Ben-DutkaWell, we've been saying for a while that it's only a matter of time before PlayStation Vita bites the dust.
And perhaps this is the beginning of the end: Sony senior vice president Masayasu Ito confirmed to 4Gamer (as translated by DualShockers ) that Sony has no Vita games of their own in development.
"Currently, first-party studios have no titles in development for PS Vita. Since third parties are working very hard on PS Vita, SCE's own strategy is to focus on PS4, which is a new platform."
Of course, this doesn't mean the Vita dies tomorrow. In fact, Ito added some comments about how the handheld "did not resonate with targets under 20" but younger individuals are starting to notice the Vita a little more now. Furthermore, with lots of third-party games on the horizon and some recently announced new colors, the device might still gain a following.
Back in September, Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida said a Vita successor is "unlikely" and cited an "unhealthy" portable market. Yes, smartphones have really eaten into the possibilities of a dedicated portable gaming device, at least in terms of demographic reach.
Isn't everything ultimately only a matter of time before it dies?
I suspect the Vita will have some form of support for a few more years. They're treating the unit like a peripheral. There's hardly any marketing or first party support for it as Sony's direct support has left it for a while.
Anyone notice how MS-like Sony has been playing things as of late?
Buying up lots of exclusivity deals and Abandoning struggling platforms prematurely and allowing third parties to carry most of a consoles weight? They even eventually forced pay to play subscription with PS Plus.
Then they one upped MS by going soft on PS Plus freebies with little more than indie games.
Edit: next thing we know Sony will try to force a VR headset on the coming gen of hardware.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/23/2015 9:55:05 PM
I agree. They forced pay to play and once they knew people did not have much of a choice, they pulled all the AAA games from PSN+
I now call it PSNi-
They aren't even treating it like a peripheral. The unit has so much more potential to be a companion for a good amount of games but they won't acknowledge its existence. So sad to see Sony let it die like this.
Lets face facts here, the Vita didn't really enter the market with much of a bang, I would even say it was fair to call it DOA.
Sony can blame it on whatever they want, it's a bunch of BS from them. Yes, the mobile market is sharing the same room as the portable gaming devices, but Nintendo is still doing alright, the difference being that Nintendo seems to care, they price well, got monster franchises ( 1st party and 3rd ), and they sure as heck didn't just abandon it.
I say, just let the damn thing die, I'm sorry if you bought into it, I hope you had some fun with it at least.
Last edited by Phoenix on 10/24/2015 12:16:55 AM
With all the letdown that Sony's been doing with the PS Move, the PS Go, & now the Vita), I'm very concerned about buying any more extras from them, lest they also drop the VR headset soon after bringing it out.(and I want one too).
I'd expect that kind of crap from MS, not Sony.
I'd say this trend started with the PSP honestly, they did just sorta stop caring about it. But yes, everyone should be worried about anything from them outside of the main consoles.
Last edited by Phoenix on 10/24/2015 12:33:45 AM
Hiya Biker!!!
Why would you expect this from MS when MS doesn't ever even release peripheral stuff, supported or not?
I think Sony gets a kick out of telling us they're not supporting the Vita with first party games anymore. This is probably the fourth or fifth time they've said it. I get the feeling they think we don't believe them.
R.I.P Vita
I think it's hilarious that every time Sony says this it makes headlines as if it's the first time. Followed by almost the exact same "Vita is dead" type comments in the comment section.
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 10/24/2015 11:47:22 AM
haha yea, it'll go on for years.
I think people just arent satisfied until they can say something is DEAD. as in no support. no product on the shelf. no nothing.
Yea, that's not going to happen for Vita anytime soon. Sony has shut off as much expenses as they can to the system without killing it. I'm sure they have it scaled to where it's not costing them more to keep it around than it is to just keep offering it with the limited support it does have. where the small profit draw it grabs pays for it's ongoing existence.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/24/2015 1:42:39 PM
i really expect Sony to eventually release another Vita revision. Something slimmer, lighter, longer battery etc etc. Maybe something with much more internal memory so they no longer need to gouge gamers with ridiculous memory card expenses.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/24/2015 1:47:58 PM
@ Temjin
Do you really think Sony wants to put more money into the Vita? I get the distinct impression Sony is trying to get as far away from this sinking ship as they can. I will say, fixing some of the cost issues for the unit would be nice, however I think it's too little too late sadly.
Yeah, I hope they do another revision – maybe something with L2 and R2 buttons. That would drastically improve the remote play experience.
and @Pheonix
"Sinking ship?" Really? Do you realize that there were 62 (or was it 64) vita games announced at TGS this year? That is almost more than double that of last year. I don't know about you, but if a ship announced that they have almost doubled the sails as they had last year, I wouldn't think that ship was planning on sinking.
Catch my drift?
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 10/24/2015 7:04:19 PM
The ability to sell consumer's games and services without needing retail space for them helps their situation. They don't have to do much at all for the platform other than keep producing it. It takes up hardly any retail space and shipping costs are relatively low for it. Rememeber, the PS2 hung around for years into the PS3 gen and for similar reasons.
And the platform does considerably better in territories outside of the US. Sony is likely NOT losing money on the system right now. But they're assuredly now making a whole lot off of it. I don't think they'll kill it off until practically no one cares to release anything for it.
As Saiyan has said, there's still third-party support, albeit smaller scaled support, but alas it's support and I doubt Sony will pull the rug out from under them. Also, the system is doing better in major territories outside of the US. Note Team Ninja's DOA volley ball game. I wouldn't doubt them releasing a more slim, more cheaply produced offering sometime in the future.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/24/2015 10:23:30 PM
What has killed me WRT to the Vita are the ridiculous prices for memory cards. I really like the machine and have fun with it but with the cost of the cards being what they are, I just can't justify getting many games for it.
R.I.P Vita
They aren't even treating it like a peripheral. The unit has so much more potential to be a companion for a good amount of games but they won't acknowledge its existence. So sad to see Sony let it die like this.
Isn't everything ultimately only a matter of time before it dies?
I suspect the Vita will have some form of support for a few more years. They're treating the unit like a peripheral. There's hardly any marketing or first party support for it as Sony's direct support has left it for a while.
Anyone notice how MS-like Sony has been playing things as of late?
Buying up lots of exclusivity deals and Abandoning struggling platforms prematurely and allowing third parties to carry most of a consoles weight? They even eventually forced pay to play subscription with PS Plus.
Then they one upped MS by going soft on PS Plus freebies with little more than indie games.
Edit: next thing we know Sony will try to force a VR headset on the coming gen of hardware.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/23/2015 9:55:05 PM
I agree. They forced pay to play and once they knew people did not have much of a choice, they pulled all the AAA games from PSN+
I now call it PSNi-
I think it's hilarious that every time Sony says this it makes headlines as if it's the first time. Followed by almost the exact same "Vita is dead" type comments in the comment section.
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 10/24/2015 11:47:22 AM
i really expect Sony to eventually release another Vita revision. Something slimmer, lighter, longer battery etc etc. Maybe something with much more internal memory so they no longer need to gouge gamers with ridiculous memory card expenses.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/24/2015 1:47:58 PM
Yeah, I hope they do another revision – maybe something with L2 and R2 buttons. That would drastically improve the remote play experience.
and @Pheonix
"Sinking ship?" Really? Do you realize that there were 62 (or was it 64) vita games announced at TGS this year? That is almost more than double that of last year. I don't know about you, but if a ship announced that they have almost doubled the sails as they had last year, I wouldn't think that ship was planning on sinking.
Catch my drift?
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 10/24/2015 7:04:19 PM
@ Temjin
Do you really think Sony wants to put more money into the Vita? I get the distinct impression Sony is trying to get as far away from this sinking ship as they can. I will say, fixing some of the cost issues for the unit would be nice, however I think it's too little too late sadly.
What has killed me WRT to the Vita are the ridiculous prices for memory cards. I really like the machine and have fun with it but with the cost of the cards being what they are, I just can't justify getting many games for it.
haha yea, it'll go on for years.
I think people just arent satisfied until they can say something is DEAD. as in no support. no product on the shelf. no nothing.
Yea, that's not going to happen for Vita anytime soon. Sony has shut off as much expenses as they can to the system without killing it. I'm sure they have it scaled to where it's not costing them more to keep it around than it is to just keep offering it with the limited support it does have. where the small profit draw it grabs pays for it's ongoing existence.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/24/2015 1:42:39 PM
The ability to sell consumer's games and services without needing retail space for them helps their situation. They don't have to do much at all for the platform other than keep producing it. It takes up hardly any retail space and shipping costs are relatively low for it. Rememeber, the PS2 hung around for years into the PS3 gen and for similar reasons.
And the platform does considerably better in territories outside of the US. Sony is likely NOT losing money on the system right now. But they're assuredly now making a whole lot off of it. I don't think they'll kill it off until practically no one cares to release anything for it.
As Saiyan has said, there's still third-party support, albeit smaller scaled support, but alas it's support and I doubt Sony will pull the rug out from under them. Also, the system is doing better in major territories outside of the US. Note Team Ninja's DOA volley ball game. I wouldn't doubt them releasing a more slim, more cheaply produced offering sometime in the future.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 10/24/2015 10:23:30 PM
Hiya Biker!!!
With all the letdown that Sony's been doing with the PS Move, the PS Go, & now the Vita), I'm very concerned about buying any more extras from them, lest they also drop the VR headset soon after bringing it out.(and I want one too).
I'd expect that kind of crap from MS, not Sony.
I think Sony gets a kick out of telling us they're not supporting the Vita with first party games anymore. This is probably the fourth or fifth time they've said it. I get the feeling they think we don't believe them.
I'd say this trend started with the PSP honestly, they did just sorta stop caring about it. But yes, everyone should be worried about anything from them outside of the main consoles.
Last edited by Phoenix on 10/24/2015 12:33:45 AM
Lets face facts here, the Vita didn't really enter the market with much of a bang, I would even say it was fair to call it DOA.
Sony can blame it on whatever they want, it's a bunch of BS from them. Yes, the mobile market is sharing the same room as the portable gaming devices, but Nintendo is still doing alright, the difference being that Nintendo seems to care, they price well, got monster franchises ( 1st party and 3rd ), and they sure as heck didn't just abandon it.
I say, just let the damn thing die, I'm sorry if you bought into it, I hope you had some fun with it at least.
Last edited by Phoenix on 10/24/2015 12:16:55 AM
Why would you expect this from MS when MS doesn't ever even release peripheral stuff, supported or not?