Vita losing Youtube, Near and Maps In March Update.

[skateak]

 

Sony also pulling the plug on YouTube

This isn't going to do anything to reassure people that the PlayStation Vita is alive and well. Sony has announced this morning that it will be discontinuing support for the YouTube, Maps, and Near applications on its flagship handheld soon. The video streaming software will be delisted from the PlayStation Store today, but will function until 20th April.

The platform holder recommends using the handheld's browser if you want to continue viewing kitten clips on your console, but clearly the experience isn't going to be anywhere near as rich. Speculation is already rife that this is due to Google switching from YouTube API v2 to YouTube API v3 – which the Japanese giant has had a year to prepare for.

Meanwhile, the Maps app will be removed as part of a March update, rendering some functions of Near redundant. You won't, for example, be able to obtain your location address, which, we imagine, will prevent you from searching for Game Goods – not that anyone ever did anyway. Some data will be saved in the software, so all is not entirely lost.

The sad thing about all of this is that it looks like a bit of a death knell for the put upon platform. While we can understand the manufacturer giving up on Near – the idea was always solid, but the execution just wasn't there – it's crazy to think that it's removing YouTube, especially if the reason really is that it can't spare the time to update the app to employ the new API.

Source:http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2015/01/ps_vita_app_near_will_cease_searching_for_game_goods_soon

 

WTF Sony. One step forward, two steps back. That should be their slogan.

[StrickenBiged]

Meh. Maybe I'm only speaking for myself but it seems to me like the majority of people never use these features so there isn't a great loss.

[ExHaseo]

I don't see this as that big of a deal.

 

If I want to watch Youtube, I can watch it on my phone when I'm out of the house, or just get on my computer when I'm at home.

 

My phone has always had a better map function, so there was never really any reason to use the Vita maps.

 

And while Near was neat, it always felt a bit pointless. Ragnarok Odyssey was the only game I ever thought used Near very effectively. As most of the game goods felt pretty pointless (most games just didn't have any either), and there was no other reason to really use it.

 

I'm generally against taking features away, but these are largely pointless features that barely get used. Taking them away isn't that big of a deal.

[skateak]

Meh. Maybe I'm only speaking for myself but it seems to me like the majority of people never use these features so there isn't a great loss.

You're looking at the small picture. They are shutting off features and it hasn't even been out three years. They are letting it slowly die. What mobile platform doesn't have a Youtube app? The only reason it is being dropped is because Sony won't update it to the new API. That is straight up laziness. It took Sony 6 years before they retired the Folding@home app on PS3. That is an app you could also say "who really used that?" The app clocked over 100 Million hours of use.

I don't see this as that big of a deal.

 

If I want to watch Youtube, I can watch it on my phone when I'm out of the house, or just get on my computer when I'm at home.

 

My phone has always had a better map function, so there was never really any reason to use the Vita maps.

 

And while Near was neat, it always felt a bit pointless. Ragnarok Odyssey was the only game I ever thought used Near very effectively. As most of the game goods felt pretty pointless (most games just didn't have any either), and there was no other reason to really use it.

 

I'm generally against taking features away, but these are largely pointless features that barely get used. Taking them away isn't that big of a deal.

See my reply to Stricken. There is a bigger picture to all of it  rather than, "meh I didn't use it."

[soniq]

I think that they mostly see the Vita as a PS4 accessoire now that gets a few games here and there but nothing more. They probably didn't think it necessary to update the Youtube app since most people have a smartphone anyway, like ExHaseo said. So why waste ressources?

[skateak]

I think that they mostly see the Vita as a PS4 accessoire now that gets a few games here and there but nothing more. They probably didn't think it necessary to update the Youtube app since most people have a smartphone anyway, like ExHaseo said. So why waste ressources?

They do see it as an accessory but that is the problem. The PS4 came out over a year and a half after Vita.  Nobody bought a Vita to use as an accessory to the PS4. They bought it to play console quality exclusives on-the-go. Now it is mostly straight up console ports with a hidden gem here and there. 

Edited January 28, 2015 by skateak

[Asuka Langley]

No more near?

 

Yay.

[BeautifulTorment]

Useless features being removed. I am all for this! Less clutter on the home screen.

[sixones]

Shame this is happening, though I have never used the YouTube app or the Maps. I imagine most people who have a Vita, also have a decent mobile phone that has much better support for YouTube or Maps. Can't really see anyone trying to use there Vita to navigate around the streets!

 

You're looking at the small picture. They are shutting off features and it hasn't even been out three years. They are letting it slowly die. What mobile platform doesn't have a Youtube app? The only reason it is being dropped is because Sony won't update it to the new API. That is straight up laziness. It took Sony 6 years before they retired the Folding@home app on PS3. That is an app you could also say "who really used that?" The app clocked over 100 Million hours of use.

 

I don't think there letting it die by stopping work on the YouTube app, if it would take a team of developers a few weeks to update the application, yet only a small percentage of the Vita user-base use the YouTube app, why waste time trying to update it when the Vita has a perfectly good web browser that can access YouTube. Most mobile platforms that have a YouTube app available has been developed by Google, not by the manufacturer of the device, makes sense for Sony to drop it if it's not being used by there customers.

 

Folding@Home is completely different, it didn't really need updating to keep it working and the decision to stop it was also made by the Folding@Home researchers.

[ScutumMagister]

First, I'd recommend reading the links that PlayStation included in their tweet that PushSquare included a link to but decided to misrepresent. Especially given PushSquare is going all doom and gloom about it and stating that support will stop for Near when in fact "some features of the [near] application will be disabled". I would also edit the title of this topic to reflect the correct information.

 

Either way though, to me this isn't really a big deal though I definitely understand that some people are going to be concerned about it. Personally speaking though, I never used those features anyways. I'm not sure exactly what features of Near are being disabled but I've had my Vita since June 2012 and I can count on 1 hand the number of times there has been a game good available and I mean for any game, not just games I would be looking for game goods for. Given Maps and Near mainly worked with the 3G model and most people probably only bought the WiFi model they probably made the decision based on how few people ever actually use those apps since I'm sure they can track that information.

Edited January 28, 2015 by ScutumMagister

[soniq]

They do see it as an accessory but that is the problem. The PS4 came out over a year and a half after Vita.  Nobody bought a Vita to use as an accessory to the PS4. They bought it to play console quality exclusives on-the-go. Now it is mostly straight up console ports with a hidden gem here and there. 

It's pretty much the same problem the Wii U has: Not enough people are buying it because there aren't enough (mainstream) games because not enough people are buying it. But everyone who has it loves it.

[skateak]

First, I'd recommend reading the links that PlayStation included in their tweet that PushSquare included a link to but decided to misrepresent. Especially given PushSquare is going all doom and gloom about it and stating that support will stop for Near when in fact "some features of the [near] application will be disabled". I would also edit the title of this topic to reflect the correct information.

 

Either way though, to me this isn't really a big deal though I definitely understand that some people are going to be concerned about it. Personally speaking though, I never used those features anyways. I'm not sure exactly what features of Near are being disabled but I've had my Vita since June 2012 and I can count on 1 hand the number of times there has been a game good available and I mean for any game, not just games I would be looking for game goods for. Given Maps and Near mainly worked with the 3G model and most people probably only bought the WiFi model they probably made the decision based on how few people ever actually use those apps since I'm sure they can track that information.

The Maps part is what tracks your location in Near, there is no point in having it anymore if you can't update it. That is why sites are saying Near is being shut down. It is not just Push Square. I have met some cool people near me that I would have never run into without using Near. Pretty sure there are some games that use Near for trophies so now they will be unobtainable after March. 

 

Damn. I know we all love Sony here but I can't believe most people are ok with this. Removing features within three years of launching is not good at all. It doesn't show support regardless of how often it is used. I have never owned a cell phone and used Youtube all the time on Vita. There is a bigger picture to all this rather than Yay more screen space. I know I have said "the bigger picture" a lot now but it is the truth. This is almost as bad as the PSP2 incident. Don't understand how nobody can see history slowly repeating. I hate to say this but I bet Nintendo will update their Youtube app. 

Edited January 28, 2015 by skateak

[ExHaseo]

You're looking at the small picture. They are shutting off features and it hasn't even been out three years. They are letting it slowly die. What mobile platform doesn't have a Youtube app? The only reason it is being dropped is because Sony won't update it to the new API. That is straight up laziness. It took Sony 6 years before they retired the Folding@home app on PS3. That is an app you could also say "who really used that?" The app clocked over 100 Million hours of use.

See my reply to Stricken. There is a bigger picture to all of it  rather than, "meh I didn't use it."

Or maybe, I'm the one looking at the bigger picture, and you're just feeling entitled.

 

They're trying to save money, by not needing to update features that get little to no use, and/or has a ready alternative, to keep the handheld alive for longer. It's not laziness, it's a smart business move. Why should they continue spending time and money on functions, when there's no real need to?

[Vivinho333]

It's pretty much the same problem the Wii U has: Not enough people are buying it because there aren't enough (mainstream) games because not enough people are buying it. But everyone who has it loves it.

Agreed. So many great games are coming out for the Vita this year, it's not freaking Youtube and Maps and Near that are bothering me anyway. The Vita actually have everything I could want right now...

Edited January 29, 2015 by Vivinho333

[VanDeaM]

As someone that was forced to use the Vita as my only internet connected device for one week, I can tell you the Youtube Vita app is far superior then using their god awful internet browser. Of course if you have a phone, that wins by a landslide.

[skateak]

Or maybe, I'm the one looking at the bigger picture, and you're just feeling entitled.

 

They're trying to save money, by not needing to update features that get little to no use, and/or has a ready alternative, to keep the handheld alive for longer. It's not laziness, it's a smart business move. Why should they continue spending time and money on functions, when there's no real need to?

Lol. Feeling entitled? That's a little much man and uncalled for. We are a community and there is no reason to be like that. It's odd that you interpreted it like that rather than someone that just simply loves the platform and would hate to see features slowly whittled away until it is a hollow shell of console ports.

[diskdocx]

The Maps part is what tracks your location in Near, there is no point in having it anymore if you can't update it. That is why sites are saying Near is being shut down. It is not just Push Square. I have met some cool people near me that I would have never run into without using Near. Pretty sure there are some games that use Near for trophies so now they will be unobtainable after March. 

 

Damn. I know we all love Sony here but I can't believe most people are ok with this. Removing features within three years of launching is not good at all. It doesn't show support regardless of how often it is used. I have never owned a cell phone and used Youtube all the time on Vita. There is a bigger picture to all this rather than Yay more screen space. I know I have said "the bigger picture" a lot now but it is the truth. This is almost as bad as the PSP2 incident. Don't understand how nobody can see history slowly repeating. I hate to say this but I bet Nintendo will update their Youtube app. 

 

I think the bigger picture is Sony abandoned the Vita a year ago. Dropping support for Near and YouTube is pretty irrelevant in the big picture.

 

This is a game console, not a smart phone. Not sure about you, but I would suspect that 90% of Vita users have the WiFi only version. If I'm on the go, I don't have internet, neither Near nor YouTube are much use. If I'm at home on my wifi, I'm gonna use my iPad or laptop to watch a video clip, not my Vita.

 

The real big picture is that Sony has already indicated that they will not be developing anymore Vita games in house. Once a console drops first party support, I think the writing is on the wall.

 

Love my Vita, there are great games coming out, but I think it has been clear for quite a while that Sony has moved on. The console will live for as long as the third parties want to keep it going.

[damon8r351]

I never even used these applications. I'd have never even noticed they were gone unless someone said something.

 

While they're at it, can they remove Welcome Park?

Edited January 28, 2015 by damon8r351

[ExHaseo]

Lol. Feeling entitled? That's a little much man and uncalled for. We are a community and there is no reason to be like that. It's odd that you interpreted it like that rather than someone that just simply loves the platform and would hate to see features slowly whittled away until it is a hollow shell of console ports.

Yet saying someone isn't seeing the bigger picture, insinuating that they're stupid and you're not, is totally acceptable? I also notice that you didn't actually give any real reasoning countering my argument, just that YOU don't want to see features taken away. Leading me to believe that you think you're entitled to those features, and don't care about what it's doing to the company. Which is why I said you're entitled. You can take offense to it, but I wasn't saying it to be mean, I was saying it because I think it's true, and it's the best word to describe such a thing.

[Kirijama]

I for one would like to know what impact this will have on the various trophies that require the Near application to obtain.  Also I can't be the only one who has used Near to find local players for adhoc trophies am I?

[Ichiban-Hybrid]

I honestly don't care much for the map and the near app. But youtube really? What a let down.. Well if Sony gonna get rid of app no one uses, maybe they should get rid of the back touchscreen since it rarely been used that much and it sucks..

[Vivinho333]

 

The real big picture is that Sony has already indicated that they will not be developing anymore Vita games in house. Once a console drops first party support, I think the writing is on the wall.

 

Wait, wait, wait, WHAT?... Really, I didn't knew that! THAT is the real problem here... I want my Gravity Rush 2 and my Soul Sacrifice 2 !

Edited January 28, 2015 by Vivinho333

[Ric]

They do see it as an accessory but that is the problem. The PS4 came out over a year and a half after Vita.  Nobody bought a Vita to use as an accessory to the PS4. They bought it to play console quality exclusives on-the-go. Now it is mostly straight up console ports with a hidden gem here and there. 

 

I bought it to play  a couple of games (+ more free content from PS+) but mostly as an accessory for PS4 that I know I was going to buy later. Without that compatibility I wouldn't have bought a Vita. So not nobody

 

 

Apps like YouTube, Near and Maps are all fun and all, but they add nothing for the majority of people. If I didn't read this I probably wouldn't have even noticed it. We all know that the Vita has dropped of Sony's priority list, but you can just play the games and use it as an accessory for your PS4 (if you have one). Plenty of worth while games out there.

 

It's time to see the Vita for what it is (or has become). A pretty damn cool gaming console for when you're traveling.

 

<30yo mode> In my day we had the gameboy and we were happy with it without all the crap they put on devices nowadays. Greatest examples are today's phones. It's supposed to make a connection to another phone so you can talk. Not game, e-mail, navigate, turn on your lights and keep track of your daily routines. It's all pretty neat, but it's extra, not the primary idea of the device.</30yo mode>

Edited January 28, 2015 by Ric

[barakmh]

you are all missing the bigger picture here, all the game that uses the near for trophies will become harder to plat or even impossible and that is sony f***cking up their biggest thing for us, we always complain that we can't plat a game because a certain company shut down the server, now sony is doing it, i can think of threee games that uses it, maybe even four, although one of them is glitched anyway - correct me if i'm wrong but uncharted golden abyss, angry birds trilogy, smart as and little diviants, there are probably more games

[ScutumMagister]

I for one would like to know what impact this will have on the various trophies that require the Near application to obtain.  Also I can't be the only one who has used Near to find local players for adhoc trophies am I?

 

I would imagine that most likely they'll make those features of Near function through the WiFi connection instead.

 

Wait, wait, wait, WHAT?... Really, I didn't knew that! THAT is the real problem here... I want my Gravity Rush 2 and my Soul Sacrifice 2 !

 

Neither one of those are developed "inhouse", i.e. by Sony. They were published by Sony but that has nothing to do with the development.

you are all missing the bigger picture here, all the game that uses the near for trophies will become harder to plat or even impossible and that is sony f***cking up their biggest thing for us, we always complain that we can't plat a game because a certain company shut down the server, now sony is doing it, i can think of threee games that uses it, maybe even four, although one of them is glitched anyway - correct me if i'm wrong but uncharted golden abyss, angry birds trilogy, smart as and little diviants, there are probably more games

Given we don't know what they're going to do for trophies that require Near, though I state what will most likely happen above, isn't it a bit early to claim the sky is falling?

Edited January 28, 2015 by ScutumMagister