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3DS

Miyamoto on Vita: Needs More Games 

by Andrew Brown - May 8, 2012, 10:26 am EDT
Total comments: 28 Source: (Edge), http://www.edge-online.com/news/miyamoto-vita-need...

3DS is the Vita-beater, and Miyamoto explains why.

While the PlayStation Vita is a very capable device, its lack of a strong software lineup is hurting the handheld's prospects for the future, according to Shigeru Miyamoto in a recent interview with Edge magazine. 

"It's obviously a very hi-spec machine, and you can do lots of things with it, but I don't really see the combination of software and hardware that really makes a very strong product."

Not to be the pot calling the kettle black, he relates the poor hardware sales of the Vita to Nintendo's own 3DS launch. 

"When we launched the 3DS hardware we didn't have Super Mario 3D Land, we didn't have Mario Kart 7, we didn't have Kid Icarus: Uprising," Miyamoto said. "We were striving to have all of these ready for the launch, but we weren't able to deliver them at that time."

He went on to say that Nintendo has certainly learned their lesson about the lack of key titles on their portable system. "We were kind of hoping that people would, nevertheless, buy into the product, find 3DS hardware promising, but looking back we have to say we realize the key software was missing when we launched the hardware."

After seeing some small success at launch, the PS Vita's sales have plummeted, especially in Japan where it has been continually outsold by Nintendo 3DS and PSP. The 3DS has been the best selling hardware in Japan every week since the price drop last August.

Talkback

broodwarsMay 08, 2012

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/6703/160933158187155224getre.jpg

Seriously, though, Sony has let the Vita fall off a cliff in terms of software, despite having a pretty excellent launch lineup.  Resistance is coming this month and Gravity Rush soon after, but I'm concerned that nothing's really been confirmed for the device after June (not even PSN titles) outside of a Persona 4 game I already played to death on PS2. Sony can announce whatever they like at E3, but I doubt they'll announce anything releasing in July-September.  In the meantime, they can at least fix the digital PSP BC issue (quite a few games can't be downloaded or transferred to Vita, including several 1st party titles), as well as add the promised PS1 compatibility.

It is astounding how Sony managed to learn nothing from Nintendo's failures early in the 3DS's life. Nintendo recovered, but Sony's going to have a much harder road to that.

CericMay 08, 2012

Ironically the Vita had the potential to have an excellent launch by really tauting its ability to interact with PSN and making sure that as of Day 1 most of what was on there could be played on the Vita w/out needing a PS3 for transfer.

Chocobo_RiderMay 08, 2012

Great article.  Good use of putting the quotes in context!

@insanolord

Quote from: NWR_insanolord

It is astounding how Sony managed to learn nothing from the PSP

Fixed.

And I own a PSP.

norfairMay 08, 2012

A small correction: PS Vita has not yet been outsold (on a weekly basis) by the Wii in Japan.  ;)

Quote from: NinSage

Great article.  Good use of putting the quotes in context!

@insanolord

Quote from: NWR_insanolord

It is astounding how Sony managed to learn nothing from the PSP

Fixed.

And I own a PSP.

That too. Also, PS3, at least to an extent. It's baffling how they seem to learn nothing. Say what you will about Nintendo, they're learning from the mistakes they've made.

Chozo GhostMay 08, 2012

Miyamoto shouldn't be giving pointers to the competition.

Quote from: Chozo

Miyamoto shouldn't be giving pointers to the competition.

It is in Nintendo's best interest to have a viable competitor, to keep them on their toes. Also, I'm fairly certain Sony already knew they needed to have software to sell the system.

Chozo GhostMay 08, 2012

Yeah, as Broodwars said earlier in the thread Miyamoto was just pointing out the obvious. Every hardware manufacturer knows having software on their hardware is essential, but knowing is only half the battle. Video game development is very expensive and also very time consuming. It can take many months or even years to make a game, and it can cost millions of dollars. So even though everyone knows software is needed, actually making it happen is another story.

broodwarsMay 08, 2012

Quote from: Chozo

Yeah, as Broodwars said earlier in the thread Miyamoto was just pointing out the obvious. Every hardware manufacturer knows having software on their hardware is essential, but knowing is only half the battle. Video game development is very expensive and also very time consuming. It can take many months or even years to make a game, and it can cost millions of dollars. So even though everyone knows software is needed, actually making it happen is another story.

I also have to wonder if Sony is making the fatal mistake of holding Vita game announcements until E3.  Ordinarily, that would probably be seen as a good idea, but right now from what I've seen on Twitter and message boards the consensus among us Vita owners is that it doesn't look like Sony's really putting effort into supporting the Vita so far.  Week after week, the Playstation Blog updates with new game announcements and PS Store updates, and week after week the Vita section is just devoid of new titles.  And what new titles there are are ports of titles that were out on consoles years ago (Disgaea 3, Persona 4, Mortal Kombat).

Sony can't even be bothered to keep a flow of demos going to give the impression that this device is being supported in the short term.  For example, Gravity Rush is going to be a Big Name Vita title next month, yet we still don't have a demo for it on the PS Store.  There is a demo for the game in retail stores, but it's not up for download.  Resistance comes out in 3 weeks, yet with Sony's complete lack of marketing you'd barely know it exists.  And anything past June is a giant Question Mark.

I've really been enjoying my time with my new Vita, and the games I've played on it have been really good (I'm really dreading when it comes time for me to post my thoughts on the 3 I've finished, because they'll be epic-ly long).  But Sony just continues to make these easily-avoidable screw-ups with the device that makes it hard to believe that they have any clue what they're doing.

GoldenPhoenixMay 08, 2012

I still love how polite Miyamoto and Iwata usually are when it comes to the competition vs what Sony usually says when it criticizes Nintendo. Also if this advice was so obvious, why in the heck didn't Sony plan better in the first place when it came to good games?

broodwarsMay 08, 2012

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Also if this advice was so obvious, why in the heck didn't Sony plan better in the first place when it came to good games?

As far as quality is concerned, I think Sony's made sure there's plenty of it in the Vita's software library.  The problem is quantity.  Sony has not ensured that there's a steady flow of new titles.

I just don't understand how Sony keeps making the same mistakes, even with Kaz Hirai as the new president.

AdrockMay 08, 2012

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Also if this advice was so obvious, why in the heck didn't Sony plan better in the first place when it came to good games

Why didn't Nintendo? They all have their reasons, some better than others. I'm assuming Nintendo felt like they needed to release something while the Wii was struggling and Sony didn't want to give Nintendo an even bigger head start especially with 3DS finally getting some solid games towards the end of 2011.

GoldenPhoenixMay 08, 2012

Quote from: broodwars

Quote from: GoldenPhoenix

Also if this advice was so obvious, why in the heck didn't Sony plan better in the first place when it came to good games?

As far as quality is concerned, I think Sony's made sure there's plenty of it in the Vita's software library.  The problem is quantity.  Sony has not ensured that there's a steady flow of new titles.

I just don't understand how Sony keeps making the same mistakes, even with Kaz Hirai as the new president.

True, from what I've read about the Vita launch lineup, it was far superior to 3DS's.  Still I'm not sure why these companies (and I include Nintendo) aren't planning better because a slow supply of good to great games is the best way to slow down, if not completely kill the momentum of a system.

the asylumMay 08, 2012

normally im a die hard nintendo defender, but seriously?

pot, meet kettle. kettle, pot.

Quote from: the

normally im a die hard nintendo defender, but seriously?

pot, meet kettle. kettle, pot.

Kettle needs to learn from Pot's mistakes. Or is it the other way around?

Chocobo_RiderMay 08, 2012

Seems like we're touching on a general trend that (nearly?) every new platform launches with a drought of compelling software.

Is it really just foolishness every time or is there another possible explanation? Lack of "final" dev-kit distribution in time? It takes too much longer to develop modern games? Something else?

I think Adrock's got the right idea here. Both of them launched earlier than they should have, both because they felt they had no other choice because of the situation they were in.

I should say that despite everything I'm saying, I never once regretted buying a 3DS at launch, and am planning to buy a Vita soon (already have the memory card). I think both systems are going to be okay in the long run, the 3DS probably more so because of a number of factors (though it pretty much just all boils down to Monster Hunter).

The games I bought a 3DS for still aren't out yet. T_T Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion 2, Paper Mario, where art though? ... with my luck 2013.

red14May 08, 2012

This is why I hate apps. They smother what games are about.

DiscostewMay 08, 2012

Quote from: Kairon

Quote from: the

normally im a die hard nintendo defender, but seriously?

pot, meet kettle. kettle, pot.

Kettle needs to learn from Pot's mistakes. Or is it the other way around?

Kettle is just jealous because so many love Pot.

It did take Nintendo almost half a year before some big-name titles (that weren't remakes) to come out. Maybe give Sony a little more time.

Yeah, I've kind of "run out" of Vita games. I bought Uncharted and my brother gave me Rayman. I've beat both and Platinum'd Rayman. I don't have much desire to go back to Uncharted. I'm shocked that the PS Store is basically ignoring the Vita entirely. And hey, where's Remote Play? Wasn't that supposed to be a thing?

broodwarsMay 08, 2012

Quote from: Halbred

Yeah, I've kind of "run out" of Vita games. I bought Uncharted and my brother gave me Rayman. I've beat both and Platinum'd Rayman. I don't have much desire to go back to Uncharted. I'm shocked that the PS Store is basically ignoring the Vita entirely. And hey, where's Remote Play? Wasn't that supposed to be a thing?

I enthusiastically recommend Lumines Electronic Symphony (yeah, that's one of the main 3 Vita games I need to Reader Review). The soundtrack is pretty great, and it's probably the most accessible the Lumines series has ever been.  Escape Plan is pretty cool, too.

That's the great thing for me, I never owned a PSP so I've got a ton of stuff to play, even if BC is somewhat limited right now.

Chozo GhostMay 09, 2012

The problem is Sony (and anyone for that matter) only has so many studios which can only work on so many titles at any particular time. They also have to support the PS3 and work to support the inevitable PS4, so their resources are divided. I think Sony will put more emphasis on PS4 production over the Vita because the PS4 is a console and that may be more important for them to do well in that area. They probably view handheld gaming as secondary, and so it gets a much lower priority.

That said, don't be surprised if in the long run the bulk of the Vita's library ends up being ports of PS3/PS4 games. It is no accident that Sony made the Vita on par with the PS3. I think its clear they intend to treat it as a handheld PS3 port system.

nickmitchMay 09, 2012

Sony, like Nintendo, has hardware goals and targets that are less flexible than those for software. When the Vita development was done, they needed to get it out ASAP to start making back that R&D. Sitting on it to wait for games to be ready seems like a good idea until you're wasting a year sitting on hardware that isn't getting better and letting expenses pile up. Both companies depended on 3rd parties to fill in some of the gaps, but sadly it behooves 3rd parties to take a wait-and-see approach on supporting new hardware, especially in the handheld sector where analysts are regularly predicting downturns.

Chozo GhostMay 09, 2012

Having a large launch lineup can be a bad thing for certain games. I think a large reason why the original Red Steel game sold as well as it did was because it was a Wii launch title and it only had to compete with the other Wii launch titles, so people had less to buy so consequently the things that they did have available to buy they were more likely to buy. Imagine if the Wii's launch lineup was like 10 times larger than it was. Then those games which sold over a million copies might not have done as well, because they would have had more competition. So having a huge launch lineup isn't necessarily a good thing for everyone. Having the market oversaturated with too much software that doesn't sell isn't a good thing either.

Mop it upMay 09, 2012

Miyamoto on Vita: Needs My Games

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