Are HW sales directly proportional to SW support?

[NightDragon83]

happydolphin said:
What about what is happening with the Vita, the slow SW launch window. Do you think Sony is giving more strength to the PS3 SW offerings so as to keep the PS3 strong, at the expense of the Vita?

Also, why was Sony able to support the PS2 in its twilight at PS3 launch, and Nintendo was not able to do the same with the Wii, despite having a weak 3DS launch? Will there be some kind of surprise to show where all the work has gone in the mean time?

I have no idea why Nintendo has all but abandoned the Wii.  They're by far the biggest dedicated gaming company in the world, so to say they can only focus their resources on one console at a time is ludicrous.  But I think the reason Sony was able to keep the PS2 going for so long was that it already had a ton of 3rd party support, not to mention being the best selling console of all time, so both of those thing helped to give the system a long life cycle.  3rd party support was never big with the Wii, but it didn't need to be since it's Nintendo's stuff that everyone from the longtime fan or the casual gamer buys for it, so no software for Ninty, no more Wii.

As for the Vita, I think the main problem isn't so much on the software side... it had some great launch games and plenty of SW on the horizon, with more to be revealed at E3 for sure.  I think its biggest problem (in my humble opinion) is the same problem that the PSP had... it's a handheld that tries too hard to be like its console big brother.  The perception of the PSP by a lot of people, especially here in the west, was that of "Why should I spend over $200 on a handheld version of a console I already own with essentially the same library of games, only with gimped controls and visuals?"  The Vita seems to have followed this same path, essentially being a portable PS3 which, while technically impressive no doubt, doesn't do enough to justify its own existence.  Having handheld versions of Uncharted and God of War is great, but if you already have a PS3, wouldn't you just rather get those games on the PS3 instead?

Basically, the Vita just doesn't do enough to differentiate itself from its console brethren.  The GB and DS systems were all unique experiences with their own unique library of games, not to mention being much more affordable and catering to the biggest audience for handheld gaming... kids and young teens.