# Seriously, Why is the Vita failing?



## Charlotte D. Kurisu (Apr 5, 2014)

So, just for some reference.. The PSP and NDS were awesome, I loved both systems almost equally.. And I was planning to buy both eventually when each system got a tad bit of games.. So I bought my 3DS for PokemonXY, Zelda, Castlevania MoF, Fire Emblem, etc... I'm also planning to buy Bravely Default and Kirby.. Point is, 3DS got a solid library.. But I always delay my Vita purchase cuz there are no games I'm interested in other than Gravity Rush and Tearaway.. 

PSP had an awesome library.. So yeah, just give me a constructive answer cuz I demand it.. Portable gaming is too awesome for one system  

That's why NDS/PSP Gen > any portable gen


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## Krory (Apr 5, 2014)

I'm sure there's probably a Vita thread that could answer this question.


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## Ram (Apr 5, 2014)

Smartphones.


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## ATastyMuffin (Apr 5, 2014)

Lots of factors, mainly its $250 price excluding memory cards () being unjustifiable in a market where the presence of handhelds is gradually being diminished by mobile devices.

Let's not forget its glaringly apparent lack of top-tier Sony franchises; most of them that are actually present on Vita aren't nearly as large a production as their console equivalents. Funnily enough, Nintendo does the exact opposite; their A and B-teams are interchangeable when it comes to console and handheld software. Hence why their domination is as one-sided as it is.


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## Naruto (Apr 5, 2014)

As much as I loved the PSP, the Nintendo DS demolished it completely, so the vita failing should come as no surprise.

You wanna know why nobody is buying a vita? Because there's not enough worthwhile exclusives to justify the price tag.


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## Atlas (Apr 5, 2014)

3DS happened.


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## Zaru (Apr 5, 2014)

Naruto said:


> As much as I loved the PSP, the Nintendo DS demolished it completely, so the vita failing should come as no surprise.



Well... the PSP still sold quite well and certain genres were much more present on the PSP than the tiny, weak DS. (And I say that as someone who only had a DS)

But yeah, Mobile harmed the dedicated gaming handheld market in general and although the Vita is a nice gadget, few people buy a handheld to mostly play multiplat indies on it...


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## Kira Yamato (Apr 5, 2014)

Naruto said:


> As much as I loved the PSP, the Nintendo DS demolished it completely, so the vita failing should come as no surprise.
> 
> You wanna know why nobody is buying a vita? *Because there's not enough worthwhile exclusives to justify the price tag.*



The expensive propriety memory cards doesn't help their situation. I have PS+ so I love the selection of games I can play on my PS3 and PS4 and considered getting a Vita as well until I found out the cost of their memory cards. 

I'll stick to my 3DS and 32GB memory card that cost me next to nothing to buy.


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## scerpers (Apr 5, 2014)

nogames               .


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## Raidou Kuzunoha (Apr 5, 2014)

The games on the Vita are actually good.

But most of which are mostly in Japan's library which is very slow coming over.

I mean us getting Danganronpa 1 and 2 localized was like a stroke of luck.


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## Pain In The Ass (Apr 5, 2014)

I am planning on buying the Vita sometime in the future. Having a ps+ subscription on my ps3 account, I've already accumulated over 40 games on Vita, so I'll have a cool library for when I actually buy the handheld.


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## Buskuv (Apr 5, 2014)

The PSP is remembered fondly and was a success, despite not surpassing the DS.

However, it was in the same position as the Vita is now (expensive, proprietary memory, nogames) until it got GTA and Monster Hunter.

And, to be honest, I play my Vita more than my 3DS by a significant margin.  It helps if you like weaboo games, but I've got Gravity Rush, Ys, Tearaway, Deception IV, Little King's Story, EDF, Maramusa, Dragon's Crown, Toukide, P4 the Golden, with Conception and Demon Gaze on the way.  Add to that an indie selection rivaling the 3DS (in many respects, better than), and the ability to play PSP and PS1 games, and I've got something I use a whole fucking lot.

I'm away from home often, however, so I put a lot of stake in my handhelds.


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## Akira Kurusu (Apr 5, 2014)

Dr. Boskov Krevorkian said:


> It helps if you like weaboo games



And superior 1st party support, bigger retail exclusives, etc.

Everything else digital/hardware-wise Vita dominates.


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## Zaru (Apr 5, 2014)

Dr. Boskov Krevorkian said:


> The PSP is remembered fondly and was a success, despite not surpassing the DS.



How was the situation in Japan, anyway? Because I always see references/parodies for the PSP in anime and manga, but never the DS. Ever. It's like that thing doesn't exist.


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## Buskuv (Apr 5, 2014)

You know how Monster Hunter is like call of duty in Japan?

Well it was only on the PSP in Japan until Tri came out on a Nintendo system.  It was a system seller in the most literal sense of the word, and when the PSP is that system, it does well.


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## Buskuv (Apr 5, 2014)

Asa-Kun said:


> And superior 1st party support, bigger retail exclusives, etc.
> 
> Everything else digital/hardware-wise Vita dominates.



Totally forgot it, but Killzone: Mercenaries is a surprisingly solid, enjoyable experience--I mostly forgot I was playing a handheld title. 

Even the online is good.


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## Suigetsu (Apr 5, 2014)

Basically it made all of your umd's useless.

PSP it's still a more fun console. I bloody loved my PSP.


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## Canute87 (Apr 5, 2014)

Third party support.  The same thing that's killing the wii u and Nintendo consoles over the years.

PSP's aren't going to sell unless there are games and developers aren't going to make games unless there's a decent install base.

Sony would have to focus their efforts to make their own games to build the handheld and not depend on third party.  Sony's consoles are different because Sony built that relationship from the Playstation era when it's main competitor was a giant douche.  To depend on third party in a market that is wned by nintendo as well as nintendo adding their own key and amazing franchises is a losing battle no matter how powerful you want to make the handheld.


Oh yeah,  One more key important thing that killed the momentum.  The cost.


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## Charlotte D. Kurisu (Apr 5, 2014)

How can mobile fuck up portable gaming.. NDS, PSP, and the 3DS has games with some real depth put into it.. 





Dr. Boskov Krevorkian said:


> The PSP is remembered fondly and was a success, despite not surpassing the DS.
> 
> However, it was in the same position as the Vita is now (expensive, proprietary memory, nogames) until it got GTA and Monster Hunter.
> 
> ...





Canute87 said:


> Third party support.  The same thing that's killing the wii u and Nintendo consoles over the years.
> 
> PSP's aren't going to sell unless there are games and developers aren't going to make games unless there's a decent install base.
> 
> ...




I liked these answers tho..


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## Zaru (Apr 5, 2014)

Khris said:


> How can mobile fuck up portable gaming.. NDS, PSP, and the 3DS has games with some real depth put into it..



For handhelds, both of which have Japan as their home market, Japan matters. For some reason, the Japanese gaming market is booming on mobile phones (and nowhere else), and the ubiquity of such phones is replacing the need for a dedicated gaming device.

This drains developers and financing away from dedicated gaming handhelds.

At least that's how I understood the situation so far.


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## Light Warrior (Apr 5, 2014)

Ain't no games!

Otherwise, I'd have bought one already. There's maybe two games I want that can't also be played on PSP.


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## Buskuv (Apr 5, 2014)

Zaru said:


> For handhelds, both of which have Japan as their home market, Japan matters. For some reason, the Japanese gaming market is booming on mobile phones (and nowhere else), and the ubiquity of such phones is replacing the need for a dedicated gaming device.
> 
> This drains developers and financing away from dedicated gaming handhelds.
> 
> At least that's how I understood the situation so far.



Japan's Mobile Gaming (phone based) now takes up like ~%50 of the gaming market now--that's a pretty stand alone number though, so whether that's a literal shift of the coring gaming market onto phones or, like in the West, where playing Farmville on Facebook adds you to the same statistic as people who play JRPGs, FPS and Strategy on a console or gaming rig, is unknown.

That said, the Vita has a rather large library in Japan.  It's coming into stride.

We'll see how the Borderlands Vita game does in the west.


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## Wan (Apr 5, 2014)

You sort of answered your question already.  The Vita has a distinct lack of interesting games, or "killer apps".  That's not to say the Vita doesn't have games -- it has a lot of them, and good games too.  The problem is that they aren't games people are interested in playing on a handheld device.  A lot of Vita games are either ports of home console games or direct spin-offs, like Borderlands 2 or Killzone Mercenary.  Why do I want to play those games on Vita when I can just get a much better experience on a home console? (or, in my case, my PC)  The lineup of games on the 3DS offers something much more unique that can get people interested even if they already play games on console/PC.  Zelda, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Bravely Default.  I find myself playing my 3DS a lot even when I'm home and could be playing my PC.

Another factor is price. The Vita is significantly more expensive than the 3DS, and the expense goes up when you consider having to buy Sony's overpriced proprietary memory sticks.  The price is going down with the PSVita Slim, but so has the 3DS's, especially with with 2DS.  You pay more for the PSVita for essentially a less usable device.  There's not a lot of incentive there to buy it.

Next, take the above factors and multiply them x10 for the kid market.  No kid wants the PSVita's game library instead of Pokemon.  Parents are much more keen to buy the less expensive option.  The kid market is huge and always has been for handhelds, and the PSVita is basically shut out of it by the 3DS.

So that's pretty much why the PSVita is failing, IMO.


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## Buskuv (Apr 5, 2014)

The Vita was never really marketed as a child-friendly device, though.

The 3DS obviously was, and is making a killing in the kids market, but the Vita never really was reaching for it.  The Vita, for better or worse, has a lot more functionality than a 3DS outside of games.


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## Charlotte D. Kurisu (Apr 5, 2014)

Old Spice moms

30 second loading screen..


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## Buskuv (Apr 5, 2014)

But I don't even like Borderlands on a regular console.  

I wonder what kind of reaction a Rockstar announcement of a GTA game for the Vita would bring?


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## Zaru (Apr 5, 2014)

If I had more "dead" time while outside the house, I probably would have bought one already (and came pretty close to it, but I ended up emulating Muramasa and Persona 4)


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## Charlotte D. Kurisu (Apr 5, 2014)

I hate playing "outdoors", people here don't mind their business..


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## Malvingt2 (Apr 5, 2014)

No Monster Hunter did hurt the Vita a lot.


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## teddy (Apr 5, 2014)

Raidou Kuzunoha said:


> The games on the Vita are actually good.
> 
> But most of which are mostly in Japan's library which is very slow coming over.
> 
> I mean us getting Danganronpa 1 and 2 localized was like a stroke of luck.



This honestly


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## Unlosing Ranger (Apr 5, 2014)

Zaru said:


> For handhelds, both of which have Japan as their home market, Japan matters. For some reason, the Japanese gaming market is booming on mobile phones (and nowhere else), and the ubiquity of such phones is replacing the need for a dedicated gaming device.
> 
> This drains developers and financing away from dedicated gaming handhelds.
> 
> At least that's how I understood the situation so far.



it makes no sense because 99.9% of mobile games are complete shit even compared to old games on the SNES


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## Zaru (Apr 5, 2014)

Unlosing Ranger said:


> it makes no sense because 99.9% of mobile games are complete shit even compared to old games on the SNES



And yet devs are making mad money with in-app purchases n' shit over there


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## Kaitou (Apr 5, 2014)

The dominant location of most handheld games is Japan, like it has been mentioned, so both systems are doing great there, I think the 3DS even higher compared to the US. 

Second of all, like some people said it simply; they rather play the console / PC version of all these games. 

And again, mobile games are dominating in both the US and Japan as well.


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## Wan (Apr 5, 2014)

Dr. Boskov Krevorkian said:


> The Vita was never really marketed as a child-friendly device, though.
> 
> The 3DS obviously was, and is making a killing in the kids market, but the Vita never really was reaching for it.  The Vita, for better or worse, has a lot more functionality than a 3DS outside of games.



I don't think it was a wise decision to pass on the kid's market then.  All successful consoles have had some appeal to the kid's market.  Just look out how crazy popular Skylanders and Disney Infinity is on Playstation and Xbox right now.  If Sony had at least made some effort to appeal to kids and draw them away from the 3DS, they'd probably be in a bit better position right now.


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## Disaresta (Apr 5, 2014)

price and inconvenience of use. 

I remember before I bought a vita how much people use to brag about how good vita is for digital only and you should just go digital only with it. Come to realize the 3ds was infinitely better at being a digital only device and in fact thats what its become for me. the vita is outclassed on games and functionality compared to the 3ds. plus you know pokemon is a thing that will likely never stop.


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## Raidou Kuzunoha (Apr 5, 2014)

Dr. Boskov Krevorkian said:


> The PSP is remembered fondly and was a success, despite not surpassing the DS.
> 
> However, it was in the same position as the Vita is now (expensive, proprietary memory, nogames) until it got GTA and Monster Hunter.
> 
> ...



Its funny but its true.

That's like the only reason anyone in their right mind would want a PSP or a Vita cuz Japanese games are like, the only thing good for it. Or focused for that matter.

Or that could be handhelds in general. For me at least.


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## Buskuv (Apr 5, 2014)

Disaresta said:


> price and inconvenience of use.
> 
> I remember before I bought a vita how much people use to brag about how good vita is for digital only and you should just go digital only with it. Come to realize the 3ds was infinitely better at being a digital only device and in fact thats what its become for me. the vita is outclassed on games and functionality compared to the 3ds. plus you know pokemon is a thing that will likely never stop.



Except that the 3DS is an awful digital system that ties your purchases to the machine, rather than an account, like any other sane digital service would. 



Raidou Kuzunoha said:


> Its funny but its true.
> 
> That's like the only reason anyone in their right mind would want a PSP or a Vita cuz Japanese games are like, the only thing good for it. Or focused for that matter.
> 
> Or that could be handhelds in general. For me at least.



It is what it is.  

It's a great weab machine with promises of good Western releases down the road, so it's falling into a niche pretty nicely.  It's just that most don't really want that niche.


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## Disaresta (Apr 5, 2014)

Dr. Boskov Krevorkian said:


> Except that the 3DS is an awful digital system that ties your purchases to the machine, rather than an account, like any other sane digital service would.



take memory card out, insert into new 3ds...

its pretty simple...


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## Buskuv (Apr 5, 2014)

Yeah, you've got to use the patented Nintendo Transfer system bullshit.

You can't just 'swap the cards out.'  You have to transfer the rights to the new system, and that removes the rights from the old system.


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## Kaitou (Apr 5, 2014)

I agree. If you lose / get your Vita Stolen, if most of your purchases were Digital then you're good to go as you can just redownload it.

If that's the case with your 3DS then you're fucked. 

Obviously with the Wii that wasn't a problem as somehow you were still able to do that if you sent it to Nintendo.


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## Death-kun (Apr 5, 2014)

As a weab (), the Vita is an awesome machine with top notch hardware. The only real problems it has is that all of its best games aside from stuff like Persona 4 Golden is pretty niche, and the memory cards are too expensive. I ended up getting a 32 GB card from Best Buy for $50 by price-matching a long time ago, but most people aren't that lucky. In comparison, I bought a top-of-the-line Samsung 32 GB memory card last week for $15 on Amazon. Sony really needs to slash the memory card prices in half.


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## Kaitou (Apr 5, 2014)

Is a 128GB SD Card worth for the 3DS? 

Also, I got the money to spare so when I buy my PSVita, I plan to go all out and just go with a 64GB card as well.


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## Wan (Apr 5, 2014)

Kaitou said:


> Is a 128GB SD Card worth for the 3DS?
> 
> Also, I got the money to spare so when I buy my PSVita, I plan to go all out and just go with a 64GB card as well.



No, because the 3DS only supports SD and SDHC, and the maximum size for an SDHC card is 32 GB.  Thus, the effective limit to the 3DS's storage is 32 GB.  And really that's all the 3DS needs, as its games have much lower resolution textures and smaller gameplay areas than console/PC games and are generally light on voice acting.


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## Kaitou (Apr 5, 2014)

Death-kun said:


> I'm not even sure the 3DS supports 128 GB SD cards. Even so, a 32 GB card should be more than enough. I have so many games downloaded and I haven't even hit 14 GB yet.
> 
> With the Vita, sure, get the 64 GB card. It'll take a long time to fill up, but Vita games usually have a bigger file size than 3DS games do.



That's true, my Japanese 3DS has like 4 digital games and a bunch of demos and I still have like 22,000 blocks left (it's a 8Gb card).



Wan said:


> No, because the 3DS only supports SD and SDHC, and the maximum size for an SDHC card is 32 GB.  Thus, the effective limit to the 3DS's storage is 32 GB.  And really that's all the 3DS needs, as its games have much lower resolution textures and smaller gameplay areas than console/PC games and are generally light on voice acting.


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## Wan (Apr 5, 2014)

Kaitou said:


> That's true, my Japanese 3DS has like 4 digital games and a bunch of demos and I still have like 22,000 blocks left (it's a 8Gb card).



I stand corrected.  Still, I can't see how 128 GB would ever be used for a 3DS.


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## St. YatōKiri_Kilgharrah (Apr 6, 2014)

Dr. Boskov Krevorkian said:


> The PSP is remembered fondly and was a success, despite not surpassing the DS.
> 
> However, it was in the same position as the Vita is now (expensive, proprietary memory, nogames) until it got GTA and Monster Hunter.
> 
> ...



This right here is why I bought a Vita Slim to replace my OG model In Japan.

But I still use my 3DS more(the library is insane and I find the console a lot more portable than the Vita)


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## St. YatōKiri_Kilgharrah (Apr 6, 2014)

Wan said:


> I stand corrected.  Still, I can't see how 128 GB would ever be used for a 3DS.



Loads of indie games+ retail downloads+ 30$ only download titles.

But mine is filled with music. Lol.


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## Wan (Apr 6, 2014)

St NightRazr said:


> Loads of indie games+ retail downloads+ 30$ only download titles.
> 
> But mine is filled with music. Lol.



That could max out 64 GB, _maybe_.  And if you're not doing that then there's no point.

How do you get music on the 3DS, anyways?  I don't think you can just stick the SD card in a PC, put some MP3 files on it, and play music that way.


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## St. YatōKiri_Kilgharrah (Apr 6, 2014)

Wan said:


> You sort of answered your question already.  The Vita has a distinct lack of interesting games, or "killer apps".  That's not to say the Vita doesn't have games -- it has a lot of them, and good games too.  The problem is that they aren't games people are interested in playing on a handheld device.  A lot of Vita games are either ports of home console games or direct spin-offs, like Borderlands 2 or Killzone Mercenary.  Why do I want to play those games on Vita when I can just get a much better experience on a home console? (or, in my case, my PC)  The lineup of games on the 3DS offers something much more unique that can get people interested even if they already play games on console/PC.  Zelda, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Bravely Default.  I find myself playing my 3DS a lot even when I'm home and could be playing my PC.
> 
> Another factor is price. The Vita is significantly more expensive than the 3DS, and the expense goes up when you consider having to buy Sony's overpriced proprietary memory sticks.  The price is going down with the PSVita Slim, but so has the 3DS's, especially with with 2DS.  You pay more for the PSVita for essentially a less usable device.  There's not a lot of incentive there to buy it.
> 
> ...


Most people who buy pokemon now are in their 20s 

Vita made a half hearted attempt at the "kids" market with Tearaway/Ps Vita PETZ.

Problem with the vita is it has a very small market outside of gamers.

14-18 year olds.

Who are into consoles.


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## St. YatōKiri_Kilgharrah (Apr 6, 2014)

Wan said:


> That could max out 64 GB, _maybe_.  And if you're not doing that then there's no point.
> 
> How do you get music on the 3DS, anyways?  I don't think you can just stick the SD card in a PC, put some MP3 files on it, and play music that way.



No, you do just that. Loaded it with Game OST's and Sawano music.
I also have a music synthesizer on the 3DS that exports to the SD card.

Along with the camera, that can take up some decent space


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## St. YatōKiri_Kilgharrah (Apr 6, 2014)

Kaitou said:


> I agree. If you lose / get your Vita Stolen, if most of your purchases were Digital then you're good to go as you can just redownload it.
> 
> If that's the case with your 3DS then you're fucked.
> 
> Obviously with the Wii that wasn't a problem as somehow you were still able to do that if you sent it to Nintendo.



Not true man  

Games are tied to an account.  Problem is console OS or something, but nintendo has full access to the account now that they merged the eshops.


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## Wan (Apr 6, 2014)

St NightRazr said:


> No, you do just that. Loaded it with Game OST's and Sawano music.
> I also have a music synthesizer on the 3DS that exports to the SD card.
> 
> Along with the camera, that can take up some decent space



Huh.  Is there a way to play music from the 3DS while it's closed up without putting it in sleep mode?


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## St. YatōKiri_Kilgharrah (Apr 6, 2014)

Yeah plug in your headphones. Will play through on whatever track its on.

My only issue is where they stuck the headphonejack


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## Death-kun (Apr 6, 2014)

I would never use my 3DS as a music player.


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## St. YatōKiri_Kilgharrah (Apr 6, 2014)

Eh its usefull on the train.
People use their phones though.

I dont keep smartphones on me though. I dont want brain cancer XD
I still use a flip-phone with an emf inhibitor on it XD


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## Raidou Kuzunoha (Apr 6, 2014)

Wan said:


> That could max out 64 GB, _maybe_.  And if you're not doing that then there's no point.
> 
> How do you get music on the 3DS, anyways?  *I don't think you can just stick the SD card in a PC, put some MP3 files on it, and play music that way.*



Yes you can.

It's also how I extract pictures from it too.


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## Death-kun (Apr 6, 2014)

Kaitou said:


> Death-Kun, are you a full digital guy or so-so?



I'm so-so. Depends on the game, really.


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## Kaitou (Apr 6, 2014)

Death-kun said:


> I'm so-so. Depends on the game, really.



So you still have physical 3DS games?

And games like Animal Crossing or like (games people or Nintendo themselves support the Digital version more) are digital?

Only Digital game I have for my American 3DS is Fire Emblem cause of the model basically.


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