Sony: We Have to Do "Something Different' to Get AAA Games on PS Vita

[Alex Co]

Sony: We Have to Do "Something Different' to Get AAA Games on PS Vita

SCEA Director of Product Planning and Platform Software Innovation Don Mesa is "fighting" to get the 64GB memory card to be released outside Japan, and thinks the "economics simply don't work" with the traditional process when it comes to AAA games on PS Vita.

Over on the PlayStation Blog [http://blog.us.playstation.com/2014/05/06/new-slimmer-lighter-ps-vita-model-out-today/#comments], SCEA (Sony Computer Entertainment America) Director of Product Planning and Platform Software Innovation, Don Mesa, answered a few fan questions on the site in light of the PS Vita 2000's recent release in the US. Mesa mentioned that he's been "fighting" to get the 64GB memory card outside of Japan. So, hopefully, this means a North America release is on its way soon.

One other user commented on how Sony's handheld needs "a few good AAA games that are actually developed by the proper studios, and not farmed out to smaller devs who can't quite capture what makes a series work on consoles," to which Mesa replied with:


The economics simply don't work with the traditional process. We have to do something different to get AAA games on Vita. We accomplished it to a certain degree by making PS4 games work on Vita via remote play. PS Now will be another way, streaming PS3 games on Vita. I can't wait until PS Now is out on Vita - I hope you'll try out the experience and let me know what you think.

With the way the Vita's been struggling, I'd have to say that I agree with Mesa' sentiments. Hopefully, PlayStation Now breathes new life into Sony's portable. Otherwise, it might fare worse than the PSP, which is not a pretty sight.

For other PlayStation news, make sure you read up on Sony's alleged plans for this year's E3 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134320-Rumor-Sony-E3-Plans-Leaks-Includes-God-of-War-4-The-Last-of-Us-2-Tons-More], which if is true, might make it the best press conference ever.

Source: PSLS [http://blog.us.playstation.com/2014/05/06/new-slimmer-lighter-ps-vita-model-out-today/#comments]

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[mechalynx]

Sony, kindly cut the bullshit and start with releasing PS1 goodies, like Suikoden 2, and the handheld Tales games worldwide. Once those money start rolling in and people invest in Vitas, the devs will come. Also, look very hard into porting PS2 games, like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and so on.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

Don't know what Sony can do with this honestly, I've got a vita and few good games that I haven't finished. Really the systems missing a touchstone handheld game like Pokemon that has always moved more handheld consoles than any other game series seemingly. I know I used to get Nintendo handhelds solely for Pokemon games (which I don't do now for economic/rational reasons).

I'm actually surprised they never tried to get Digimon as a main stay on handhelds or as a sole Sony franchise, seems like the only other series that even remotely comes close to Pokemon.

 

[JayRPG]

I pointed this out in a thread recently concerning the Vita, The Vita is coming into it's own.

It's turning into a JRPG handheld machine and by years end will pretty much be a requirement for any JRPG fan.

Overall, it's release schedule for this year is busier than the Xbox 360, Xbox one, Ps4, 3DS and Wii U. The PS3 is the only console with a larger confirmed release list.

Taking just the JRPGs alone you have:

Freedom Wars
Hatsune miku 2
Arcana heart 3
Danganronpa 2
Disgaea 4
Akiba's trip
Blazblue chrono phantasma
Xblaze code: Embryo
Hyperdimension neptunia PP
Mind zero
Tales of hearts R
Demon gaze
Conception II
Ragnarok odyssey ace
deception IV
Final fantasy x/x-2 HD
Toukiden
Sorcery Saga
YS: memories of celceta

There is plenty of other stuff, including a couple of big name HD remakes.

I just don't see the Vita fading or going away from here, it is really starting to come into it's own and it's done nothing but pick up speed for the last 6 months.

Sony, kindly cut the bullshit and start with releasing PS1 goodies, like Suikoden 2, and the handheld Tales games worldwide. Once those money start rolling in and people invest in Vitas, the devs will come. Also, look very hard into porting PS2 games, like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and so on.

There's only 2 Tales games on the Vita and one of them, Tales of Hearts R is due out this year in NA/EU

 

[Originality]

Perhaps if they bring Monster Hunter 4 to Vita, it'll become successful again. Then again, I don't see it moving away from Nintendo.

 

[Sanunes]

I think before really looking at AAA games they need to attract developers that want to work on the console by attracting people with good and possibly exclusive content. To me they also need to move away from their memory stick formula, for right now that will stop me from buying a Vita of any type.

 

[Little Duck]

The vita and the 3ds aren't in the culture of the triple A climate.

Your stereotypical aaa game is a graphically bombastic, 8 hour game, that pushes some edge in gaming (for better or worse). Neither of these things work on a handheld. You can't run amaze balls graphics and 8 hours is way too short for a handheld game. If they want to focus on something it should be releasing more good games for the vita. I still glance over at tearaway now and then but I don't look at the console and go "You know what I want to play the new tomb raider on a thing the size of my hand". I don't know anyone who does that.

I have a 3ds because I wanted to play pokemon and mario and luigi dream team bros. I don't have a vita because I don't want to play anything or if there are any great games on there, I don't know about them and taking away focus from games, which I'm sure are there isn't helping. Sure bringing a triple a game onto the vita will give it another good game, but it isn't the ideal game for the console or the ideal environment for the game, so the focus will instead go to the big boy console releases. If you want a vita in everyones hands do want nintendo do. Give us something that a handheld does magnificently well that a console can't do and make me want it.

 

[Colt47]

Well, they sort of let Nintendo steal all of the major franchises that people want to play from under their nose back during the PS3 days and are just NOW wondering why their handhelds might be struggling? Maybe it's because Nintendo now has Dragon Quest, Shin Megami Tensei (main series and most side series except Persona), good Square Enix titles like Bravely Default...

There is nothing wrong with Nostalgia dollars, but the entire reason we are being forced into Nostalgia dollar territory to get anything good is because they've dropped the ball so hard on everything else. They need to get the popular playful games back in addition to the occasional grim/grizzly western game.

Keys to long term success: Drop price on the proprietary memory card to match SD cards, even for a little while. Fight to get back popular series like Dragon Quest and just pray a Kingdom Hearts shows up on the system as well. Finally, get the entire backlog of PS2 and PS1 games running on the thing! If Sony can't bother to do these things then they might as well just scrap the entire Vita and maybe drop out of the game console business while they are at it like Microsoft apparently wants to do indirectly.

 

[tacotrainwreck]

A 64GB memory card? Sounds great! I'll be sure to take out another bank loan so I can afford it if it ever comes to America.

 

[Something Amyss]

Mesa mentioned that he's been "fighting" to get the 64GB memory card outside of Japan. So, hopefully, this means a North America release is on its way soon.

Howabout "fighting" to make your proprietary cards less proihibtively expensive?

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

so Sony once again reiterates just how little they understand about handheld gaming. It's not just a portable console, it's a unique experience. Why is this so difficult for them to get?

 

[Ipsen]

Don't know what Sony can do with this honestly, I've got a vita and few good games that I haven't finished. Really the systems missing a touchstone handheld game like Pokemon that has always moved more handheld consoles than any other game series seemingly. I know I used to get Nintendo handhelds solely for Pokemon games (which I don't do now for economic/rational reasons).

Yea, that's actually what I find special about the Vita. I value it for the variety of games it has, which congeal into an category of games that consoles, PC and Nintendo loosely tend to shy from. Amounting largely to J/ARPGs.

Even though it doesn't have 'that game'; you know, the one you buy a console for. OWaitPersona4Golden, but yea, it's understandable that even P4G is somewhat niche (compared to what a huge corp like Sony would desire), or at least not enough of a base to build a system around.

OT: AAA releases might catch eyes towards the Vita, but it's not going to move units, since those who largely mind AAA these days, why not get it for PS3/4 (which they most likely already have?

Mesa mentioned that he's been "fighting" to get the 64GB memory card outside of Japan. So, hopefully, this means a North America release is on its way soon.

Howabout "fighting" to make your proprietary cards less proihibtively expensive?

Annnnnd /thread. Pack it up!

Really, this more than AAA releases is what the Vita needs to shine as what it is; an interconnection handheld.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Quality JRPGs are abundant on the Vita. That makes it somewhat successful in Japan and with fans of those games in the west. But, that genre isn't exactly pick up and play. Depending on the game other genres have this flaw, too. It needs more games you can leave for several days and come back without having to spend 10-30 minutes thinking about what you were doing and where you wanted to go. I never really like playing JRPGs on a handheld unless I was familiar with the game(like re-releases or second play throughs). Consoles aren't as subject to this since your not playing them to pass the time on a trip or waiting for something and have to stop and concentrate on something else while forgetting the game possibly for days.

A 64 GB memory card? That'll only cost about US$140, with the current pricing scheme.(Though I did find some supposedly official imported ones on Ebay for $100. SD still beats that by $20-40, though.)

The system has an online store, yet the memory cards are proprietary to the system(Big no-no #1, many had to buy Sony's slightly more expensive Memory Stick Pro Duo cards for the PSP when SD could have been used and many people had a spare SD card to at least get started), and the cards make MS Pro Duo cards look like bargains in comparison(Big no-no #2). Who is going to buy anything on you online store when they have to shell out $2.5 per GB extra to store the content when SD can cost less than a dollar per GB. Even worse is the fact that games are now 2-4 GBs, so you either have to finish and delete a game or two to make space for the next one or spend a good shunk of the system's original price to get a big card. The PSP Go might have failed, but more customers are turning to online stores to get games for portables since it means less to carry and lose if they want to switch games. The prices on the Vita cards are killing the potential for the Vita.

 

[Roxas1359]

Hey Sony, wanna sell more Vitas? Then how about you get the North American Sony Computer Entertainment off their butts and actually get them to do something with the thing!

The Vita in NTSC regions is a joke because of how little is even offered on the device. For example, NTSC-region owners cannot even play any of the Crash Bandicoot or Spyro the Dragon games on their Vita's, even if they try to download it from their PS3's. They can on the PSP, but not the PS Vita, bit backwards no?

The we have the ever-so-lovely proprietary memory bullshit that they have going. Don't need much space and want a small 8 GB Vita memory card? Okay, that'll be $24.99. $24.99 for a simple 8 GB memory card is too damn expensive. It's a bit cheaper online, only $20, but that's still a lot. For a 32 GB card in stores I've seen it go for $70! What's worse is that launch Vita's in the US did not come prepackaged with at least a 4 GB card. It's fixed now, but the problem still remains that the cards are way too expensive to be used.

Also, how about some more localization here? I mean, thank goodness that the Vita isn't region locked for physical media, because otherwise it's be in an even worse position I think. All my friends who have Vita's have Japanese PSNs because of how stupid the localization is here and they import a lot of games.

Seriously, the way Sony's acting about the Vita's failure is like how Nintendo is acting about the Wii U's performance. They are making and marketing the other more successful product they have, and instead of fixing the problems the other has they just throw their arms in the air and pout because it isn't selling. >.>