Official PlayStation Vita Thread

[Bacon McShig]

But more importantly, customer retention is going to be Microsoft's top priority going into this next gen, and what better way to keep your customers than to be able to tell them "Hey you know all of that stuff you bought through us because you liked us better than Sony? Well you get to keep all of it!"

They've not shown that they give one solitary fuck for customer retention or for parity with what Sony offers this gen, why would it suddenly be a priority?

Granted, they're definitely going to have to do something significant regarding XBL backwards compatibility. Last gen, folks who had DD content had invested a couple dozen bucks in it at most, so shuttering Xbox 1 services was an acceptable loss. For 360 though, many people have hundreds of dollars tied up in that junk. If that stuff is invalidated, there will be a great and violent fury.

Hey idiots. This thing will be $199 within three weeks. Don't buy it.

The concensus in the gaming community seems to be doooom, yeah. But then, the gaming community thought the DS would be creamed by PSP last time around, they thought thought Wii would be a failure, they thought Kinect would be a tremendous flop, they thought Skylanders would be collecting dust at retail. The track record for reality lining up with gamers' general concensus is not so great.

I want to say this thing bombing in Japan is a positive turn for its chances here. Japan loved PSP, didn't help it here any. Xbox is irrelevant in Japan, sells like nuts here. Something having zero appeal to Japan speaks well for its ability to appeal everywhere else, seems like!

[Diff-chan]

Skylanders was an obvious hit. Who didn't see that one coming?

Yea that the "game community" has a poor track record on predictions is true. But if anything this thing is something that was designed to make that community swoon. The fact that it's not really doing that is a very bad sign for Sony. They NEED to sell to game fans because everyone else is cool with their iPhone.

[Hero]

The concensus in the gaming community seems to be doooom, yeah. But then, the gaming community thought the DS would be creamed by PSP last time around, they thought thought Wii would be a failure, they thought Kinect would be a tremendous flop, they thought Skylanders would be collecting dust at retail. The track record for reality lining up with gamers' general concensus is not so great.

This is why I'm wary that 3DS will be like the NGPC - fun for its games, but doomed because the gaming community Likes This Thing.

Although I'm gonna wait on the Vita like I did the 3DS. None of the launch games are terribly exciting and the inability of Sony to offer parity for its longest supporters of PSP (the ones with UMDs), plus the cost of proprietary storage formats aren't exactly thrilling.

[GohanX]

Yoshi: So far, it is possible to play Japanese PSN, but it's a pain in the ass. You have to hard reset the system, and on initial setup you can enter a different region PSN account, log on, download, and play. Repeat the process to go back to the US account. The problem is that this process takes about 10 minutes each time you do it, and you probably need internet access, so it's probably not worth it.

I want to play Dodonpachi on the handheld, dammit!

[kingoffighters]

Yea that the "game community" has a poor track record on predictions is true. But if anything this thing is something that was designed to make that community swoon. The fact that it's not really doing that is a very bad sign for Sony. They NEED to sell to game fans because everyone else is cool with their iPhone.

I agree. The game community is the group who is willing to pay $30-50 a game to make this system viable. I know Sony is open to cheaper games online and that's a good sign, but at the same time, most aren't buying a dedicated handheld to play iPhone/Droid type games.

I hope Vita does well though, I don't mind buying a new portable but so far, none of the games warrant a purchase.

[Yoshi]

Yoshi: So far, it is possible to play Japanese PSN, but it's a pain in the ass. You have to hard reset the system, and on initial setup you can enter a different region PSN account, log on, download, and play. Repeat the process to go back to the US account. The problem is that this process takes about 10 minutes each time you do it, and you probably need internet access, so it's probably not worth it.

That doesn't interest me at all. They have to be playable on my US PSN account or no deal. I refuse to go backwards from the PS3.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

Skylanders was an obvious hit. Who didn't see that one coming?

Just about every retailer everywhere.
All the various buy one get one sales and shit that occurred before Christmas didn't put much of a dent in inventory. So no one ordered extra inventory because they all thought they would be saddled with what they already had on hand, then the Day After Tomorrow hit and shit was cleaned out.

[GohanX]

That doesn't interest me at all. They have to be playable on my US PSN account or no deal. I refuse to go backwards from the PS3.

I agree. Or instantly swapping accounts like you can on a PS3 would be acceptable to me as well.

[EvilMog]

I finally was able to try a Vita yesterday. It's ok I guess. Everything feels ok. The sticks and buttons seemed a bit small but I'm sure are fine. The screen seems good but I don't think it's as nice as the iPhone. Overall I'm pretty underwhelmed despite all the tech this thing has. I think handheld gaming machines are a thing of the past.

[Compass]

Hey idiots. This thing will be $199 within three weeks. Don't buy it.

Not likely. The PSPgo was a gimped PSP, not even present-compatible, tethered eternally to the overpriced PSN, and sold like the absolute shit it was. How long did it take them to lower the price from $250? A year? Longer?

Sony is very stubborn and in total denial as far as their brand worth.

That said, I wouldn't rule out specific retailer deals to clear out inventory. Particularly the 3G version which nobody seems to want.