Sony: PS4's Launch Increases Vita Sales

[roseofbattle]

Sony: PS4's Launch Increases Vita Sales

The struggling Vita has had a jump in sales following the PS4's launch thanks to Sony's new Vita campaign.

Sony's PS Vita handheld has had tough times. It launched early 2012 (late 2011 in Japan) but has little wide success. A competitor to Nintendo's 3DS, Nintendo has been pushing its handheld with a steady stream of well-received titles in 2013 while Sony has been pushing the PS4 much more than the Vita. Thanks to a new Sony campaign for both the PS4 and Vita, the handheld jumped 68 percent in sales after the PS4's launch and rose 65 percent the week after, MCV reports.

Leading up to the PS4, Sony promoted the Remote Play [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/129716-Vitas-Remote-Play-And-LTE-Used-To-Access-PS4-10-Miles-Away ] feature of the PS4 and Vita in which owners of both devices could stop playing a game on the PS4 and pick up on the Vita where they left off on the PS4. Moving away from promoting the several features of the Vita - from games, cameras, touch screen, and motion sensors - Sony's new campaign has played up the Vita's role as a companion to the PS4.

"PS Vita sales wise we are continuing to see strong week-on-week growth since our latest campaign kicked in," senior product manager Ben Law said. "The new TV advert went live this week and we've already seen amazing feedback from PS4 owners on the Remote Play feature, and the success of Tearaway highlights what a great proposition PS Vita is, either as a stand-alone device or as the perfect companion to PS4."

Beyond the companion aspect of the handheld, Sony wants to encourage mobile game developers to expand to Vita. Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony, is convinced the PS4 is a "great opportunity" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130566-Sony-PS4-a-Great-Opportunity-for-Vita] for Vita.

Games are also important to any gaming system's success. The Vita has struggled to supply a steady stream of well-received games since its launch almost two years ago, but recent success with Tearaway [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/10762-Tearaway-Review-No-Papercuts-Here], which uses many Vita features and invites players into a colorful, paper world.

If the Vita is to gain more adopters, now would be the time. Sony will have to keep bringing innovative and engaging content to the Vita to make it more than just a second screen to the PS4.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ps4-boosts-vita-sales/0126194]


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[Lightknight]

That's great. I have really been enjoying my Vita and would like to see a real competitor in the handheld market that focuses on gaming. Though, I use my Vita as much like a media tablet as a gaming machine. I just find it much more portable than tablets on plane flights for some reason and better at gaming in general.

I hope it keeps it up. I don't see any way I'll be getting more games made for it otherwise.

 

[Falterfire]

I'm not surprised really - Given that PS+ gives you games for all the Sony systems, if I had a PS4 and PS+ I would strongly consider acquiring a Vita since I wouldn't need to buy games for it in order to use it.

 

[Storm3ye]

Thinking of getting PS4 first (will eventually get all new gen consoles) and probably will be buying Vita to accompany it. Pretty much the behaviour that the article is illustrating.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

That's awesome.

I'm glad Sony didn't try to abandon the poor thing after it had done so terribly. The Vita is a great console with a lot of possibility, but the problem is people just don't want to develop for the thing.

We need more Tearaway's and Gravity Rush's out there. We need more exclusives, damn it!

Also, the cross-buy and cross-play feature is great, especially for indie games (Bought Spelunky on Vita, got the PS3 version for free, can now do split-screen with both consoles via wifi), and I imagine the remote play feature works really well. I've yet to try it, but that's a feature that's really enticing for me, because my family really loves using up the living room TV -which is the largest one in the house- very often. And now that I have the ability to play the game anywhere in the house without bothering anyone that wants to use the TV, I'm really happy. It's like a WiiU, except good!

I just hope all future titles I want to play support it, but judging by how many launch titles support remote play right now, I shouldn't have anything to worry about. Aside from the occasional game that requires Move or the PS Eye thing, of course.

But yeah. Go buy a Vita. Play it. Have fun.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

I'm loving it with Dragon's Crown, Persona 4: Golden and Ys: Memories of Celceta.

I'll love it even more with the coming of being able to play FF14: ARR remotely with it.

 

[mysecondlife]

Since demand for PS4 is strong, Sony should try bundling some with Vita. Couldn't hurt (a lot).

I'm currently playing Soul Sacrifice which is one of my favorite games of the year.