The window for Sony gets smaller and smaller

First I will say I do like my Vita and don't fully regret the decision to buy one.  I'm a gamer all around and game mostly on my PC but have used my PS3, 360 and other game devices quite a bit over the years.  I've been gaming since the Nintendo hit the store shelves; I'm old. 

Now I know that phones don't give you the experience of the Vita as they aren't dedicated gaming devices and most importantly; don't have the dual pads and directional pad.  However, for casual gamers, many people are enjoying the racing games and even FPS games like Modern Combat 4.  I have to say, graphically, there are some exceptional gaming examples on high end phones.  I just purchased the HTC One and am very impressed with what it offers and how clean the 4.7inch 1080p screen is. 

The mobile wars are so hot and the hardware is excelling faster than any other platform.  Tegra 4 will make my phone completely obsolete and the games even now have automatic settings that turn down or up depending on the type of hardware it detects (much like what PC gamers do manually).  The Vita really had hardware ahead of the curve at launch and if it was marketed right, more developers would push the platform because it would have had a large userbase. 

I know this is pretty known by many on here, but I guess I am just bummed to come back to these forums or check the release dates of games and see such a weak lineup.  Or I will anticipate a game to only be completely let down by the lack of time spent optimizing the game (COD, etc).  I've played and enjoyed Uncharted and MK (graphics aren't great but the gameplay is top notch). I am playing through Rayman and Gravity Rush (pretty cool game) right now.

Hopefully they bring forth some games that are well optimzed and fun to play as this is geting less and less playtime from me lately.  I do hate to say this, but even without the HUGE benefits of the control pads, I am spending more time on my phone for my mobile gaming than the Vita. 

This isn't a bashing thread or it would be on SW, just more of a "wall o text" and a "here's hoping to better times for Vita" thread. 

Fin. 

Although I don't play many games on my phone ( iPhone 5 ) I agree with what you are saying. The Vita desparately needs some quality titles!

Sony needs to hurry and release a special edition Vita. They released a ton for the PSP so I don't understand why the Vita doesn't have one yet. That's honestly why I'm waiting. There are quite a few games I'm interested in to.

There are two things that are making it tough for Sony to capture the handheld market: Cellphones, and Nintendo.

10 years ago people didn't have expensive touch-screen mobile phones.  Now a large majority of the population does.

Personally, I think cellphones are the biggest threat to handheld video games.  This is because I wouldn't want to have to buy an expensive phone and pay for a subscription plan just to play handheld video games.  I do own an IPod Touch, which my girlfriend gave to me, and I've played some of these app games.  Most of them suck, but I did find a few that are kind of fun, and purchased a few.  I wouldn't ever want for traditional video games to stop being made in favor of these kinds of games.

Likewise, the 3DS makes for some very difficult competition for the Vita.  This is because Nintendo basically pioneered the handheld game industry, they have strong brand recognition, and let's face it, they are more family-friendly so parents are much more likely to buy their kids a Nintendo handheld.

I think the 3DS is an unavoidable and almost necessary threat for the Vita.  I don't think Nintendo is quite as experimental and modern with their video games as Sony is, but they still make good video games and are the safe bet in the handheld industry.  I'd honestly much rather have 3DS be the only handheld game system, than have cellphones be the only option for handheld gaming at all.

Another reason why the Vita is failing horribly is that there is also a very large portion of gamers who like console games, but have no interest in playing games on handhelds.  And if you already own one game system, as most gamers do, you might be just fine with that and not want to waste more money on a second, handheld one.

And of course there's the issue about the cost of the Vita and its memory cards, and the debatable stance that the Vita, "Has no games".

If you ask me, the Vita has quite a few games.  It's got several PSOne Classics.  It has some PSN games.  It has Vita games.  It has downloadable Vita games.  It has download-only Vita games.  It even has some mobile games and indie games.  That still isn't enough for people, apparently.  It probably won't ever be, since people care more about finding that one big game for the Vita.  One big game.  Nevermind that there are a ton of other games on the system, a good number of which are pretty good.

Whether the Vita will or will not catch on, we'll find out soon enough.  A price drop will happen someday - all video games lose value over time, and become more affordable.  More games will continue to be made for the system, whether or not they're killer-apps.  But just like life (vita), you can either embrace the Vita for the things it does well, or focus on the things it does wrong every day.

Sony needs to hurry and release a special edition Vita. They released a ton for the PSP so I don't understand why the Vita doesn't have one yet. That's honestly why I'm waiting. There are quite a few games I'm interested in to.

NexApex

It's kind of weird, because going through the scores in Game Informer of past reviews for Vita games, there are a lot of positively reviewed games.  It seems the big problem is not having any Vita exclusive franchises.  For instance, Nintendo has Pokemon, which alone is a big draw to their handhelds.  The best games I've played on the Vita so far are Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet.  Don't get me wrong, I really like these games, but they can basically also really be played on a PS3.  I think Killzone will help a lot, as a big point to having dual control sticks is to have shooters, and I imagine a Sony developer with one of the compaines biggest franchises will be able to and have to make it a worthy entry to the series (same can be argued with Resistance, but Sony kind of dropped the ball with the devs, which they seem to have learned from for KZ).  The problem is, from now to then, what is coming out?  Not much.  Soul Sacrifice is rather fun, but one game to last all summer, that's asking a lot. 

Hopefully there's something at E3 for the Vita, as it was blatantly looked over last year if my memory is correct.

I don't care how good phone games look, they'll always have terrible touch controls. Vita is doing better in Japan, so at the very least we can expect the odd niche Japanese game that might get localized.

It seems the big problem is not having any Vita exclusive franchises.  For instance, Nintendo has Pokemon, which alone is a big draw to their handhelds.  The best games I've played on the Vita so far are Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet.  Don't get me wrong, I really like these games, but they can basically also really be played on a PS3.  I think Killzone will help a lot, as a big point to having dual control sticks is to have shooters, and I imagine a Sony developer with one of the compaines biggest franchises will be able to and have to make it a worthy entry to the series (same can be argued with Resistance, but Sony kind of dropped the ball with the devs, which they seem to have learned from for KZ).  The problem is, from now to then, what is coming out?  Not much.  Soul Sacrifice is rather fun, but one game to last all summer, that's asking a lot. 

Hopefully there's something at E3 for the Vita, as it was blatantly looked over last year if my memory is correct.

blueboxdoctor

Let's see we need a good exclusive racing game, not nfs

we need a good fps.hopefully killzone will be good

we need real versions of madden and fifa not gimped ones

a portable demons souls would be killer but missing buttons will make it weird 

or a good rpg 

mmm thats pretty much it 

a portable demons souls would be killer but missing buttons will make it weirdIthrewupfire

yeah. im trying to enjoy my vita but right now its used for surfing the web and besides that collecting dust. i have ps plus but man thats not even that great on vita. 

yeah. im trying to enjoy my vita but right now its used for surfing the web and besides that collecting dust. i have ps plus but man thats not even that great on vita. 

Rahnyc4

That's another problem I am having with the Vita. I don't even use it's media functions.  My HTC One has outstanding quality speaks for music and HD Movies.  It's got a 4.7inch screen with 1080p so netflix sometimes is used on the phone and not on the Vita.  I find the internet completely frustrating on that compared to the phone. 

Again, if I had to have one gaming device I would choose the Vita.  I NEED the controller since I am a gamer first and foremost.  It's just frustrating to watch the once top tier GPU/CPU combo not being taken advantage of.  I would have thought a strong initial marketing launch, doing whatever to get the system in people's hands, would have been the strategy.  The software sales would have made up for it on the backend.  It's a hard value proposition for developers to put a lot of time and resources into the games when they can spend little time on a much more "powerful" platform like a Galaxy S4, HTC One, iPhone 5 et al, and then charge $.99 apps that reach 100 million devices.  Do I prefer those games? Heck no.  Do I think it's effectted the Vita and these rushed/after thought games? Heck yes! 

I really hope E3 turns the tides a bit or much more integration with the PS4.  I thought they mentioned you could play PS4 games on the Vita and am very uncertain of that when they never got that functionality with the PS3.  If anything, the PS3 should have been the "Beta" testing for this to ensure it's a seamless transition to the PS4.  Time will tell......

Hopefully they bring forth some games that are well optimzed and fun to play as this is geting less and less playtime from me lately.

Dave_NBF

It could be worse, you could have bought a Vita and never even opened the box it came in! That's the unfortunate situation I find myself in after purchasing the ACIII Lib bundle from Amazon last Black Friday for $179 and, I sh*t you not, I only opened the box Amazon shipped it in the other day 'cause I got tired of looking at the sealed brown Amazon box sitting on my floor since November collecting dust. I still have yet to open the actual Vita box because I have no real reason to; the games are just not there for me.

"Why did you buy one?" I hear you ask. Well, because $179 was a great price that I couldn't pass up being as I was on the fence to buy one anyway and that price point was the tipping point. But as I've said it really didn't help me any because the Vita itself is still in its factory sealed packaging. At this point I'm not sure if I should just try selling it outright and make a little bit of profit, or hold out yet more hope that it actually gets a compelling library that makes it worth keeping.

I just don't know.

[QUOTE="Dave_NBF"]

Hopefully they bring forth some games that are well optimzed and fun to play as this is geting less and less playtime from me lately.

Kravyn81

It could be worse, you could have bought a Vita and never even opened the box it came in! That's the unfortunate situation I find myself in after purchasing the ACIII Lib bundle from Amazon last Black Friday for $179 and, I sh*t you not, I only opened the box Amazon shipped it in the other day 'cause I got tired of looking at the sealed brown Amazon box sitting on my floor since November collecting dust. I still have yet to open the actual Vita box because I have no real reason to; the games are just not there for me.

"Why did you buy one?" I hear you ask. Well, because $179 was a great price that I couldn't pass up being as I was on the fence to buy one anyway and that price point was the tipping point. But as I've said it really didn't help me any because the Vita itself is still in its factory sealed packaging. At this point I'm not sure if I should just try selling it outright and make a little bit of profit, or hold out yet more hope that it actually gets a compelling library that makes it worth keeping.

I just don't know.