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Sony isn’t abandoning the Vita

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Rick astley

The Sony Vita is something of a forgotten handheld. With tens of owners and a rather small library of games, it has become a bit of a joke in the industry. However, Sony is still committed to the device.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Sony UK chief Fergal Gara admitted that the Vita hasn’t been a huge retail success, but says that it has shown continual growth and consistent sales.

It’s trucking along. It’s currently in year-on-year growth and enjoying a healthy year, and it’s about to hit its biggest and potentially most powerful release of the year, which is Minecraft. That could be an extraordinary release for Vita.

We’re seeing a bit of reflected glory from PS4. So there is a traction in remote play, and we see the numbers there. But it’s more than that. It’s just found its niche. It’s not the biggest niche in the world, and we’ve been fairly open about talking about it entered a crowded landscape with many other devices providing some sort of handheld fulfilment. But for those who want that more specialist device and a more specialist experience, it does a damn good job, and therefore it trucks along quite nicely.

Seeing as the Vita has become the darling of indie fans, I can imagine that for the niche it services, it does so quite well. However, I’m curious to see how the Vita fares once the Sony Z3 is launched – based on my limited experience with the mobile device, I’d much rather remote play with the Z3 than the Vita. Yes, the Z3 is an expensive piece of tech, but it’s more than a gaming handheld.

Japan seems to be a fiercely handheld market, but I haven’t seen similar excitement elsewhere in the world. Sure, the street passes for 3DS were insane at E3 and Gamescom, but it’s not like I see a lot of chatter about people loving their handheld devices, or chomping at the bit to play them again. Are they purely space fillers for travel-intensive periods, or do they offer a special kind of gameplay experience that can’t be replicated on PC or console?

Last Updated: September 14, 2014

11 Comments

  1. Fabiano Morais

    September 14, 2014 at 12:28

    I don’t think the VITA has a “small library of games” at this point. One can say it lacks AAA games or certain types of games, but mine is quite full with more than I can handle. There are more then enough quality titles if you like JRPGs and the occasional indie title right now. But anyway.

    As for not seeing “a lot of chatter about people loving their handheld devices”, I don’t know about that either. The 3DS gets a lot of love basically anywhere — just look at the commotion simply because Nintendo has issued demo codes for Smash Bros.

    And you can’t really argue that handhelds DON’T “offer a special kind of gameplay experience that can’t be replicated on PC or console” when you think about Pokémon for instance, a franchise that thrives on handhelds and have at best meh spin-offs on consoles. Or about what SquareEnix did with the Dragon Quest series: those remakes wouldn’t make much sense on consoles would they? I could go on and on about how handlhelds DO offer an unique experience really.

    Reply

    • TGS Babay (Umar)

      September 14, 2014 at 21:41

      I couldn’t agree more. Some of my favorite games are on handheld. People underestimate it too much, and therefore are missing out on some amazing experiences.

      Reply

      • When you think about it

        September 14, 2014 at 23:14

        I agree with your agreement.

        Some games on DS, 3DS are amazing experiences. Was even like that with the gameboy back in the day with Super Mario Land & Tetris.

        “Mario vs. Donkey Kong” is an amazing and unique “puzzle game experience” series for a start. The Super mario games are also a joy on the DS. There are some great ones that couldn’t upscale even to tablet/finger size.

        http://gamingbytes.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/82368-4.jpg

        Reply

      • Her Highness the Hipster

        September 15, 2014 at 07:32

        I adored Fire Emblem on 3DS, as well as Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright games. But most people I know don’t use their handhelds as often, or rave about the games as much. Could just be the people I know, but seems to be a trend.

        Reply

        • TGS Babay (Umar)

          September 15, 2014 at 07:44

          Yeah true, but you won’t hear many people raving about Child of Light very often as well. There seems to be a disconnect between the middle games. It’s either AAA or Indie(or even casual). The in-betweens like handhelds and those lesser known titles are just falling through the cracks really..How many people actually sit around and discuss games like Valiant Hearts. More and more people just want that next AAA experience…Just my view though, and I’m probably talking kak lol

          Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        September 15, 2014 at 07:39

        I really don’t get around to all my games, and the VITA suffers for it, which makes me sad every time there’s a VITA article

        Reply

        • TGS Babay (Umar)

          September 15, 2014 at 07:45

          Hehe Yeah I get it though, with all the games out now its pretty hard to make time for handhelds when you already have little of it to spare for 1 gam

          Reply

    • Guest

      September 18, 2014 at 04:37

      Since most sites who document games also have total game numbers:
      Vita: 755 (overlooked games)
      3DS: 504 (overshadow games)

      (As of right now these are their games in total, funny how 3DS has been out longer and sold 4x more)
      I don’t why most think 3DS has more games than Vita, they least people can do is research each platform so they don’t look stupid later on.

      Reply

  2. Hammersteyn

    September 15, 2014 at 07:37

    Lol Rick Rolled

    Reply

  3. OVGrounded new game+++

    September 15, 2014 at 08:49

    FFX- FFX-2, Persona 4, Uncharted, The Walking Dead, Disgaea, Rayman, Child of light…
    Thats 300hours of entertainment right there.

    Reply

    • J_Joestar

      September 15, 2014 at 20:30

      *sitting around with 400+ hours on just Monster Hunter 3U alone*

      Handhelds are great on the road or at home.

      Reply

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