I wouldn't say this at all.
Mario 3DS had less impact on hardware sales than the price drop, and we are now in holiday season, as opposed to the middle of summer.
Nintendo needs something new to push 3DS, not the same old same old.
This is not what most people are surprised about you know... It doesn't really matter if the 3DS beat it at launch because it was the expected scenario since TGS. But even taken just by themselves, the numbers for the Vita are just much much lower than what people expected.
right now (minus the last few days i guess) it's sell through is 80%, throw in the 3G/Wifi split it's doing -alright- but it's up against a strong cheaper nintendo machine with a great line up.
IGN's TechFetish podcast mentioned that Sony will be showing off two new Vita games at CES. I'm not sure how relevant they are for a Japanese market but hey they're at least new announcements.
I don't think the hardware is automatically doomed in the long run. Just that based on what consumers know now, it's unappealing in the near future. As long as it remains that way, it won't take off. It needs strong announcements, but I don't see that happening anytime soon from Japan, since developers are banking on the 3DS now. I don't see it happening in the west either because developers aren't too fond of portables.
I don't see any strong, exclusive announcements for the Vita in the foreseeable future really. If there was anything, it is most likely going to piggyback off the PS3. The question is, if a game is already available on the PS3, how many people are:
- Going to buy both the PS3 and Vita version
- Not buy the PS3 version but buy the Vita version
The answer to the above questions will determine how well a game that piggybacks off PS3 will sell. To be honest though, I don't see it selling great numbers in either scenario.
The reason for no Vita exclusive games is really the double-edge sword of having beautiful HD graphics on a handheld - high development cost. No one is going to bet their money and make a high budget game exclusive on the Vita, simply because it's too much of a gamble and there's no way they can sell enough copies to make money off such a small userbase for the handheld.
So, if developers want to develop a game for handheld
and they need buttons to make a game that real man plays
Oh fuck. I just bust out laughing. The bombs! They be dropping!
Just think about it like this. As far as Japan's "alive" consoles go, it's in last place. Last place! In its second week! It got outsold by the 3DS, PSP, PS3, AND the WII. A disaster. 5th fucking place.
The answer to the above questions will determine how well a game that piggybacks off PS3 will sell. To be honest though, I don't see it selling great numbers in either scenario.
The reason for no Vita exclusive games is really the double-edge sword of having beautiful HD graphics on a handheld - high development cost. No one is going to bet their money and make a high budget game exclusive on the Vita, simply because it's too much of a gamble and there's no way they can sell enough copies to make money off such a small userbase for the handheld.
So, if developers want to develop a game for handheld and they need buttons to make a game that real man plays, then the simple answer is the Nintendo 3DS.
the whole logic here is basically taking these two weeks sales and extrapolating it out to mean that , yes, the VITA is already dead and sales of the unit are going to drop dead and stop - and the 3DS with 10 months start is going to just keep exploding and taking off.
There's too much knee jerk reaction going on - we JUST went through this whole cycle with the 3DS !
We have NO IDEA what is coming in the next year - i'm not saying it's going to happen but for all we know Capcom could turn round and show MH4th for Vita and it be a massive upgrade on the series, Sony might cut the price, then what? Again, not saying this is going to happen but the whole 2 weeks sales = bomba logic, everyone off to 3ds! is laughably short sighted.
the whole logic here is basically taking these two weeks sales and extrapolating it out to mean that , yes, the VITA is already dead and sales of the unit are going to drop dead and stop - and the 3DS with 10 months start is going to just keep exploding and taking off.
There's too much knee jerk reaction going on - we JUST went through this whole cycle with the 3DS !
We have NO IDEA what is coming in the next year - i'm not saying it's going to happen but for all we know Capcom could turn round and show MH4th for Vita and it be a massive upgrade on the series, Sony might cut the price, then what? Again, not saying this is going to happen but the whole 2 weeks sales = bomba logic, everyone off to 3ds! is laughably short sighted.
In one sense I agree with you that it is too early. In another sense, unlike the 3DS, there were very compelling reasons to predict this start from the very beginning- the fundamentals just do not look good, period.
Oh fuck. I just bust out laughing. The bombs! They be dropping!
Just think about it like this. As far as Japan's "alive" consoles go, it's in last place. Last place! In its second week! It got outsold by the 3DS, PSP, PS3, AND the WII. A disaster. 5th fucking place.
In one sense I agree with you that it is too early. In another sense, unlike the 3DS, there were very compelling reasons to predict this start from the very beginning- the fundamentals just do not look good, period.
agreed - and i'm not saying that the Vita is going to have an easy time of this, far from it. Dealing with absolutes - 3DS -has- got a strong line up -now- , it's got sales on the board, it's at least 50% cheaper, and it IS getting MH4.
However, i'm sure a whole load of titles are already well into development on the PSV and , as i say, there's possibly stuff that -could- game change (MH ending up on Vita at some point certainly isn't out of the realms of possibility, Gran Turismo might unexpectedly show up (pre-space year 2051) , etc etc)
there's definitely an amusing angle to it, but i don't understand why any gamer (not saying you, but certainly seen the sentiment on GAF) would want to see a powerful handheld just out and out fail. Somewhat baffling to me.
If I may briefly touch on another topic, the various Wii software performance the last 2-3 weeks has really brought home to me how badly Nintendo and 3rd parties truly fucked up the platform. It was like all parties involved gave up on the poor little guy after 2009.
the whole logic here is basically taking these two weeks sales and extrapolating it out to mean that , yes, the VITA is already dead and sales of the unit are going to drop dead and stop - and the 3DS with 10 months start is going to just keep exploding and taking off.
There's too much knee jerk reaction going on - we JUST went through this whole cycle with the 3DS !
We have NO IDEA what is coming in the next year - i'm not saying it's going to happen but for all we know Capcom could turn round and show MH4th for Vita and it be a massive upgrade on the series, Sony might cut the price, then what? Again, not saying this is going to happen but the whole 2 weeks sales = bomba logic, everyone off to 3ds! is laughably short sighted.
- Spring is always slower than December
- Tohoku Earthquake had an effect on sales
- 3DS had a fantastic second week
- 3DS actually sold through its initial launch shipment immediately
And so forth.
We'll have to see how SCE responds early next year, if they do. One thing the 3DS proved that is directly applicable to Vita is that waiting around hoping things improve without actually taking any initiative is a plan destined for failure.
If I may briefly touch on another topic, the various Wii software performance the last 2-3 weeks has really brought home to me how badly Nintendo and 3rd parties truly fucked up the platform. It was like all parties involved gave up on the poor little guy after 2009.
We'll have to see how SCE responds early next year, if they do. One thing the 3DS proved that is directly applicable to Vita is that waiting around hoping things improve without actually taking any initiative is a plan destined for failure.
The problem as I see it is outside of price, which I think we all agree is something Sony will struggle to change anytime soon, it is not easy to all of a sudden start to develop hardware pushing software- those decisions were made months, if not years ago. Sony is kind of stuck for the time being. Now, maybe it can recover like the PS3 did..though Vita has much more formidable competition than PS3 ended up having.
- Spring is always slower than December
- Tohoku Earthquake had an effect on sales
- 3DS had a fantastic second week
- 3DS actually sold through its initial launch shipment immediately
Spring is slower on a software front because there's usually little going on
But the other thing that people forget is that BONUS payments hit the bank in Feb
The problem as I see it is outside of price, which I think we all agree is something Sony will struggle to change anytime soon, it is not easy to all of a sudden start to develop hardware pushing software- those decisions were made months, if not years ago. Sony is kind of stuck for the time being. Now, maybe it can recover like the PS3 did..though Vita has much more formidable competition than PS3 ended up having.
well , like you say , you'd have to assume that a lot of discussions about Vita games was probably made a good year ago or so. Some discussions before the 3DS had launch, and maybe some made whilst the 3DS looked to be floundering - so we simply don't have any idea what is coming. What i think we will see in the new year is that Sony might start seeing if they can get third parties to show their Vita hand. I expect a "relaunch/reintroduction" around March.
there's definitely an amusing angle to it, but i don't understand why any gamer (not saying you, but certainly seen the sentiment on GAF) would want to see a powerful handheld just out and out fail. Somewhat baffling to me.
The problem as I see it is outside of price, which I think we all agree is something Sony will struggle to change anytime soon, it is not easy to all of a sudden start to develop hardware pushing software- those decisions were made months, if not years ago. Sony is kind of stuck for the time being. Now, maybe it can recover like the PS3 did..though Vita has much more formidable competition than PS3 ended up having.
It took a redesign and price cut to finally bring the PS3 out of its 3-year slump, as well as FFXIII.
What can Vita hope for aside from a price drop and software that cannot be done on the 3Ds? A small unit? I can't think of anything aside from that lucky hit that happens every gen, but that is far more likely to happen on 3DS than Vita at this rate.
One thing the 3DS proved that is directly applicable to Vita is that waiting around hoping things improve without actually taking any initiative is a plan destined for failure.
Mm - it will be interesting to see how Sony go from here. Assuming that Vita will follow the pre-pricecut 3DS pattern and stumble along at low-to-middling weekly sales, are Sony prepared to let that carry on or will they act as quickly as Nintendo did? I could see them waiting until they get a picture of the Western response to the system and its price before making a decision, but would that be leaving things too late to make a course change if it seems necessary?
It took a redesign and price cut to finally bring the PS3 out of its 3-year slump, as well as FFXIII.
What can Vita hope for aside from a price drop and software that cannot be done on the 3Ds? A small unit? I can't think of anything aside from that lucky hit that happens every gen, but that is far more likely to happen on 3DS than Vita at this rate.
True but I mean more like for the rest of the year like how we know Nintendo intends/hopes to ship 16 million 3ds units WW by the end of the financial year or something (can't remember if that's right).
We'll have to see how SCE responds early next year, if they do. One thing the 3DS proved that is directly applicable to Vita is that waiting around hoping things improve without actually taking any initiative is a plan destined for failure.
Exactly right, especially in a market where new competitions are taking bites of it by the second. At a price point that is no where near an impulse buy and with no compelling software on the horizon, Sony needs to act and act quickly.
Well, if we concede that right now 3DS is going to get more 3rd party support+have the benefit of Nintendo's first party studios which has more of a history of those types of games, isn't it much more likely?
I'd say that it's more likely for that unexpected hit to happen on a platform that is going to be attracting a lot of dev attention thanks to its popularity and its position in the marketplace - more games=more chances for breakout hit, surely?
right now (minus the last few days i guess) it's sell through is 80%, throw in the 3G/Wifi split it's doing -alright- but it's up against a strong cheaper nintendo machine with a great line up.
I know it's not that bad, but it's hard not to compare it to the 3DS launch, even though the conditions are really different. I just expected it to do a lot better in its second week, being outsold by every other platform including its predecessor is pretty shocking for me.
the whole logic here is basically taking these two weeks sales and extrapolating it out to mean that , yes, the VITA is already dead and sales of the unit are going to drop dead and stop - and the 3DS with 10 months start is going to just keep exploding and taking off.
There's too much knee jerk reaction going on - we JUST went through this whole cycle with the 3DS !
We have NO IDEA what is coming in the next year - i'm not saying it's going to happen but for all we know Capcom could turn round and show MH4th for Vita and it be a massive upgrade on the series, Sony might cut the price, then what? Again, not saying this is going to happen but the whole 2 weeks sales = bomba logic, everyone off to 3ds! is laughably short sighted.
Well I think people are a bit pessimistic because the 3DS already had plenty of "big" announcements well before launch (namely KH3D and RE:R, plus a few more minor titles like Love Plus) and we already knew MK7 and Mario were coming. With the Vita we have almost no announcements from the big japanese companies, outside of PS3/Vita multiplat titles.
It's just a bit strange, if anything, the 3DS has shown that big announcements can bring back confidence in a platform (the 3DS saw a decent improvement in sales after the Fall Conference). If there are big titles coming, why not start drumming up hype for them?
Now nothing is set in stone obviously, but I think it's understandable why people feel pessimistic about Vita's future.
I think he means that hardware sales are going to ultimately decide where licensees put their resources. Given that scenario (and if things keep up as they are) it's reasonable to assume the "next big thing" is more likely to appear on the 3DS. Easier to strike gold when there are more people digging, so to speak.
I'd say that it's more likely for that unexpected hit to happen on a platform that is going to be attracting a lot of dev attention thanks to its popularity and its position in the marketplace - more games=more chances for breakout hit, surely?
Well I think people are a bit pessimistic because the 3DS already had plenty of "big" announcements well before launch (namely KH3D and RE:R, plus a few more minor titles like Love Plus) and we already knew MK7 and Mario were coming. With the Vita we have almost no announcements from the big japanese companies, outside of PS3/Vita multiplat titles.
It's just a bit strange, if anything, the 3DS has shown that big announcements can bring back confidence in a platform (the 3DS saw a decent improvement in sales after the Fall Conference). If there are big titles coming, why not start drumming up hype for them?
Now nothing is set in stone obviously, but I think it's understandable why people feel pessimistic about Vita's future.
Sony had a chance to announce big third-party titles at the NGP unveiling nearly a year ago. They had a chance at E3. They had a chance at Gamescom. They had a chance at TGS. The sum total of the "big" third-party announcements thus far: three logos for popular Western franchises (one of which, Bioshock, only existed on paper as of two months ago); a future console/Vita multiplatform release from a third party that had previously been one of PSP's biggest exclusive supporters (KojiPro); and a non-exclusive enhanced PS2 port (FFX HD).
Sony could still prove me wrong with a few major announcements next year, but at this point, the easiest conclusion to draw (IMO) is that the level of third-party support they need just isn't there.
From DCharlie(?) saying Monster Hunter 3G would barely sell 500k to Jonnyram grossly underestimating Super Mario 3D Land's very, very long legs, 'tis the season for crow eating.
That said, I suspect there will be plenty of people in here eating crow once the Vita bounces back. Eight months ago, we were all saying these same things about the 3DS. Look how that turned out.
A $50 price cut and some compelling software will turn things around.
From DCharlie saying Monster Hunter 3G would barely sell 500k to Jonnyram grossly underestimating Super Mario 3D Land's very, very long legs, 'tis the season for crow eating.
800k man! (which would still be good numbers, i just didn't see people 'flocking' to 3DS for 3G - they still haven't , i just got the figures completely ass wrong)
i was wrong, but it's starting to limp!
Only 245 copies next week, limping to 900k
A $50 price cut and some compelling software will turn things around.
It's my perspective and it's not meant to provoke any anger in anyone - how is this repeat trolling?
Unlike you, at least I've made a few predictions that turned out right.
But winning platforms have had the advantage in getting bigger and more numerous unforeseen smash hits. That's why I would bet on the 3DS, but it's not impossible for Vita either. It needs to come from SCE so Nintendo never has access to it.
That said, I suspect there will be plenty of people in here eating crow once the Vita bounces back. Eight months ago, we were all saying these same things about the 3DS. Look how that turned out.
This line just keeps getting trotted out. The situations are nothing alike besides the fact that they both started a little slower than expected. Just because people were overly negative about one console doesn't mean that every single console that comes slow out of the gate will just turn everything around.
That would be one ballsy move. That would make them bleed a lot of money yet again and that's with the PS4 around the corner. Sonys financials are going to look very bad if it comes to that.
Compelling software doesn't come from nowhere. With nintendo at this point we already knew of quite a few big games coming to the 3DS (and nintendo always has their own franchises to rely on). As of right now there really isn't anything big (besides an FF remake i guess) that could turn things around.
Who knows though maybe there are a few big game announcements coming up.
I don't think the vita is dead but sony have a lot of work to do if they want it to sell well.
That said, I suspect there will be plenty of people in here eating crow once the Vita bounces back. Eight months ago, we were all saying these same things about the 3DS. Look how that turned out.
Again, any logical person knew the 3DS would bounce back because it had some absolutely huge games (Mario Kart 7, Mario 3D Land, Animal Crossing) coming out for it. People only remember the irrational naysayers who forgot that Mario Kart DS did like 3 million.
Vita has nothing even remotely as big. The big argument has basically been 'well we don't know what will take off this gen' but it's being used as so called evidence that the Vita will bounce back. Nothing suggests it will.
It's my perspective and it's not meant to provoke any anger in anyone - how is this repeat trolling?
Unlike you, at least I've made a few predictions that turned out right.
But winning platforms have had the advantage in getting bigger and more numerous unforeseen smash hits. That's why I would bet on the 3DS, but it's not impossible for Vita either. It needs to come from SCE so Nintendo never has access to it.
800k man! (which would still be good numbers, i just didn't see people 'flocking' to 3DS for 3G - they still haven't , i just got the figures completely ass wrong)
That's an interesting question, but one that it's unlikely we'll be able to answer.
Perhaps they could have gotten away with a smaller price cut, but if that hadn't been the case and they'd been pushed into a position where a second price cut was necessary it could have been hugely damaging. Better to overshoot and accept the loss to get the system straight to a more mass-market price and quickly restore confidence in the system's fortunes (for developers, as well as investors).
800k man! (which would still be good numbers, i just didn't see people 'flocking' to 3DS for 3G - they still haven't , i just got the figures completely ass wrong)
'flocking to the 3DS' is a very vague term. I don't think anyone saw fault in your logic: it's impossible for MH3G to draw a crowd of MHP3rd proportions. The reasonable argument has always largely been that MH3G would be a great stepping stone to achieving that transition.
That's an interesting question, but one that it's unlikely we'll be able to answer.
Perhaps they could have gotten away with a smaller price cut, but if that hadn't been the case and they'd been pushed into a position where a second price cut was necessary it could have been hugely damaging. Better to overshoot and accept the loss to get the system straight to a more mass-market price and quickly restore confidence in the system's fortunes (for developers, as well as investors).
The massive price cut was pretty much 100% just to propel the system for the holidays.
They needed third parties to see the system doing amazingly so that they could start getting on board right away.
It was a bold move, but well worth it, I'd say.