Ben-DutkaThis doesn't appear to be good news.
The PlayStation Vita was virtually nonexistent during Sony's E3 press conference last month, which is telling in and of itself.
But now, as reported by Hardcore Gamer , Sony's portable has suddenly become hard to come by. You can't really find it at some of the major retailers out there; all Vita models and packages, including the recently released Borderlands 2 bundle, are no longer available at Amazon, GameStop, Wal-Mart, or Target.
I noticed it myself when I was out and about a few days ago. Where once I saw Vitas I don't see them anymore. Is it already time to bid a bitter, disappointed goodbye to the handheld with the most potential any portable gaming unit has ever had? Or rather, is this just a lull, and Sony intends to keep pushing with a possible PS4/Vita bundle later this year?
What do you think?
I swear if Sony does give up on it this soon and like this, I will not give them my money ever again.
Do you own a Vita? If so I'm sorry. I'm a big supporter of the PSP but I've refused to jump on board the Vita train, for obvious reasons.
I own one. In fact, the last couple days I've been trying to track down a Borderlands bundle at Target since they have a 10% off coupon plus 5% with red card. Too good a deal to pass up.
Seems I can give up my quest.
Anyways I love the Vita. It gets 90% of my playtime. Between PSPlus and what I have bought I probably have 50 or 60 games. Way more than I will ever have time to play sadly.
I really doubt Sony is abandoning the Vita. I think something else is happening. Likely a different bundle. Borderlands probably sold faster than they anticipated and they need to catch up to demand. Wishful thinking anyways.
I've been hard pressed to find a Vita owner that regrets getting a Vita.
Yeah, I think us Vita owners love it more than Sony does.
I'll say this till I'm blue in the face, the biggest mistake was the memory card prices. It took an E3 welcome to the world introduction feel good story and completely dueced all over it.
Here is your answer guys.
http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/2/5865051/ps-vita-supply-out-of-stock-demand
Yes I do, unfortunately…
TY Dustin seems like finally some good new for the Vita and you know lack of supply simply leads to an even larger increase in demand because it simply makes people want one even more.
I feel ya LV. Couldn't bring myself to drop the cash on a Vita.
Actually Dustin, being out of stock is not the same as the system being in demand. Not in this particular case.
You see, retailers got rid of their Vita inventories long ago (through sales, bundles, etc.). Sony then failed to give them any fresh supplies for 4 long months. From January till April, stores got nothing from them.
What happened during those 4 months? Retailers reclaimed that shelf space and used it for something else.
So people who go and look for a Vita these days, they think that the system sold out. When in reality, the store gave up on the device long after Sony did. And they stopped asking for new supplies. So you won't see any fresh supplies any time soon.
Another major issue that retailers have with the Vita, is the recent development with how Sony is basically abandoning it. They confirmed several times that the Vita would never again get 1st and 2nd party support.
Instead, people can expect Vita to become a dumping ground for indie developers.
That is NOT good news for retailers. Since they make most of their money selling RETAIL GAMES (physical copies). And most indie games will be digital downloads.
So retailers have almost ZERO reasons to have the Vita taking space at their stores. When most of the software for said device will be digital. And yes, retailers can sell digital games as well. But that's small potatoes compared to what they could make selling physical games. Besides, retailers usually don't have much control over the price of digital games.
But again, those 4 months were Sony refused to deliver fresh supplies to retailers is what made most of them avoid Vita. And to keep it out of stock.
Last edited by Bonampak on 7/4/2014 2:42:48 PM
Figures. If that's the case I should have never wasted my money on it.
Probably gonna replace it with the playstation tv.
Ugh… Not sure what to think about this one. They don't make or lose money on it. If they advertise it its just 50/50 back and forth. This could be a good move, but it could also be a bad move.
I don't really use the thing anymore so this doesn't affect me in any way.
I can't wait to buy one for $99.99 in a few months!
I think that's unlikely unless they truly kill it. Otherwise I think they'd just sell at zero loss and hope it draws in revenue from it's reliant services. The unit is mostly treated as a peripherial now. That can still be a good thing for Sony so there's no need to shut it down.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/2/2014 10:44:24 PM
Well isnt a new Vita model about to land here in the states? I don't think Sony is just going to soft kill it like that. I think the more likely answer is that it saw a small spike in sales.
http://kotaku.com/playstation-vita-review-update-two-and-a-half-years-l-1598680579
and not everyone is down on the Vita. Kotaku's article weighed in with 64K+ hits yesterday. An article that talks up the Vita. Maybe this helped push sales up.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/2/2014 10:42:29 PM
If it's a new model that makes sense why Vitas are gone from stores.
I got mine cuz the PSP died, it's a fine machine but a terrible idea on Sony's part. I kinda hope it doesn't die so there's a pipeline for Japanese games, but then again if it croaked those games might come to PS4 then.
I'm mostly happy just having something to play PS1 games on.
The Vita isn't going anywhere anytime soon, chill people. Developers have stated they like developing on the system and the attach rate is high, which will keep that cycle going.
Kotaku recently (as in last week or so) did a two-and-a-half year in review on the Vita and gave it their full recommendation. Yes, even after acknowledging the lack of 1st party support.
There are a lot of great games on the platform and more on the way, plain and simple. And they aren't all indies, you know.
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 7/2/2014 11:56:18 PM
just most
"There are a lot of great games on the platform and more on the way, plain and simple."
Just name one promising game coming that isn't an indie title, or not also on the PS3/PS4.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 7/3/2014 12:16:35 AM
Freedom Wars, Gravity Rush 2.
most of them are indies though. And if they're not indies they're ports of console games.
I'm okay with that. I don't need my Vita to be a replacement to a full fledged console. That was never in the cards for me.
Instead it was a quality mobile gaming device for an 'inbetween the cracks' type gaming solution. It does come in handy on several occasions throughout the year so it is well worth it to me.
So while that entertainment comes in the form of ports or classic PSX games or Vita originals, it still has more to offer than I have time to play.
I'm just upset with Sony abandoning their strong first party exclusives. i expected Sony to at least continue bringing their premiere franchises to the handheld. Like where's GoW already?
EDIT: I think I may do Child of Light on the Vita over the PS4.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/3/2014 12:57:07 AM
Temjin, if Golden Abyss and Killzone would have sold better, I think you would have gotten GOW. Sony called it a console in your hands, and they started with Drake and a Killzone, then Ubi gave us an Assassins Creed that they later ported to consoles and they were not rewarded for their efforts. If consumers gobbled up those titles, more would have been in the pipeline.
But they weren't and here we are, left with indies that sell really well and are great games in their own right.
Last edited by MyWorstNightmar on 7/3/2014 1:00:26 AM
yah, I always thought it was a stupid move by Sony, really. To try and position a handheld as a mobile PS3 replacment of sorts. What with devs going on about how expensive games were becoming to make, it just made zero sense to release a handheld, something that is a fraction of the same market, and hope to make some profits from it. It just doesn't seem to pan out from where I'm sitting. It seems now they know the Vita's place. It's like a secondary gaming device that serves a purpose but isn't going to float a bunch of AAA productions. It's sorta like having cellphone or tablet games but with way better controls, and a back catalog of software that no phone can compete with. I'm okay with that.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/3/2014 1:07:24 AM
Well Ben, a promising game coming that's not an indie *OR* coming to console? Admittedly, my most anticipated Vita games are one or the other.
Well, Hyperdimension Neptunia PP and Personal 4: Dancing All Night are exclusive AND not indies AND promise to be fun rhythm games. I'm a sucker for a good rhythm game.
But as Temjin mentioned, I don't need it to be a full fledged console full of AAA exclusives. The fact that there aren't many AAA exclusives on there doesn't make it a bad system or unworthy of your time or a purchase. It's a bummer, sure, but I'm ok with playing indies, RPGs, and other games that are also on consoles, but with the Vita, I can take them with me and play anywhere. I like that.
It's something I can appreciate.
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 7/3/2014 1:18:19 AM
Well, given Sony's focus on reorganizing the business and bring it back to profitability, it wouldn't surprise me.
Honestly, the Vita is a losing bet. It is a shame, but Ninty have got the handheld market down. I don't see any handheld playstation platform EVER coming close to that.
There just simply isn't enough game development going on these days.
Maybe they realized it was a bad idea to downgrade the screen and then sell it for the same price. Hopefully they're just going back to the original screen and trying to get rid of their mistake.
But even if Sony did give up on it, why would they pull back units that's already out there (if that is what is implied here)?
I'd rather guess the warehouse systems on the major retailers simply has registered that the output of this product is far too low, so they've ditched it from their range, while the smaller retailers still sit on units to get rid of.
I did a search here in European stores and the Vita did pop up, although in low numbers (typically "only four left – order now" kind of messages) and the Borderlands bundle were nowhere to be found.
I think he figured stock was running out due to no re-supply.
… But then it's not *Sony* who's given up, but the retailers…
unless it's Sony not resupplying?
Well, yeah. But why would they do that unless they've run out of units…
I think this most likely is the retailers who's decided to drop it.
if major retailers did decide to drop it they wouldn't have ran out of inventory all at once and then all decide not to reorder more at the same time. there would've been reports of clearance priced/discountinued Vita's at stores like Target and Walmart etc before this story landed if in fact the Vita was dropped from their stock altogether.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/3/2014 2:26:54 PM
one way or another I do think Sony needs to make an official statement.
I think Sony expected it to be a Smash hit. When it wasn't, they threw up their hands and sighed "I guess people just don't want cool portable media devices." Then began recouping their spent money on developing it. Now they have.
Just an FYI to the dude who posted the article. You might wanna have a little read
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/470194/vita-slim-launch-prompts-sell-out-demand-in-us/
Adore my Vita. Have dozens of games for it. Seem to spend most of my gaming time on it.
Can't understand the hate. Their is a wide variety of games for it, some blockbusters like Killzone, Fifa, Uncharted, Assassins Creed and Borderlands 2, there are some excellent exclusives and a wide variety of indies and cross play titles.
It is a superb piece of kit. The oled screen is divine.
that has nothing to do with $ony, resellers are refusing to stock it!
most retailers here stopped selling the vita months ago!
hell even the new slim model retailers do not stock its only via special order can you get one.
retailers are sick of ordering in units and having them sit on the shelves waiting forever for someone to buy one.
shame $ony f*cked the vita so hard.
if they actually put their weight behind it and pushed some big developers to produce some decent titles on it, and fixed up the software features that are missing, it really could of been the worthy successor to the psp!
$ony made the massive mistake of expecting third parties to carry the vita, like they did the PSP.
that was never going to happen!
I work in retail. We sell them as soon as we get them. I don't understand why you would think retailers are "tired" of restocking a system that moves so quickly.
With Nintendo 3DS and mobile games getting all the attention, Sony would have to release some AAA titles for the Vita ONLY in order to compete.
Why should I buy a Vita when 3DS has a ton of great games? Sure the remote play option for PS4 is great but the PS4 needs more games as well. I've been playing my PS3 a lot more than my PS4.
Let's get the ball running here.
Last edited by MRSUCCESS on 7/3/2014 9:30:07 AM
perhaps a newer model?
I've been Vita owner as well since it's release and I still use it whether I'm at home or not and it's a great platform for Japanese games and indie games. I really hope they're still supporting the vita, because it has too much potential to just stop in its tracks like this.
I REALLY hope this isn't true.
The Vita is fine and is selling well in Japan. A couple of possibilities, 1, they have probably gone through the old Vita stock and haven't been able to keep up with Vita 2 stock. 2, they made a change in the Vita 2 that made production costs cheaper and are manufacturing the new Vita and letting the old Vita 2 sell out. There is no way they release a Vita 2 in May and then discontinue a month later. Besides, Sony said they were lessening AAA game production not eliminating it. Vita isn't going anywhere. Looking forward to Freedom Wars and Gravity Rush 2. I believe there is a new Vita Tales R game coming out in October as well. I think everyone just needs to relax and don't jump to conclusions.
I really think Sony can turn the Vita around. I was hoping it could be a great middle of the system for those devs that don't have the funds to go big time. I love my Vita and hopefully the PS4 and Vita bundle will Trojan horse it into more gamers hands then more support.
That's enough Vita scaremongering from ya Ben :P. I'm not sure where I read it, but it's driven by a spike in demand, not a drop in supply. Given the Japanese Vita market is still pretty healthy, it's highly unlikely Sony would drop it altogether.
Ima go with the low stock theory. They just slowed down production too much and it dipped below demand, they'll adjust accordingly in time.