nadiatims
Member
Registered: 2008-01-10
Posts: 1676
i won a ps vita at my company's 新年会last night. any recommendations for games? preferably in japanese, but if it's an awesome game, english only is fine too.
I don't know, Vita seems like it might do OK. No system is ever going to set DS-level sales records again, but I think there's enough of a gamer audience that it will do fine. Both PSP and 3DS started out slow but picked up after a while.
(There are rumors that a Monster Hunter is coming out for Vita -- if that happens, the Vita's success is secured. MH saved the 3DS and the PSP, and the franchise seems no less popular now.)
Last edited by yudantaiteki (2012 January 07, 12:29 am)
rich_f
Member
From: north carolina
Registered: 2007-07-12
Posts: 1708
Yeah, I bet most of those used Vitas were the 3G Vitas. Those haven't sold at all. Nobody wants a portable gaming device AND an extra bill from DoCoMo.
I played with the Vita when I was Japan last month. It's a decent little system with a very pretty screen, but I can say the same thing about my cell phone, and my cell phone doesn't have crazy-ass security on it that prevents me from playing games from more than one region.
How crazy? This crazy: You can only log into one PSN account per Vita. It's hardware locked, so in order to switch accounts, you have to do a factory reset, and even your memory cards are hardware locked to one PSN account. So you have to have separate memory cards for each account... Dumb as hell if you want to play both US (or EU) and JPN games. Basically punishes people who want to play games from more than one region and have DLC unless you just buy two of them. Granted, that's a small minority, but that's me.
3DS pretty much killed the Vita in sales at Christmas in Japan. Not really surprising. Sony went Sony again with the price, and nobody wants to lay out 4-5万 total to get a portable gaming system off the ground in this economy. System + extra junk you need + games... Proprietary memory cards, even. Way to go Sony.
rich_f wrote:
I played with the Vita when I was Japan last month. It's a decent little system with a very pretty screen, but I can say the same thing about my cell phone, and my cell phone doesn't have crazy-ass security on it that prevents me from playing games from more than one region.
How crazy? This crazy: You can only log into one PSN account per Vita. It's hardware locked, so in order to switch accounts, you have to do a factory reset, and even your memory cards are hardware locked to one PSN account. So you have to have separate memory cards for each account... Dumb as hell if you want to play both US (or EU) and JPN games. Basically punishes people who want to play games from more than one region and have DLC unless you just buy two of them. Granted, that's a small minority, but that's me.
But otherwise it's region free though, that's more than you can say for the 3DS. I've been thinking of importing a Japanese 3DS along with games since forever, but now that the Vita is coming out I've been thinking that it'd be great if I could buy a European system here, make a Japanese PSN account (would have to import codes for being able to purchase things though, and I understand there's not much free content on the store), and import just the Japanese games.
Maybe I should just go for the 3DS though, with the way things seem to be going.
rich_f
Member
From: north carolina
Registered: 2007-07-12
Posts: 1708
The Vita is a niche device aimed at a niche audience. It won't ever be able to become a ubiquitous device like a cell phone is. It's nice, with a pretty screen, but my phone has an equally pretty screen. My phone has the advantage of fitting in my pocket without making me look like an 8th grader. The Vita is "chunky" at best.
My phone already has Disgaea, obtained legally from the Android Market. We'll be seeing more and more ports coming to the Market and iTunes in the coming years, because software makers can Do The Math. Hundreds of millions of users vs. a few million (if Sony is lucky) users. Hmm. Distribution is a heck of lot easier when you can completely control the channel, too. No manufacturing costs, either.
Phones are getting more and more robust every month, while these portable game systems only come out every few years or so. It just a matter of time before they'll be forced to throw in the towel, I think.
Console systems are a bit different. I don't think those are going away anytime soon. But when my 12-year old nephew, who is an avid gamer, asks for an iPhone and not a 3DS for Christmas, I take note of that.
Betelgeuzah
Member
From: finland
Registered: 2011-03-26
Posts: 464
'Hundreds of millions of users' is misleading for more than a few reasons.
Not all those who have a phone use it to play games. The opposite is true for Vita owners.
The amount of competition is insane.
Phone market is similar to PC market in that dozens of phones with different hardware settings exist. Just because 100's of millions have a smartphone doesn't mean they can all play the game in question. Either your games lag behind the top-of-the-line hardware to tap the largest audience or the pool of possible customers becomes much smaller. So what if the iPhone5 comes close or beats Vita in horse power? Developers are unable to meet the potential available because not enough people have the newest phone that are also interested in gaming.
Plus the simple fact that the controller layout is awful at best. There are no buttons. You kind of need buttons to make real games for the niche audience you were speaking of. Why would they buy a phone to play games on if it is not designed to be a gaming machine?
Superior controls are no issue here since you can buy accessories that help you with that if you want to be "hardcore".
Uhh, might be better to develop games that don't need an accessory to be able to be played? Just saying...>_> No business is going to be that stupid.
Last edited by Betelgeuzah (2012 January 07, 2:53 pm)
Cell phones are not yet serious competition to things like the 3DS and Vita among more serious gamers. They're moving more and more in that direction, and we may see that in the next generation of portables they have to combine with cell phones or die, but I don't think that time has arrived yet.
It's not about specs as much as it is the games. As long as you have to get a Vita (or 3DS) to play the latest Monster Hunter, Kingdom Hearts, Pokemon, etc., the portables will survive. The death of the portable systems will come when the major developers start releasing their major titles (and not just ports of old games or side games) for cell phones.
Initial sales are an especially poor way to judge a console, since there aren't many games out for the system yet. As I said earlier, both the 3DS and PSP started out very slow and disappointing but in the end they did fine.
EDIT: Don't get me wrong, I agree that the days of the stand-alone portable system are numbered. They've already permanently lost the large number of casual gamers who are perfectly satisfied with what mobile phones provide. But I think the audience of more serious gamers is still large enough that at least the Vita and 3DS will be able to pick up a healthy enough consumer base to survive.
Last edited by yudantaiteki (2012 January 07, 9:50 pm)
lysnen
New member
From: 熊本県
Registered: 2011-11-20
Posts: 1
Website
Yeesh, what kind of 忘年会 and 新年会 have you all been going to? The most any of the gifts at the one's I've been to have cost are around ５０００円, and those are rare.
In terms of games, it doesn't look like みんなのゴルフ6 looks pretty good. There's not a ton out right now, so maybe check out the PSN store and try some other titles while developers pump out a few more titles.
That is, of course, assuming you like golf games.
