John-ShepardPlayStation Vita sales have been slow but Sony doesn't appear to be too concerned.
That being said, various company executives have admitted that the numbers are lower than anticipated, which is a little worrisome. On top of which, as we said, there appears to be very little in the way of future software .
But Sony CEO Kaz Hirai has once again stressed that the long-term outlook is what's important. According to a recent Wall Street Journal interview , Hirai first said that sales of their new portable are "on the low end of what we expected," while at the same saying it's far too early to judge. In fact, he said it'll take "5-10 years" to determine if the product is successful. Hirai also reminded us that he had to answer similar questions when the PlayStation 3 first launched; the PS3 is now past 70 million units.
As for the Vita, is has sold 2.2 million units worldwide since its launch and Sony remains optimistic that it will be a strong platform in the future. …yeah, well, we're gonna need some games for that to happen.
I love my vita! I hope it catches on. I have actually connived a few of my friends to get it.
Sony is willing to put the money and effort into it, but I hope 3rd party developrs start putting more into it.
Love how Sony always goes for the Long Term. 🙂
Well it is too early to pass judgement but…………needing at least 5 years to know if it's a hit is too long instead.
Yeah, 5-10 years is a bit excessive. I'd say three, because if they haven't got the developers and consumers on their side by then, it's dire straits time.
It didn't take 5 years for the PS3, why would it take that long for the Vita.
Love my Vita. Got more games than time to play it. Success in my book. It is the gamers handheld.
Now if they could only port Demon Souls to the Vita, have Killzone kick ass and maybe get a good Vita NHL then it would be perfect!
What sony needs to do is give nStigate Games some breathing room.
They only had about 13 months to pump out Resistance: Burning Skies, and although its a decent games its only halfway decent.
And during about half those 13 month they had to star working on Black Ops – Declassified.
They only had about 6 months of time to really focus on Declassified.
Sony kinda messed up there if you ask me. If they would have just focused on one awesome 10/10 FPS for the vita I bet it would be doing atleast a little bit better.
But I personally would rather see more adventure games.
I'm not much of on economics and for good reason, but I think if Sony were push for some real AAA titles next year (similar to PSP's Crisis Core, GOW, and Peace Walker) and maybe an add campaign that tackles this anti-sony hate campaign then they might get out of this rut.
Oh well, I'm enjoying my Vita. There's bound to be some better titles in the future, if not this year.
I apologize for the avatar issue. Any ideas to fix this?
Glad to see they're taking the long view – I'm a huge fan of my Vita, and am boggled that it's not more popular – it's an incredibly good piece of kit. Still, as long as it's supported enough for me, I'm happy, and everyone else who's missing out will cope :).
oh bullshit!
sorry $ony, but the vita is FINISHED!
ive gotta revise my comments earlier on the vita, i cant see it lasting much longer anymore simply because of all the new tech announced at CES!
what razer and nvidia have announced specifically.
there WAY, WAY, WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more powerful than the vita!
can play a much larger variety of games than the vita!
the razer can be hooked up to multiple accessories turning it into a laptop, ect.
and they can be hooked up to the TV!
vita is finished!
it had one thing going for it, its power, and now it does not even have that!
sad.
sorry $ony, but maybe this will make you think twice in releasing such a outdated under powered, restricted and limited system!
I got to admit, the ability to play a handheld game on a huge tv is freaking awesome. If I can play all my pc games on that system I just might try it out.
End of Line.
@____________
Oh, give me a break, dude. How many people do you think are going to be willing too drop over a thousand dollars for one of these things? Maybe a niche PC crowd will invest and that's about it. There bulky and not even truly portable. Laptops are just as portable with more horsepower and a bigger screen. Your also able to hook a laptop up to your TV via the output.
By the way, you can purchase a laptop with just as much horsepower for less than what these things cost. These things are just another N-Gage!
Last edited by Evil Incarnate on 1/9/2013 9:46:52 AM
not truly portable?
dude, its a freaking tablet how much more portable do you want!?
the razer thing is expensive, but it has a freaking i7 in in what the hell do you expect!?
its pretty cheap considering if you were to buy a laptop with similar specs it would cost you about DOUBLE the 1300 the i7 model is going for!
hell, my old XPS system which came with the worlds first i7 processor set me back 2600 bucks!
vitas 450 bucks here, almost half of what the razer is.
does it have half the performance of this, and half the features?
f*ck no!
not even a 10th of the power and features of this!
vita cant play PC games either…….
Last edited by ___________ on 1/9/2013 10:38:28 AM
The Razor i5 version with 4GB of ram and 64GB SSD is $999! I can get a i7 laptop with 4GB of ram and 500GB HDD for $700! Where the hell do you shop? Go on Newegg and look for yourself, dude! By the way, the Razor i7 version is $1200 and the i5 version is $999. So it's not the deal you're trying to make it out to be.
Last edited by Evil Incarnate on 1/9/2013 10:51:48 AM
I think the Nvidia shield is a much more interesting comment on the current state of Vita feature set to be honest… We should drastically have remote play opened up and it should've happened at launch for instance. That thing has all proprietary connections, on a completely open platform (android), will be able to stream from your computer to your device and be used as a controller to your PC seamlessly. All potentially done with the Vita only we have minimal, patchwork implementation right now. Vita SHOULD be more impressive than the shield as it is only locking into the android store for it's own games but as it stands right now, shield is pretty impressive for the possibilities it offers.
Give us possibilities Sony.
@_______________________________________
I thought the Nvidia handheld could only stream PC games. Am I right? They both look cool but are way to expensive. Also you can't play Playstation brand games on them. That is a huge hit for me.
Just because you sold your Vita doesn't mean you have to keep trying to prove to everyone that you made the correct decision in doing so. You sold it and are a self admitted Sony hater. What else is new. Go enjoy your Razer and Nvidia handhelds. I can guarantee you, GUARANTEE YOU that you will find so many things wrong with them as well. You are a complainer. I would hate to see how you would act in a Lost situation! LOL!
Last edited by CrusaderForever on 1/9/2013 11:30:26 AM
LOL the gamepad controller accessory for the razer costs as much as a Vita!
http://www.razerzone.com/store/gaming-accessories
Also,
Output to HDMI (docking station): +$100 accessory.
Keyboard: +$200 accessory.
Also __________, I very easily found a few Australian retailers selling the Vita below $300, here's one as an example:
http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/game/ps-vita/playstation-vita-wifi-console-bundle-offer-2-games/678651
You have to agree, that's well below the $450 you claimed the Vita to be selling at.
@Crusader:
"I thought the Nvidia handheld could only stream PC games. Am I right?" – no. That's just an additional feature. An extra. The Shield is a complete, standalone gaming system, based on Android OS – and it's a full, unrestricted Android installation.
So you'll have access to the entire Android market and presumably can play all the games you've already paid for on your smartphone in addition to a store for this device.
It really is quite an interesting product.
10 fold thumbs up for CrusaderForever. This is just getting ridiculous.
I guess it all depends on the individual what kind of games u want to play on the go. There will always be electronics out there while other speific brands will have and don't have, but yah blank line is just complaining/whining.
Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 1/9/2013 3:55:34 PM
@Simcoe – anyone claiming that the Vita costs $450 in Australia is off their dial – it didn't cost me that much at launch! These days you can get it bundled for $250. Not surprisingly, ____________ is blowing hot stuff out of somewhere ;).
What he essentially is saying is that we can't know if it is successful or not until the end of the estimated lifespan. Ridiculous.
I see others mention three years, and I agree with that. If it's not found it's place in the market by then, it's bygones.
But what's interesting is the new handheld by Nvidia, the "Shield". Now why is that interesting in this context?
Cause that handheld is basically doing right what the Vita is being criticized for doing wrong: It's using standard memory cards, HDMI output, based on Android and offer remote play from day one.
The rest of the hardware is quite comparable: A good screen, very powerful gpu, two analogue sticks…
So, with such a product as comparison we might get a better insight if the main problem indeed is the Vita itself, or a changing market for handhelds.
Personally, I believe it is the latter. But we shall see!
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/9/2013 7:11:06 AM
hehe. Twin analog sticks you say? It looks like Nvidia used one of those extra large original Xbox controllers and mounted a screen to it. It's hard to see that device being any real competition for the Vita.
Agreed with you on Kaz's ridicuclous statement however.
Of course it's a competitor. I think the X360 looks shite too, that doesn't prevent it from being a competitor to the PS3.
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/9/2013 8:11:18 AM
I am sorry Beamboom. Perhaps I am being too shallow. Isn't a handheld a little different? People are supposed to be seen with that thing? No way the cool kids are whipping that puppy out in public. The techy crowd who like to spring for sleek looking new gadgets won't go near it either. I'm sorry. I can't take that clunky looking thing seriously as a traditional handheld. Okay it's a competitor…I will concede that point while holding back my laughter at its design. Please note I used the word real before competitor. Doubt this device alone is any REAL competition or threat to the Vita. It's probably a niche product at best imho.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 1/9/2013 10:08:12 AM
A cheap looking design doesn't seem to be a problem for the 3DS.
I mean, sure, it doesn't look good. But looks hasn't exactly done much for the Vita either. This is obviously no beauty contest, or the Vita would have been sold out everywhere by now.
But to be a bit serious, there are aspects to the Shield that I find interesting.
I've found myself increasingly playing on my mobile as the games has gotten better and better, so to get a better suited device to play those games on is in itself a temptation. And there's not exactly a shortage of games for this thing already from day one, and the future looks blindingly bright in regards to software. This might be more important than design to many consumers, don't you think?
Then there's the remote play feature to my PC I can see myself using on my LAN, plus the fact that this device is much more open and accessible, thus usable for a lot more than just gaming. I might even write my own apps and run on it.
Overall I find this device to click much more with me than the Vita ever did. Despite the design.
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/9/2013 10:19:46 AM
To bad you need a certain graphics chipset to stream PC games. Kind of an important fact they kept quite on. This was taken directly from NVIDIA's site-
System Requirements for PC Game Streaming*
GPU: NVIDIA® Kepler™-based GeForce GTX 650 (Desktop) or
GTX 660M (Notebook) or higher
CPU: Intel Core i5 or equivalent or higher
System Memory: 4 GB or higher
Software: GeForce Experience application and latest GeForce drivers
OS: Windows 7 or higher
Router: Router: 802.11a/g/n
(Recommended: 802.11n Dual Band / MIMO Router)
So basically, if your PC isn't built on NVIDIA hardware go out and buy one that is. These things are turning out to be very expensive toys. If you don't care about PC game streaming it's still a thousand dollar investment.
As far as it being portable I totally agree with Excelsior1's point. It's not very on the go friendly.
Last edited by Evil Incarnate on 1/9/2013 10:19:25 AM
Fair enough Beam. I don't know…there's clumsy then there's wouldn't be caught dead with it, but I'm only speaking for myself. The Vita's position is so precarious no competition should be taken lightly at this point I suppose. Even competition that looks like I slapped together with spare parts. 🙂
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 1/9/2013 10:28:14 AM
The thing is that apart from setting yourself up for steam interchangeability that thing will be able to run emulators, the works off android. This device is really interesting to me even despite development being a bit of a wasteland as it stands but with devices like this that is looking to change.
I think Sony needs to answer this and get onto expanding the feature set with how the landscape seems to be changing
@Dustinwp:
Now that's a better kind of argument against it, imo.
The remote play feature can be an expensive toy at this point in time. True. But do not forget that prices drop *fast* in the PC world.
Those graphics cards will eventually be priced like entry level gaming cards – probably already by the end of this autumn.
But where did you get that price of a thousand dollars?
@SmokeyPSD:
I agree with you, this device IS interesting, it feels much more in sync with time than Vita is. In essence, this device features most of what I was hoping the Vita would be back when we first heard about it.
It's also interesting because it's so remarkably the opposite of the Vita, so together they really do test if there still is a market for dedicated handheld gaming devices for adult gamers. If none of them succeed, then neither *could* succeed, if you catch my drift.
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/9/2013 12:00:09 PM
@Beamboom
I went back to the site I found that on and they were referring to the price of the Edge tablet. Sorry, need too improve reading comprehension skills.:(
A lot of portable gaming info the last two days. It's all starting to get mixed together in my mind.
I would think this thing is still going to be priced at 500-700 dollars. And the PC streaming restrictions are a big deal for me because I just invested in a new barebones system. You are right, the price of hardware does tend to drop fast. Maybe, by the time it releases it won't be such issue.
Last edited by Evil Incarnate on 1/9/2013 1:14:25 PM
@Dustinwp:
You think it will be that expensive? I hope not, for the sake of this "experiment" in testing the market I hope the price will be very close.
But hot damn, I read this thing can actually produce 4k output. If so then that's… Insane, That's like what the next Playstation is planned to do. That is… Crazy. Even if it's just for playback.
Boy there are interesting times for gaming now.
It looks like the entire gaming hardware market is about to be turned upside down, and the traditional gap between PC and console gaming is about to get very, very blurred, almost on the verge of merged.
Or – of course – it may be that a few years from now the Shield and the Steambox and the Ouya is nothing but distant memories of something that never really became anything. Noone knows. 🙂
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/9/2013 1:45:18 PM
I hope it is not that expensive as well. But a few websites I have come across are skeptical about price. I believe one of the websites was called The Verge.
The Steambox is very interesting. I'm quite excited too see and play one for myself. At least if Sony does go belly up – which I hope they don't – I hopefully have a console to fallback on in the Steambox. Microsoft will never interest me and Nintendo……maybe.
Last edited by Evil Incarnate on 1/9/2013 2:27:45 PM
Ah, then you and I are very alike, Dustin. I too really do not want to own anything Microsoft. One of the least charming companies in the entire world.
And yeah, the Steambox do at least have the *potential* of being very interesting. I'm thinking like you – it's good to have an alternative, a backup plan. Plus it's exciting with new names entering a market. It's refreshing.
I am not too worried about the PS4 or Sony going belly up anytime soon. But Sony did not pay attention to the market when they planned the Vita, and they do worry me with statements like the one quoted in this article cause it makes them look like they imagine they are alone in this market got all the time in the world to sway customers and developers their way.
It's not like that. Not any more.
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/9/2013 3:47:46 PM
I don't buy that for a second. He can tell that to his former boss Mr. Kutaragi(the father of the playstation) who was removed as Sony's CEO after the PS3 struggled to sell after it launched. Sony then took drastic steps like restructuring the entire PlayStation division and employing numerous price cuts to turn the PS3 around. Go ahead and remind us of the PS3's slow start but don't pretend that Sony just stayed-the-course and looked to the long term to get the PS3 selling. That's not what happened at all. What's Sony prepared to do for the Vita?
2013 is so embarassingly barren of Vita software I doubt a price cut would have a very big impact in the long term since there are so few new Vita games to drive sustained hardware sales. The price cut would have to be aggressive one without the games to back it up. It's weird. The Vita is going into it's second year so we should be seing more games…not less. This is the first Sony platform I've ever seen that happen to.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 1/9/2013 4:45:40 AM
I'm pretty sure that the 2.2 million sales number is a little old (like last August or somewhere around there). I remember recently hearing that the Vita was up around 4 million sold globally.
Still not that great considering that the 'inferior' 3DS is up around 27 million.
Buy and play Ragnarok Tactics. Pretty fun.
End of Line.
Oh. One more thing. They should allow all the PS2 rpgs and srpgs to be able to be downloaded and played on the Vita. Can you imagine playing all the Suikoden games on the Vita?
Would be aweswome.
End of Line.
Sorry Kaz, but that's really stretching it thin. You don't wait until the end of a consoles projected life cycle to determine if it was successful. It should only take a couple years to cut it's teeth.
And you can't really fall back on the PS3's slow start. The consumers didn't just eventually 'come around' to the PS3. Sony made hardware revisions, price cuts, and eventually a brilliant advertising campaign (KB) that really got the PS3's moving.
It should only take 2-3 years to make the call. not 5-10. And Sony needs to get their heads out and get some more games happening. The vita had a great launch line up, but after nearly a year, the pickings are slim. With very little on the horizon…
For the record though, I love my Vita. I think it's awesome and I love playing games on it. I hope we get more games, I hope memory cards get cheaper, and I hope the Vita gets a better foothold in 2013.
I thought the PSP was on a similar schedule? The PSP was a success over that time. It had the monster DS to deal with. Did the PSP beat the DS in sales, NO! It just carved out it's own fan base and was successful. Vita will be fine and will have it's share of awesome Playstation brand exclusives. Sony will do the inevitable price drop on the Vita itself and memory cards. Even if it's a year from now. All the haters will then buy the Vita which will come with a huge Crow to insert into their mouths.
I was thinking of selling off my PSP and library to get one. Does anybody know if Persona 3 Portable would still run on Vita? (digital version obviously)
Yes, P3P works great on the Vita. I am half way through it and have to finish it. I really want to play P4G. Perhaps after I get the ACIIIL Platinum.
Thanks Crusader 🙂
Are tired of your library? I just bought another PSP along with my vita for under the price of the 3g VITA.Those RPG's go a long long way.
I think the Vita would be more appealing if they let the android market on the vita & in turn would make it MORE of a success. I think the addition of remote access & TV screens will be implemented later(hence the top rite slot on the vita), although I agree it should have been done already(I'm willing to wait tho). Also, obviously, memory cards need a price drop. Otherwise, I think for the price of the vita and what it offers is a good deal. I think this will result in higher sales.
Android compatibility and streaming games from and to PS3 would make it a freakin monster in sales.
That's indeed what they should have done, guys.
It's kinda bittersweet to recall that we all discussed that exact thing on this site when the first rumours of Vita emerged.
Sony should have paid more attention, adapted to the current reality and not clung to old practises as much as they did.
The way I see it is the VITA will be your PS3, the Ps4 will blow your mind.I say in two maybe three years you are going to see some great stuff on VITA. As long as I have at least two to three hard core, must have games for the VITA im happy till the flood begins. Thats all im going to buy any ways. I own every platform out there and rotate the time on them as well.
Strange enough, I have been putting in 75% of my time on the VITA and six games. Ragnarock,AC3,Blaz Blue(what a gem)Persona 4, Battle Royal, Uncharted and Gravity shift.
The other 25% go to Halo 4 doing the campaign co op with my boy and some Monster hunter freedom unite also co op with my boy.
Im getting ready to hop back on Demons Souls for a bit.
My Vita was not bought for playing shooters, so for now it's doing just fine.
The Fanbase will know 3 years after launch if the PS Vita has staying power.
I don't see Nvidia's Shield as much of a threat to the Vita.
That's just it. I'm not happy waiting for a flood of vita games. In fact most people aren't.
I'm tired of waiting and i'm tired of promises.
I'm waiting until the next E3 for some major news. If i don't like what i hear. I'm jumping ship. Simple as that.