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Sony: Indies, third-party games are Vita's focus moving forward

Bsigg12

Member
Thought this was interesting.

Now that the PlayStation 4 is setting the bar for what gamers expect from a PlayStation experience, Sony is beginning to look more toward indies, third-party developers and Remote Play to deliver gaming to the Vita, Shuhei Yoshida told Polygon in a recent interview.

Yoshida said as graphics become less of a "talking point" for the Vita, the focus on what they want to put on the portable platform shifted.

"It's very fortunate that the indie boom happened and they are providing lots of great content to Vita," he said. " Gameplay, game mechanic wise, people want to spend 10 minutes, 15 minutes getting in and out. On Vita, it's great with suspended functionality, so these indie games really great for that from a game design standpoint.

"Instead of watching big stories or cinematics, you can spend hours on Vita. So, I think that's actually the biggest star to help provide great content to Vita going forward. And we continue to make games cross-platform games, especially on digital side."

Do you think the Vita then will be getting fewer first-party games, I asked.

"I would say, yes, that's correct," Yoshida said.

Lots more of the interview at source, Polygon.

Cut first party support and lock if old
 

VanWinkle

Member
"It's very fortunate that the indie boom happened and they are providing lots of great content to Vita, cause we sure aren't going to take a risk with that thing!"
 
Makes me wonder whats going to happen to Gravity Rush 2. Too good a series to let die, but perhaps, not financial viable given the recent failures in terms of first party vita game sales.

I'd love to see it jump to the ps4 as a series though, with GR1 HD as a combo or something.
 

Moofers

Member
"Hey we fucking made Killzone and nobody bought it. It was amaze-balls, what gives? So yeah, indies and remote play going forward, k? And maybe some more of those moe games those weirdos are buying."
 

akashhhhh

Member
Points for candor.

But I don't see why I need a vita when I can play all the relevant indies on PC for much cheaper (for the games, not the PC).

Portability isn't enough for me, I was hoping for the types of interesting, exclusive experiences I get on 3DS or DS.
 
Tell us something we didn't already know as it's been plain to see for the last year or so, but does this also apply to SCEJ?
 

Gamerloid

Member
I seriously hope Nintendo has taken note of why gamers who have a Vita loves it so much. It's a great handheld, and I need for Nintendo to surpass it hardware wise because Sony doesn't know how it handle it.

It needs great specs
Easy portability like Vita
Dev friendly
Nintendo's IP

Gosh darn Sony...
 

BadWolf

Member
Curious about the Japanese side of Sony and if they will make more Soul Sacrifice, Gravity Rush, Freedom Wars etc.
 
Can see why some might be pissed about this, but I am fine with it. There's alot of indie titles I'd play more likely if they are portable than if I am on a home console or computer.
 
This bad boy has been dead in SCEA eyes from the beginning. Oh well, we've known this for a while anyhow. Borderlands vita is the final sputter of an attempt.
 
Do you think the Vita then will be getting fewer first-party games, I asked.

"I would say, yes, that's correct," Yoshida said.

Can't even be bothered to support their own handheld. Doesn't exactly send a strong message out to third parties that it has the full support of Sony...
 
This is just idiotic Sony. The platform is only two and a half years old. Why even make the Vita if you're going to make the same mistakes that you made with the PSP? I love my Vita but this statement is just infuriating. There are like eleven studios, right? Realistically, one-third of them should be making Vita games, not a team or two in Studio Japan.
 
Its amazing to me that the power of crowd whining over memory cards actually killed a fantastic platform. Everyone back to your cell phone gaming or 3DS retro fest.
 

Tapejara

Member
On one hand, I'm glad Sony finally gave a straight answer instead of a very vague "games are coming!" That said, while I love indies and Japanese support, I'm not too thrilled about this.
 

Ushojax

Should probably not trust the 7-11 security cameras quite so much
Been a port-machine almost since the day it launched. A shame because it could have had some really interesting games with the touchscreen and graphical power.

At launch I bought Uncharted, FIFA and Lumines. I got Gravity Rush and Soul Sacrifice on PS+. Last month I bought Tearaway. That's all I've bought in the last 2 and a bit years, it's pretty sad. Their first party studios never gave a shit about the console.
 
The biggest draw for me when it came to the PSP was not the Jak and Daxter spinoffs, but Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker and other third party titles. Enable that third party area to do some great stuff and import games from Japan (they are) and I'm all gravy.

And, to be fair, I feel that the 3DS is struggling with the opposite - tons of great first party games, barely any third party titles.

What a weird ecosystem both are in.
 
Its amazing to me that the power of crowd whining over memory cards actually killed a fantastic platform. Everyone back to your cell phone gaming or 3DS retro fest.

3DS isn't a retro fest though.

And the memory cards were incredibly overpriced. It was just a move by Sony to squeeze more money from consumers.
 
This is just idiotic Sony. The platform is only two and a half years old. Why even make the Vita if you're going to make the same mistakes that you made with the PSP? I love my Vita but this statement is just infuriating. There are like eleven studios, right? Realistically, one-third of them should be making Vita games, not a team or two in Studio Japan.

I think the issue is, well, the first party games aren't selling. Even fantastic ones like killzone or tearaway were basically sales duds. Minus a Monster hunter like hit to build an audience, I doubt there is any profit in anything more expensive then your average indie game.
 
I'm glad that they at least owned up to it. I love my Vita, and I am ok with this. Continue to bring out good games, I will continue to play it.
 
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