Ben-DutkaAll game-oriented machines require games. That's an indisputable fact and one I thought Sony fully understood.
After all, they delayed the launch of the PlayStation Vita so as to have the "biggest launch ever" for any PlayStation platform (in terms of number of available titles). And that worked out relatively well; I believe there were 25 games on the store shelves when the Vita arrived, and initial sales really weren't bad if you look at the early numbers.
But sales didn't meet expectations in 2012 and I just noticed something else: I realized our Vita Preview section was getting a little thin and in fact, only five previews had been posted in the second half of last year. At first, I was like, "Woah, I totally faded on that!" and quickly set out to rectify the situation. After all, there must be quite a few games to look at, games that really need previews because they're coming out soon. But then I went to do the research and…what the hell?
There are only a small handful of games coming out for the Vita in the first half of 2013, and most are also coming to the PS3. The only upcoming title most people even care about at this point is Killzone: Mercenary (although some remember Tearaway from the E3 presentation), and we don't have a date for that. Nor do we have much in the way of concrete information. There's just nothing on the immediate horizon. How does Sony expect to sell any Vitas with no software? That's a pretty straightforward formula in my eyes and in the eyes of most analysts. Maybe the Vita missed its chance at landing more third-party support last year…
Thing is, Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified was an absolute disaster and what should've been the cream of the crop, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation , was only "good." It wouldn't qualify as a AAA title and therefore might not move many Vitas. I guess if I were a third-party developer, I wouldn't have much faith in getting high sales for a Vita title, either. But even so, in looking at the 2013 slate, I hadn't expected it to be quite this bare. How depressing.
People forget about Persona 4, that game can last a long time if you want to platinum it.
Also dont forget about some cross-buy games, but yeah, besides that it does look pretty barren.
And people know about Persona 4 when it was on the PS2 and again when it got a anime. It's only a system seller for those who haven't play it or want to again.
Forget simple system selling. They also need to retain current owners. At this rate, with no new software coming, many current Vita owners, myself included, may sell their system. It's a cool piece of hardware, but with no new games to play on it, it's a very expensive paperweight.
Speak for yourself, no vita owner I know are getting rid of their systems even though it's "barren". Not including cross buy games or ports there are soul sacrifice, tearaway, killzone, guacamelee, binding of Isaac rebirth. There are over 20 titles that have been announced and are also coming on the ps3.
I recently got mine, so I'm a little behind to begin with. The news of nothing enticing for the next six months isn't uplifting, but I have more than plenty to keep me occupied.
Right now it's:
Uncharted
Gravity Rush
Wipeout
Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 HD
Assassins Creed III Liberation
Pure Chess (because, well, I really like Chess)
and I haven't bought Persona 4 yet, but its definitely a must.
Yeah, I'm ok for now, but more must-have titles would definitely be appreciated.
@Sawao, three of my Vita friends have already jumped ship in favor of buying a 3DS because, and I quote, "I don't need two portables, and I'd rather have one that actually gets new games." So yeah, I'm speaking for myself ultimately, but the anecdotal evidence isn't looking good for Sony.
Wow thats not cool… Vita needs Rockstar,Kojima,SE and God of War!
what about: Soul Sacrifice and Ragnorak Odyssey??? You can throw in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus if you haven't played it yet (or any of the other plus games).
So yeah, I think no one is going to disagree with you on this one ben.
Last edited by Ydobon on 1/3/2013 11:30:52 PM
Doesn't look to bright going forward. At least we can count on some solid Sony produced offering… I hope. Unless this thing goes Saturn or Dreamcast on us.
Right now the games I'd like to have on the platform includes,
NG: Sigma
NG: Sigma 2
DOA5 Plus
WipeOut
Killzone (If it reviews well enough)
Final Fantasy X
God of War (we can count on that, right?)
Uncharted Golden Abyss
A Madden game
That's all I can think of right now.
Not too shabby for my needs.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 1/3/2013 11:33:16 PM
Funny you should mention that Temjin. I read an article on CVG that stated that Vita sales are tracking well behind the Dreamcast in Japan. Shocked to read that because Japan loves handhelds. No mention of the Saturn. There was a story on gamesuratu that stated the Vita was outlsold by the 3DS 47:1 last November in Japan. Ouch!! I remember being concerned when it was getting outsold 8:1. This is a real surprise because the PSP sold very well in Japan.
The Vita was forecast by StrategicAnalytics to sell 10 million units by the end of 2012 and could even manage 15 million units if Sony offered a price cut. The Vita barely managed to sell 3 million units in 2012 so something's wrong.
There is no doubt the Vita is lacking system selling software. 2013 is barren as hell as far as games go for the Vita. This is a major problem for Sony because games drive sustained hardware sales. The install base is so low that it makes difficult to attract third party support. Sony needs to get that install base up. A price cut helps in the short term but the Vita still needs software to drive sustained sales.
I remember when Sony announced they were having problems attracting publisher support for the Vita and they were meeting with publishers to garner support. I applauded the news at the time because Sony admitted they had a problem and it looked they were taking steps to address the problem. Well, it doesn't look those talks were very fruitful at all.
This is just a shame for Sony because the Vita is a powerful handheld with great controls. It's got twin analog sticks which makes it superior to all other handhelds but without games the Vita is in real trouble.
I got to side with Ben on this one. The Vita's software line up for 2013 is depressing. So what does Sony do now? Risk pulling first party developers off the PS3 and PS4 and put them on the Vita? I think that would be a big mistake because the consensus seems to be the handheld market is shrinking while the home console market is booming. That doesn't mean Sony can't open up their wallets and add developers to support the Vita. Whatever they do they need to do it quickly or they risk losing consumer confidence in the product not to mention publisher support. They are already in grave danger of both at this time.
There is already a model out there for Sony to follow when it comes rescuing a platform. Look at what Nintendo did with the 3DS. When sales became sluggish Nintendo quickly stepped in and slashed the price of the 3DS at great expense to themselves. One of the major reasons Nintendo cited when they did this is they needed to restore confidence in the platform or the risked losing publisher support. Now the 3DS is breaking sales records and is a an absolute success.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 1/4/2013 6:28:29 AM
Sony will have to see what's going to happen this year (2013). Don't entirely believe what u read in that article(s) about StrategicAnalytics.
Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 1/4/2013 1:09:01 PM
I double checked to make sure I wasn't off my rocker. StrategicAnalytics forecdast the the Vita sell 12.4 million units by 2012 so I'm slighy off in my numbers just google term "StragteicAnalytics Vita sales" if you want to read it for yourself.
just checked, some good points there, but hope there numbers will be around correct.
I hoping sony has a plan for E3, hopefully something that involves tons of awesome games for the vita!
It's a good thing Sony's done such a good job on the digital side of things because I looked at the list of games available for pre-order at Gamestop and there is a grand total of 4, two are ports from PS3, MLB The Show and Sly Cooper. That said, I thought Tearaway, Killzone, Dead or Alive 5 Plus and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus were all announced for 2013 in addition to Soul Sacrifice? I'd say that's not a terrible lineup, not as robust as maybe it needs to be but the quality is there.
Last edited by Gamer46 on 1/4/2013 12:19:59 AM
Persona 4 Golden isn't out in Australia yet. That is a biggie for 2013 Q1. Killzone for the Vita is instant purchase. Dead or Alive 5 for the Vita could be a guilty secret.
Should be fine for the next six months on the Vita but always appreciate the Sony AAA games and love from the 3rd Party Devs.
i dont have a lot of hope for e3 cause im thinking there may be alot of next gen surprises filling up time or maybe not i dunno. i love my vita but i do really only mostly use it just for ps one classics an small downloadables. i did play golden abyss and loved it but thats really the only one.
Last edited by shiroxkatsuya on 1/4/2013 12:47:37 AM
The vita does have a lot of games coming out but there japan only. Unless you want to import and know Japanese.
Last edited by Pandacastro on 1/4/2013 1:23:33 AM
I would assume this is the natural consequence of no 3rd party support and all 1st party developers working on PS4 titles.
One can only hope things will change after the PS4 is launched!
I believe more and more and more that strong PS4 connectivity — linked features, remote play comparable to what we're seeing with the Wii U controller, etc. — may be Sony's ace in the hole for Vita. If the system doesn't have a future primarily as standalone handheld, it could have one as a seriously awesome accessory for PS4 with a tremendous backlog of PSN games and the odd exclusive here and there. That's not the kind of success Sony (or I!) want for it, but it would be better than nothing.
At first I was like "WHA…?" thinking you'd joined the bandwagon of pessimism, but then I started thinking. You mentioned KZ and Tearaway and there's also Ninja Gaiden 2, Sly 4, Soul Sacrifice and Tales of Hearts R (and probably a few others). No matter how you slice it, this isn't what I expected. I fully thought that more developers would be firmly on board with a whole lot to look forward to by now. Especially with Sony going on about how they had over a hundred developers signed up for projects on it. This article has prompted worry from me.
We need someone to take charge of this situation and show that games on the Vita can sell if done properly.
I don't think it is so much a question of taking charge as it is to make tough priorities.
They don't have an endless amount of studios to develop for them, and a major new console launch right ahead. So without the 3rd party support what *can* they do, really.
I understand that many of Sony's studios, by now, are working on PS4 projects to give IT a strong launch, and their portable dedicated studios are toiling away on future games for the Vita, but they really need to lure the third parties. AC and CoD are a good start, but the previous didn't get much fanfare while the latter was an abysmal game all around. The promise of Bioshock is an interesting one, but last I saw it was still little more than a concept. GTA, FF, MGS – these would all make great additions to the library, but what's the point if they're the same as their console versions?
I wish that I could see a way out for the portable, but without the games, people aren't likely to buy it, especially not when there is as much negative press for the device as there is. And without people buying it, how can you expect developers to put forth the resources to create a game for the device when they know that it isn't likely to sell. Until it sells more units, we'll either see more shoddy efforts like BlOps Declassified, or nothing at all. A dire situation indeed…
You're spot-on here Ben – I think the Vita's library at this point in time is pretty good, and game-wise it's had a good first year (you generally don't get too many AAA hits in the first year – UC:GA, Gravity Rush and LBP Vita are better than most first-year platforms get).
BUT…. looking forward the cupboard is a little on the bare side. I personally don't consider games on more than one platform to be wasted releases, so Sly Cooper and R&C are worthy additions to the library, but even with them, I count:
Soul Sacrifice
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault
Tearaway
Killzone: Mercenary
As the 'big' games. I've read of a few smaller games heading its way as well (can't name 'em here, but PSN rather than full games – Kickbeat, Castlestorm, a few others, but my head's a bit putty at the moment).
Personally, with a PS3, PC and 360, I don't need a lot of Vita games – just enough to keep me happy on the go, so the above list is more than enough, but I suspect for many gamers there'll be wanting a bit more.
This has been the Vita's problem from the get go, they got a few notable titles like Uncharted and one exclusive which isn't even tied to a series in Gravity Rush. But it is seriously lacking in titles to play for it. I'm sure I will be won over by the next Final Fantasy or Metal Gear to appear on there.
I have to say Tearaway looked like a fun little title which really makes use of the Vita's controls, if anything we need more titles like that. Than just ports and spin offs of series that are on the PS3 – that's all the PSP did really take franchises of the PS2 and make fair games of them.
Last edited by Vivi_Gamer on 1/4/2013 4:31:43 AM
exactly why i sold my vita!
and its also exactly why i was so worried about $ony releasing it now.
they made a massive mistake, they should of either released it years ago, 2009 would of been great.
or delay it till the ps4 is out and you could use the vita as a marketing tool for the ps4, maybe use it as a cross screen like ninty has with the gamepad.
they put themselves in a awkward position where theres not many developers who can work on it,
all the studios are either busy with current gen games, and porting them over to the vita would be a bit of a financial risk.
or already working on next gen games where it would be a bit of a squeeze getting it running on the vita.
i keep saying theres a market for the vita, for dedicated handheld devices and i truly believe that because no matter how fast and far mobile gaming comes its never going to match it.
its like console to PCs, consoles keep moving forward and closing the gap than PCs leap forward and consoles have to start all over again.
there is a market out there for dedicated handheld devices, they just need the support behind them.
and sadly the vita cant have that simply because theres not enough studios out there to do it justice.
hopefully once the ps4 is out then we will start seeing allot more games for it.
but i cant see that happening for a while, developers are going to be spending all their resources on next gen titles so theres not going to be many crumbs left for the vita.
exactly why i keep pushing playstation mobile in the hopes that $ony will start putting pressure on developers to start bringing mobile games to the vita.
nova, modern combat, gangstar, 9mm, there are SOOOOOOOOOOOO many games out there that would be PERFECT for the vita!
yes there also available for mobiles, but developers could take advantage of the vitas offerings things mobiles dont have.
that would be enough for people to say no ill spend a bit extra and get the vita version.
for the vita to survive until developers can start giving it the big budget games it deserves, $ony seriously needs to be reaching out to the IOS and android market, reach out to indie developers and give them a white rose to bring the love over.
the vita will get pleanty of big party support, and pleanty of big budget games, but just not yet developers are too focoused and busy on next gen titles to be worried about the vita.
bioshock a perfect example, ken has said so many times if its going to be done he wants his team to do it.
which is why we have heard nothing on it because their busy with infinite.
its not that developers dont want to work with the system, they do, its just that at the moment there busy with bigger and better things.
$ony could not of released the vita at a worse time!
it would of been great if the vita released in 09, where the PSP started getting its best games.
GOW GoS, resistance retribution, KHBBS, the PSP saw a influx of support from developers that would of been the ideal time to release the vita.
GoS looking how it did on the PSP, god imagine what id be like on the vita!
makes me a very sad panda that ready at dawn keep saying they dont want to work on GOW anymore.
🙁
Announce any and all of these and Vita will be REVITALIZED!
God of War.
Metal Gear.
Final Fantasy.
Infamous
Resident Evil.
Tomb Raider.
Twisted Metal.
Burnout.
Gran Turismo.
Monster Hunter! Cut Nintendo's throat Sony. Just like they did to you.
Call of Duty: Black Ops/Modern Warfare. A TRUE offering. Declassified was not a real game. Was it? I swear, conspiracy theories aside.. does anyone ever get the feeling that Activision wishes Sony to disappear? Does the relationship with MS interfere with its desire to support PlayStation? Inquiring minds want to know. All I know is if they simply PORTED BLOPs-II we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. But that would SWAY players away even from the Xbox versions because of the possibility of playing COD PS3 vs Vita! Hmmm.
GRAND THEFT AUTO! Must I elaborate on this?
I like this post and does make sense. CoD didn't need to come out when BOII released for the PS3/X360/WiiU. They could have made it truly epic with Zombies and 6 months more dev time.
However, the PS3/Vita/PS4 are money in the bank for the obvious money hungry Activision. I don't think they want anyone out of the game that brings them more money. Declassified was a major misstep by Activision. The Vita version should have been done by Treyarch. Hopefully we'll get a MW4 Clone for the Vita or a completely new game built from the ground up with all the older maps plus newly created maps.
Agreed FATHASUN! Any of those titles alone would be system sellers.
I've noticed that another console that launched in North America in 2012, the Wii U, is also very barren when it comes to upcoming releases. Very questionable on Nintendo's part to have their new baby feature very little while the PS3 and Xbox 360 are stocked with upcoming AAA titles. Not much for the 3DS, either.
I've seen the PS Vita in action and it's an amazing piece of hardware. However, if there isn't anything to play on it then it's hard to recommend. There's some good games as is but there isn't that killer app exclusive to the Vita yet. I wonder if perhaps companies are so short on money that they can't develop two games for two platforms and have chosen the console or if the market is so saturated with handhelds that it's difficult to gain a foothold. These days, a lot of people are content playing their games on their fancy telephones than buying a 3DS or Vita.
I certainly hope the latter half of 2013 sees more software. We can only wait and see.
Yes it does seem like 2013 is a barren wasteland for new Vita titles. Really sad to see this. One must remain optimistic though. As we all know Sony is ramping up for the PS4. Sony won't give up on this great handheld. IMHO the Vita will be fine in 2013 with the following titles:
Soul Sacrifice
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault
Tearaway
Killzone: Mercenary
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Rainbow Moon
Not to mention I still haven't bought the following:
P4G
Zero Escape
Metal Gear Collection
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
BlazBlue
Sine Mora
MvC3
Silent Hill (Loved the demo)
Also there are probably some titles that will be announced during E3.
I can see the Vita having a place with the PS4 as well. Maybe even packaged with the PS4. But according to a lot of gamers Vita = Doom and Gloom. Nothing new here.
I am having a blast with ACIIIL going for my Platinum! There is a lot of fun to be had with PS1 and PSP classics as well. You just have to change your view point.
I have basically that same list to get to (I just bought MGS collection and just started Liberation) and that upcoming list warms my soul, thank you.
I bought my Vita over the Summer and haven't put it down since. Plenty of content I haven't even gotten to yet (P4G for god's sake). Right now I'm starting Liberation and MGS collection on top of rotating in Hot Shots, Retro City Rampage, Wipeout and I just downloaded Chonovolt for free from PSPlus (looks awesome).
So I don't think content is the problem for now…
Another thought: They should make more PS3 games Remote Play compatible for Vita! I have yet to start ICO/Shadows HD so I have that to add to my Vita queue…
I whole heartedly agree big time! I have said it before if my PS3 died I would be just fine.
ACIIIL is an incredible game. People need to remember it's on a handheld which makes it a marvel period. I have really enjoyed the story as well. ACIIIL could have benefited from a good 3 months more dev time but I am fine it.
P4G wow, I know, I cannot believe I don't own it yet. I am still working my way through P3P which is why I haven't bought P4G yet.
I haven't played Retro Rampage or Chornovolt yet but I have them pseudo-downloaded for future use.
Yeah, not sure what's up with remote play?! It's fantastic where it is implemented. They could really kick some serious a$$ if they embraced it to it's fullest. It's better than the WiiU too since the Game Pad doesn't have WiFi and cannot be played over the internet.
I would die if I could play the following from remote play:
Demon's Souls/Dark Souls
Kingdoms' of Amalur Reckoning
Skyrim
Dragon's Dogma
Black Ops II (Like the WiiU)
Sacred 2 Fallen Angel
Borderlands 2 (However I bet this is being ported the Vita as I type this)
God of War III
Dishonored
The list goes on!
Nice list crusader. Don't forget about phantasy star online 2, binding of Isaac rebirth, guacamelee, dead or alive 5 plus and a few others.
Last edited by sawao_yamanaka on 1/4/2013 6:00:56 PM
The games that you mentioned I keep rotating through them. Been playing mgs hd collection on the vita and ps3. Some sections seem harder for me on the vita but I fly through them on the ps3. I think out of all the games the one that I disliked on your list was silent hill. Just reminded me to much of gauntlet and I didnt like that game to begin with! Lol
The remote play issue really gets to me actually. Sony needs to support the device and feature set it can actually handle as a whole, not just games which are lacking too. So many wonderful things which the vita can only theoretically do at this point.
That needs to be turned around into realities.
@Sawao
Yeah, you are correct, PSO2 is an exciting one that's for sure. Big Phantasy Star fan! That's interesting how your gaming skill differs from the Vita to the PS3. I never thought of that possibility! When I play through the MGS games they will be on the Vita for sure. So much fun!
Well, there's Sly Cooper, Dead or Alive 5 Complete, Dragon's Crown, Muramasa, plus the aforementioned Tearaway, Killzone, Soul Sacrifice, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. There will be plenty more announced for the system as well, so I can't say I think that it's in dire straights. With the Vita's already strong library for such a young platform, I think these new titles will add extra incentive for more people to pick one up for themselves.
Well said, also forgot about Warriors Lair/Ruin. Hopefully we'll see it this year!
It's distressing, to say the least, but I really, really think Sony is re-calibrating its Vita strategy right now and is going to announce new games, promotions, pricing and almost surely proper, fully functional remote play for PS4 in the coming months.
That, or Sony is giving up and pulling the plug on the system a year into its Japanese release… but as rough as it's been for Vita, that's hard to believe.
I find it extremely unlikely that Sony will *officially* pull the plug within the next few years. That would surprise me to no end.
I think the question is more how much they will invest into keeping it alive. Will they do a new, heavy push for it, or just barely keep it afloat?
There's guaranteed to be some Vita-related features on the PS4, and some marketing efforts in those regards. But after that, if the 3rd party developers are still cold?
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/4/2013 3:30:18 PM
I reckon it'll get at least one more decent push – the PSP went through a quiet patch after launch as well (as did the PS3), and while neither was as quiet as the Vita's current quiet patch, it was got an install base of 4 million now, and continues to sell (just far slower than Sony was hoping, I'm sure). We'll see what happens next year – my tip is that they'll tread water until they can afford a price cut (ie, when manufacturing costs drop), as they won't want to lose to much money/unit, then push hard. I'd also say they'll tell 3rd parties about the price drop in advance to try and get some support happening.
I agree, there has to be at least one more try. Also, new features and connectivity with the PS4 might be the game-changer they need, and they now wait until the PS4 is launched. Maybe?
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/5/2013 4:22:26 AM
I still play my Vita everyday and love it, playing MLB The Show, Madden, and Scrabble………..but ummmmmm I guess I could do that with the PSP still 🙁
I'm guessing more good titles will be in the works soon…
It sucks to say but my Vita has been collecting dust for a while. I really loved it when it came out and had it on day one but the excitement has burned out. I've even had thoughts of selling it and putting the money towards something like maybe a new graphics card or something.
That probably won't happen because I know I'll regret it later but Sony needs to do something about the very small amount of games coming. I do want KZ, Tearaway and Soul Sacrafice looks awesome but who knows when we'll see that stateside.
I'm a huge Vita supporter. I really love mine and I will shout to anyone who will listen how much I love it. BUT… I agree with you, Ben. I am really disappointed with the lack of support for it – games wise. I still have a lot of fun with it and use it ad nauseam, but I hope that they do pick up the pace a little because I don't want to be the only one using it in a year. I was hoping for bigger things from it. There are so many things the Vita could be.
typical of sony to put something out the turn their back on it, they did it with the psp why not the vita as well
I'm sorry but the system is still to expensive. I really wanted to get my son one for the holidays last year. In order for me to stay within my very limited budget I had to go with the 3DS. I was able to get it through Toys 'R' Us for $140. I couldn't find the Vita anywhere under $200. My son is happy but he really wanted the vita to go with his PS3.