that one might be me) the release becomes substantially less desirable because they can't use the extensive DLC.
If you're planning on playing the games, not just collecting them, then the LRG version of the game is less desirable because it actively has access to less content for those buyers.
Maybe I'm a little defensive because I'm part of the problem.
I opted out on Dariusburst. The fact it cost more
did have an impact on my decision, as did the DLC scenario, but mainly it was due to the fact I'm just not that fond of shooters and there are other things I'd rather spend my money on.
(... and one of those things is Atelier games. I'd buy those, even though I already have them digitally. They're just games I like more. Also, I want them to start with Ayesha please, so I can finish my Dusk Trilogy set!)
Alternatively, maybe I'm a little miffed because I feel like they're trying to bullshit their way out of releasing something I want, instead of just being honest and going "Look, we've discussed it with TK. The Japanese branch aren't as amenable as the US side and/or they want a higher print run than we feel would be workable. As we can't negotiate a plan that will work for both of us, we're going to have to write this one off for now to focus on other ventures. We'll have news about some of those soon!"
Yeah, I'd find that disappointing, but I'd get over it.