The PS Vita is struggling in the west, that is indisputable. The sales, however, are in no ways representative of the quality of the Vita. The Vita is easy the highest quality handheld console I've ever owned, and I would go as far as to say that it is my favourite handheld of all time. The Vita is struggling today because Sony couldn't compete with Nintendo right out of the gate, making some horrible launch mistakes, some of which linger on even today. In recent days, the Vita is doing fantastic in Japan, truly rivaling the 3DS, and I believe Sony can come close to doing the same in the west, if they take some big (perhaps even drastic) measures ASAP.
1. Lower the software price of new titles to $34.99 USD.
This may sound crazy, as a bunch of devs will not make quite as much money on games sold. However, at this price range, the Vita can aggresively compete with the 3DS in terms of software. One of the biggest things people consider is the price of software when buying a console. If a consumer can get better looking games on one console at a cheaper price than the other, they will usually choose the graphically superior console with lower-priced games. Of course, lower prices don't mean anything if the qualtity of said games can't match, which leads me to my next point...
2. Build up the Vita's gaming library.
Now, I love my niche Japanese Vita games (it's actually the reason I got my Vita in the first place), but there simply isn't enough of them localized and even if there were, the western market for them is relatively small. If Sony is really dedicated to the success of the Vita, they should have triple-A first-party developers working on games as soon as possible, even if it means having to make a developer concentrate on a Vita game instead of a PS4 game. Having a developer like Naughty Dog come out with a killer new IP geared to western audiences would be a godsend for the Vita (and I don't count Golden Abyss as a Naughty Dog game, it was pretty much developed by Bend Studio). Also, Sony should be working with third-party developers to come out with quality games that truly show off the Vita's power. They have a start on it with Borderlands 2, but why stop there? Last gen Square Enix developed Crisis Core and Birth by Sleep for the PSP, both of which were some of the best looking and playing games, and both of which skyrocketed PSP sales when they came out. Now, imagine if Sony and Square Enix worked on a Final Fantasy VII remake that used the Vita's power to make a stunning game? People have been asking for a VII remake for ages, and many of the loyal PS1 fans will be sure to purchase a Vita just to play their favourite game with modern graphics.
3. Make an official PS4/Vita bundle SKU, and retail for $499 USD.
This would be a very drastic move on Sony's part, but taking a $100 loss per bundle sold would easily be made up when more and more people own the console, meaning a lot more software sales and more developer interest in it. The PS4 is selling faster than Sony can produce them, so why not allow the Vita to piggy-back on its younger cousin? Bundle a cross-play game with the bundle, and people are sure to be interested.
4. Make a digital-only Vita and retail it for less.
Now, I know that the PSP Go was an utter flop, but I'm confident that Sony learned from that experience and can do it right this time around. The problem with the Go was that not only was it far more expensive than a normal PSP (even though it lacked a UMD drive), but also that there weren't a lot of digital games available for it. This generation, all physical games are also available in digital, and there are many indie games that are exclusively digital. If Sony made a digital-only Vita and retailed it for, say, $149 USD, they would generate more sales along with having the benefit of making more money per games sold by cutting out the middle-man for every game sold.
5. Localize more games.
Okay, fine, this probably won't help much in the west but I really love my niche Japanese Vita games and I want MOAR. Gotta be selfish sometimes :P
Well, that's about it. Thoughts?
You're Gonna Carry That Weight.
Xbox One - PS4 - Wii U - PC
