Atsushi Morita, the head of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia, wants you to going to keep focusing on the Vita. Thank Minecraft for that!
[Image: PlayStation Japan]
Take Romancing Saga 3, for example. That was just announced for the PS Vita (as well as iOS and Android). The console also continues to get special iterations, too. Things seem to still be going well for the Vita in Japan!
In an interview with Trendy Nikkei, Morita talked about Sony’s gaming handheld, explaining future plans. “As for the Vita, since Minecraft came out in October 2014, we’ve been able to actively bring on board kids — that is, younger gamers,” Morita said. That success, he added, felt very significant to Sony. During the years that followed, Sony directed more Vita marketing at kids in Japan.
“From henceforth as well, we’re going to continuing concentrating on the PS Vita and increase the number of younger [PS Vita] users,” Morita said. “This year, we also plan on developing an IP that’s aimed at children.”
Granted, kids aren’t all that are keeping the PS Vita alive, as Kotaku previously reported, but they are certainly a big part of the handheld’s Japanese success.
Comments
15 responses to “In Japan, Sony Still Believes In The PS Vita ”
I wish we could get some of the special Vita iterations (at a decent price and without the O and X buttons swapped). I want to buy more Vitas!
I feel like Nintendo beat them to the punch by adding L2 and R2 trigger buttons.
Vita could have been great… but the lack of those buttons ruled out so many games. Not to mention how difficult remote play was.
I love my Vita. Buy games for it faster than I can finish them. Probably at a 5:1 ratio. My backlog is massive.
Likewise. It’s a comforting feeling when the system is hanging on by its fingertips in terms of new releases.
I love Steam. Buy games for it faster than I can finish them. Probably at a 5:1 ratio. My backlog is massive.
Fixed it for ya.
Yeah, trying a bit too hard there. Nice try to be cool though.
It was poor taste, sorry.
And I keep hearing people telling me how the Vita has no games, yet somehow I keep having to reshuffle the games on my 64gb Vita card because I constantly run out of room.
Guys, just because there’s 4 games on the shelf at EB doesn’t mean there’s not literally hundreds of games available digitally.
My issue is that I cannot afford 64gb cards because I spend all my allocated cash on games. It is a vicious cycle.
It’s one thing I won’t argue with. Why they didn’t go microSD, I’ll never know. Well, I know, it’s all $$$, but still. I think my 64gb card cost like $115 when they came out? Vicious. Totally worth having though. 32gb was killing me.
The struggle is real. I am working with a 16gb right now and a 64gb is gonna be about $130.
Yeah same here, the r/vita community on reddit is really friendly and helpful too 🙂
The Switch’s existence is the Vita’s biggest challenge now. If support for the Switch is even remotely decent, then that means that a behemoth will be taking a huge chomp out of the Vita’s market share.
It depends. The Vita has pretty much turned into the PSP – it’s occupying what’s very much it’s own niche of the market now, no matter how mall that is. It’s basically a portable JRPG/VN/Indie machine now. Switch can get on the indie train, and it sounds like they’re planning to – but the portability of the Vita, combined with it’s well established library will be a huge benefit for it.
I can’t see the Switch competing on the Japanese game front that the Vita occupies – and indies, maybe. But the Vita has a massive indie library – Binding of Isaac, Fez, Risk of Rain, Darkest Dungeon, Hotline Miami, Luftrausers – the list just goes on.
I feel like those sticking with the Vita at this point aren’t likely to ditch for the Switch.
I own both incidentally, but much like the 3DS vs. Vita, they’ll be occupying very different needs in my gaming life.
I’d have an easier time believing that if Gravity Rush 2 had a Vita port.
The Vita’s flaws are inherent to the flaws of the PSN. Let me change my goddamn username, Sony (or at least have two accounts on my Vita so I can play my digital purchases on my new prime account)!!