Could The Vita Ever Catch The 3DS?

[Salnax]

teigaga said:
Possible.

Really?

Sony don't ever have to release a new handheld, the Vita can do everything.

The PS3 ports it has gotten are often downgraded, the Game Card size is literally worse than a DVD's, despite the system's power, there are constant storage problems between price and a lack of internal storage, and the device is soon going to be outpowered by many mobile devices. The Vita isn't the handheld version of the PS2.

If they (and 3rd parties/indies) choose to support the Vita in coming years, sales will surely boom and it becomes swarmed with games whilst also becoming significantly less expensive.

Why would they do so though? Indies, I can see happening, but the 120+ indie games coming to the Wii U aren't going to make that system outsell the PS4. As for third party devs, the Western ones only really cared about handhelds from 2005 to 2008 or so and the Japanese ones have plenty of other platforms to choose from, including the more popular 3DS's retail and eShop market spaces.

If In 2016 the system is $129 and can stream ps3 and is receiving a shit ton of exlusives from mid level/indie devs who can't compete in the PS4's space, I think it will eventually outsell the 3DS.

If the Vita loses 35% of its price by 2016, you have to assume the 3DS will do the same. That means the 2DS will cost $80 or $90, while the base 3DS still only costs about $110. And why would streaming PS3 games be a big deal 10 years after the system is released? Plus, you're once again assuming that the only platforms are the Vita, 3DS, and PS4. The Wii U is already attracting a lot of indie devs, and mobile devices are still becoming bigger.

Nintendo need another generation to make a handheld which is accessible to indie devs who I think will become hugely important in coming years. Not to forget that the Japanese developers whom tend to steer clear of home consoles will all adopt the Vita eventually.

Nintendo doesn't need a new handheld to be more acessible to indie devs. It needs a few policy changes and a firmware update at most! The 3DS has all the basic things you need for indie games, including ACTUAL INCLUDED STORAGE SPACE. As for Japanese developers, the ones that release their games mainly on handhelds have a fairly minor impact outside of the dwindling Japanese market. Not to mention that the same reasons home consoles are being avoided can also be applied to the Vita more than the 3DS.

Right now every indie title on the Vita is cross-platform, but soon I think they will realise that Vita exclusives mean more hype and lower costs. When the PS4 becomes over saturated, I believe devs will start treating the Vita as its own platform. Sony Needs to facilitate this though.

So you think the PS4 will reach market saturation around 2016, devs will suddenly start caring about the system years after its release, and only the Vita will get cheaper over time.

Okay

Edit: Sorry for being a negative nancy, but I'd say the same to people who think the Wii U will outsell the PS4 lifetime.