PS Vita is dead, it's over

[WeAreWicked]

The problem now with more games is that the install base of the vita is way too small so the big 3rd party developers won´t jump in, that would not be a problem if the first party developers made great games but their to busy with the ps4. Sony needs to really comminicate that you can play all the ps4 games on vita and maybe then people will buy a vita.

 

On the bright side, people who buy the vita also buys a lot of games (hardcore community), evantually developers will see this and make more games for it.

[dodgedoors]

 

On the bright side, people who buy the vita also buys a lot of games (hardcore community), evantually developers will see this and make more games for it.

 

This.

 

I have bought (not counting ps+ IGC) over 20 vita titles since launch.  I am planning on buying 3 more over the 2 weeks of sales plus is having.  I mean Soul Sacrifice for 50% off is too good to pass up even if I found the demo average. My Vita backlog is slowly starting to rival my expansive PS3 backlog and I love that Idea.

[Bullstomp]

Why do people continuously give Michael Pachter a platform to speak.

 

He is generally wrong, and 75% of the time, completely out of touch with what he is actually discussing.

 

 

Agreed. And the reason he is likely wrong here is because he is talking out of his @$$. Get some trend info or profit margin performance and forcasts before speculating that hard in a public forum.

 

How would any analyst worth their title make such a prediction now? The PS4 is mere months away and will have more interactivity with the Vita than the PS3 did. Besides, this is summer, when all retail sales except bathing suits and suntan lotion slow down. This summer in particular will have an extended slow down due to the fact new generation consoles are anticipated at the end of the year; no one wants to spend full price on systems that will be current for only a few months.

 

Bottom line, everything points to a PS Vita system price drop before the end of the year. When this happens, the system will perform better based on being accessible to a larger pool of consumers. A great historical precedent is the Nintendo 3DS, which sucked at launch but took off when they dropped the price. In addition, the PS4 launch will help broaden the appeal of the system and they already have a decent game library as well as the free games on PS plus, which will only help it

 

The only real issue I see remaining consistent into 2014, and it is a substantial issue, is the price of memory. If this can also be scaled down you will see the Vita sell like crazy.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Bullstomp

[Sukezaemon32]

The Vita ain't dead yet. I'll keep playing Picotto Knights until Halloween.

[jmh4manu]

Oh really? I just bought one tonight

 

I'm pretty excited about getting mine and hoping for some new titles as well!

[helpthemedic]

Love my vita! Day one buyer here (happend kind of spontanious it was never planned but hey Im happy with that choice!). 

The only problem Im having with it, is the insane memory card prices. I would love to get atleast 16 gb (stuck with 8 gb atm), i just cant find enough room on it for everygame i wanna play. I buy 95% of the game on PSN and i have actually bought more games to my vita than my ps3 the past year, I would love to see some more major games though but so far it's delivering more than i can handle! I really can't se why people keep complaining there are ALOT of great games out for this now, well enough to go around imo, sure not as much as on the PS3 but i mean you will enjoy it! 

Though sony has failed with the PR for the consolle, most of my none hardcore gamers still thinks is just another version of PSP with the right marketing I know they would show it much more love. They had some tv ads during it's release here in Sweden but they never came out that good showing the system of in a good way and they went away really quick. 

[Memnoch]

Analysts usually talk from their rear, this doesn't seem to be any different.

 

 

When I look at the problem, it isn't the games... it's people.  Whenever anyone mentions lack of games it always seems to be followed up with something like "it needs a Bioshock or God of War".  If people were willing to get outside of their little boxes and try something new there's a Ton of titles that are quality games.

 

That is wrong in so many ways ... Whether quality titles exist or not, what sells the hardware is the software. Noone will pay 250+ for a vita then 40+ for 'Mr Joe Blogs loves partying' - they may love the game when they try it, but they will not buy a console on an unknown title.

 

It has nothing to do with getting out of little boxes as you  say, it has a lot more to do with putting money into a solid investment, not a pipe dream...

 

Nintendo have been selling new consoles for years based on Mario and Pokemon, why do you think that is ?

[JadedDragos]

I can't say anything, I still love my PSP lol.....part of my backlog.

[skidmarkgn]

Analysts usually talk from their rear, this doesn't seem to be any different.

 

 

 

That is wrong in so many ways ... Whether quality titles exist or not, what sells the hardware is the software. Noone will pay 250+ for a vita then 40+ for 'Mr Joe Blogs loves partying' - they may love the game when they try it, but they will not buy a console on an unknown title.

 

It has nothing to do with getting out of little boxes as you  say, it has a lot more to do with putting money into a solid investment, not a pipe dream...

 

Nintendo have been selling new consoles for years based on Mario and Pokemon, why do you think that is ?

I answered that question already with the first sentence in the original statement, people only seem to want to buy what they're comfortable with.  It doesn't take much to do some research into a non-franchise game. Also,  there's already at least one pretty well known title representing almost every genre on the Vita.  They may not all be the same quality as their console counterparts but it's a hand-held system... what do you expect. 

 

Don't forget, every franchise started out with a game no one ever heard of.  I'm not arguing the fact that people aren't buying because there's no super popular franchises that have established a home on the vita.  I'm also not arguing that there's no real "system sellers" on it.  What I am saying is that the Vita is, as of right now, a "solid investment" for anyone and there's plenty of great games for anyone who's willing to risk it and take the leap. 

 

I didn't buy one with any one game in mind, I bought one because I heard a ton of good things from the people I knew who had one, the great games presented themselves afterwards.

[ONUOsFan]

More recognizable games (starting with God of War) and a price cut of at least $50 would go a long way toward fixing things.

Problem is, the two most recognizable games on the platform so far (AC and COD) came out to horrible reviews, and a few of the other hot Sony franchises(i.e. Resistance) had Vita entries that were mediocre at best. LBP is really the only franchise game that lived up to it's console brethren in any meaningful way, though Uncharted GA didn't totally suck.

The Vita's first year could have been so much better if those games had been good (or even slightly better than the steaming piles of crap that COD was).

Killzone is coming this year, and if we see an inFAMOUS game, God of War and some others, and they're actually good, and the PS4 tie-in is what Sony is promising, then maybe the Vita can turn things around. If not, it's in deep trouble from a commercial standpoint, although I suspect I will continue to enjoy mine.

[Parker]

Analysts usually talk from their rear, this doesn't seem to be any different.

 

 

 

That is wrong in so many ways ... Whether quality titles exist or not, what sells the hardware is the software. Noone will pay 250+ for a vita then 40+ for 'Mr Joe Blogs loves partying' - they may love the game when they try it, but they will not buy a console on an unknown title.

 

It has nothing to do with getting out of little boxes as you  say, it has a lot more to do with putting money into a solid investment, not a pipe dream...

 

Nintendo have been selling new consoles for years based on Mario and Pokemon, why do you think that is ?

 

Kids love Mario and Pokemon and don't expect any real innovation in their games? 

 

 

Parker

[Memnoch]

Kids love Mario and Pokemon and don't expect any real innovation in their games? 

 

 

Parker

 

Pretty much yes - they want a game they are comfortable with, and it's what the vita doesn't have yet

[Brawler]

The Vita isn't close to being dead. It just needs the same attention as the home consoles. You can't put a ton of effort in to one and not the other, or it looks weak.

 

Handhelds also aren't as common as they used to be I don't think. When you have a less than stellar line up of games, it won't help change that. Personally I'd love a Vita and most likely will invest in this rumored bundle if it comes to fruition, but unless that happens I'm waiting for some price drops.

[skidmarkgn]

Pretty much yes - they want a game they are comfortable with, and it's what the vita doesn't have yet

Now wait a minute, that was my exact point when you said I was wrong in so many ways, I just blamed people instead of the Vita

Edited August 13, 2013 by skidmarkgn

[Memnoch]

Now wait a minute, that was my exact point when you said I was wrong in so many ways, I just blamed people instead of the Vita

 

I was reacting to the 'people should think outside their little boxes' - not the whole they are waiting for a known game, which is totally different from a sales point of view ...

Edited August 13, 2013 by Memburkulosis

[skidmarkgn]

I was reacting to the 'people should think outside their little boxes' - not the whole they are waiting for a known game, which is totally different from a sales point of view ...

If you don't think there's anything negative about how dependent developers have become on franchises and sequels... cool,  Personally, i hate it.  It causes companies to say things like "we won't even touch a game unless we think it has franchise potential" (Ubisoft) or "we're making these changes to try and attract the Call of Duty crowd" (Dead Rising 3) and that kind of thing bugs me. 

 

Hell, right now the only real risk anyone has to take to try something outside of their comfort zone (read: box) is $50 for a year of PS+, they give away enough content to try a little of everything and maybe, just maybe, they might like something they would have otherwise ignored.

 

I know that doesn't address the difference in point of view, just trying to explain the "outside of their little box" comment a little better.

[Startyde]

Once someone gets their hands on it, people love the Vita. The Sony Instant game Collection will keep you busy on the thing until you can get at the titles you want, and there are many. I think people don't realize what is available on this system, spanning PS3, PSN, PS1 and PS2 games.

 

The barrier to entry is obviously the price. So to reiterate, it's not about games. There are VERY FEW GAMES IN EXISTANCE that would cause someone to run out and spend close to $300 on a Portable System, ANY System. However, there are a big number of people that will go out and play many awesome games on a handheld at the $180 range.

 

Also Pachter said Red Dead Redemption would flop because it didn't have machine guns. Soooooooo...

Edited August 13, 2013 by Startyde

[finallife5]

The vita is suffering with what happened to the psp (think of it the same way as the wii then the wii u) The problem is even though the psp was a good system, it didn't have much GREAT games, they were fairly ok or good but nothing fantastic to go recommend to someone, same as the ps vita some great games but not enough to say Go get this.

 

This guy's an idiot as well.

[DrasticAutomatic]

The problem is that there is too little software. My brother owns a Vita and I own a 3DS - i'm playing great games on the 3DS all the time but his problem is that Sony just haven't been bringing out enough software. Then again he seems happy enough with that Persona game

[DEMON]

Pachter can talk a load of shit sometimes.  But it is kind of true, the Vita is dead until it begins to appeal to more people, it's been something I've been interested in for quite sometime now.  The only thing holding me off? Memory cards can be cheaper, I can buy a 1TB harddrive for £50-60 now.  And you're telling me I have to pay £50-70 for a 32GB memory card that doesn't even come close to that size?  While I know they are different technologies, I have seen 32GB for like £30 for any other memory stick size, sometimes cheaper if I look online.

[Vespaa]

The memory card thing is a huge drawback. Like HUGE. I still need to upgrade my 4GB card, as I filled it up pretty quickly.

 

And while my 3DS games are outnumbering my Vita ones, I do love my Vita. Dragon's Crown is super solid, and plays pretty fluidly on the Vita. Can't wait to get that version too.

 

So I think he's incorrect. Years ago "Gaming Industry Analysts" said the PS3 would lose to the 360 as well. I knew it wouldn't. And it didn't. It's not going to outsell 3DS' anytime soon, but it has it's own cult following that should keep it afloat.

[Tomato]

Yes I agree the memory card thing is a quite big mistake by Sony, I actually just bought one today for £90 with 16GB memory card included and have 4 vita games in my download list waiting for the day I would buy one so whenever it arrives I give it a go. Regarding failure issue I doubt they have anything to worry about, the system is fairly new and can only have more games and the ps4 release can only help the console sales also.

[McJacs2]

A $600 PS4, PS Vita, PS4 game, and PS Vita game would be very beneficial for Vita since u would get a game and system for only $140. But it is only a handheld device that doesn't have Mario and Pokémon with it.

[sonic4555]

Personaly I don't care what people say about the vita. The fact is I enjoy playing it! and cant beat the fact I can trophy hunt while im away from my ps3 was the big seller for me.

[Memnoch]

If you don't think there's anything negative about how dependent developers have become on franchises and sequels... cool,  Personally, i hate it.  It causes companies to say things like "we won't even touch a game unless we think it has franchise potential" (Ubisoft) or "we're making these changes to try and attract the Call of Duty crowd" (Dead Rising 3) and that kind of thing bugs me. 

 

Hell, right now the only real risk anyone has to take to try something outside of their comfort zone (read: box) is $50 for a year of PS+, they give away enough content to try a little of everything and maybe, just maybe, they might like something they would have otherwise ignored.

 

I know that doesn't address the difference in point of view, just trying to explain the "outside of their little box" comment a little better.

 

And I don't disagree on that point, however what I'm saying is that you cannot blame the vita's bad sales on this, because you cannot expect people to buy a new system based on unknown ventures, especially with Sony's ventures so far in the handheld market.

 

Get a great existing IP available for Vita as an exclusive, then you will get vita sales (oh and as others have said, price drop on HW and memory cards)