AfterDawn: Tech news

Sony: Third-party devs don't care about Vita

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Aug 2012 12:26 User comments (22)

Sony: Third-party devs don't care about Vita

Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida has made interesting comments this week in regards to third-party support of the PS Vita handheld.
The exec says major third-party developers are more enthused by mobile platforms like iOS and Android than gaming handhelds like the Vita or even the 3DS.

Says Yoshida: "Because of the growth of the social/mobile sector, lots of opportunities are being presented to publishers to choose from, and because the social/mobile side is the growing sector in terms of the business now, they are very quickly shifting their development resources to be part of that growing market."

Vita sales have slowed to a crawl in a very short period, thanks to a lackluster catalog of games and little marketing.

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22 user comments

110.8.2012 00:54

Third party developers are not making games for the vita because:

1) Sony likes to abuse their customers(give features and then take them away(ps3s other os)

2) Over price their hardware

3) Make a device that once the battery is shot, your screwed

4) Most people still have a working psp and tons of umds that wont work on the vita.

5) people have caught on to Sonys tactics and are not willing to get screwed by them again( look at what happened to Sega when they kept releasing game console after game console every other year. They made the Dreamcast, and could hardly sell them because people where afraid that it would be dumped a year later will no support.

210.8.2012 01:54

Quote:
Third party developers are not making games for the vita because:

1) Sony likes to abuse their customers(give features and then take them away(ps3s other os)

2) Over price their hardware

3) Make a device that once the battery is shot, your screwed

4) Most people still have a working psp and tons of umds that wont work on the vita.

5) people have caught on to Sonys tactics and are not willing to get screwed by them again( look at what happened to Sega when they kept releasing game console after game console every other year. They made the Dreamcast, and could hardly sell
Agreed
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 10 Aug 2012 @ 1:55

310.8.2012 05:04

don't agree

1- Sony put otheros in from the start so people could do Linux stuff or thing that would work with that side of the PS3.

Many gamers said otheros was a waste of time and only games should be the focus.

Sony kept it in for yellowdog etc

Some customers decided they wanted to use it so they could use pirated games.

Sony took it out as it damages the overall brand and product.

The people trying to pirate games got pissed about that.

The Linux using people got pissed that the piraters got that feature taken away.


To Sony it was never a feature just something chucked in for some fun on the side.

2- Don't have the money don't buy it simple as that.

Much like if you can't afford a $300,000 car you don't go around complaining about how you can't afford that car.

3- Like Apple products

4- the only reason why people wouldn't buy a vita.

5- Oh BS the PS3 has sold millions you sily billy.

Hell the PS2 even still sells units right now.

If everyone thought like that then you'd only ever want an Atari console, when they were the rage back in the late 70's and 80's.

410.8.2012 07:02

Originally posted by xtago:
don't agree

1- Sony put otheros in from the start so people could do Linux stuff or thing that would work with that side of the PS3.

Many gamers said otheros was a waste of time and only games should be the focus.

Sony kept it in for yellowdog etc

Some customers decided they wanted to use it so they could use pirated games.

Sony took it out as it damages the overall brand and product.

The people trying to pirate games got pissed about that.

The Linux using people got pissed that the piraters got that feature taken away.


To Sony it was never a feature just something chucked in for some fun on the side.

2- Don't have the money don't buy it simple as that.

Much like if you can't afford a $300,000 car you don't go around complaining about how you can't afford that car.

3- Like Apple products

4- the only reason why people wouldn't buy a vita.

5- Oh BS the PS3 has sold millions you sily billy.

Hell the PS2 even still sells units right now.

If everyone thought like that then you'd only ever want an Atari console, when they were the rage back in the late 70's and 80's.

You are missing the whole point. The vita is overpriced. When you compare it to other mobile products and that includes cell phones and tablets. Currently you can get a GS2 phone from most carriers in the US for free now. Dual core, OLED, 4.5 inch screen with cheaper games. And for someone who isn't a gamer but plays games. That a awesome deal! The current line of smartphones offer alot more then a vita. We as gamers continually see this push of including more non-regular gamers into the platform. When it comes to reading, the net, games, connection with friends, music, movies, office apps, gps, bluetooth And that's where the vita will lose. Not because it isn't a good product. It just doesn't offer the versatility for the mainstream public now. It doesn't mean stand along products like the vita and the ipod won't have a place. But it will continually be small. Versatility is what the market wants out of its mobile devices.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 10 Aug 2012 @ 7:03

510.8.2012 07:45

Personally I think Nintendo have the younger end of things sewn up & tablets and phones the rest.
Nothing Sony dowith the Vita is changing that soon.....except maybe something like a 50% price cut (and a huge cut in game prices).

610.8.2012 08:01

Originally posted by keebles:
Third party developers are not making games for the vita because:

1) Sony likes to abuse their customers(give features and then take them away(ps3s other os)

2) Over price their hardware

3) Make a device that once the battery is shot, your screwed

4) Most people still have a working psp and tons of umds that wont work on the vita.

5) people have caught on to Sonys tactics and are not willing to get screwed by them again( look at what happened to Sega when they kept releasing game console after game console every other year. They made the Dreamcast, and could hardly sell them because people where afraid that it would be dumped a year later will no support.
Agree with you man and i am one that still have a trusty fat psp with udm and memory games.

710.8.2012 08:09

Originally posted by xtago:
dont agree

1- Sony put otheros in from the start so people could do Linux stuff or thing that would work with that side of the PS3.

Many gamers said otheros was a waste of time and only games should be the focus.

Sony kept it in for yellowdog etc

Some customers decided they wanted to use it so they could use pirated games.

Sony took it out as it damages the overall brand and product.

The people trying to pirate games got pissed about that.

The Linux using people got pissed that the piraters got that feature taken away.


To Sony it was never a feature just something chucked in for some fun on the side.

2- Dont have the money dont buy it simple as that.

Much like if you cant afford a $300,000 car you dont go around complaining about how you cant afford that car.

3- Like Apple products

4- the only reason why people wouldnt buy a vita.

5- Oh BS the PS3 has sold millions you sily billy.

Hell the PS2 even still sells units right now.

If everyone thought like that then youd only ever want an Atari console, when they were the rage back in the late 70s and 80s.

The PS3 is loosing ground, havent you paying attention?

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/08/02/sonys...re-in-are-grim/

810.8.2012 09:03

Disagree with the don't agree.

1.) Per Sony Tech Support about four years ago, the solution to the lack of support for common formats in the media players and web browser is to use OtherOS. Sure, some gamers didn't care; they just wanted an updated version of the PS2 slim that could do nothing but play games...but others bought the PS3 instead of the 360 because of OtherOS. In fact, the US DoD bought thousands of PS3s for no other reason than OtherOS. I (sorry to say) even convinced a friend with little money to go with the PS3, which I installed OtherOS on so that he would have a PC for the first time ever. Today he has no PC; he couldn't afford to buy a PC after OtherOS was removed so he can't even write a text document without walking to the library. To claim no one used it or that it was "just for fun and not a feature" is just a lie.

Sony claimed that it could be used for piracy; almost no one had used it for piracy of any kind, let alone PS3 game piracy, but Sony was worried that someone would find a way to make it a somewhat usable PS3 game piracy method...or at least that is what they claimed...so they removed it. This claim came right after someone released part of a video chip driver that Sony should have included in the first place, and having NOTHING to do with piracy. Of course, removal of Linux from ANYTHING will lead to massive hacker uprisings; and that led to completely hacked firmwares where you can launch pirated games with more ease than sliding in a retail disk. Did this hurt the brand? Of course not...pirates who never would have bought the system got one, and legal gamers kept paying for games. The only damage to the brand was from people like me who stopped buying all Sony products after Sony started suing and arresting people for writing Linux video drivers that had nothing at all to do with piracy of any kind (not even piracy on the OtherOS side).

2.) The Vita is not a $300,000 car...it is meant to be something that kids get for Xmas and birthdays...but it isn't on their list because the new Droid just came out (a new one comes out every week). Becides, their time away from consoles/PCs is rather limited, so the Android/iPhone/hacked PSP is more than enough. As for adults, they generally fall into one of two groups...the people who have time for the Vita when they ride the bus, but cannot afford one...and the people who can afford one, but own cars so they just play their console/PC when they get home.

3.) Like Apple products...but then only suckers buy Apple products. (Most) Androids have removable batteries.

4.) Lots of reasons NOT to buy a Vita, see points 1-3.

910.8.2012 09:53

Originally posted by KillerBug:
Disagree with the don't agree.

1.) Per Sony Tech Support about four years ago, the solution to the lack of support for common formats in the media players and web browser is to use OtherOS. Sure, some gamers didn't care; they just wanted an updated version of the PS2 slim that could do nothing but play games...but others bought the PS3 instead of the 360 because of OtherOS. In fact, the US DoD bought thousands of PS3s for no other reason than OtherOS. I (sorry to say) even convinced a friend with little money to go with the PS3, which I installed OtherOS on so that he would have a PC for the first time ever. Today he has no PC; he couldn't afford to buy a PC after OtherOS was removed so he can't even write a text document without walking to the library. To claim no one used it or that it was "just for fun and not a feature" is just a lie.

Sony claimed that it could be used for piracy; almost no one had used it for piracy of any kind, let alone PS3 game piracy, but Sony was worried that someone would find a way to make it a somewhat usable PS3 game piracy method...or at least that is what they claimed...so they removed it. This claim came right after someone released part of a video chip driver that Sony should have included in the first place, and having NOTHING to do with piracy. Of course, removal of Linux from ANYTHING will lead to massive hacker uprisings; and that led to completely hacked firmwares where you can launch pirated games with more ease than sliding in a retail disk. Did this hurt the brand? Of course not...pirates who never would have bought the system got one, and legal gamers kept paying for games. The only damage to the brand was from people like me who stopped buying all Sony products after Sony started suing and arresting people for writing Linux video drivers that had nothing at all to do with piracy of any kind (not even piracy on the OtherOS side).

2.) The Vita is not a $300,000 car...it is meant to be something that kids get for Xmas and birthdays...but it isn't on their list because the new Droid just came out (a new one comes out every week). Becides, their time away from consoles/PCs is rather limited, so the Android/iPhone/hacked PSP is more than enough. As for adults, they generally fall into one of two groups...the people who have time for the Vita when they ride the bus, but cannot afford one...and the people who can afford one, but own cars so they just play their console/PC when they get home.

3.) Like Apple products...but then only suckers buy Apple products. (Most) Androids have removable batteries.

4.) Lots of reasons NOT to buy a Vita, see points 1-3.
---I agree with everything except for the pc. Because so much of our work life still revolves around the pc. Overall what I am pointing out is the versatility of all these items PC/tablet/phone Its what the game console makers are trying to do. You can build a solid gaming pc for 500 or for the same price a AMD A series laptop with a video card chip. But for that price it also gives you more then gaming. Net, better video, communication. And in the long run options. For and when your taste change.

1010.8.2012 09:54

Originally posted by KillerBug:
Disagree with the don't agree.

1.) Per Sony Tech Support about four years ago, the solution to the lack of support for common formats in the media players and web browser is to use OtherOS. Sure, some gamers didn't care; they just wanted an updated version of the PS2 slim that could do nothing but play games...but others bought the PS3 instead of the 360 because of OtherOS. In fact, the US DoD bought thousands of PS3s for no other reason than OtherOS. I (sorry to say) even convinced a friend with little money to go with the PS3, which I installed OtherOS on so that he would have a PC for the first time ever. Today he has no PC; he couldn't afford to buy a PC after OtherOS was removed so he can't even write a text document without walking to the library. To claim no one used it or that it was "just for fun and not a feature" is just a lie.

Sony claimed that it could be used for piracy; almost no one had used it for piracy of any kind, let alone PS3 game piracy, but Sony was worried that someone would find a way to make it a somewhat usable PS3 game piracy method...or at least that is what they claimed...so they removed it. This claim came right after someone released part of a video chip driver that Sony should have included in the first place, and having NOTHING to do with piracy. Of course, removal of Linux from ANYTHING will lead to massive hacker uprisings; and that led to completely hacked firmwares where you can launch pirated games with more ease than sliding in a retail disk. Did this hurt the brand? Of course not...pirates who never would have bought the system got one, and legal gamers kept paying for games. The only damage to the brand was from people like me who stopped buying all Sony products after Sony started suing and arresting people for writing Linux video drivers that had nothing at all to do with piracy of any kind (not even piracy on the OtherOS side).

2.) The Vita is not a $300,000 car...it is meant to be something that kids get for Xmas and birthdays...but it isn't on their list because the new Droid just came out (a new one comes out every week). Becides, their time away from consoles/PCs is rather limited, so the Android/iPhone/hacked PSP is more than enough. As for adults, they generally fall into one of two groups...the people who have time for the Vita when they ride the bus, but cannot afford one...and the people who can afford one, but own cars so they just play their console/PC when they get home.

3.) Like Apple products...but then only suckers buy Apple products. (Most) Androids have removable batteries.

4.) Lots of reasons NOT to buy a Vita, see points 1-3.
This.

Will only consider one after the price drops, because of the Sweet 2d Fighters, but for now, I can run emulators on my Galaxy Note to tide me over.

1110.8.2012 12:10

Exactly, KillerBug.

Frankly, My "end of life" 3vo, running FPSe for PS1 games, is just fine for mobile gaming that's more complex than the "slice the fruit" paradigm. One of the (if not THE) best versions of X-Com on my phone?! Sold.

I have a solid gaming desktop AND gaming laptop. The Vita is a non-issue.

1210.8.2012 12:42

The only way the Vita was gonna be a success was if Sony went on a top notch ad campaign consistently about it and dropped some blockbusters with it.

Never happened.

1310.8.2012 12:45

Originally posted by Morreale:
The only way the Vita was gonna be a success was if Sony went on a top notch ad campaign consistently about it and dropped some blockbusters with it.

Never happened.
Agreed, its a constant problem when they launch new consoles. Not having enough games ready at launch.

1410.8.2012 13:56

Quote:
( look at what happened to Sega when they kept releasing game console after game console every other year. They made the Dreamcast, and could hardly sell them because people where afraid that it would be dumped a year later will no support.
This is partially false (if not entirely false). The Dreamcast died because of rampant piracy. It was possible to read Dreamcast games using a regular CD drive on any computer and make copies of the games using normal CD-R's. I don't know a single person who actually owned more then 2 original Dreamcast games (usually were bundled with the system).

1510.8.2012 14:28

I'm right behind you KB... The reason developers aren't behind Vita is because 'nobody' is frankly behind it.

I've owned my PSPs & after I couldn't hack those... Buh by. I'm not repurchasing the same games AGAIN onto another format again. I'm just a broken record on this whole format war 'thing'. And the whole 'cloud' thing can kiss my ass as well.

Now that the Android devices are out there, why would I want another PSP style device (as per your 'older' crowd)? I too have a car & just get on the PC when I get back to the house.

From a designer's perspective, the device has run it's course. they should have pushed their tablet sooner & possibly ported their games there.

1610.8.2012 16:29

Originally posted by 0ldskool:
Quote:
( look at what happened to Sega when they kept releasing game console after game console every other year. They made the Dreamcast, and could hardly sell them because people where afraid that it would be dumped a year later will no support.
This is partially false (if not entirely false). The Dreamcast died because of rampant piracy. It was possible to read Dreamcast games using a regular CD drive on any computer and make copies of the games using normal CD-R's. I don't know a single person who actually owned more then 2 original Dreamcast games (usually were bundled with the system).
The dreamcast used gdroms(not cdroms). GDroms are not able to be read with a standard cdrom drive due to the fact that gdroms use a higher density than a standard cdrom can. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GD-ROM

The copied games are ones that where ripped using either a coders cable/Broadband adapter. They where then down sampled to fit onto a cdr. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_rip

I have a dreamcast and have tried reading every official disc I have with every type of drive I have(hd-dvd drive, bd drive, dvd drive, cdr drive,) and have not been able to read the official discs. If I could read them with my pc, I would be playing them with nulldc.

1710.8.2012 19:16

Wrong. From Wikipedia:

Quote:
A normal CD-reader will not read beyond the first track because, according to the CD table of contents (TOC), there is no data there. With modified firmware that looks for a second TOC in the high-density region it is possible to read data from the high-density region even on a normal CD-reader. One can also utilize a "swap-trick" by first letting the CD-reader read the TOC from a normal CD with a large track and then swapping that disc with a GD-ROM in a way that avoids alerting the CD-reader that a new disc has been inserted. It is then possible to read as much data from the high-density region as indicated by the TOC from the first disc.
Yes, a coder's cable was common, but is certainly not the only way to do it, and yes, you CAN read a GD-ROM with a standard CD player... With a little finagling, that is.

0ldskool's point was a little off, but still very valid. It wasn't that the GD-ROMs were easily readable, although that certainly could be done. It was that older Dreamcasts would play copied games *directly* from a burnt CD-ROM without using any hardware or software hack. This was fixed in later versions of the console, but by then, it was far too late.

Furthermore, Sega simply didn't ever properly market/advertise the console, IMO, and additionally, the fact that GD-ROMs had only 1.2 GB of storage, vs. the 4.7-8.7 GB (single/dual layer)DVD drive found in the PS2, and a promised DVD-retrofit never appeared for the DC pretty much put in the final coffin nails.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 10 Aug 2012 @ 7:22

1810.8.2012 19:39

I just try to go by a rule of thumb that if a gaming device doesn't have greater than 10 titles I want for it, I wont buy it. It's worked good for me so far.

1911.8.2012 09:56

Just buy what you like :) In a nutshell, you don't need anything, all gadgets are pointless. I like the Vita because I want to take Little Big Planet on the go. Finally you can use the minutes you waiting for buses/trains/elevators etc. to create :) Every console has a selling point, I'm not happy with the Vita 100%, but such is life, nothing is perfect :) Cheers! Oh, I do enjoy reading the well constructed intelligent arguments though, I learned a lot from certain users.

2011.8.2012 10:20

It's not just the Vita -- it's the entire portable platform, just like Yoshida was quoted in the article. I got two Nintendo DSi XL's for my kids two years ago this Christmas. The following Christmas I got them each a cheap Android tablet (hacked Nook Color). They play games (and do other things) on the Nooks far more than they do their DSi XL. Nintendo released the 3DS soon after that, and even my kids (8 & 9 at the time) looked at it as a downgrade -- back to the smaller screen, the 3D function is lame and makes your eyes hurt, and the games are at least 10x the price of even the really good Android games, and more expensive than the already pricey DS games. And just as I was afraid that 3rd party devs would stop making non-3D games for Nintendo, there was just a lull and now they're all back to producing regular DS games. The only 3DS game my kids want is the new Mario Kart, but Nintendo is stubbornly keeping that 3D, which still isn't really helping 3DS sales. One of my kids loves Little Big Planet on the PS3, and would love to have a portable way to play it, but I'm not spending that much money on a portable console for one game.

Sony did with the Vita exactly what Nintendo did with the 3DS. They killed their own market by trying to abandon their own previous models way too soon and then get miffed when the public isn't ready for that (or can't afford it). That's just like when the market was going from VHS to DVD. You didn't see the component manufacturers immediately abandon VHS. Heck, you can still buy dual deck VHS/DVD players/recorders.

But just like while the industry was busy bickering over record/tape/CD standards, digital audio downloads just went right around them, making the whole debate obsolete, the same thing is happening with portable gaming. While Sony and Nintendo continue putting out very proprietary portable consoles that even abandon their own previous model owners, the mobile phone and tablet industry just went around them, giving more people what they want -- cheaper game platforms and cheaper games. Both Nintendo and Sony should've endorsed the homebrew perspective more, opened markets of their own with cheaper downloadable games, and maybe they would've survived. They won't survive now.

2111.8.2012 11:35

We all are hitting on the same points. Price of games and hardware, versatility of other products, and at some times price gouging especially in this last round with 60 dollar games. Us older gamers are more wise about how our money is spent on gaming. Its really for the kids to play have fun. 16-30 is the sweet spot for high dollar games. Before 16 and after 30 I would think low dollar games are more prevalent and more in demand.

2215.8.2012 10:37

they have done some great stuff at gamescom buy the PS3 version get the Vita version free hope the vita makes it great handheld imo.

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