Vita Needs Help In NA+Europe... What Does Sony Need to Do?

[Salnax]

I believe that the Vita's price cut is a good first step. At $200, it's within spitting range of the 3DS. Advertising would also help, and PS4 connectivity, though overrated IMO, won't hurt. But what the Vita needs at the moment are killer apps. The real question that should be asked is "What would be a killer app for the PSP?"

Let's take a look at the best selling PSP games in North America. Despite the PSP's impressive sales, there are only about 10 million-sellers. However, these games are very diverse. You have Grand Theft Auto, 3D platformers, Racing games, God of War, shooters, and an Action-RPG. These are mostly series that have done better on consoles, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Now let's look at Europe, where the PSP sold even more than in North America. Surprisingly, there are only 6 million-sellers. GTA shows up twice, followed by Ratchet & Clank, a racer, a shooter, and Tekken game. Once again, pretty diverse.

For completion's sake, let's look at the "Rest of World" category. There are three million sellers: GTA, GTA, and Gran Turismo.

Let's look at an overview of non-Japanese hits now

*Grand Theft Auto: BIG DEAL for PSP, the non-Japanese Monster Hunter
*Racing Games: Gran Turismo, Need for Speed, Midnight Club, etc. It doesn't matter who makes them, semi-realistic racers, if not simulations, are demanded
*3D Platformers: Especially from Sony's own library of mascots, but they must be exclusive titles!
*God of War - Not the second entry, but the CoO did great
*Shooters - Both 1st and 3rd person, by a variety of devs
*Original Square Enix Game(s) - Crisis Core was the only HUGE one, but Dissidia should also be noted, as should Birth by Sleep
*Tekken - I dunno. 3D fighters are cool I guess.



In theory, if the Vita is able to capture those same types of games, assuming their markets haven't declined, then it should eventually sell on par with at least the PSP. The problem is, that's not going to happen at the current rate. Consider the following:

*Grand Theft Auto was on the PSP TWICE by the end of its second full year. GTA hasn't even been mentioned for the Vita during the same time frame. Furthermore, considering how GTA projects are getting longer and longer to complete, the likelihood of Rockstar devoting resources to a side-project is decreasingly likely.
*The Vita's racers at the moment can be counted on my hands. Furthermore, only two at the moment (Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Wipeout 2048) have left any real mark.
*With the possible exception of Gravity Rush, there are few if any exclusive 3D platformers on the Vita. Furthermore, what platformers there are, like Rayman and Sly Cooper, are multiplatform.
*God of War - Could be announced for the Vita, but Ready at Dawn is working for the PS4, while Santa Monica is already working on a bunch of PS4 projects. A new God of War would have to come from a new source.
*Shooters - Actually, this is one area where the Vita is doing well. Black Ops: Declassified has convinced Activision that they can provide the Vita with annual releases, Uncharted, which is kind of a shooter, is the #1 Vita game, and Killzone is coming out soon.
*Original Square Enix games - Have any even been announced?
*Tekken/3D Fighters - Another genre mostly absent so far.



In short, with the exception of shooters, the Vita is falling well behind where the PSP was at this point in its life. Which means that its up to Sony to find new ways to sell it.

Considering how their strategy seems to be "as a PS4 controller" so far, I doubt the Vita will do well at least this next year in the West.