What does the future hold for Vita owners?

Its no secret that Triple-A titles on the Vita are rare. In fact, you could count how many Triple-A titles are on the system with one hand. Games like Uncharted, Killzone and Gravity Rush just aren't releasing for the “console experience” handheld platform. The last big title to hit the Vita was Borderlands 2, which faced mixed reactions from media and fans themselves. With Borderlands 2 being a large scale masterpiece on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Iron Galaxy did a good job with the game, some felt it fell short as they needed to scale down the console version of Borderlands 2 on the PS Vita by giving us less enemies, having enemies explode instead of piling up within the world and more. Is Borderlands 2 the last big Triple-A game we’ll see come to Vita?

No one really knows the future of the Vita, Sony included. The Vita is a great and power handheld gaming system, if you have the original PS Vita, the OLED screen looks incredible, the first handheld system to have two proper analog sticks, powerful running hardware…it all adds up. So where are the big titles? Assassin’s Creed Liberation gave us an open world experience (in some regards) that would allow us to scale new heights and open up the world around us as we take our leap of faith. Ubisoft has not mentioned anything since of a sequel. AC Liberation sold well, selling close to 600,000 units in the first few months. Will we see Aveline again on the Vita? I would like to.  AC Liberation was a great first attempt with a few short comings, but as a fan of the series another game would be nice to have on the go.

The future of Vita appears to be bright for some though, the Vita's future is coming from the Indie developer's, large or small, a 1 man team to 5 or even larger teams such as Crytek are now considered to be an Indie. Indie teams have replaced the mid-tier developers like THQ back in the day that although they weren't producing Triple-A status game’s, were still filling the void of larger big budget games that would hold us over until that next big release. Studio's like Drinkbox Studios, Dennaton Games and Curve Studios have all made and are currently working on great games that made its way to Vita. 

Why do Indie's come to Vita? Because Vita owners buy games! The attach rate of games sold per Vita is great. That's very appealing when making a game. Vita owners have purchased a minimum of 10 games per Vita. This is great news for Indie's because there is less to compete with. Less competition to sell your game to a hungry audience is a game developers dream. At the end of the day they need to make money to survive, so why compete on the larger console when you can appeal more easily to a different audience. A better chance of selling your games, because there is less in recover costs. I'm not saying making a game is easy or inexpensive, but when your not dealing with a budget like Call of Duty or the Assassin's Creed teams face and need to recover, it may be more appealing in the end for Indie's to think of the Vita with less competition.

If there is less competition on the Vita then why isn’t there big Triple-A titles coming to Vita. Less of an install base I feel is the largest issue, with just over 6 million units selling last year, larger developers would rather focus their attention on a more successful console that will bring in the most bang for their buck. With the Vita having exciting extra's like, remoteplay, taking your game on the go with Cloud saving for a game like MLB The Show and then continue your experience back home on the big screen, the Vita has a lot going for it. Also, with PlayStation Now coming sometime in the future for Vita, this may open the window for Sony to push the Vita once again. Nintendo has found their market with the 3DS, selling some of the largest numbers and out selling the Vita to date. If Nintendo has control of the market, wouldn't Sony be able to come in with a more power running system with better looking graphics to take the market? NOPE! Nintendo owns that handheld gaming market and it’s up to Sony to figure out where to go next. The future of our beloved Vita and Triple-A titles are uncertain and looking dyer. There are no big announcements coming for the next big game and that’s not a good sign when trying to move units.  Myself…I personally love my Vita and want it to succeed, but know deep down its not looking good, only time will tell. Let me know your thoughts on Triple-A titles not reaching the Vita and anything else on your mind. Until next time!