FEATURE - The PlayStation Vita: Hit Or Miss?

With E3 over, it is time to begin to look at how the videogame landscape has changed, and how the post-E3 landscape looks now.

To go through everything would be too long for one article, so I wanted to carry on with my series of looking at individual consoles and their prospects for success.  In the last feature I wrote a few months ago, I looked at the release of the 3DS and how likely it was that it would succeed when compared to the NGP (which we have now discovered will be called the PlayStation Vita.)

At that point in time, the basis for the Nintendo 3DS looked a little shaky, as did the potential for the NGP/Vita.  The 3DS risked appearing like just another upgrade for the DS with a 3D gimmick tacked on, and also appeared to have very few desirable games in the starting line up.  The PlayStation Vita risked following in the failed footsteps of its predecessor (the PlayStation Portable), being too expensive and fading into the shadows behind the Nintendo handheld.

Since then the Nintendo 3DS has sold well, but the lack of decent games has led many commentators to state that the 3DS could potentially be a big flop for the company, especially with the many complaints about the 3D device that have become louder over the last few months.  Yet at E3, Nintendo announced a new line of titles coming out imminently, many of which are impressive.  Although nothing particularly original, many videogame fans were salivating at the prospects of a new Mario (which uses 3D in a unique way), a new Mario Kart, a new StarFox (that uses the built in cameras for multiplayer), a new Luigi's Mansion and a beautiful looking remake of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - one of the most successful games in history.  The big concern over lack of games for the new console have now been abandoned; the 3DS now has games that we all want.  Additionally, the showcase of these games proved that the 3DS is a significant graphical upgrade from its predecessor, with many of these new titles showing off graphics that wouldn't look out of place on a home console.  The 3DS has therefore dealt with the problems that videogame writers were concerned about, could the PlayStation Vita do the same?

The answer to this is "yes...maybe."  To look at where the PlayStation Vita could fail, we need to look at why the PSP failed.  It is fair to say that the PSP wasn't a flop (I personally love my PSP, as do many others) but it was nowhere near as successful as the DS, which clearly won that round of the handheld war.  I'd put this down to three reasons:

1) Too Expensive
2) Lack of Interest in UMD Movies
3) Lack of Decent Games

In order for the PlayStation Vita to succeed, it would need to address these three issues.  We know that it will be the most powerful handheld on the market, and yes the touchpad at the back is a nice feature, and it looks oh so pretty; but that is irrelevant if it then goes onto make the same mistakes as the PSP.  So will it make the same mistakes, or have Sony learnt?

Well, on the issues of expense, they seem to have taken the message on board.  Sony announced at E3 that when this system is released later this year, the unit will retail at $250 ($299 for the 3G version), which is the same price as the Nintendo 3DS is current retailing at now.  Whether or not Nintendo will try and counter this by slashing the price for Christmas remains to be seen, but selling it at a competitive price indicates Sony's desire to make sure that people don't choose Nintendo's handheld just because it is cheaper.  Although I don't know the specs, it seems likely that the Vita will be more powerful than the 3DS, leading to Sony being able to say "Our handheld is more powerful, and yet it is the same price as the 3DS" which is a pretty good sales pitch.  With rumors initially circulating that the basic Vita could be selling for well over $300, $250 a unit is a solid price.

As for the UMD movies debacle surrounding the PSP, that seems to have been scrapped entirely for the Vita, which is a good thing.  Instead of selling it as a jack of all trades, Sony are focusing on the Vita as a high powered games machine.  Instead of having a "games player/movie viewer/mp3 player in one" we have the more convincing "PS3 in your pocket" that is definitely going to appeal to the gamers a lot more.  It leads into the possibility that Sony will try and sell this as "the handheld for the hardcore" which if successful, could do them very well.

Finally, the games...hmm.  Ok, this one they have fallen down on so far.  Yes, we saw the demos of Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet at E3, and they looked lovely; but so what?  Most people have Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet on their PS3s.  Why would one spend $250 to play it on a smaller screen?  They're nice games, but they won't do on their own.  Maybe I'm being too harsh; the 3DS had a poor launch range as well, but then Nintendo have announced amazing games at this year's E3, meaning that going into this holiday season, Sony are releasing a nice console with no significant games (as yet) while Nintendo now have a nice console with lots of great games.  Maybe Sony are planning to announce more titles nearer release, but it seems strange that they didn't announce them at E3.  Also, if they decide to wait until next year's E3 to announce amazing games, the console's war could already have been lost by then, as consumers swarm towards the 3DS and its range of lovely, unique titles.

So to conclude, we still don't know who is likely to win out in the handheld console war.  I personally prefer the Vita's hardware to the 3DS (I don't really get the whole fuss over 3D) and the price gives them a strong advantage, but it is undeniable that at the moment the 3DS has a clear lead on the issue of games.  If Sony can announce good, unique games (not just PlayStation 3 remakes) then I truly believe that the Vita can come out strong and win this war, but if they don't then they may find themselves in firm second place by this time next year.