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Playstation Vita Will be Dead Within a Year
Published on July 13, 2013 10:36 PM
2 minute read
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I love the Playstation Vita. It's an awesome piece of technology. I wish it had the kind of library the 3DS is getting this year. The future of this thing seems to be a question mark because of how barren the amount of upcoming games is, but there are a few things that make people question if Sony has a future in mind for it. I don't believe they do. I think everything they have to give the impression of one is just to salvage any potential sales before they officially kill the thing.

Why they do not want to officially kill it yet is simple. They have two games in development with Tearaway and Killzone Mercenary. Killing the system now would be stupid as they want to salvage as many sales off these games as they can. People may trade in their Vitas for a PS4 or Xbox One if they knew it was dead for certain. This uncertainty could cause some to hold onto their Vitas and in turn buy these two games they would skip for credit towards a next gen console while they can still get a lot of money off of it. 

I don't think the Vita will be killed this year. Next year though? I'm almost certain it'll be done by March. Possibly in January. The indie games are just a quick way to give Vita owners something to buy and enjoy. The PS4 functionality I think is something they already had in development when Sony had a future planned for the Vita and showing it off was an easy, relatively inexpensive way to give the impression they have a future in store for it. Really, how many times has Sony touted features that did not pan out? I remember how the PS3 was supposed to be able to hook up to 2 TVs at once to give an experience like having a larger, super expensive DS. 

I am disappointed the Vita did not pan out. But the signs are pretty clear this thing is close to dead unless Sony shows they have a lot of games in development soon. Vita has less upcoming exclusives than the PS3, a console that has a successor on the way. Frankly put, Vita's lineup is not one of a system in its second year, but one of in its last year before the plug is pulled. And that's exactly what will happen soon.

Comments
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Posted on July 13, 2013 10:44 PM

Why did Sony ask software dev of PS4 to implement PSVITA compatibility into all of their games if they're killing it? 3rd party publishers described it as an easy process. Interesting.

Posted on July 14, 2013 12:41 AM

I can honestly see it getting dropped early on. If it's an easy process, then why wouldn't they act like it's something to stay to keep people interested until they formall end it?

Posted on July 13, 2013 10:53 PM

I'm not so sure they're going to kill it.  they might, but I have hope it will turn out.  I'm still going to get one because of FFX and remote play, and there's been some Japanese games announced for Western release for next year.  I hope they don't kill it, but you may be right.

Posted on July 14, 2013 12:43 AM

I'd love for it to turn out right, but this fall lineup is pathetic. I mean, Wii U doesn't have the best library either, but look at its 2013-14 lineup and it puts the Vita to shame.

Posted on July 13, 2013 11:23 PM

I don't even have a Vita yet!  There's not a whole lot of games on it that I want to play.

Posted on July 14, 2013 12:44 AM

Yeah, can't see you getting that interested in P4G, Uncharted, or Killzone. Gravity Rush looks like kind of your thing though and Tearaway definitely does. Maybe you can get one really cheap or they're ported to PS3/4 though.

Posted on July 13, 2013 11:31 PM

I don't think the Vita is going anywhere. It's not a stupid idea like the PSP Go was. It just needs time and a price reduction to take off. I still want one.

Posted on July 14, 2013 12:47 AM

It may not be a stupid idea like the Go, but it's not just the lack of sales. That's something that can change later on. When you can count the number of upcoming retail games on one hand, however, that's something that's only seen with dying systems.

Posted on July 14, 2013 12:43 AM

Its great system but Sony is killing it by not cutting the price. I think it will be around at least another 2 years though.

Posted on July 14, 2013 12:48 AM

I think we'd have at least something new and big to be excited for in 2014 if it would be around for a couple more years. They're hurting it with memory card prices too.

Posted on July 14, 2013 2:38 AM

I think you're wrong here. It's true that Sony should have ensured more games were released at this stage but it's only going to gain steam. More games get announed for the Vita every week and I feel as though Sony are waiting for the PS4 release so they can spring a bunch of Vita exclusives to push the Playstation brand. I'll admit personally that i've considered trading in my Vita for a 3DS to avail of its amazing catalogue but I'm willing to wait it out to get my moneys worth. If you're correct than I'll sell but i'd be massively surprised if this time next year we're not drowning in new Vita games. Time will tell...

Posted on July 14, 2013 2:52 AM

I'm unsure of what you mean by more games get announced every week. Unless you mean downloadable games which I admittedly don't pay much attention to. But even then they seem to be mostly ports.

Posted on July 14, 2013 2:58 AM

You're right with ports but give me a break here Laughing

Posted on July 14, 2013 3:00 AM

Well, that's my point. A healthy system should have a good stream of original games, or at least ports that aren't on something else current gen like Persona 4.

Posted on July 14, 2013 3:09 AM

As you mention, coming up we have Killzone and Tearaway. In addition, we have Valhalla Knights 3, Y's Memoris of Celceta, Rayman Legends and Dragon's Crown. All sound pretty good (I hope it turns out as much). Port wise, we have Final Fantasy X 1 & 2 coming this year (BS that they're separate). Muramusa has just been released and it's also meant to be great. In my opinion, there's far too much potential in the Vita for Sony to just give up but I may be wrong. My best guess is that it pulls a 3DS and this time next year we're wondering why we ever doubted. If not, this will be the last time I ever choose a competitor over a Nintendo handheld 

Posted on July 14, 2013 3:32 AM

Rayman and Dragon's Crown are ports as well. The thing about 3DS is it still had a solid lineup on the horizon. They showed off Luigi's Mansion, Fire Emblem, SMT 4, Animal Crossing, Project X Zone, Monster Hunter, Castlevania and Smash Bros (thought didn't show anything on the last one until this year). These games were known about around this time last year too, there was stuff to get excited about. That's the difference between the two. If there was a lot of games announced, I wouldn't be saying this. There's just not.

Posted on July 14, 2013 3:38 AM

If you are right, it's a damn shame. Gravity Rush may just be my favourite game this gen. 

Posted on July 14, 2013 2:50 AM

I have one and I love it. I really hope Sony has a trick up its sleeve- I think the price is what's suffocating sales.

Posted on July 14, 2013 6:34 PM

I love mine too. I think the problem is less the price and more that they're not justifying the price.

Posted on July 14, 2013 4:43 AM

It's a possibliity though like you said we'll have to wait and see what comes about. They have been talking about that cross platform play feature for the Vita and the PS4, its one of the reason why I considered buying Limbo on the PS3 with that cross platform promise in mind.

Perhaps this cross platform theme will actually become a reality, untlike how we were suppose to get some of that from the PSP to PS3. Remote play is a novel idea but you gotta have more than that to sell system hardware.

Posted on July 14, 2013 6:35 PM

Really, I can see Sony dropping all these Vita-PS4 features so easy though. They drop things like that all the time.

Posted on July 14, 2013 4:55 AM

Shame if that happens. Even with the lack of games, I still think the Vita is a very interesting console.

Posted on July 14, 2013 6:36 PM

I love mine, just wish I had more to play on it.

Posted on July 14, 2013 6:46 AM

Nooooooo. I'm just thinking about getting one although I may get a Wii-U instead. That doesn't say much for the system does it? There are still so few games for the Vita that interest me. It's incredible to me that they would kill it without really doing anything with it. I think it could work even better with the PS4 and I hope they continue it and make some games for it. 

Posted on July 14, 2013 6:36 PM

Well part of it is how Sony's relied on 3rd parties a lot more than Nintendo and they're choosing to support the 3DS over the Vita most of the time. I don't think Sony anticipated for this few number of developers to support it.

Posted on July 14, 2013 5:23 PM

I expect the Vita to be discontinued in the Western market in the next twelve months if the software situation doesn't improve.  Outside of independent developers and the projects that Sony is funding, there is nothing happening on the development scene in North America and Europe.  Meanwhile, the Vita is gaining some traction in Japan and increased development (both exclusives and ports).  If the system can at least gain a level of developer commitment like the PSP achieved, then the system might survive abroad.  It would be a niche survival, though, because not every game is suitable for localization.

That said, it truly is a shame that the system has been repeatedly handicapped.  If it's not the price of the unit (which isn't a real problem) and its proprietary storage (which is a problem), it's the continued apathy of the Western development community towards handhelds.  If it's not Sony's ineptitude at supporting its own hardware, it's the developers not bringing console experiences to the unit (seriously, I'm tired of seeing only local multi-player options).  The Vita's a powerful device; If only someone would treat it with respect and show everyone what it's capable of.

Posted on July 14, 2013 6:38 PM

I could see that. Would be cool if they'd at least put most of those Japanese games on PSN even if they didn't translate them. I'm sure Vita owners would be more likely to ignore that they aren't translated if they're getting something.

Posted on July 14, 2013 7:27 PM

I plan to get a Vita some day.  I'm waiting for a nice price drop. 

Posted on July 15, 2013 2:17 AM

The problem that I personally have with the Vita is that it's completely and totally uncomfortable to hold for any lengthy period of time, a problem that is made all the worse when playing games that use the back touchpad. You have to adjust the way that you hold the system when playing a game that uses it, but it's not exactly the most ergonomical device so it just ends up making playing such games feel like a chore.

For example, I'm a huge fan of Jak and Daxter, but even setting aside that the PS VIta version of the collection is ridden with bugs and the games play at a jarringly low framerate, it's just no fun to play because I have to keep my attention on how I hold the device lest I accidentally activate the L2 and R2 button functionality that the game's developers relegated to the back touchpad by accident. That's no problem in Jak 1, but in the other two games, accidentally pressing those virtual buttons in the mist of gameplay can screw you up quite a bit. So I play with my hands cramped at the corners of the handheld, and it's just not fun.

I like games that don't use it a great deal more, but again, the system isn't particularly comfortable to hold even then, so I don't play them for long, and it takes a whole lot of willpower to work up to wanting to play it at all because of that. It's not as if I have huge hands either. I'm a smaller-than-average dude with normal sized hands, but I just can't get comfortable with the thing.

Folks have suggested that a grip solves that problem, but I haven't got one yet. I'm still not sure enitrely whether or not I'm going to keep it. I've had no problem finding plenty of great games for it, but the device itself has had a way of sucking the fun right out of even the best of them.

Posted on July 15, 2013 2:37 AM

I think if Sony makes a generous price drop and some decent titles come out of the woodwork the Vita can be salvaged. They might have a trick up their sleeve with connectivity to PS4.

Posted on July 15, 2013 10:44 AM

We'll just have to wait to see how the PS4/Vita integration works first. I think that if they can successfully intergrate the systems, the Vita has a decent chance.

Posted on July 15, 2013 5:49 PM

I think we won't know until the PS4 comes out. I reckon it will pick up, it just needs more games!