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Forums - General Discussion - PS Vita: What could have been…

 

Could a PSP 2 have sold as much as the 3DS, if it had been significantly better supported and planned?

Yes 9 36.00%
 
No 16 64.00%
 
Total:25
Azuren on 16 December 2017
KLXVER said:
friendlyfamine said:
The original PSP was outsold by the DS.

All for one simple reason, really.
.
Price.

and...you know...better games.

Yeah, gonna have to disagree. I always found the DS library to be mostly gimmicks, followed by a healthy supply of shovelware, and topped off with typical Nintendo first party and Square Enix magic. When faced with titles like Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, God of War, Crisis Core, Birth By Sleep, Daxter... I'll pick PSP every time.



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JWeinCom on 16 December 2017

Nope.

The Switch is succeeding almost solely on Nintendo first party support at the moment. Hopefully, they can keep it going long enough for third parties to get some stuff on the platform.

Sony doesn't have the system selling franchises Nintendo does. And, even if you want to argue that their first party titles are as good, most of their better studios work on console stuff, and they can't really divert their resources to a portable.



Azuren on 16 December 2017

I think we're better off waiting for mobile processing to catch up so that we can have a portable PS4 that runs at the same level of performance as a PS4 Slim. That way there's 100% library crossover, and Sony doesn't have to worry about launch titles.

We'd have the PS4 SuperSlim ($200, utilizing PS4 Go tech to be cheaper and l roughly the size of a PSone), PS4 Pro ($350, of course enjoying a permanent $50 price drop), and PS4 Go ($300 OR whatever the Switch's current price is). Give the PS4 Go a dock like the Switch, and people could replace their standard PS4s with a PS4 Go while retaining the option to save money on a PS4 SuperSlim.



Watch me stream games and hunt trophies on my Twitch channel!

Check out my Twitch Channel!:

www.twitch.tv/AzurenGames

SegataSanshiro on 16 December 2017

No 3G model.
A price competitive with 3DS.
Used Micro SD cards.
Better support from Sony 1st party.
Marketed as a handheld first.

These would have helped the Vita.



DivinePaladin on 16 December 2017

A lot of the bullet points you make either DID happen with the Vita (for example, I felt it got a lot of love at events for the first year and change until the writing was on the wall), or would've been totally incompatible with Sony at the time. Like, yeah, if it were totally different, it could've succeeded more, but the biggest issue was that Sony was obsessed with power. Simply put, a handheld marketed as a portable PS3 that can't deliver PS3 level games consistently wasn't going to draw in many developers, and having sub-PS3 games would turn off the market that'd be interested in the initial idea of a portable almost-PS3. It was this self-fulfilling cycle of disappointment, that not even exclusive PlayStation franchises could help.



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SegataSanshiro on 16 December 2017
trent44 said:

I am sure Sony has seen how well Nintendo Switch is selling, with Sony’s very own PSP/Vita pioneered concept “Console Quality Games On The Go”, they probably now have reflected on how they missed the mark on they market they aimed for, which Nintendo has hit so squarely.

Seeing just how fast this gaming concept can actually sell, I think PS Vita is one of the most squandered opportunities in gaming history.

Let’s imagine an alternative history where PS Vita got everything right.

—For starters, a PS Vita named the PSP 2, using what brand recognition they had to help the new handheld.

—Next obvious would be getting more developers to release full PS2+ scope (larger budget, non-rushed/janky) games AT LAUNCH, even publishing many of them to give the platform a proper boost off its launch year. (i.e. GTA san andreas, burnout revenge, dark cloud 2 type/scale of games)

—Marketing the PSP 2 a ton, not only running many more ads for the console, but actually talking about the PSP 2 as a significant focus at all their gaming events. (during its whole life, I really doubt PS Vita averaged even 5% of the presentation time across all of Sony’s gaming events, that shows lack of confidence and support, and greatly effects how people perceive the console)

—Having built in storage from the start (4GB), easy save file management that doesn’t copy the entire game with it, 1 icon for all physical games to avoid icon bloat (like the 3DS did it), supporting micro SD cards (memory card prices and eventual larger sizes would have been so, so, so, so, so, so much better).

—This PSP 2 having 4 shoulder buttons and no touch screen/touch pad (which became poorman’s shoulder buttons as Vita’s life went on).

—A PSP 2 with a XMB like OS navigation (like a very lite version of the PS4’s OS that didn’t have issues with icon limits or having no button navigation for over half a year).

—PSP 2 that allowed a second player to jump in and join the fun anywhere with a spare dualshock controller.

—PSP 2 which had widespread ad-hoc support like the OG PSP instead of sporadic support which had Vita multiplayer meet ups (these would have been more common as more consoles sold) depend on huddling around a router.

Now obviously this is all very hypothetical as I am well aware Sony was in a bit of a financial crunch back in 2011, and was afraid of cannibalizing its home console’s sales with such a PSP 2, and Sony hamstrung its own system on the idea that they could get away with selling you down-ports, spin-offs, rushed games, etc. and leave you wanting more, just enough to also double dip for the full experience on the home console. (This idea went poorly obviously)

What do you guys think, could PS Vita have sold as much as the 3DS if it had been significantly better supported and planned?

Would this have eaten into PS3 and PS4 sales?

No they didn't. NEC did with Turbo Express in 1991. SEGA Nomad also did it in 1995.



sethnintendo on 16 December 2017
SegataSanshiro said:
No 3G model.
A price competitive with 3DS.
Used Micro SD cards.
Better support from Sony 1st party.
Marketed as a handheld first.

These would have helped the Vita.

So you are saying Sony pulled a Wii U.



Miyamotoo on 16 December 2017

Vita or even Vita 2 could not sell much like 3DS simple because Sonny don't have nothing similar to huge hevi hitters like Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, 2D/3D Mario, all those games sold more than 10m on 3DS.



WhiteSky on 16 December 2017

Having built in storage from the start (4GB), 

Only 4GB?



trent44 on 16 December 2017
SegataSanshiro said:
trent44 said:

I am sure Sony has seen how well Nintendo Switch is selling, with Sony’s very own PSP/Vita pioneered concept “Console Quality Games On The Go”, they probably now have reflected on how they missed the mark on they market they aimed for, which Nintendo has hit so squarely.

Seeing just how fast this gaming concept can actually sell, I think PS Vita is one of the most squandered opportunities in gaming history.

Let’s imagine an alternative history where PS Vita got everything right.

—For starters, a PS Vita named the PSP 2, using what brand recognition they had to help the new handheld.

—Next obvious would be getting more developers to release full PS2+ scope (larger budget, non-rushed/janky) games AT LAUNCH, even publishing many of them to give the platform a proper boost off its launch year. (i.e. GTA san andreas, burnout revenge, dark cloud 2 type/scale of games)

—Marketing the PSP 2 a ton, not only running many more ads for the console, but actually talking about the PSP 2 as a significant focus at all their gaming events. (during its whole life, I really doubt PS Vita averaged even 5% of the presentation time across all of Sony’s gaming events, that shows lack of confidence and support, and greatly effects how people perceive the console)

—Having built in storage from the start (4GB), easy save file management that doesn’t copy the entire game with it, 1 icon for all physical games to avoid icon bloat (like the 3DS did it), supporting micro SD cards (memory card prices and eventual larger sizes would have been so, so, so, so, so, so much better).

—This PSP 2 having 4 shoulder buttons and no touch screen/touch pad (which became poorman’s shoulder buttons as Vita’s life went on).

—A PSP 2 with a XMB like OS navigation (like a very lite version of the PS4’s OS that didn’t have issues with icon limits or having no button navigation for over half a year).

—PSP 2 that allowed a second player to jump in and join the fun anywhere with a spare dualshock controller.

—PSP 2 which had widespread ad-hoc support like the OG PSP instead of sporadic support which had Vita multiplayer meet ups (these would have been more common as more consoles sold) depend on huddling around a router.

Now obviously this is all very hypothetical as I am well aware Sony was in a bit of a financial crunch back in 2011, and was afraid of cannibalizing its home console’s sales with such a PSP 2, and Sony hamstrung its own system on the idea that they could get away with selling you down-ports, spin-offs, rushed games, etc. and leave you wanting more, just enough to also double dip for the full experience on the home console. (This idea went poorly obviously)

What do you guys think, could PS Vita have sold as much as the 3DS if it had been significantly better supported and planned?

Would this have eaten into PS3 and PS4 sales?

No they didn't. NEC did with Turbo Express in 1991. SEGA Nomad also did it in 1995.

Turbo Express and SEGA Nomad were actual home console games on the go, much like the Nintendo Switch, while PSP games were "console-like".

Though, prior to the Nintendo Switch, console gaming on the go was hardly experienced by anyone (i think only 1.5M Turbo-Expresses and 1M Nomads were even ever made).

So no, Sony did not originate the concept (heck tons of people already had the idea when they first played Tetris on Game Boy and Tetris on NES), but Sony did pioneer the way for that concept to be experienced beyond just a handful of people into a viable market. (to which they then horribly squandered with the PS Vita)

From PSP to Nintendo Switch is the natural evolution and expansion of this market. Sony missed the boat... hard