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Media Create Sales: Week 51, 2011 (Dec 19 - Dec 25)

the Vita -does- cost more and whilst it's 'cheap' for what it is

i always laugh when i see something like this. what is a Vita, a miserable pile of secrets? nah it's just a device to play certain types of video games on the bus. and 300 is too much for that, no matter what games are on it.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
i always laugh when i see something like this. what is a Vita, a miserable pile of secrets? nah it's just a device to play certain types of video games on the bus. and 300 is too much for that, no matter what games are on it.

that's your take on it (along with a whole batch of the Japanese it seems) but 400k people decided that 300 notes was fair enough.

Also - no matter what - the in price for the Vita isn't going to be 24800/29800 yen, it'll come down over time. People will put their own value on the content, it's down to Sony to provide the justification for people to jump in and that jump in point will be different per person.
 

PunchyBoy

Banned
Maybe a stock (is it the correct word ? I mean console shipped by Sony) problem would explain those unbelievable low sales ?
I mean, I think we can easily expect a boost for the Vita sales ?
 
well, we don't know if 1) is true just yet and 2) is WAY too early to call.
Fair enough.

I dunno - a less technical proficiant game focused handheld at this point is then not going to be that much different to the PSP.
Which is now successful, but too late in the game to make a difference. So to a degree the approach could work, if it was there from the onset. Now Sony may have to languish again.

The practice of money losing tech has been the strategy for everyone except Nintendo - there's no reason that a machine has to downgrade to be profitable when it's ultimately a 6 year project. There's no reason Sony can't have the power angle -and- leveraging PSN etc
I do not put much stock into the mythical <insert lifetiime> project. To me this is nothing more than a way to calm stockholders from the coming loses on hardware sales with the hope that profits MAY come down the road at some time. Selling hardware that has completely wiped out all profits from TWO previous generations on the hopes of a 6 year plan? Why not be profitable from day one? Sony cannot just keep making money losing hardware forever in the face of cheaper, profitable, and more agile competitors that can easily step in and grab their users or create new markets that you failed to recognize and cater to.
 
I see people being a little too pessimistic about the Vita's future success, but I don't see anyone actively enjoying it. That seems a little delusional.

The "well this shit is pretty random yo" comebacks are amusing though.
 
same can be said exactly for those playing the death march!

Vita isn't dead - FACT.

you can't honestly be serious that we're already looking at no possible recovery after -2 weeks- right? ... RIGHT?

"Factual" is the key word there. Maybe Square Enix will give Vita exclusive support comparable to what they gave PSP; maybe there are a number of huge third-party exclusives that will be announced in 2012; maybe some new or currently-small IP will have MH-sized success; maybe there really is a vast, as-yet-untapped handheld dudebro demographic that will make Vita a successful second-place machine in the West. None of those are impossible, but all are purely hypothetical right now.
 
No Vita is definitely not dead.

But its heart rate is really low, and it's gasping for air.

It's first year on the market will be telling, but not exactly descriptive of its lifespan overall. It's doubtful... very doubtful, but it still could find itself in that PSP area... but honestly with a lack of MH exclusivity that is a pretty big hurdle.

I don't see how with all we know about it right now it can reach those levels. But stranger things have happened. Pretty much 40 million Wii's were sold in America of all places.
 

PunchyBoy

Banned
I guess sony needs killer apps.
Uncharted or WipeOut are cool but... they're not system sellers, even in the west.
Monster Hunter could make it but... Nintendo and Capcom are already moving the PSP userbase to 3DS, with 3g and 4.
 

Erethian

Member
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.

There's always the possibility there are big new Vita titles that are yet to be announced, in which case Sony would want them to be revealed soon, even if it's just a logo.

Though I've always felt those sorts of titles would end up being multiplatform just due to the way Sony first unveiled the system, playing up how easy it was to port console titles to Vita and vice versa. Which could dull any potential hardware pull those titles might have otherwise have had if they were exclusive.

Like would Crisis Core, if it were being made now, be Vita exclusive?
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
"Factual" is the key word there. Maybe Square Enix will give Vita exclusive support comparable to what they gave PSP; maybe there are a number of huge third-party exclusives that will be announced in 2012; maybe some new or currently-small IP will have MH-sized success; maybe there really is a vast, as-yet-untapped handheld dudebro demographic that will make Vita a successful second-place machine in the West. None of those are impossible, but all are purely hypothetical right now.

well, of course - but one FACT is that : The Vita is -not- dead.

People are dealing in hypotheticals on both sides of the argument in terms of what happens next, but the core argument of RIP Vita is the -least- true statement to date ;)

I do not put much stock into the mythical <insert lifetiime> project. To me this is nothing more than a way to calm stockholders from the coming loses on hardware sales with the hope that profits MAY come down the road at some time. Selling hardware that has completely wiped out all profits from TWO previous generations on the hopes of a 6 year plan? Why not be profitable from day one? Sony cannot just keep making money losing hardware forever in the face of cheaper, profitable, and more agile competitors that can easily step in and grab their users or create new markets that you failed to recognize and cater to.

mythical <lifetime> project? ... erm... really?

Why not be profitable from day one?

because the tech game is unfortunately an ever moving target and being profitable from day one either means you put out the Vita at $400 (then no one buys it) or you go with last gens tech and stick a big price tag on it (YMMV) or you just slum it totally.

I agree that it's a dangerous game for Sony and i predicted EXACTLY what has happened to them back before the PS3 was a twinkle in Kutaragi's eye. However, from my PERSONAL perspective i DO NOT want Nintendo (or whoever) running the tech show based on being profitable from day 1 by keeping us on older tech, i want someone to push the boundaries forward. I'm happy they look to make profit but i -personally- like significant tech jumps along with the games.
 
Vita is taking all the attention

I cannot wait for the WiiU is dead Media Create week :p

I thought there was no stock of Wifi only Vitas and people were not willing to shell out extra for the 3G models. At least that was the excuse going around earlier in the thread
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
I thought there was no stock of Wifi only Vitas and people were not willing to shell out extra for the 3G models. At least that was the excuse going around earlier in the thread

there's plenty of Wifi's available - if people can't find them, they're not very good at shopping :)
 

Erethian

Member
Vita is taking all the attention

I cannot wait for the WiiU is dead Media Create week :p

I thought there was no stock of Wifi only Vitas and people were not willing to shell out extra for the 3G models. At least that was the excuse going around earlier in the thread

Some places were sold out but there have not been reports of widespread Wi-Fi model shortages.
 

watershed

Banned
So hypothetically what games could be announced for Vita that would be big draws?

I'm thinking some sort of Final Fantasy spin off like Type O, a MGS game like Peacewalker, a GT game, how popular is LBP (already announced) in Japan?
 

Erethian

Member
So hypothetically what games could be announced for Vita that would be big draws?

I'm thinking some sort of Final Fantasy spin off like Type O, a MGS game like Peacewalker, a GT game, how popular is LBP (already announced) in Japan?

LBP for PSP did 20k, last number we had for LBP2 was 31k.

Also we're most likely to hear something from the Dissidia team, so far as potential FF-related announcements go. Since Type-0 only just came out.
 
That's actually one of the better percentage drops for a recent Final Fantasy.
Yeah, it is. Whether that's b/c of X'mas, or just comes with a quieter seller. Compare XIII-2 historically with the series.
Week 1 vs. 2 and the percentage drop WoW:
ffseriesdebutwk2.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 

watershed

Banned
LBP for PSP did 20k, last number we had for LBP2 was 31k.

Also we're most likely to hear something from the Dissidia team, so far as potential FF-related announcements go. Since Type-0 only just came out.

Well scratch LBP off that list then.

See I don't think Vita is doomed just because its way too soon to say so. But it also doesn't seem like Sony is in a position to drop the price.

I'm assuming that there are some big vita games in the works that take longer to make and so may not be announced yet. But if the Vita is in trouble Sony may make some announcements about future big 1st and 3rd party games to keep consumers interested. A FF spin off and a MGS game could definitely do that.

In the west we could see a fully featured COD game and maybe some GTA game as well. Following the psp there will probably be some GOW entry as well or maybe just cross-platform editions with the ps3 with all or some of these titles.

Edit: I'm behind the times, are the MGS and ZOE hd collections with ps3 and vita editions or something like that?
 
So hypothetically what games could be announced for Vita that would be big draws?

I'm thinking some sort of Final Fantasy spin off like Type O, a MGS game like Peacewalker, a GT game, how popular is LBP (already announced) in Japan?

I did not think this would be so hard. But I have been trying to think of games that would make me drop my 3DS for a Vita. I don't see it yet.

Gravity Daze?

They need new IPs something new. You have to start from somewhere

Pokemon had a starting point.
Monster Hunter had a starting point.
Brain Training came out of left field
Nintendogs was mocked and we ate lots of crow

So something can come out for Vita and go insane with sales. Its a slick high end little system its not dead
 

PunchyBoy

Banned
The main problem with the Vita is cleary the lack of system sellers or big game.
I mean, the biggest game, I guess, is Uncharted. It was at launch and it will be at the US/EU launch... but after that ?
Sony nearly launched all his games at launch. Hopefully, E3 isn't so far, so, there will be some games unveiled.
 
I agree that it's a dangerous game for Sony and i predicted EXACTLY what has happened to them back before the PS3 was a twinkle in Kutaragi's eye. However, from my PERSONAL perspective i DO NOT want Nintendo (or whoever) running the tech show based on being profitable from day 1 by keeping us on older tech, i want someone to push the boundaries forward. I'm happy they look to make profit but i -personally- like significant tech jumps along with the games.

Came here just to agree with you.

It almost makes me sad to see Vita do so poorly. Sony has always done incredibly well on the hardware end of things If only they had a good marketing plan and some decent software to back it up.

It's really an unfair world in that people are clearly 100% willing to churn out money to a clearly lesser product, because of better marketing/appeal. If people were to give the opposition a chance then games just as addictive, widely appealing and enjoyable (in bigger, better looking and more inventive ways) would come out.

Congrats to Nintendo for being the smarter and better company, but I would love to see them fall a bit more, to actually try to reinvent, and for Sony to come out of this mess. But in this market dominated by companies like Apple, it's not going to happen soon.

Edit:

Smiles and Cries said:
They need new IPs something new. You have to start from somewhere
Also this.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
So far every Sony system, no matter how bad it looked eventually turned around and there was a steady/good support from 3rd Parties. I would be very shocked if this wasn't the case, it would have to sell worse than the Cube for 3rd parties to ignore it.

But outselling the 3DS probably wont happen this generation.
 

Takao

Banned
Senran Kagura may cross 80,000 copies by year's end:

http://andriasang.com/comzjg/senran_kagura_sales/

Out of every Marvelous IP, this game. Ugh.

MGS and ZOE have already been announced. I'm expecting a sequel to Peace Walker for some reason. Peace Walker sold 400K+ in a week, surprisingly.

Otherwise, Resident Evil?

Kojima's promoted how multi-platform KojiPro's Fox Engine is. If there is a Peace Walker 2 or something, there's no reason to believe it'll be Vita exclusive, heck even timed-exclusive like the original ultimately ended up being.
 

Mpl90

Two copies sold? That's not a bomb guys, stop trolling!!!
How Vita games did in their second week?

HSG 6 - 37
Uncharted - 40
DW - 44
Lord of Apocalypse - 49
 

GCX

Member
I'm interested to see what kind of software Nintendo has come up with to lure the casual gamers to 3DS. Iwata has said that they'll have new IPs coming next year for that purpose but it's been a while since they last had a BIG portable casual hit (Tomodachi Collection I think).
 

Takao

Banned
So, what is the opinion on what the PSV Ambassador program will look like?

5 free games?

DMPrince and I have come to a mutual agreement that Sony will just send out emails. I think it's just going to be a stock "Thank you for supporting this Sony product, unfortunately we at Sony do not see this product in our future, but please take a look at our latest Android smart phones" email, DMPrince thinks it'll contain a message reading "Ever wonder how it felt to own a PSPgo? Well, now you know".
 
well, of course - but one FACT is that : The Vita is -not- dead.

People are dealing in hypotheticals on both sides of the argument in terms of what happens next, but the core argument of RIP Vita is the -least- true statement to date ;)

Well, "Vita is dead" is untrue in the sense that it would be untrue for any platform that's just launched; it's impossible to predict with utter certainty how things will look two years from now, let alone five. But the fact is that nearly a year after the platform was first announced, there's no known software that is likely to propel it to a viable second-place position in any region, and that doesn't bode well at all.
 
Came here just to agree with you.

It almost makes me sad to see Vita do so poorly. Sony has always done incredibly well on the hardware end of things If only they had a good marketing plan and some decent software to back it up.

It's really an unfair world in that people are clearly 100% willing to churn out money to a clearly lesser product, because of better marketing/appeal. If people were to give the opposition a chance then games just as addictive, widely appealing and enjoyable (in bigger, better looking and more inventive ways) would come out.

Congrats to Nintendo for being the smarter and better company, but I would love to see them fall a bit more, to actually try to reinvent, and for Sony to come out of this mess. But in this market dominated by companies like Apple, it's not going to happen soon.

Edit:


Also this.

And so hardware performance determines the better video game system? I always thought it was the games, silly me.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
Well, "Vita is dead" is untrue in the sense that it would be untrue for any platform that's just launched; it's impossible to predict with utter certainty how things will look two years from now, let alone five. But the fact is that nearly a year after the platform was first announced, there's no known software that is likely to propel it to a viable second-place position in any region, and that doesn't bode well at all.

and at what point did we get the three titles announced that cemented the 3DS's return from the edge of the grave (along with price cut) ?

They don't have to announce everything all at one point, they'll wait for the right time - and right now knee jerking after 2 weeks is -not- going to help. There's going to be stuff in dev for sure. Whether that is "viable second place" games or not is anyones guess.
 

AniHawk

Member
Well, "Vita is dead" is untrue in the sense that it would be untrue for any platform that's just launched; it's impossible to predict with utter certainty how things will look two years from now, let alone five. But the fact is that nearly a year after the platform was first announced, there's no known software that is likely to propel it to a viable second-place position in any region, and that doesn't bode well at all.

a lot of times, hits come from the unlikeliest of places. the third gta made everyone do sandbox games for 5 years. pokemon launched on a dead system and became the best-selling franchise since mario. brain age started off doing 40k a week and then kept doing that for years. i don't think people could have predicted mhp2g's success could have been predicted by too many either.
 
and at what point did we get the three titles announced that cemented the 3DS's return from the edge of the grave (along with price cut) ?

Mario Kart was announced at E3 2010, over eight months before 3DS launched in any territory. Mario 3D Land was announced at GDC 2011, a week or so after the Japanese launch. The existence of both, and their ability to "save" 3DS from "the edge of the grave" was a foregone conclusion in any case, because Nintendo, unlike Sony, actually has a stable of first-party IPs that are guaranteed to sell millions in every territory, has a good recent track record of creating new hit IPs, and isn't dependent on third-party support to make its handhelds commercially viable platforms.

MH3G/MH4 weren't announced until September, sure, but 3DS didn't need support of that caliber as much as Vita did (and still does).

a lot of times, hits come from the unlikeliest of places. the third gta made everyone do sandbox games for 5 years. pokemon launched on a dead system and became the best-selling franchise since mario. brain age started off doing 40k a week and then kept doing that for years. i don't think people could have predicted mhp2g's success could have been predicted by too many either.

Due to development realities, we can realistically rule out any Vita (or 3DS) megahit coming from Western third parties. Other than MHP, which surprise hit IPs, of the impact necessary to significantly shift the market in the direction of the platform they appeared on, have originated from Japanese publishers other than Nintendo in the last decade?
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
a lot of times, hits come from the unlikeliest of places. the third gta made everyone do sandbox games for 5 years. pokemon launched on a dead system and became the best-selling franchise since mario. brain age started off doing 40k a week and then kept doing that for years. i don't think people could have predicted mhp2g's success could have been predicted by too many either.

Exactly. As well, the 3DS has shown it's not impossible to turn bad fortune around, no matter how bad things seem.

I'd wait at least two years before calling anything dead, and even then... I'd hesitate unless there were other obvious factors involved.
 
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