Is the Vita the only PlayStation console with poor third party support?

[themistermanguy]

Sony's PlayStation line of game systems has been a leading brand for third party developers for more than 20 years now. After famously stealing Nintendo's thunder with the original PlayStation taking all the well known third parties with them, Sony has enjoyed the backing of some of gaming's top developers. Even less successful console's like the PSP and PS3 still got enough support to hold their own against their competition. But there's a big outlier in the PlayStation pantheon that could make even a lackluster Nintendo console blush, and that's the PlayStation Vita.

Vita is the red-headed stepchild of the PlayStation franchise. It's impressive hardware and cutting edge visuals couldn't save it from a terrible memory format, bad marketing, the rise of smartphone gaming, and as a result, poor sales. Because of all of these issues, third party support was unusually weak for a PlayStation console. When the system first launched in 2012, it showed some promise. It got ports of popular remasters from the PS3, and even ports of actual PS3 games to go with it. But once the realities of the system became apparent, everyone who originally backed the system, began to move away. Thus, after the first year, Third party support for the Vita dwindled to near non-existence, as developers began focusing on the much more attractive PlayStation 4, which would launch in NA, just a year later. It didn't help that Sony didn't bother making games that could make up for the lack of third party support, as much of their output consisted of watered down PS3 experiences. Unless it was a niche, no-name Japanese developer porting over a PS4 game, most major third parties dropped the Vita as quickly as they took it up. You know third party support on a PlayStation console is bad, when not even Square Enix releases much of anything for it.

It wasn't all bad though, what the Vita lacked in mainstream third party titles, it made up for it with a solid library of indie titles that lended well to its handheld nature. In fact, it was a better indie machine than it's competitor, the Nintendo 3DS at the time. Nintendo Switch may be the newest indie darling machine now, but I think the Switch owes a lot to the Vita regarding how to really court indies.

PS Vita could've been something great, and had Sony not been incompetent, it could've actually made Nintendo bleed in the handheld market, and possibly be the first system to actually bridge the gap between Smartphone gaming and console gaming like the Switch is now. But Sony had to be Sony and once again, force proprietary media down everyone's throats, barely release compelling games, and not even market the damn thing properly. I can't say I'm surprised nobody wanted to make games for the Vita.

 

[Yoshi178]

the Vita would've done better if Sony didn't charge people out the ass for the memory cards and didn't try to treat the handheld like it was a home console.


people who play handheld games on the go want games they can easily pick up and play for 5 minutes then sit back down again. not some massive JRPG that's going to take someone 30+ hours to finish. the reason why the Switch works is because of it's hybrid nature. you can easily pick up and play something like a level from Donkey Kong or Mario for 5 minutes on the go and then get back home and play something more cinematic like Xenoblade on your big TV instead.

 

[sXeth]

Nah, the PSP was prettymuch the same deal. and whatever that weird phone with playstation controls they tried out was called.


The talking dinosaur prettymuch covers the struggle of most modern handhelds. (Most) everyone is already walking around with a mobile gaming system already in their phone/tablet. If you want to realistically get them onboard with a more or less redundant product, it needs to offer more then that singular functionality.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Not just poor third-party, but overall poor support. If it's not their home console Sony just kinda whiffs it everytime. Just look at the Playstation Classic. It's like they want to expand from just the home console, but then they're like 'eh, whatever'. They're the same with a lot of their own first-party titles, like Shadow of the Colossus, Demon's Souls, and Until Dawn; Invest in something unique, but then just leave it to die on the shelves (until word-of-mouth saves it).

 

[Yoshi178]

Not just poor third-party, but overall poor support. If it's not their home console Sony just kinda whiffs it everytime. Just look at the Playstation Classic. It's like they want to expand from just the home console, but then they're like 'eh, whatever'. They're the same with a lot of their own first-party titles, like Shadow of the Colossus, Demon's Souls, and Until Dawn; Invest in something unique, but then just leave it to die on the shelves (until word-of-mouth saves it).

Sony's suffering from being lazy with things like the Playstation Classic atm. they've gotten cocky and lazy because PS4 did well in sales just like Nintendo got lazy when the Wii did well in sales.

if Sony wants to stay on top of the sales charts then they need to put more effort in instead of half assing things like how they did with the PS classic.

 

[sXeth]

Not just poor third-party, but overall poor support. If it's not their home console Sony just kinda whiffs it everytime. Just look at the Playstation Classic. It's like they want to expand from just the home console, but then they're like 'eh, whatever'. They're the same with a lot of their own first-party titles, like Shadow of the Colossus, Demon's Souls, and Until Dawn; Invest in something unique, but then just leave it to die on the shelves (until word-of-mouth saves it).

Sony's suffering from being lazy with things like the Playstation Classic atm. they've gotten cocky and lazy because PS4 did well in sales just like Nintendo got lazy when the Wii did well in sales.

if Sony wants to stay on top of the sales charts then they need to put more effort in instead of half assing things like how they did with the PS classic.

From a technical standpoint, Remaster Culture probably did more to kill the PS Classic then Sony. Sure, they tried to do it anyways without securing a lineup first by all appearances. Which was pretty dumb. But if they weren't trying to do it amidst a giant cycle of remasters they might've gotten enough key titles to make something of it.

As Shinji points out they're also kind of bad at maintaining their IPs. There's an argument for big N being a little extreme with the 12th Mario product in a year, but Sony's kind of at the opposite end where their big iconic players (like Twisted Metal) come out less often then some Nintendo's "neglected" franchises. Nevermind their collection of one and dones or third-party startups.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Sony's suffering from being lazy with things like the Playstation Classic atm. they've gotten cocky and lazy because PS4 did well in sales just like Nintendo got lazy when the Wii did well in sales.

if Sony wants to stay on top of the sales charts then they need to put more effort in instead of half assing things like how they did with the PS classic.

No, this has always been a thing with Sony, whether they're doing well or poorly in sales. They're very eager to diversify in both hardware and games, but then think it's just going to sell itself and don't really bother putting the word out there.

 

[CritialGaming]

the Vita would've done better if Sony didn't charge people out the ass for the memory cards and didn't try to treat the handheld like it was a home console.


people who play handheld games on the go want games they can easily pick up and play for 5 minutes then sit back down again. not some massive JRPG that's going to take someone 30+ hours to finish. the reason why the Switch works is because of it's hybrid nature. you can easily pick up and play something like a level from Donkey Kong or Mario for 5 minutes on the go and then get back home and play something more cinematic like Xenoblade on your big TV instead.

Unlike Nintendo with the Switch and their overpriced memory cards, and joining the ban wagon of making us pay to use the online service for literally no fucking reason. Or the fact that Nintendo hasn't had good 3rd party support since the SNES. They are nothing like Sony. Get outta here with that bias nonsense.

The Switch is a system that suffers just as much for different reasons. The only real difference between Sony and Nintendo is that Nintendo's 1st party games are more consistently good. Especially with the handheld factor. But let's face facts here, to this day the Switch still doesn't have the killer must have 3rd party game. With all the 3rd party support Nintendo bragged about getting for the switch, they've gotten almost nothing but ports.

The only actual exclusive I can think of off the top of my head is Octopath Traveler and that game was mediocre and hardly a system seller. Also Mario+Rabids doesn't count because it's using a 1st party IP.

I'm sad because my Switch is gathering dust less than a year since it launched.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Not really. It's just not supported at all in the west. All its best stuff is third party Japanese games.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm sad because my Switch is gathering dust less than a year since it launched.

I'm actually using it primarily as an indie machine. I hear a lot of people are.

 

[themistermanguy]

Unlike Nintendo with the Switch and their overpriced memory cards, and joining the ban wagon of making us pay to use the online service for literally no fucking reason. Or the fact that Nintendo hasn't had good 3rd party support since the SNES. They are nothing like Sony. Get outta here with that bias nonsense.

What? The Switch uses microSD cards, far cheaper than the proprietary crap Sony used with the Vita. Also aside from maybe paid online, everything else you said is untrue with the Switch.

But let's face facts here, to this day the Switch still doesn't have the killer must have 3rd party game. With all the 3rd party support Nintendo bragged about getting for the switch, they've gotten almost nothing but ports.

So? Ports are good news. Third party exclusives are important, and trust me, 2019 with be filled with them. But you guys used to ***** and Moan about Nintendo not getting any third party ports before, and when they finally do for once with the Switch, you still ***** and moan. Not mentioning the fact that these ports also feel more unique on Switch because of its portability. Yeah, Vita had ports like these early on. But the difference is that the Switch is gaining more and more support each year, while the Vita bled support quickly after year one. The Vita is much like the Wii U in that sense.

I'm sad because my Switch is gathering dust less than a year since it launched.

Not to most people. Software sales are the highest they've ever been for Nintendo, and third party games actually sell on the system. People use their Switch because it offers something different that Sony and Microsoft's machines can't offer.

I'm actually using it primarily as an indie machine. I hear a lot of people are.

Not just that, but people even play mainstream third party games on Switch. Sure, they're not as good looking as the other versions, but the fact that there are people willing to trade performance for mobility with a Switch version shows how appealing the concept is.

 

[BrawlMan]

Unlike Nintendo with the Switch and their overpriced memory cards, and joining the ban wagon of making us pay to use the online service for literally no fucking reason. Or the fact that Nintendo hasn't had good 3rd party support since the SNES. They are nothing like Sony. Get outta here with that bias nonsense.

What? The Switch uses microSD cards, far cheaper than the proprietary crap Sony used with the Vita. Also aside from maybe paid online, everything else you said is untrue with the Switch.

But let's face facts here, to this day the Switch still doesn't have the killer must have 3rd party game. With all the 3rd party support Nintendo bragged about getting for the switch, they've gotten almost nothing but ports.

So? Ports are good news. Third party exclusives are important, and trust me, 2019 with be filled with them. But you guys used to ***** and Moan about Nintendo not getting any third party ports before, and when they finally do for once with the Switch, you still ***** and moan. Not mentioning the fact that these ports also feel more unique on Switch because of its portability. Yeah, Vita had ports like these early on. But the difference is that the Switch is gaining more and more support each year, while the Vita bled support quickly after year one. The Vita is much like the Wii U in that sense.

I'm sad because my Switch is gathering dust less than a year since it launched.

Not to most people. Software sales are the highest they've ever been for Nintendo, and third party games actually sell on the system. People use their Switch because it offers something different that Sony and Microsoft's machines can't offer.

I'm actually using it primarily as an indie machine. I hear a lot of people are.

Not just that, but people even play mainstream third party games on Switch. Sure, they're not as good looking as the other versions, but the fact that there are people willing to trade performance for mobility with a Switch version shows how appealing the concept is.

Took the words right out of my mouth. The Switch I use for mostly third party games, ports of classic arcade games (NEO GEO games on the go!), or indie games. I got more use out of my switch than my Wii U or if I bought an XBOX One. As for you Critical Gaming, if you don't like most the games on the console, that is your problem, but don't say the Switch does not have games. I will concede that the $20.00 fee for online services is stupid, and the console should have came with bigger memory (luckily you can get a microSD with huge memory for cheap), but the Switch I don't regret buying. I do regret a little trading in my Wii U for it, but I only had to pay about $150 for it, so it was worth it in the end.

Also, the Vita, this was the reason why I didn't get it. As much as I liked the PSP, I did not want to make the same mistake again, because Sony never learns from its mistakes when marketing their handhelds. Or lack marketing with all the other problems people on this thread just mentioned. I have the 3DS, because I knew there would be a variety of games I could play on the go. The PS vita had Gravity Rush (ported to PS4), Muramasa the Demon Blade (enhanced port), and Dragon's Crown, that's it.

 

[Yoshi178]

The Switch is a system that suffers just as much for different reasons.

The Switch isn't really suffering though.

that system actually has sales unlike the Vita. :3

Or the fact that Nintendo hasn't had good 3rd party support since the SNES.

Doom Eternal
Octopath Traveler
Mortal Kombat 11
Crash Team Racing Remastered
Bayonetta 3
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
Dragon Quest Builders
Team Sonic Racing
Mega Man 11

+ all the ports of both recent and older games like DOOM 2016, Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy (which was just a timed exclusive that Sony paid for before it came to Xbox and Nintendo), Skyrim(also ported to PS4), Dragon's Dogma (also ported to PS4), Final Fantasy VII (also ported to the PS4), IX, X, X 2 & XII, Warframe (also ported to the PS4), Fortnite (also ported to the PS4 lol) etc, etc

Switch 3rd party support is fine.

The Vita is much like the Wii U in that sense.

The Vita had no sales just like the Wii U. :3

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Nah, the PSP also suffered from middling 3rd party support. If it weren't for Monster Hunter buoying it, the PSP would have died in no time flat. Heck, that was proven when Sony pissed off CAPCOM enough to where they moved the series over to Nintendo and Vita became a nothing system.

the Vita would've done better if Sony didn't charge people out the ass for the memory cards and didn't try to treat the handheld like it was a home console.


people who play handheld games on the go want games they can easily pick up and play for 5 minutes then sit back down again. not some massive JRPG that's going to take someone 30+ hours to finish. the reason why the Switch works is because of it's hybrid nature. you can easily pick up and play something like a level from Donkey Kong or Mario for 5 minutes on the go and then get back home and play something more cinematic like Xenoblade on your big TV instead.

Yeah, the memory cards issue also didn't help. People prefer convenience, it's why Nintendo went over to SD cards starting with the Wii and never stopped. But above all that, Sony just never understood portable gaming; they never understood making smaller games or ones that could be played in smaller, quicker chunks. They kept bragging about power, but power is the least important part of portable gaming, you can't just brute-force it and hope that makes up for design shortcomings.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Nah, the Playstation Classic clearly trumps it. HEYOOOOOO!

 

[09philj]

Not just poor third-party, but overall poor support. If it's not their home console Sony just kinda whiffs it everytime. Just look at the Playstation Classic. It's like they want to expand from just the home console, but then they're like 'eh, whatever'. They're the same with a lot of their own first-party titles, like Shadow of the Colossus, Demon's Souls, and Until Dawn; Invest in something unique, but then just leave it to die on the shelves (until word-of-mouth saves it).

The PSP and the Vita were both the best handhelds of their generation and Sony did everything they could to make sure nobody would want to buy one instead of the contemporary Nintendo console.

 

[Leg End]

Not really. It's just not supported at all in the west. All its best stuff is third party Japanese games.

Came here initially to post this. The Japanese support was strong, and still is to an extent. Sadly, that's all ending this year.

the Vita would've done better if Sony didn't charge people out the ass for the memory cards and didn't try to treat the handheld like it was a home console.


people who play handheld games on the go want games they can easily pick up and play for 5 minutes then sit back down again. not some massive JRPG that's going to take someone 30+ hours to finish. the reason why the Switch works is because of it's hybrid nature. you can easily pick up and play something like a level from Donkey Kong or Mario for 5 minutes on the go and then get back home and play something more cinematic like Xenoblade on your big TV instead.

I'd argue that's what would have made them print money. Their execution was just complete ass. The PlayStation/Vita TV was intended to be a bridge similar to the Switch and fulfill a role that the PSP had, requiring a cable pack that allowed you to actually output straight from the system to a TV(not without some caveats, but still). The actual problem is that the microconsole was a Vita in of itself and required constant swapping of your stuff back and forth as you swapped between the two, while not even being compatible with all Vita games, and a large amount of stuff not being whitelisted despite working perfectly otherwise. If it was a dock instead of a dedicated system, or allowed easy linking of the two, it might have actually had a fighting chance. But Sony gonna Sony.

 

[CritialGaming]

Let me fix this for you

Doom Eternal - Not out yet, not an exclusive, can't call it good or bad yet
Octopath Traveler - Beautiful but mediocre game, not a must have.
Mortal Kombat 11 - Was this announced for Switch. I missed that part. Either way, not out yet, cant call it good or bad or exclusive
Crash Team Racing Remastered - Not out yet, can't call it good or bad, not exclusive
Bayonetta 3 - Not a 3rd party game. Nintendo OWNS Bayonetta, this is a first party title.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 - Not exclusive, not out yet.
Dragon Quest Builders - Not exclusive.
Team Sonic Racing - Mario kart's shitty cousin? HA!
Mega Man 11 - Not exclusive.

I mean what part of 3rd party exclusives do you not understand?

Bloodborne
Persona 5
Horizon Zero Dawn
Last of Us 1 and 2
Uncharted

These are system selling 3rd party games. These are the kinds of games the Switch doesn't have.

Look if you are happy with the Switch as an Indie machine and playing the weakest version of all the port games, then fine that's up to you. But to me I need the Switch to provide me games that I NEED to play and CAN'T play on better more powerful machines.

I get it though, some people can't afford a gaming PC rig. Or every console like I can. I understand that. And for those people I happy that the Switch is so helpful for you.

But the fact is that you are kidding yourself when you say the system is getting stellar 3rd party titles. Because I don't believe it is, and it's certainly not getting exclusives.

Nintendo's 1st party games for the Switch have been great (except Zelda), so I'm not saying it's not getting good games on it. But I'm not a Nintendo fan (outside the pokemon games), so if I'm ever going to be interested in using my Switch seriously. It's gotta get something on it that no other console has.

 

[CaitSeith]

Let me fix this for you

Doom Eternal - Not out yet, not an exclusive, can't call it good or bad yet
Octopath Traveler - Beautiful but mediocre game, not a must have.
Mortal Kombat 11 - Was this announced for Switch. I missed that part. Either way, not out yet, cant call it good or bad or exclusive
Crash Team Racing Remastered - Not out yet, can't call it good or bad, not exclusive
Bayonetta 3 - Not a 3rd party game. Nintendo OWNS Bayonetta, this is a first party title.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 - Not exclusive, not out yet.
Dragon Quest Builders - Not exclusive.
Team Sonic Racing - Mario kart's shitty cousin? HA!
Mega Man 11 - Not exclusive.

I mean what part of 3rd party exclusives do you not understand?

And what part of "so what?" you don't understand? If people buy the Switch to play games ported to it, those are system sellers. If they are good and well made, they are good 3rd party support.

 

[CritialGaming]

And what part of "so what?" you don't understand? If people buy the Switch to play games ported to it, those are system sellers. If they are good and well made, they are good 3rd party support.

Great. I said that people can buy the Switch and use it for whatever they want.

I never said anything about other people being dumb for buying the switch. I merely explained why the Switch isn't a good system for me. The end of my last post even explained that.