moomoo

Well, for what it's worth, the PS3 was kind of insanely expensive back then and BluRay hadn't picked up, so even buying it as a movie player wasn't necessary.

Plus, the "it has no games" thing was happening to the system for the first year. It was basically Resistance and Ratchet for that first year, and that was about it.

Interesting perspective and an enjoyable read. I personally enjoyed it more, but hey, different strokes. I can see where you're coming from.

@rastamadeus Well, then I take back what I said. Looks like I'll just end up getting it on 3DS.

Ok, this is what I'm talking about. Exclusive games from high quality franchises and from high quality devs.
What I don't understand is why it's comining out in Q4. Does every thing have to come out in Q4? You've got to spread it out from a system perspective (yeah, I get that it'll sell more copies due to gamer interest at the time, but still.)

@Gamer83 When you get older, your voice changes.
Then, when you get even older, it changes back.

...
Yeah, I'm not making much sense.

EDIT: So I had another idea: this is all an elaborate ruse. He is in the game, Kojima is just trolling with us. Again.
Seriously, I'll believe this when I play thorugh MGS V in its entirety.

The Vita exists for people who want games with incredibly high production values in their pocket, seeing as it's a device dedicated to playing games.

Smaller games, as good as they are, just aren't going to be enough for Sony when the gamers who own the system and who'd like to own it have high standards.

Frankly, if someone just wanted to play indie games, he or she would get an iPad. There's way more of those on the App Store, and many are really high-quality too.

@TheRealBatman
Dying doesn't mean dead. There's no way Sony can outright abandon the system. They've put way too much R&D into it to just give up.
Thing is, in the end they're barely going to make a profit on it if things turn around, unless if a new franchise appears exclusively on the system and has Monster Hunter/Dragon Quest levels of appeal.
You've also got to keep in mind that a handful of quality isn't enough to move the kind of units the Vita needs to be successful. I can think of only 5 exclusive games coming this year to Vita with high production values and amounts of depth with Killzone, Tearaway, Valhalla Knights 3, Soul Sacrifice, and Ys: Celceta. That's not going to be enough, especially when their direct competition (which is eating at Sony's potential market share) has ten titles slated throughout the course of this year alone, not counting third parties. And three of them are Pokemon games. I'm not going to argue the quality on some of them (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Brain Training aren't the best things in the world) but the fact of the matter is that the amount of muscle Nintendo is putting behind their product is obliterating what Sony is putting into theirs, which does not bode well for the Vita.

@AceSpadeS That was before Nintendo announced a price drop. With Nintendo's record with not dropping the price of their systems so soon after launch, it'd be a pretty hard thing to predict, especially considering that his job is to make predictions based on past and current market trends. There's no way the 3DS would be doing as well as it is now if Nintendo didn't take a third of the price away from the system.

Oh, and can someone please explain how Pachter is incorrect so often? The guy makes hundreds of predictions and is consistently right with most, with only a few being off (Borderlands was a major one). When it comes to some of his others, they make sense. Wii HD, from a business perspective, would have been a wise thing for Nintendo to do, since they could maintain the high market share they once had in 2008. They have since lost most of it; they now sit at around $13 a share, where at one time they sat pretty at over $80. For the majority of the ones he got wrong, it would have been hard to predict the way they came out, since his job is to analyze the positions of companies/the industry as a whole based on past and current trends. I wouldn't want to pay a guy to speculate stuff for me if his predictions were thrown around without looking around at what has happened before.

He's correct. Although I'm the sure the Vita is, or at the very least for skeptics will be, a device worth having, Sony isn't going to make money on it.

@Lionhart There's a difference between saying something sucks and something is unproffitable. Pachter distinguishes between the two, and pretty well. He simply states Sony won't make money on the system, not that it's a horrible device (he even says it is a "wonderful, wonderful, wonderful piece of hardware, but nobody owns one).

Those people that didn't play as FemShep missed out.
Also, it's pretty interesting that nearly everyone cured the genophage.

Sony,
Games are a great thing for a system. But when it comes to the Vita, you need games that are:
A) Exclusive to the platform and
B) Games with incredible amounts of depth
Some of the games coming to it definitely fit both criteria. Killzone Mercenary, Soul Sacrifice, Valhalla Knights 3, that new Ys game and (maybe) Tearaway fit. But if the vast majority of the games coming to your platform are late ports of games players can already play on a system they likely already own with the PS3, or just don't have the kind of depth that Vita owners want in their games (they play games 18.7 hours a week, after all) then there's a problem.

Hopefully, those unrevealed games Mr. Gara mentioned will make that problem go away.

Dang, that's still really close though. Still, it's good news that this happened. On one hand, it shows that the Vita is a force to be reconed with. On the other hand, it barely beat it, and it just had a price drop and Soul Sacrifice come out, show it shows that Sony has got to remain crazy competitive for this to last.

I hope for that, by the way. More competition means that interest in the sector will remain high, which means more games for both 3DS and Vita.

@shinobi88
In Japan, the amount of 3rd party support for the 3DS is staggering. In the west, both 3DS and Vita are pretty close in that regard. You seem to be looking at western games, which, quite frankly, just don't do that well when it comes to handhelds. The market seems to favor consoles in the west, whereas the east heavily favors the portable scene.
And Gravity Rush is a 1st party Sony product.
And from what I can tell, Black Ops Declassified and Assassin's Creed III: Liberation didn't do as well as Resident Evil: Revelations sales-wise, since that broke 700,000. And those two Vita-exclusives were pack-ins.

The vast, vast majority of games on both 3DS and Vita are 3rd party. Just look at the average store-shelf. It it's not published by Nintendo or Sony, it's 3rd party.

@get2sammyb I do. It shows some of the best strengths and biggest weaknesses of cloud gaming, from my perspective. It can be great and convenient when it works right, but if you've got a crappy connection or are watching at a time when many others are, then you've got a lower resolution, or even worse, buffering. I don't want that in my games.

Generally speaking, a strong line-up consists of both quality and quantity. Like the Dreamcast.
/goes and cries in corner

@rastamadeus I've played both games, so it's not like I'm not speaking from experience. I found Parasite Eve 2 to be a much better experience than the original, which I just couldn't get into. As for Sonic... people got over that love train fast. Just look at the reviews for Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast and the superior version on Gamecube. Huge drop in scores despite being the better version on Gamecube.

Also, when I think of release dates, I usually see it from the area that I was in. Sonic Adventure was a late '99 game everywhere that wasn't Japan.

@rastamadeus Dang. Talk about an awesome year. I wouldn't vouch too much for Sonic Adventure or Parasite Eve, but the rest of those were awesome games for their time and have aged really well (except for maybe RE2, but even then for its genre it's awesome).

The only year I can see competing is 2007. Not so kind for PS3 users, with the only really notable releases that weren't horrid ports being Ratchet and Clank: Future and the first Uncharted, but for everyone else there were so many classics. Portal (and the rest of The Orange Box), Mario Galaxy, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Crysis, Rock Band, Metroid Prime 3, and Persona 3 could easily be called game of the year by a person. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. STALKER, The Darkness, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow...

I find 2007 to be my favorite.

That Metal Gear Solid comment got me thinking.
Metal Gear Solid, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Half-Life and Pokemon Red & Blue came out in the same year. Talk about an amazing year for gamers regardless of platform.

I just don't see it when the Vita doesn't really seem to be up to snuff when it comes to its line-up this year, especially compared to its competition. Yeah, There's three games from Sony coming to the platform this year. Meanwhile, Nintendo is on record for having ten key 3DS titles published by them throughout this year. And that's just Nintendo. Not counting 3rd party games with Castlevania, Atlus stuff, Project X Zone, etc. One could say that there's unnannounced stuff from Sony coming for the Vita this year, but their history of timing of announcements combined with the fact an already announced game (Killzone Mercenary) is coming out late in the year is indicative that that probably won't happen. 3rd parties don't seem to be picking it up either for the most part, with Valhala Knights 3 and that hugely redone version of Ys IV being the only notable original games coming from them so far (Ys might as well be original since it is so different. It's like the difference between Oath in Felghana and 3. Pretty much different games entirely). 5 original games for a platform over the course of an entire year isn't pretty.

As for the PS3, it's looking mighty fine. Tons of games every month for the thing, at least for the first half of the year.

However, with the 2nd half of the year looking pretty empty for the most part, it's hard to say its anybody's year as of right now.

It's the right game to show, at the very least. There doesn't seem to be a tremendous amount of hype towards the game from what I can tell, but there's plenty of God of War fans out there that aren't going out checking what new games are on the horizon. This'll probably reach them.

Already got this game, absolutely adored it. Vita owners: do not miss out on this game. It's most definitely worth your time and money.

I appreciate that Sony in the west is trying to make the best kind of marketing impact they can despite a limited budget, but that came off as incredibly desperate.

Also, it's pretty hard to convince people to buy the system. I can barely convince myself to buy the system. It's expensive, and most of my friends that would be interested already own PSPs (since the games that might be able to convince my less niche friends are not good, what with COD Declassified being poor, and Assassin's Cree 3: Liberation just being good. The Vita's best games are niche with Gravity Rush and Persona 4 Golden), so the only things to really convince them are the Vita library and some of the services. I just don't see many games on the horizon for the system, especially when it comes to the west.

For what it's worth, Sony is releasing two high-quality new IPs this year with The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls, and if backwards compatiblity isn't offered (which is looking likely due to technological differences) then people without a PS3 are likely to buy a PS3 instead, since there are new games coming out for it anyway even though a new system is around.

Um... what? It's not like Sony or Microsoft will rapidly change the specs of their machines after their competitor unviels their system. Just put out the best system you can put out and call it a day.

To completely ditch the model of the dualshock would be idiocy. Should things be modified? Yes. But it shouldn't be completely different from what people know.

@JavierYHL I think this has more to do with Nintendo making sure Capcom puts it out on 3DS than Capcom's own logic. Nintendo probably has exclusitivety towards the game, at least for a long while.

This is one to watch. I've got it on my 3DS, and I've been loving it. If the playing field is expanded from the screen size, then this will be the version to get.

It's only $10. If you don't have a PSP, then this is totally worth it. If you do have a PSP, get that version. It's twice as much, but has so much more content.

This is great. I loved Velocity on my PSP. It deserves the upgrade.

At this point? No, it doesn't matter. Both are so utterly close that it really doesn't matter when it comes to who supports which system at this point. Also, numbers shipped doesn't equal numbers sold. Microsoft has pretty much given up on Japan, meaning they have to ship very little 360s over there.

Additionally, I'd assume Microsoft's console from a money-making perspective would be more profitable because it wasn't being sold at a loss for as long as the PS3 and was able to make lots of money through XBOX Live Gold. So even if there was a more considerable gap in sales, I don't think it would really phase Microsoft or its investors.

Unless if Sony plans on putting out a crazy-expensive system (as in, thousands of dollars for one) then they're not going to really implement 4K in a way where it's a priority. Yeah, I guess it could do it, but considering how expensive it is now to run 4K stuff right now using the highest PC tech, it's pretty far-fetched to honestly believe that Sony could put out a console this year at an affordable price if that was a priority, especially considering they're current economic position and the state of the economy in general.

Basically, there's no chance that the PS4 will actually be able to handle 4K games on its own. It'll be all up to upscaling, but that's about it. Nothing that the system actually does.

@nathanuc1988 The fact of the matter is that most people don't have giant living spaces, and unlike TVs, those aren't going to get bigger. If anything, they'll get smaller. Thus, 4K really lacks any point in the future for the vast majority of people.

This is a bad, bad idea. It's mathmatically impossible for this to actually work in the home space.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57366319-221/why-4k-tvs-are-stupid/<br />

We've gotten to the point where an increase in resolution simply isn't necessary to improve picture quality when one takes into account that most homes can't accomadate more than a 70-inch screen. You'd need a pretty huge screen to see the difference, and even then you wouldn't notice it unless you sit close to it.

This is going to hurt Sony bad.

I always thought they wouldn't do it simply because I highly doubt Gamestop would stock the machine had it forbade used games from working. That would put quite the damper on the sales of the system and its games.

@Hokori
Got to be honest: I laughed out loud when I read that. You are brilliant.

The score is too low.
@Slapshot WHAT?! How is that possible...?

Have the original on PSP. It's a fun little game, although it's definitely style over substance. Still, it's a fun game to show to friends and see how they react, and it's worth the small asking price.

@nathanuc1988 Can't argue with that logic. Those were all top-notch games, all of which raked in some serious dough.

Still, lots of other games didn't, or just didn't really get any attention. Sony sent Starhawk out to die this year; I seriously didn't know it was coming out until it came out. Maybe it's because I didn't buy Uncharted 3 (never liked the series due to the mechanics behind it) so I didn't try the beta, but Sony doesn't seem to care about letting others know about their stuff. They're not Apple; people won't buy their products just because they're Sony anymore. At least not in the quantity that Sony wants them to.

And for the record, I don't know many people personally that bought PS3's for the exclusive games. Maybe only 2 or 3. Most bought it for the free online. That's really it. It's pretty sad, too, because they're missing out on a ton of stuff.

@nathanuc1988 Oh... Huh. I guess I need to update my points. Mine were coming from 2010.
I guess the reception from those games would boost sales. Still, when six games combined only double the sales of one game, that still doesn't bode well.

I'm assuming you're using VGchartz? Just make sure to detract a good number of sales if it's from a modern game. They generally use numbers shipped rather than sold, since that way they're not totally guessing. They instead assume that those will be sold eventually. It would explain the numbers for the Uncharted games.

If I were Sony, it would actually be the smarter move at this point. When Halo 3 outsells God of War III, Uncharted 1 & 2, Infamous 1 & 2 and Killzone 2 combined then that's a sign that maybe Sony should shorten their properties. It allows you to build brand-name better and more efficiently.

As a gamer, I'd hate to see it happen, but Sony's kind of down in the dumps right now. I don't know if it'd be the best move on their part to do what they're still doing. Seems like it wouldn't be capitalizing on their properties enough.

Poor Vita. Things are not looking up for the system in the Land of the Rising Sun. I hope it's doing better in the west.

I decided to do a little research and ask my PS3-owning friends what kind of Sony characters are out there. One named a couple with Nathan Drake and Ratchet & Clank. Another said Crash, Spyro, Solid Snake and some Final Fantasy characters (LOL because they aren't in the game). Most couldn't name a single one. That's its problem. Most people with PS3's don't know too much about Sony brands, whereas with Nintendo pretty much everyone is familiar with most of them.

It doesn't help that Sony's brands aren't exactly megaton blockbusters, at least when compared to Nintendo and Microsoft. Halo 3 out-sold Resistance 1 and 2, Uncharted 1 and 2, Killzone 2, and God of War III COMBINED. Most of my friends got PS3's not because of the specific brands exclusive to the platform, but because they could play games online without paying. Seriously.

Sony has plenty of properties, some of the best out there, but to the average joe they don't seem special. I'm not saying they aren't; quite the opposite. I'm just saying that if you show Nathan Drake and Radec to random people, they'll just think they're dudes with guns. That didn't really happen with Smash Bros., where you've got characters more recognizable than Mickey Mouse with Mario and Pikachu.

If Itagaki was still there, this wouldn't have been implemented... in the traditional sense, anyway. Ryu would probably be pink instead and all gore would be replaced by rainbows. I guess that's interesting in its own right.

I think a part of the differing review scores is that one was played by a person who hadn't played 999 (makes sense, considering it didn't come out in Europe) and one was reviewed by one who did. So if you liked 999, it's a 10, while if you never played it, it's an 8.

EDIT: Wait, where did the NintendoLife review go?

Not a bad bundle at all. Couldn't they have given a bigger memory card, though? 8 gigs would have been nice.

Now I have Styx stuck in my head because of that header.

Thank you, Sammy.

That's odd. Square Enix was the one company that was putting games out in succession for the PSP last year. It's odd that they would put out this one, since the people wanting this game likely had a PSP in tow, what with Duodecim coming out that year. Plus they also released 3rd Birthday, Tactics Ogre, and FFIV: CC. SE fans were already on the system.

A Call of Duty game selling well? Shocking
Anyways, I'm really interested in this one. Treyarch pulled out all the stops for this one. Seriously, Mass Effect-like decisions in Call of Duty is pretty neat.

@Flashman Beat me to it.

I feel it should be noted how unsettling this really is. Japan is definitely the place where portable gaming is the biggest in the world when it comes to dedicated handheld devices. When it's selling as poorly as it is over there (and approaching the holidays, no less) then that is a very bad sign.

I feel really bad for Nihilistic. Being forced to make a game in 5 months with that brand name would be so incredibly stressful.

Go Halo 4! You can do it! I'm amazed it sold so well. Japan seems to hate the Xbox 360, so it's nice to see the people who own it support the system.
Unfortunately, the Vita seems to be going the way of the 360 in Japan. That's really sad news, especially because Japan seems to be the biggest market for dedicated gaming handheld devices.

That is some crazy value right there. Arguably the best games on the system too, which is quite the interesting move by Sony. I suddenly want a Vita now.