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[Devilgunman]

Vita is a great system that Sony sent it to death by 2 major missteps

- embarrassingly expensive memory card
- allowing Monster Hunter to leave their platform

Seriously, I think people underestimate the power of this franchise. MH singlehandedly saved PSP in Japan. If MH were still on the Vita, the Vita sale would be skyrocketed in the first year, which would convince other big JP devs to make games for it. I usually think the idea of moneyhating for exclusives is short-sighted but for a franchise like MH is a long-term investment but could secure the future of a platform. What a missed opportunity by Sony.

 

[Scottiths]

Vita doesn't have a bad rep... it doesn't have any rep. That's the problem. No one is talking about it besides the die hards.

Pretty much this. Sums it up. I didn't even know what it was till I joined gaf.

 

[GhostTrick]

That is simple. No games on the Vita needs to sell a million copies. Most of the games on the Vita ate Japanese games, which are considered a success if they sell on the level of hundreds of thousands, as they should.

You miss the point. No games on Vita needs to sell a million copies because there are no games with such budgets. And why is that ? Because there's low chance of games selling more than a million copies.

 

[NingenJanai]

I have 3 retail games, and a gazillion games I got from PS+

 

[greg400]

"Honestly, Vita owners are the ****ing best," McQuinn said. "People rag on the Vita so much, and I think people who rag on the Vita don't understand, at least from a business perspective, the purchasing power of Vita owners. Vita owners are serious purchasers of games. It's an amazing system."


More at the link
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-04-14-ps-vita-doesnt-deserve-bad-reputation-drinxbox

Didn't Tearaway bomb hard?

I think PS Plus in it of itself is a bit toxic to Vita game sales, it brings the why buy now when I can just wait to get it for free mentality.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Vita is a great system that Sony sent it to death by 2 major missteps

- embarrassingly expensive memory card
- allowing Monster Hunter to leave their platform

Seriously, I think people underestimate the power of this franchise. MH singlehandedly saved PSP in Japan. If MH were still on the Vita, the Vita sale would be skyrocketed in the first year, which would convince other big JP devs to make games for it. I usually think the idea of moneyhating for exclusives is short-sighted but for a franchise like MH is a long-term investment but could secure the future of a platform. What a missed opportunity by Sony.

MH is mainly relevant in JP though. The storage is a bigger issue but still, the current market conditions wouldn't allow a Vita to have iphone like success. Even 3DS has suffered with Nintendo's cache and equity in the hand held sector.

 

[shandy706]

I'm tired of my Vita cursing and robbing old ladies in alleys.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

On what planet does the Vita have a bad reputation? Reading GAF you'd think it capable of putting people in a state of blissful euphoria, culminating in multiple throbbing orgasms, simply by being activated.

 

[Infinite_Daremo]

On what planet does the Vita have a bad reputation? Reading GAF you'd think it capable of putting people in a state of blissful euphoria, culminating in multiple throbbing orgasms, simply by being activated.

Firmware feature since 1.0

 

[mrjohill]

That's an image change that'll be forever following the Vita, even though this year is cram-packed with fucking awesome titles.

Same thing happened with the PS3. It struggled for a year or so, then gained a load of traction, but the memes persisted.

I feel like if they did a big blowout at e3 (which probably won't happen but it'll probably have a bigger presence this year with less focus on the ps3 hopefully) it would do a lot to shed that image.

 

[FaintColt388301]

Yup, I have at least 50 games on mine. If it wasn't for the Vita I would have never played a bunch of these great small indie games. I would've never even looked at Mutant Blobs and Guacamelee. Those games are great though.

Just keep giving it indies and ports and I'll be more than happy.

 

[BennyBlanco]

On what planet does the Vita have a bad reputation? Reading GAF you'd think it capable of putting people in a state of blissful euphoria, culminating in multiple throbbing orgasms, simply by being activated.

wanna know how i know you've never activated a vita

 

[LTWood12]

There's always great deals for digital titles on the platform (on top of free + offerings). I end up buying a lot of stuff that I haven't even played yet.

 

[bobbytkc]

You miss the point. No games on Vita needs to sell a million copies because there are no games with such budgets. And why is that ? Because there's low chance of games selling more than a million copies.

The only games that can be counted to sell more than a million copies on handhelds are monster hunter and Nintendo franchises. It is a none issue.

 

[Yado]

It has a bad rep in neogaf. It has been nothing but 2 years if hearing vita has no games, lol vita is a dead system, all its games are ports, all its games are indies, not another monster hunter clone etc etc.

Gaf is probably kinder on the subject of the Vita than most places. At least it's talked about here.

 

[Arkaerial]

On what planet does the Vita have a bad reputation? Reading GAF you'd think it capable of putting people in a state of blissful euphoria, culminating in multiple throbbing orgasms, simply by being activated.

Holy shit, I'll be right back...

 

[GhostTrick]

The only games that can be counted to sell more than a million copies on handhelds are monster hunter and Nintendo franchises. It is a none issue.

Of course it is an issue. And no, not only MH and Nintendo games can sell more than a million copies, or at least get close to a million copies.

 

[Sendou]

So wait if Vita owners are "very, very engaged game consumers" then why doesn't the platform owner put games on it? They should know, right? I'm just confused.

 

[Herb Alpert]

WTF?
In which world have Vita a bad reputation?

Spoiler

Some here even claim it cures cancer

Everyone seems to agree that is a very fine piece of hardware. It just didn't find its market.

 

[chickdigger802]

vita is great for indies. that oled screen and buttons and that dpad, so good.

its the bigger games that struggle outside a few rare ones. Most run like ass and are non native res.

 

[Devilgunman]

MH is mainly relevant in JP though. The storage is a bigger issue but still, the current market conditions wouldn't allow a Vita to have iphone like success. Even 3DS has suffered with Nintendo's cache and equity in the hand held sector.

It's the same as PSP, everything started from Japan. We got many amazing PSP games because PSP was doing well in Japan, and the reason for that because it had Monster Hunter. If the Vita succeeded in Japan, we would get more games appealing to western audiences.

 

[bobbytkc]

Of course it is an issue. And no, not only MH and Nintendo games can sell more than a million copies, or at least get close to a million copies.

Well, I.honestly don't know any. Maybe you can name some for the sake of the argument?

Remember that we are not talking about games that sell a million, but games that need a milliomn copies sold to be profitable.

 

[SmokyDave]

On what planet does the Vita have a bad reputation? Reading GAF you'd think it capable of putting people in a state of blissful euphoria, culminating in multiple throbbing orgasms, simply by being activated.

GAF isn't representative of the wider market. Of course an enthusiast device gets praised on an enthusiast site.

So wait if Vita owners are "very, very engaged game consumers" then why doesn't the platform owner put games on it? They should know, right? I'm just confused.

Today, of all days. Four announcements in one hour, to be met by 'where are the games?!'.

 

[braves01]

It deserves its reputation. The best games are PS2 and PC ports, so for most people there isn't much reason to get Vita, even if portability would be nice. The memory cards are overpriced, and the hardware is expensive yet deeply flawed.

It should be called the PS Niche, because it's excellent for enthusiasts who just want to play old games on the go (count me among that group), but it doesn't register with the mainstream at all.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

vita is great for indies. that oled screen and buttons and that dpad, so good.

its the bigger games that struggle outside a few rare ones. Most run like ass and are non native res.

Nobody cares about native resolution if a game is good though. Case in point, FFXHD.

 

[hydragonwarrior]

Vita doesn't have a bad rep... it doesn't have any rep. That's the problem. No one is talking about it besides the die hards.

It's a Wii U thing.

 

[bobbytkc]

So wait if Vita owners are "very, very engaged game consumers" then why doesn't the platform owner put games on it? They should know, right? I'm just confused.

They just announced 3 games today. They also released at least 3 exclusives for the vita last year, not counting ports. Maybe you can specify what you mean by they don't put games on it.

 

[B.O.O.M]

Honestly, Vita owners are the ****ing best

Damn straight!

I love Drinkbox's work too. Vita is really a fantastic piece of hardware and actually has a very nice library of games.

 

[Green Wiggly]

That was my first thought too, I had both of the games mentioned in that article "free" with PS+ before I had a chance to buy them.
Of course the dev still gets his money out of it and is clearly happy with the set-up so it doesn't really matter.

I have bought far more Vita games than I first intended though.

Me too. In fact, the majority of games that I've really enjoyed playing have been legit purchases, not from PS+. Although, that first week discount has certainly pushed me over the edge a few times.

 

[Jea Song]

Been playing Vita allot lately. It's an amazing handheld.

 

[VariantX]

Vita doesn't have a bad rep... it doesn't have any rep. That's the problem. No one is talking about it besides the die hards.

I think you hit it 100% on the nose here. Sony just didn't promote the thing to the wider audience at all beyond its initial launch window. You hear vita and its game announcements only through gaming related media sites, press releases and trade shows. Things which mainly the gaming enthusiasts follow.

 

[Kintaro]

Vita gets a bad rep because of many reasons.

1) The hardware doesn't sell very well outside of Japan. Even there, it's pretty poor. People rag on the 3DS for not living up to DS expectations, however go take a look at how poorly the Vita is selling compared to the PSP. Then expand that worldwide.

2) The games bomb at retail. The sections are shrinking or are gone. Only GameStop bothers and you damn near have to ask the person working where the games are.

3) Memory cards. Absolute shit fest.

4) Sony's support is pretty pathetic. Advertising is poor. Support is barely there. It seems they just don't give a shit. Especially outside of Japan. It feels like SCEA only bothers because SCEJ says to.

There are legit reasons why it has a bad rap.

The system is very nice though. It's being supported purely by niche Japanese games and indies. It's no surprise that digital software sells well because if you're dropping big bucks on memory, you damn sure going to buy some games to put on the damn things. =P

It's a damn shame too. I like the system but everything around it (outside of niche J stuff/indies) has set it up to fail overall.

 

[Alpende]

I got a lot of games to play thanks to PS+. I like it.

 

[iceatcs]

Hell even I bought Doctor Who.

 

[Sendou]

Today, of all days. Four announcements in one hour, to be met by 'where are the games?!'.

Well to be completely honest my mind didn't even register the announcement threads when glancing through the front page. So Soul Sacrifice Delta, Freedom Wars and Oreshika. That's already two games I'm moderately interested in. What's the fourth?

In any case this is good stuff.

They also released at least 3 exclusives for the vita last year, not counting ports. Maybe you can specify what you mean by they don't put games on it.

I mean that 3 in a year isn't a lot. Closest comparision is 3DS that got at least four times that. Good games too.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

wanna know how i know you've never activated a vita

Well I was in the same room with one once, I had a eager and my butthole felt kinda tingly.

GAF isn't representative of the wider market. Of course an enthusiast device gets praised on an enthusiast site.

Sure, but I honestly think that it's more the case that it has no reputation than a poor one. People who are aware of it generally speak highly of it, the fact that enthusiasts are the only people buying dedicated gaming handheld devices these days is a different issue entirely.

 

[ArtHands]

McQuinn is wrong about the vita being a failure because it didn't match 3DS numbers. People didn't call ps3 nor the 360 a failure despite not matching Wii's sales.

It is a failure because it is one of, if not the lowest selling major name video game console in recent history.

 

[RE_Player]

People trying to spin these comments are foolish. Vita has a high attach rate and people who have Vitas consume smaller indie games like te ones DrinkBox puts out. It makes it profitable to put a Vita version out. Simple as that.

 

[Tigress]

I feel like if they did a big blowout at e3 (which probably won't happen but it'll probably have a bigger presence this year with less focus on the ps3 hopefully) it would do a lot to shed that image.

Except then you'll have people griping that they don't want to hear about Vita and wishing Sony shuttup about it (that's a lot of what I read last E3 anyways when they were doing the announcement, a ton of people griping that they wished Sony would stop paying attention to Vita and who cares).

Spoiler

I care

It deserves its reputation. The best games are PS2 and PC ports, so for most people there isn't much reason to get Vita, even if portability would be nice. The memory cards are overpriced, and the hardware is expensive yet deeply flawed.

Ok, how is the hardware deeply flawed? I'll give you expensive for sure (and I honestly think that's part of the problem, I don't care how nice the tech is, if it is over a certain price, people aren't going to care and aren't going to buy it). But I fail to see, aside from price, how the hardware is flawed.

 

[noobasuar]

Well no shit indies like a system where they don't have to compete with retail titles.

 

[Currygan]

Vita wished it had a bad rep. A bad rep isn't necessarly a sign of bad sales, the mass market don't give a shit about how these devices are perceived by the enthusiast folk

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Dat attatch rate. Owned a Vita for just over three months, and already have 36 games, through a combination of sales, impulse buys, PS+ and Cross-Buy.

 

[bobbytkc]

Well to be completely honest my mind didn't even register the announcement threads when glancing through the front page. So Soul Sacrifice Delta, Freedom Wars and Oreshika. That's already two games I'm moderately interested in. What's the fourth?

In any case this is good stuff.



I mean that 3 in a year isn't a lot. Closest comparision is 3DS that got at least four times that. Good games too.

12 1st party games from Nintendo per year? That is more than what Sony has for the ps4. What are they?

 

[Saty]

If you want to make your message clear then mention numbers. All this talk about Vita and how great it is for indies and i've yet to see any dev mention hard numbers for their Vita game. How do they compare to the other SKUs and relative to SKU budget?

 

[Evil Supremacy]

On what planet does the Vita have a bad reputation? Reading GAF you'd think it capable of putting people in a state of blissful euphoria, culminating in multiple throbbing orgasms, simply by being activated.

I always have a box of tissues ready when i turn on my Vita, failing that a sock comes in handy as a last resort.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Well no shit indies like a system where they don't have to compete with retail titles.

They have to compete on their own turf as well though. That means on the DD services. Not sure what your point is.

I've always had this inclination that Vita SW is doing better than the HW sales indicate. Especially digital. I remember saying before Vita came out that it would even help the PSP ecosystem as any game available for purchase on Vita will benefit. I have bought more than a few PSP titles digitally and I never even really considered that on my old PSP since I got everything physical. I've even double dipped to be able to play them on Vita.

 

[Draft]

If you want to make your message clear then mention numbers. All this talk about Vita and how great it is for indies and i've yet to see any dev mention hard numbers for their Vita game. How do they compare to the other SKUs and relative to SKU budget?

Dat PSN+ hush money.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Dat PSN+ hush money.

This is reaching here. Those numbers are not even necessary to share. Devs tout numbers when they're huge, case in point GTA5. No devs are required to boast about sales really.

 

[Sendou]

12 1st party games from Nintendo per year? That is more than what Sony has for the ps4. What are they?

Well since you asked so nicely:

1. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
2. Bravely Default
3. Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move
4. HarmoKnight
5. Luigi's Mansion 2
6. Dillon's Rolling Western: The Last Ranger
7. Pokémon X/Y
8. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (port but with new content)
9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
10. Mario Party 3DS
11. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
12. Fire Emblem: Awakening

These games came into my mind but I'm pretty sure there are others.

 

[rjc571]

It's pretty horrifying to me that the Vita's attach rate is so high. I haven't bought many Vita games since the price of memory is too high for me to justify upgrading my 4 GB card, but apparently everybody else has plenty of room to store their games. This must mean that Sony has been raking in a fortune by selling their memory cards at 1000% price markups. I expect that we'll see them continue to screw their consumers in a similar fashion in the future, since the strategy was so effective for them with the Vita.