At the same time though, Digital releases are also now starting to test the water for a game's appeal, with a physical release following later.

Don't get me wrong. I prefer physical and prioritise physical purchases, but also beggars can't be choosers, if it's between digital releases and nothing at all, I'd take digital any day.

Case in point: Earth Defense Force. Yeah first one I had to get digital (and refused to pay full price) but overall consumption has been deemed strong enough for a publisher to think a Physical release could now work.

No backwards logic is to take the time to bring the game to the west and not give it the support it needs to survive. I agree 100%. I skipped plenty of titles because of that. If they're releasing a ps4 version they're already playing it safe. No excuse not to have physical on ps vita if another platform has. What people don't understand is you're advertising you game by having a physical release, Namco plus other companies have been happy with Vita sales so far in most cases. Physical releases will help. Here in Canada it's approx $56 and change after tax for a new physical vita game on average (Re;Birth 3 was that price as example) and only $34.99-$39.99 for that same game digital. I always go physical either way. Owning a game digitally just isn't a everyone type of thing. 

And that's a point I've made time and time again.  If physical is the only way you're going to play a game, then are you really interested in the game?  How does having a case & cartridge affect your enjoyment of actually playing the game?

Given the choice, I will always get a physical version where possible - I completely understand wanting physical, because I am a gamer who wants physical too.

But where there isn't a choice, I'm not going to boycott a game.  The message you're sending with that isn't "we want physical!", it's "we don't want your games at all".

And truly, I can understand why publishers choose to skip retail in the west, because every year that goes by the console loses more and more retailer space to better-performing consoles.

Sword Art Online would've been a better case in point.  That's pretty much the poster child for "successful digital release = physical release for next game".

But hey, we've already got two people pledging their allegiance to boycotting digital-only, which is fan-fucking-tastic.  Vita's userbase is anemic enough as it is without diehard fans pulling this level of backwards thinking.

I agree 100% on it testing the waters. But it's ridiculous in cases like this. Also I skipped on Earth Defense Force because of that in the past. Remember a bunch of us had the same kinda convo back then s well lol. Atelier is pretty much the only games that broke that rule and SAO. Atelier started only because I was making good money and was bored and said let me waste some money on it since it was a series I've wanted to try.

They are giving it the support it needs to survive.  They're porting it to PS4, a console with a healthy userbase and a healthy software ecosystem.

No excuse not to have physical on PS Vita?  I can think of plenty of reasons why not to have physical on PS Vita.  Stronger digital adoption rate among owners in general; niche franchise with small sales potential in west; weak Vita software ecosystem in the west; plenty of major retailers unwilling to stock Vita games in the west.  Take your pick.

And yes, you're advertising a game by having a physical release.  And you're paying for that advertising by all the extra costs that go in to shipping a physical version.  Costs which are going to make it more difficult to be profitable on unless you have bigger sales numbers - sales numbers which presumably aren't going to be recouped merely by advertising.

Listen - I want Vita physical releases in the west, I'm almost collecting them at this point (not as much as Mikerox, but nearly).  But I can completely understand the arguments for not releasing physically, and I'm not under some allusion that Vita's in a place where owners can demand physical release or not buy the game at all (because guess what?  the response will be "not at all")

I am in agreement with you Kresnik. Boycotting digital only releases don't benefit anyone. Publishers don't do it because they want to punish their potential or alienate people. They only do it when their market research has shown that they may not make enough off of it to justify the cost. I know every single one would love to have advertising and retail copies, but that's in the reality we live in.

Don't take out your frustrations of Sony's memory card decisions on risky localizations of games you're interested in.

You don't understand because you can't. I'm as much a collector as I am a gamer. I got PLENTY of Vita games, I even REBUY GAMES on VITA DIGITAL and physical. I own alot of vita games physical and digital. I am more than enough of a Vita supporter. Had since first week, still using the same one with 64GB, over 50 PSP and PSOne Titles alone on it, and a few digital vita releases. I own alot of my physical games digitally as well. I've bought digital games I've never even bothered to download of forgot I owned. Why because I'm an extreme Vita supporter. Why didn't I get J-Star on Vita? Digital only, I prioritize physical games so if it's digital only it's an afterthought. Also next year has too many games I need to waste my time being hype off a digital only release. They don't care enough, I don't either. I'm an extreme Digimon fan, Hell rewatching Xros Wars as Fusion now and been watching and playing the games from day 1, but screw that if I'm suppose to be hyped for that garbage treatment. 
The message I'm sending is quite clear actually. I let them know on every post of digimon by bandai, they bring these things up in the meetings when you got enough support. But if we have a bunch of weak minded thoughts like, (just be happy we got it), we'd never get physical releases at all for Vita. Vita will never no anything decent if they have no titles on store shelves. Vita shelf space is absent because they got nothing to put on it. Vita games plenty of games but physical releases aren't really existent apart from neptune and lego lmao. I'll never respect that, You think being quiet gets you what you want. I'm not going to ever be the people a company thinks of and says hey let's displease em, they'll buy it anyways. 

Didn't a developer complain on twitter that Vita fans go on campaigns for physical releases only for the game to have a physical release and sell terribly? If it's not profitable for them to have a physical release, why would they?

I'm just glad we're getting support from the developers that take a chance on the vita. I'm not gonna punish them for giving us only digital as an option.

Everything said here irrelevant. Why?
PS4 will be getting the game ported to it and released physical, that's simply enough reason to have Vita physical as well. It's not like it's $20 for the game, it's a full price title. Again I won't support em with that dumb logic. That's call bad treatment. Trying to tell me otherwise is a waste. I know how the industry works. I'd support a company doing a digital only release on Vita over a company doing a physical release on another platform of a vita game. I already did that once for Bandai and won't again, that was J-Star, I wanted it on Vita but skipped it and payed double literally just because I wanted the game and said I'll still support anyways. 

I don't get the logic of people tryina tell me what my moneys worth. 

I understand people prefer digital, some physical and only buy digital if they need to. Hell I own most my games for vita twice. I just hate digital only releases. Only way to end my problem. Avoid it. Why would I add onto the fuel that frustrates me? No thanks