Sony Still Thinks the Vita is Doing Well

[SuperTrainStationH]

...Now we have the 3DS, which is barely an upgrade from the DSi...

I didn't agree with a single thing you had to say, but that statement alone pretty much just exemplifies to me that you simply don't know what you're talking about.

If the Nintendo 3DS is "barely" an upgrade from the Nintnedo DSi, then the Xbox 360 was "barely" an upgrade to the original Xbox.

I say that speaking from experience having owned DSi, 3DS, Xbox, and the 360.

 

[Vivi22]

I actually disagree. When you look at the leading, major AAA games that are releasing along side the Vita (or close to its release date) they're very blatantly geared towards western and european gamers. Rayman, Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet, Modnation, Wipeout, ETC. are all distinct western games. The few Japanese games I've seen are mediocre at best. I actually DO believe Japan had this in their forecast. If they wanted it to excel in Japan at the BEGINNING they would have released more AAA Japanese games. But I feel like they know the PSP is still doing strong in Japan. The rest of the world? Not so much. Sony (I think) is banking on the Vita being the "PSP" for the rest of us.

I'd expect them to get a lot more sales come the holiday season when some big Japanese RPG or something releases for the Vita.

I also think that they're expecting the biggest sales to come from this upcoming holiday.

That, and if you can learn anything from Sony's console releases (including the PSP, PS2, and PS3) it's that Sony is very patient and is willing to wait a damn long time for a product to make a good profit.

I for one hope that this ISN'T PR bullshit cause I want Sony to support my new Vita for years to come!

I have to agree with you actually. Most people seem to be looking at raw sales numbers with no consideration given to what games are out for it, then they see that sales dropped tremendously after the first week and assume it's a sinking ship already.

The thing is, it's released in one territory with a launch lineup that can best be described as atrocious. The only people buying in now are the very early adopters who must have the newest gadgets on day one regardless of whether they're worth owning yet. This basically means the Vita is in much the same situation the 3DS was in, with the sole exception being that given the hardware running in the thing they can at least rest easy knowing it's not actually overpriced.

And the lineup of major titles set to release this year is definitely geared far more towards a western audience, so the real test will be how it performs once it's released outside of Japan. I have little doubt it will perform better in North America and Europe, the only question being how much better. It's certainly possible it may not gain much traction out of the gate and flounder for a while longer, but it's also possible it could gain some real ground over here and gain the momentum it needs to catch up to the 3DS. We'll really have to wait and see.

One final thing I have to point out is that despite the huge drop in sales after the first week, more than 500,000 in 3 weeks for a single territory isn't too bad, especially considering the launch lineup.

 

[Rect Pola]

Well, Nintendo didn't hit the panic button until 3DS was out everywhere for about 3 months. Granted it was only out in Japan 1 month longer.

I saw the argument that Sony is taking the hit in the east through it's lineup that garners a more western audience, but that doesn't explain why they held out for two months when media is only giving gamers in other regions reason to not support it.

 

[Radoh]

"It just so happens that this Vita here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do."

 

[Cowabungaa]

First thing I thought of when reading this article:

Keep on truckin' Sony, it's funny to watch you twist and squirm.

 

[Zom-B]

People like having one device for everything and your iPhone or Android phone is that device. They play games, play MP3s, play video, make phone calls, surf the web, take pictures, shoot video, bury dead hookers . . . ok well maybe they don't take pictures all that well but my point still stands.

Well, the iPhone 4s has an 8mp camera, so I think any bad pictures are down to the user, for the most part.

But you're basically right, I think. The only people that really want handheld gaming devices are people that are really into video games, not people who want to kill time while they're on the bus or sitting on the john.

 

[darksakul]

I think it is laughable to call the Vita handheld doing badly before the US and European releases. I also want to point out that Nintendo's 3DS did not do that well until there first price drop. I also want to point out that the $250 price tag for the Wifi model is the same price as the PSP when it first Release. Yes I know the 3G model is $350, and memory is exspesive. So was the PSP's Memory Stick Duo when it was first relased. a 512 was going for $150 and MS duo was sold out every where. I had to stop by a Camera shop for my memory stick as all the game stores, electronic stores and toy stores were out.

 

[Micalas]

That would be me with a PSP. That would be plenty of others here too. My city has a strong anime-and-japanese-culture convention aspect to it. Lots of con-goers play DSs and PSPs. The ones I see outside of conventions still do.

So which city are you in? Anime Expo or Otakon?

 

[darksakul]

So which city are you in? Anime Expo or Otakon?

Seeing Baltimore being referred to as Otakon made my day.
Considering I only am maybe 25/30 minuets from downtown Baltimore.

 

[Micalas]

So which city are you in? Anime Expo or Otakon?

Seeing Baltimore being referred to as Otakon made my day.
Considering I only am maybe 25/30 minuets from downtown Baltimore.

I'm probably about the same distance when you factor in traffic. Otakon is the only reason I go to Baltimore City; and what a reason it is. Good times to be had.

 

[darksakul]

I will more than likely be there this summer with my Vita (when it ships in, I ordered it online).

I think I should conduct a poll at Otakon to see whats more popular this summer, the 3DS or the Vita? As I said before its too early to tell, 6 months down the line will show some actual results. Also Sony's new "Oh Shit, What do I do" CEO takes office in April.

Keep in mind it took a "Legend of Zelda Bundle" with limited edition themed Zelda 3DS and huge trade in bonus from GameStop for me to get my 3DS. While the Sony PS Vita, all it took was Sony announcing the release of their product and me checking my balance.

I also notice the Vita can play the entire current stock of the PSP's PSN download titles.
Yes UMDs are out, but the network titles are still good.

 

[Siege_TF]

I wish Sony would give Nintendo some solid competition, but with the Vita's memory fiasco it's not going to happen this generation. No idea why it's so thin either, but then again I owned an original brick sized, battery eating, Gameboydium-plastic alloy Game Boy. I would have gladly bought one (a Vita) that was thicker, cheaper, and had an inexpencive memory card, but Sony took the domineering 'You will like it and damn well tell you're friends you like it!' stance.

It didn't work twenty years ago with liver and onions, and it's not going to work any time in the future.

 

[deathninja]

They usually rely on the EU to boost PSP sales right?

Still not budging until I see some Monster Hunter.

 

[J Tyran]

Personally the lack of backwards compatibility and using yet another overpriced memory card kill the Vita for me. Maybe I will reconsider if the price drops by 25% or so and they have a few more games.

 

[Vhite]

I'm gonna buy one, it may be rare collectable one day.

 

[masticina]

I am still waiting on the release here. I will judge the system a failure or a success over lets say.. at least a year. Or longer! After all the PSP Go died in a year.. the PS Vita should at least be given that before one judges.

I like that they use cardridges now [even though that means space limits] If they had used an UMD-Blu-ray... oh my god.. SLOW LOADING SEEKTIMES OF HELL

At least they got the message and made a handheld that is actually you know useable for longer runs. [though not to happy about battery life but oh well] due to not needing an UMD drive.

I mean are we to judge tech we don't even can buy yet [unless we import but seriously!] This is not The Sega 32x, this is not the Atari Jaguar.. this actually is well put together. And has games that are interesting!

Lets not pre judge shall we!

 

[kyogen]

I'm looking forward to the Vita and don't care at all about the 3DS. I care even less for the gleefully alarmist tone of this news article since, among other things, it utterly fails to consider Sony's focus on the hardcore portion of the handheld market rather than Nintendo's umbrella approach. I'll treat it as dead when it's really dead and not before. The PS2 is still selling, for goodness' sake.