Opinion: The Vita Problem

[F0X]

JoeTheBro said:

F0X said:

JoeTheBro said:

F0X said:

Really? I could've sworn that 3DS has more 90+ games. Let's also not forget that Virtue's Last Reward is on both systems. Which Metacritic seems to forget...

EDIT: Oh wait. I guess they added reviews since I last checked. But not all of the 3DS version's reviews are there, so the metascore is skewed. The 9.5 from IGN should be for both versions, according to the review. It even said that both versions were basically equal in that review. :P

I really don't care about VLR, it's on both systems... Going off of just exclusives the Vita is neck to neck with the 3DS in terms of quality and grows at a similar rate. Of course since the 3DS has been out for twice as long it beats the Vita in terms of quantity. That doesn't heavily factor in when saying the vita has a "lack of high quality games."

I'll grant you that the 3DS has had a head start, but the Vita exclusive list does not impress me. I'm not seeing much in the way of killer apps - high quality games that move systems - and that's what the Vita desperately needs. I'd argue that the 3DS has at least three, and even more if we count Japanese titles. What does Vita have? Uncharted? Looking back at Metacritic, that doesn't touch the likes of Super Mario 3D Land.

No, I think Sony's approach is almost completely wrong. Vita needs more games like LBP, ones that are good exclusive games that work perfectly in a handheld context, and apply console-level (or nearly so) presentation to them. No more sqeezing Uncharted/Assassin's Creed/CoD onto Vita in hopes that a big name will move units. Smart handheld game design will move units (though if Sony can manage to attach a big name to the product, then that's a bonus).

Well to a Sony fan it has at least a couple killer apps but I completely agree. If a Vita game is associated as being a console game, it will be reviewed as one. Uncharted is better than any other game like it on portables yet it is lacking compared to the later console games. LBP Vita worked because it is actually better than LPB2. If Sony is making a Vita game with a console IP, it better be just as good as the version on PS3. I think they are learning though since apart from cross-buy games (which are a 1 to 1 port), its lineup is mostly new ips.

 

"To a Sony fan" is all well and good, but I could also say that the 3DS has at least five killer aps for Nintendo fans, as opposed to the mainstream gamer crowd.

Golden Abyss is indeed better than any game of its particular type of a portable system. Yet, I don't think it adapted perfectly well to its system. I've heard about some less-than-ideal mechanics based around Vita features, which either means the developer doesn't know how to execute a Vita Uncharted game to its potential or the Unchated game has little business being on a Vita.

@bold That's a good way for Sony to shoot themselves in the foot. Vita is no PS3 (especially power-wise) and shouldn't be treated as such. If LBP Vita is better than LBP2 (which, by the way, has no basis in metascore), then it's because LittleBigPlanet is better suited to the Vita than the PS3. For example, the PS3 doesn't have a touchscreen to assist in level editing, which if I recall was a major point in the game's favor. Point being, the best way to one-up a console experience is to play to the platform's strengths and use smart design, not try to copy paste.

I don't get cross-buy or the purpose of 1:1 ports. Maybe it's just me and the fact that I don't buy handhelds to play console games on, because to me that's counterintuitive and downright inferior to playing a game that is designed for the unique features of the handheld and the typical habits of a handheld gamer. Even so, some ports don't bother be too much. I can imagine playing Sly 4 on Vita, particularly since the developer is apparently designing that version a bit differently.