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Press Pause Host Carlos Rodela and I discuss his recent hands-on time with the PS Vita, plus what remaining holiday 2011 games we're looking forward to. (It's pretty sad....)
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I disagree with you Dan, big budget AAA games are exactly what I want on the Vita. the iPhone already has the smaller games covered. Nobody else in the industry can give me huge AAA console games on a portable, and that is what Vita is going to give me. The ability to play brand new entries into games like Uncharted, Resistance and Killzone on the go and have them be in the same ballpark as the PS3 versions is pretty much my dream come true.
If I want smaller games, I will whip out my iPhone. If I want to play a fully featured FPS like Resistance, I will take out my Vita. It drives me nuts when I hear people say "I don't want the Vita because I don't want console quality games on the go, I just want smaller games. If Sony would realize that I would be much more excited for Vita". I say to them "Ok, so what you are saying is that you would be willing to buy Vita if Sony removed half of the variety of games they plan on offering you, and simple offer you smaller games...You would be willing to pay more for less?"
That usually shuts them up, and then they stutter for a few seconds while they realize their demands were stupid. Sony is going to offer everyone smaller games on the Vita. They are going to offer you big blockbusters as well. They are even going to offer you games in-between. That is their plan with the Vita. They want the core gamer to be able to take their favorite core franchises on the go, and let indie devs do their thing as well. Hence Sony giving away Vita dev kits to smaller dev houses.
So why are some people claiming that they don't want to buy Vita since Sony is offering them too much variety? It is absurd. Not only are you getting the most poweful handheld device, you are also getting every type of game you can think of with physical buttons to boot. My iPhone 4 can't play Uncharted. It can't play Little Big Planet, or Resistance, or Killzone, or Wipeout, or Mod Nation Racers. And I can't play these games on the PS3 either, since these are brand new entires into great franchises, not ports.
The whole "If I wanted to play X I would just play it on the PS3" excuse really doen't sit well with me. Why do you download Tetris on your iPhone then? You can play it on your 360 too, so why download it on you iPhone? Why buy Ocarina of Time for the 3DS? Why buy Super Mario Land 3D? Why buy any portable game when you can find the same game or a similar one on a home console?
Well, because you want to take that experience with you on the go.
I never said I didn't want the variety, though, did I?
What I like in a handheld device is unique experiences to that device. Uncharted I can play on the PS3 just fine, so I don't need to play it on the go (I'm also not that excited about playing a Mario platformer on the 3DS when I can play big-screen versions on the Wii).
But what I do like are games on those platforms that I can't find anywhere else, like an Advance Wars or Professor Layton on DS or Metal Gear Acid or Patapon on PSP. But for me (and this is just my opinion), a lot of those types of games have caught up on the iPhone, so I feel less and less of a need to carry around a dedicated gaming handheld. I don't want a separate thing to buy/carry/charge when my iPhone keeps me well entertained.
Like I said, I think the Vita is pretty damn cool. I just think it won't be as popular with such advanced smart phones nowadays.
Shoe, I really value your opinion about games and the industry in general and for the most part I agree with you.
However, I have been doing a lot of thinking about this lately. My brother and I have been trading a lot of emails and links to articles about the clash between dedicated gaming machines and "the new digital era" because he is a web developer/huge iOS fan and I think he likes watching me squirm when we get into numbers about our favorite devices.
If what you are saying is true and iPhone/iPods/Smart Phones are offering a similar experience to what 3DS and Vita are bringing to the table then 3DS should have fallen right on it's face...and though it had a rough start it's not doing too bad now. Sure maybe it isn't selling iPhone numbers but it is doing better than the original DS at this point. That is saying a lot considering the DS went on to slay the market for a little while - and this is in the face of competeing against the best smart phones to date.
I have been of the opinion for a long time that dedicated portable gaming devices are not really competeing in the same space as smart phones even though they are seemingly similar devices and seemingly offering similar expereinces.
My point about the 3DS makes it appear to me that these devices are going to co-exist at least for another generation. I think part of the problem is that people are stuck on thinking these devices must be played on the go...I do most of if not all of my iOS and DS gaming at home - of course I don't know about the rest of the world but I wouldn't be surprised if more time was spent with these devices in the home than most people want to admit or even realise.
To your point about games tailored for the hardware...the way things stand currently (apple mystery project aside) you are never going to see a twin stick shooter, a fighter, an fps title or even a platformer, that plays better on iOS than something like Vita. Well then, what does iOS do that is unique that Sony should be taking notes on? It opens the flood gates to individuals who are passionate and want to develop apps and games. People, like Sean Inman, Craig Adams, and others are doing incredible things with iOS. I am curious to see what could happen if Sony opens a similar floodgate for people to create games for Vita via Html5 or sony's new sdk...
Mostly I agree with you. I just hate to think of a world where someone isn't trying to make the most bad ass gaming hardware with us in mind.
Good and fair points. But I do notice that, with a lot of my gaming friends, a lot of them are playing dedicated handhelds less and less now -- and gaming a lot more on their phones. Even my nephews and nieces, previous DS fans, are more iPhone now.
It's not just about portability. It's also having to buy physical media for $20-30 when you can get solid gaming experiences for $1-5 near instantly on your phone. Obviously, Nintendo and Sony are going digital download as well, but you see developers worldwide aren't flocking to them like they used to...not nearly like they all want to develop for iOS or Android.
So I feel that will slowly catch up to the DSes and Vitas of the world. Bigger installed bases, more widespread use, user-friendly distribution system (and prices)...I think those will win out in the end.
