Michael Pachter declares PS Vita dead


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Just before Sony's E3 press conference, analyst Michael "Frog Touch" Pachter predicted a practical no-show for the PS Vita. He wasn't too wrong about that, either. The analyst went further than that, however, declaring the system dead.

"Sure there will be the occasional game, but the market's dominated by smartphones, 3DS, Vita's too hardcore," he told GameTrailers. "Sony will try to revitalize Vita, but it'll fall flat."

Pachter also said Sony's desire to have the PS Vita work as a companion device to the PlayStation 4 will fail, stating that while Sony may want that, he doesn't think it matters, advising users to "just buy an extra controller" if they want multiplayer experiences, and writing the system off as a "gimmick."

"Nobody cares about playing the Vita on a train," he declared.

There's no denying Sony disappointed with its PS Vita efforts on Tuesday, delivering little more than the same vague promises we've been hearing for over a year. I want to believe Sony's more dedicated to the handheld, but until I see proof, I'm not biting. I fear instead, Sony will just believe its ability to stream PS4 games will be enough of a library and leave it at that. Hope I'm wrong.

Still, Walking Dead!

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It's a fair assessment, Vita was DoA. You can get good quality gaming experiences on smartphones now for less than the cost of a Vita game.

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Maybe deeper integration with the PS4 will revive it's fortunes?

I don't have one, and I can't honestly say that I'm really that interested in getting one either. But I can see it's potential.

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I got one at launch and got rid of it a few months later, I'll get a cheap one when PS4 launches purely for offscreen play.

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I thought they were going to announce a price drop and a memory card price drop but they didn't. They really have to lower the price of those memory cards.

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I am not surprised that developers are not making games for it. Anymore people just use cell phones rather than a dedicated portable gaming device.

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I am not surprised that developers are not making games for it. Anymore people just use cell phones rather than a dedicated portable gaming device.

What about the 3DS?

As I said the same problem with the WiiU Lazy Developers and crappy publishers *COUGH EA COUGH*

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I remember the psp go! That was cool but a failure because it was a psp without a umd slot! The ps vita is stalled in terms of not taking off, Ive played with it, but didnt have any desire to want to buy it.

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i love the Vita. i'm taking mine on a trip today. i still have like 4 games to play on it. i have 3 flights today, so that'll give me a lot of time to dive into some of the games.

that being said, E3's showing has been pretty bad. there really needs to be more AAA titles instead of remastered or smartphone ports. my only hope for the Vita now is that the PS4 sparks some interest - Remote Play, 2nd screen, etc.

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It was DoA IMO.

Only thing they could do now to recoup sales is a massive price drop (not ?10/20/30 but something very significant), and a huge boost in exclusive titles which aren't just twists on the console counterparts.

Neither seems feasible.

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Pachter, his only correct "predictions" are those that come after everyone can see the facts, like this one. it's been dead for a while and that hasn't been changing.

What about the 3DS?

As I said the same problem with the WiiU Lazy Developers and crappy publishers *COUGH EA COUGH*

They're a crappy publisher because they choose to not waste money developing for a platform that doesn't have a marketable audience ?

it could be argued that they killed the Wii U. but the Vita managed to die all on it's own. Sony tried to sell it to a market that didn't care anymore, they didn't need or want AAA gaming on the go.

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PS4 remote play won't do anything for the Vita, sorry. Nobody buys a console to have an additional $250 device to play the same games on a tiny screen without all the proper controls.

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Really is a shame people so easily dismiss the Vita, as it is by far the best dedicated gaming handheld I have personally ever owned, and I have owned a PSP, DS & Gameboy.

For those that say but there is mobile gaming, it is like comparing black and white. The only way mobile gaming can come close to the Vita is if one hooks up a controller to their phone. So at that point you now have two peripherals, not one. Which kind of defeats the whole portability thing.

The Cross Play games have been awesome. For example Guacamelee, I loved playing it on my Vita, uploading my save file which took a matter of seconds, and hopping on my PS3 and playing right where I left off.

And if they can get the offscreen play thing working smoothly on the PS4, that makes the Vita 10 times better right there.

So I get why people hate it, and it does suck developers seem to be ignoring it, but it is a hell of a device. It truly is.

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PS4 remote play won't do anything for the Vita, sorry. Nobody buys a console to have an additional $250 device to play the same games on a tiny screen without all the proper controls.

If the Vita was part of the system like the Wii U gamepad, it MIGHT have a chance. As it is though, the Vita's future looks grim.

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Pachter, his only correct "predictions" are those that come after everyone can see the facts, like this one. it's been dead for a while and that hasn't been changing.

They're a crappy publisher because they choose to not waste money developing for a platform that doesn't have a marketable audience ?

it could be argued that they killed the Wii U. but the Vita managed to die all on it's own. Sony tried to sell it to a market that didn't care anymore, they didn't need or want AAA gaming on the go.

EA haven't killed the Wii U or any other console. It makes absolutely zero sense to kill a platform that they can make money on. This goes for that tired argument they killed the DC too. No, SEGA killed their hardware devision just like Sony are killing their portables. The Genesis add-ons, Saturn & Pluto were all flops with trouble development & confusing hardware. Had they gone from Genesis to Saturn to Dreamcast with adequate time between launches they'd probably still be around today.

Even 2 weeks ago EA were going back on their word saying that they aren't stopping Wii U development. Coincidentally around the same time Microsoft announced their DRM hammer & the backlash it had. Putting all your eggs in one basket in this type of business is not a smart move & EA know it.

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The proprietary memory cards is a big killer here. People really don't like the idea of having to buy a special card that is only usable in one device. Madness.

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Really is a shame people so easily dismiss the Vita, as it is by far the best dedicated gaming handheld I have personally ever owned, and I have owned a PSP, DS & Gameboy.

For those that say but there is mobile gaming, it is like comparing black and white. The only way mobile gaming can come close to the Vita is if one hooks up a controller to their phone. So at that point you now have two peripherals, not one. Which kind of defeats the whole portability thing.

The Cross Play games have been awesome. For example Guacamelee, I loved playing it on my Vita, uploading my save file which took a matter of seconds, and hopping on my PS3 and playing right where I left off.

And if they can get the offscreen play thing working smoothly on the PS4, that makes the Vita 10 times better right there.

So I get why people hate it, and it does suck developers seem to be ignoring it, but it is a hell of a device. It truly is.

Just to further my opinion on the console, I don't doubt for a second it is a capable machine. It's obviously a powerful device with superior horsepower compared to the 3DS, but none of that really means anything unless someone harnesses it (or makes use of it's USPs)

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perhaps this already happens, but why doesnt Sony sponsor <whatever studio> to make the next must-have, AAA title?

God of War

Infamous

Another Heavy-Rain-like Title

Ratchet & Clank

Metal Gear

Hell, not even an exclusive - just sponsor the next AAA title!

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Pachter, his only correct "predictions" are those that come after everyone can see the facts, like this one. it's been dead for a while and that hasn't been changing.

They're a crappy publisher because they choose to not waste money developing for a platform that doesn't have a marketable audience ?

it could be argued that they killed the Wii U. but the Vita managed to die all on it's own. Sony tried to sell it to a market that didn't care anymore, they didn't need or want AAA gaming on the go.

The reason the Vita doesn't have a marketable audience is because no one develops games for it. I'm sure that if better games were to come out for it, more people will buy it.

I play Metal Gear Solid on my Vita all the time. Its a hell of a lot better than playing games on my phone.

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Vita .... dead? Can't see that happening, its just lazy developers not willing to leave their comfort zone.

wouldn't that be essentially dead if no developers are developing?
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I love my Vita - and it'll get better with the PS4. Yeah the memory cards suck, which I'm surprised at considering how liberal Sony have been with PS3 storage, but it's a great console.

It's incredibly powerful, with great graphics. If you have a PS3 and PS+ then a Vita is a damn good buy (In the UK prices are falling - you can get a new 3G with LBP and a memory card for ?169, or a used WiFi Only one for ?99).

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