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eyname · 5 years ago

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Tearway (2013)

In 2013 I was working a customer service job after graduating from university, people that know me in real life know that I don’t have... a great deal of personal patience and I’m not always the most verbally coherent of people. I tend to stumble over my words outloud a lot, I have the vocabulary running through my mind but there’s a block whenever I try to push it out. I was feeling tired all the time, let down and had little time in my life for games on a PC, or a console, and I needed an alternative way to game-on-the-go.

I bought an original PS Vita in one of those bundle packages that came with a download code for an Assassin’s Creed game that to this day I have never played for longer than ten minutes. Following finishing Persona 4 Golden, it seemed like an appropriate time to actually install it. The game opens on a tailing mission which then proceeded to softlock. I sat there for about five minutes twiddling the sticks and then put my Vita down, much like everyone this generation, to gather a thick layer of dust.

At 2013′s Eurogamer Expo I went to meet up with some friends, grab a few drinks and relax and the demo kiosk for Tearaway seemed to be one of the only things that did not have a queue. They had the Vita units hooked up to these comically large noise cancelling headphones that almost fell off my head even when tightened, defeating the purpose.

This bright crisp aesthetic flooded the screen, the crinkling of the paper from every single denizen of it’s world and their eagerness to have you experiment with the rules of said world, and what it does is what made me fall for it. The way it does this is almost sadly what isolates it to the Vita (even the Playstation 4 version has this somewhat), it’s a perfect example of an early generation title where the developers had a mandate to use all the features of the console.

The vita had a front touch pad, a back touch pad (used sparingly, thankfully), a front video camera, a microphone and a gyroscope. These are all features that became standard in all hardware in handhelds in this generation, minus the obviously awkward and impractical backpad. Tearaway uses all of these and does it in a way that feeds perfectly diagetic in the narrative of Tearaway and in a way that never feels cloying or unnecessary, an example of the antithesis to this would be something like the early Castlevania games on the DS. The mechanics of those saw them retrofitted to use the screen, Tearaway was intelligently built up to use these.

Your interaction in the world is clear from the start, the camera is a look into our own world where Atoi, our papercraft protagonist and the people of the world get a lookback at you. Throughout the entire adventure you sit inside the sun of the world, the camera of the Vita playing back your (ok, my) jowly chin. The power of ‘you’ is used to shape the world, the papercraft aspect is pretty much the entire selling point here with you reaching into the world and decorating it, or tearing things apart from the backpad, or drawing new items on the touch screen. The games customisation isn’t too indepth and is somewhat like an adult colouring book to an extent, you take photos of things using the back camera and it allows you to customise things based on what you took a photo of, and that combined with the fact that it isn’t too challenging makes it a perfectly zen title to relax with which at that point.

This storybook formula is straight forward and uncomplicated but is accompanied by just an overall charming tone, the grunts of characters in the games never reach the Banjo Kazooie levels of babble but they capture enough personality to outwear their welcome, yet all this is accompanied with a soundtrack that I still find myself whistling now a days, Gibbet Hill is an amazing midway point in the game and the way the tune progressively changes as you move further up the mountain and get closer to your goal is amazing, then the later reprise of it into a slower and more mournful almost track to describe the world inbetween, is something that never failed to make me feel somber.

Tearaway would be something that would define my relationship with the Vita as a handheld at this point and whilst criticism could be fairly levied at it for being a mobile softcore pornography unit - and I did end up owning a few of the games that could’ve been classified in that area - it’s a neat underutilised handle. Not a particularly revolutionary opinion considering the fanbase of the Vita, vita is life and all, but for the lack of AAA titles it was neat seeing a larger studio take a stab at this, with Freedom Wars being the last game directly from Sony to really push the hardware I never felt there was much to compare it to, which in itself is what made it stand out from the Playstation 4 version, rather than refitting all these concepts to fit the Playstation 4 - with an awkward companion app and a camera that no-one owned, Tearaway Vita was really the best all in one package that could represent the potential that was there and be a great demonstration of the strengths of the Vita at the same time.

#tearaway #vita #ps vita #game of the decade #papercraft #atoi #media molecule

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gaming101stuff · 6 years ago

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PS Vita is officially dead

https://www.businessinsider.com/sony-vita-discontinued-failed-2019-3?r=US&IR=T

I say officially but the PS Vita really never got off to a start and ends as Sony’s lowest selling console ever. It also has to be my most disappointing console of all time. The PS Vita had the opportunity to be a great handheld, but only ever got half-arsed support from Sony (and that’s me being generous).

I’ve never really been the biggest fan of handheld consoles. I had all the gameboys as a kid but that was only ever really for the Pokemon games and I honestly can’t remember playing anything else on them. Until the PSP came out ( still had a DS but again only for the Pokemon games, seriously Nintendo has got a lot of money out of me for the Pokemon franchise). But the PSP has to be my all time favourite handheld console; it had a decent library of games, decent graphics (for the time) and was solely a games console.

Sony’s desire to make the Vita a multimedia player instead of just an out of out console cost it dearly, particularly as smartphones really started taking off when it was released, and it’s lack of quality games was the final nail in the coffin of an underwhelming console.

The thing that annoys me is that with a few decent games and more effort on the gaming side of the device we could have had a really good console. The Uncharted game released for it was particularly good, but off the top of my head I can’t think of a single other game I would praise.

The success of the Switch shows there is still a desire for handheld consoles, but I would like to see a complete out-and-out handheld console, with the proper backing of Sony, again.

#I will forever be bitter about the VITA #playstation vita #bit of a rant #sony #playstation #sony playstation #why did they make this and then never back it up

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otome-obsessed · 7 years ago

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Otomate has revealed that they will be moving from the PS Vita to the Nintendo Switch.

I have had people tell me that they don’t know if they want to buy Vita games for just otome. And I have told everyone to not do this. The problem is, staying on Vita is not good long term since the platform is dying. English Vita otome games are few and far between and even then, there aren’t many non-otome games that are released on Vita yearly to even make it really worth it for the system. (In all honesty, if you don’t care about the portable part, a PSTV might be a cheaper option, though you will have to buy Sony brand memory cards too and oof.)

Switch is a very popular system that is doing amazingly well and is in a lot of hands. It sold 4.8 million units in 10 months of its release and doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon. With so many systems in hands, the easier it will be to sell games to people. People who already have the system are more likely to try games that are for that system.

How are you supposed to sell games to players on a system that is no longer popular? How do you get new players from that system, when the system is no longer selling or is still being sold but it’s very expensive? The problem is, you can’t. It’s a losing strategy.

So, either change or die.

Change is a way better option.

I planned on getting a Switch anyways, but have been putting it off for Black Friday when I might be able to get it cheaper or in a bundle of some sort.

Not that we have to think about that. It'll probably be a while before we get any Switch Otomate games in English.

#visual novel #otome games #switch #playstation vita #hakuoki #idea factory #hey look i made a regular thoughts post!#i bought my vita for persona 4 the golden and a few other games so i'm not too bothered

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nicksflipz · 3 years ago

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$100 OBO 💰+$5 Shipping 🚚📦 ***PIck up if in STL\Greater area*** PlayStation PS Vita Slim Sony PCH-2001 Black —Condition is used, Tested works great! FEW Minor Scratches more so on the back rather then the front. The screen is still clean and crisp, no cracks, picture is all still there the minor scratches on front do not effect a lit and working screen* *no memory card* *no charging cable* *you are buying just this handheld console* #playstation#psvita#selling#stlouis#missouri#hustle (at St. Louis, Missouri) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVPHzJTsM4u/?utm_medium=tumblr

#playstation #psvita #selling #stlouis #missouri #hustle

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Is Nintendo GameCube the Most Underrated Console Ever?

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A lot of words have been spoken about the Nintendo GameCube in the 20 years since the console’s release, but the one you’re most likely to hear if you ask fans about their thoughts on the console’s legacy is “underrated.” In fact, the popular sentiment is that the Nintendo GameCube is the most underrated console ever made.

It’s a fascinating legacy for a device that once seemed destined to become Nintendo’s worst-selling home console ever (before the Wii U justifiably stole that title). We’ve talked about this more extensively in the past, but the Nintendo GameCube was something of a low point for Nintendo in a lot of ways. They were last in sales, managed to alienate quite a few developers and gamers, and generally seemed to be unsure of who they were and what their future in the video game industry looked like.

While it’s true that the “underrated” tag is usually reserved for things that failed to reach the upper echelons of mainstream popularity, I’m not sure if the GameCube is entirely worthy of that designation despite the fact that’s how many people choose to remember it all these years later.

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I obviously can’t tell you whether or not you feel that the GameCube is underrated in the minds of most people (there’s a lot of speculation involved in that process), but historically, many people have called the GameCube a pretty bad console with some truly great games. Honestly, that seems like a fair summary of what the GameCube ultimately contributed.

Now, I will say that I think it took people quite a few years to fully appreciate just how good the GameCube’s library actually was. Yes, titles like Mario Kart: Double Dash, Resident Evil 4, and Super Smash Bros. Melee were pretty much instant classics, but fewer people at the time truly appreciated how special games like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Eternal Darkness, Viewtiful Joe, and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance really were. Even successful GameCube games like Metroid Prime, Animal Crossing, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Super Mario Sunshine arguably weren’t widely recognized as the classics they very much were until many years after their release and the GameCube’s downfall. In that sense, I think there is a very strong argument to be made that the GameCube was the home of a shocking number of generally underrated gaming experiences.

The question is, “Should more people have bought a GameCube at that time to experience those great games?” That’s where things get a little tricky, but it’s important to realize that the reasons why many people didn’t buy a GameCube when it was on the market (lack of multimedia features, lack of third-party support, lack of online games, and the time between major releases) are all still valid to this day. People weren’t really ignoring the GameCube because they thought it had bad games; they were ignoring it because it was always a tough sell as a second or third console despite the obvious quality of many of its best games.

Again, “underrated” is going to ultimately mean slightly different things to different people, but in the case of the GameCube, it honestly feels like the console eventually became widely enough embraced and criticized for the proper things. The idea that the GameCube had great games and was bad at nearly everything else was always there and has only become more popular in the 20 years since its release. Maybe it should have outsold the N64, but the sales gap wasn’t that big, and the N64 didn’t have to deal with a third competitor as strong as the Xbox.

If the GameCube isn’t the most underrated console, though, then which consoles are worthy of that title? Again, this is all really a talking point meant to inspire debate, but here are a few of the top candidates that come to mind:

Sega Saturn

The Sega Saturn was pretty much “DOA” in the minds of many as soon as Sony confirmed that the PlayStation would be released at the same time as Sega’s console and for a lower price. Given how great the PS1 proved to be, it’s hard to argue against anyone who picked Sony’s console over Sega’s.

Still, the Sega Saturn was a solid and powerful console that boasts one of the most unique and impressive libraries of games ever assembled. If a few things had gone differently, I’d argue that more people would have jumped at the chance to buy a Sega Saturn for the ways it tried to bridge the gap between arcade, console, and PC gaming. As it turned out, though, Sony just had the better debut and, ultimately, the better read on where the industry was heading. The Saturn truly was a great and overlooked video game console, though.

PlayStation Vita

They say that you really had to own a PS Vita to love the PS Vita, which is kind of a problem considering that Sony only managed to sell an estimated 15-16 million Vitas during the handheld’s brief run. That’s a considerable drop from the reported 80 plus million PSPs that eventually made their way into the hands of an army of eager gamers.

The “funny” thing about that discrepancy is that the PS Vita was a better device in pretty much every single way. The PS Vita is not without its flaws, but when you really look at the handheld all these years later, you start to realize its market failures can sooner be attributed to some truly unfortunate circumstances rather than irredeemable problems with the device itself.

Sega Dreamcast

On the one hand, you could argue that the Dreamcast and GameCube share similar legacies. After all, both were underperforming consoles that are now widely recognized as “underrated” and are therefore arguably no longer entirely worthy of the title.

Whereas the GameCube’s underrated status ignores the idea that people have been having the same conversations about that console since it was released, though, the years since the Dreamcast’s demise have been filled with critical examinations that ultimately changed the narrative about the console. The Dreamcast’s controller wasn’t great, Sega failed to entice sufficient third-party support, and it turns out it really needed a DVD player, but the Dreamcast’s incredible library, online support, and nearly arcade-perfect visuals alone should have helped it sell way more than 9 million units.

Atari Lynx

The Atari Lynx should honestly be a case study in what ultimately tends to matter most to consumers. While you’d think that this console’s power, library, and features would have made it a proper Game Boy rival, many at the time simply preferred Game Boy’s portability, better battery life, and lower price.

Still, the Lynx was a marvel of technology and forward-thinking concepts that are honestly even more impressive to look back on than many people considered them to be at the time. The Lynx deserved to at least be seen as a viable Game Boy alternative, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

TurboGrafx-16

The TurboGrafx-16 (aka the PC Engine) was released at an awkward time that eventually ensured that it remarkably lost to two generations of Nintendo consoles as well as the Sega Genesis. Its awkward blend of 8 and 16-bit technology also didn’t help sell the console to a mass market looking for a clear explanation for a console’s power.

That said, it’s truly remarkable to look back at the TurboGrafx-16’s best games and realize that it effectively doubles as a list of some of the most underrated games of the console era. Despite its questionable marketing and lack of certain key features, the TurboGrafx-16 was a solid overall console that eventually played host to some fascinating and innovative titles that just never really found the wide audience that probably would have enjoyed them.

The post Is Nintendo GameCube the Most Underrated Console Ever? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3llOHlC

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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gadgetsboy · 2 years ago

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Project Q: What we Know about Sony's Upcoming Handheld

Sony's been making headlines again - the Japanese gaming giant, responsible for some of the best-selling console systems in gaming history once again stole the spotlight at its recent PlayStation showcase, giving fans the chance to get an idea of what to expect in terms of upcoming software and hardware products. With regards to the latter, Sony recently showed off a some new products including a pair of PlayStation-branded wireless earbuds, but what really got people's attention was "Project Q," Sony's newest entry into the handheld gaming market. Not much info was given regarding the product at this point, but the presentation does give us something to expect - let's take a look! Design and Hardware Sony has doubled-down on the PlayStation 5 design language with the Q, which should be obvious at first sight. The handheld comes with controller grips on the left and right, which look a lot like a PS5 controller that's been split in half. In addition to the same design, the controls will presumably come with all the controls as found on the more "standard" PS5 controller as well. It's worth noting that these controllers flank a large display, not unlike the Nintendo Switch. The display is specified as having a width of 8 inches, putting it in league with other compact tablets out there, such as the iPad Mini. One difference from the iPad Mini though is the Q's aspect ratio, which should be more in line with what we usually see on TVs, as that's how Sony wants you to play games on the Q - this now brings us to our next point of discussion. Software In terms of what we can expect regarding games on the Project Q, Sony has stated that the device is intended to be a streaming companion to the PS5 itself, meaning that it won't come with its own library of games. Instead, the Q will stream the titles that you already own on your PS5, and will of course require a constant internet connection. At the moment, Sony has kept mum on the software and UI that's running inside the Q. We're still waiting to see if the device runs on a forked version of Android, similar to other recently-released handhelds out there. With that being said, it's definitely a far cry from older Sony gaming handhelds, which come with their own proprietary OS and library of games. There's also the fact that you can already set up an Android phone and third-party controller to use as a PlayStation remote play device, which does bring a bit of questioning to the Q's existence. Is it the Next PS Vita? At this point in time, the Sony Project Q doesn't look like it's meant to succeed the Vita or the PSP in any way, other than the fact that it is a portable PlayStation-branded gaming device. The reliance on streaming, unconventional design, and mysterious software - at the moment, at least - shows that Sony has a different objective in mind this time around. Of course things can still change as we get more information at the device, but for now it looks like the Project Q has its sights set on devices like the new Razer handheld and Logitech G handheld. Read the full article

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skyanfeeds · 3 years ago

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Sony makes clear it will still sell PSP games on the PS3 and Vita stores The Verge

PSP Games Aren't Going Anywhere, At Least On Vita and PS3 - IGN IGN

PSP games will still be available from PS3, PS Vita stores CNET

PSP's Store Closes Today, But Its Games Are Still Up for Grabs on PS3 and PS Vita Push Square

Sony will keep selling PSP games on PS3 and PS Vita stores Engadget

View Full Coverage on Google News

#GlobalNews #GoogleTop

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zillatech · 3 years ago

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PSP Store Closes Next Week, But Sony Will Still Sell PSP Games Through PS3 And PS Vita http://dlvr.it/S2xylg

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emmajustin20 · 4 years ago

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Minecraft Launched for PlayStation VR

Do you want to drop into Minecraft in Virtual Reality? Well, it seems like your wish is Minecraft’s command. You’ll be amazed to know that Minecraft’s PlayStation VR update is ready to download for free if you’re a PS owner.

Taking you to a little introduction for those who are not familiar with Minecraft, it is a video game that was developed by Mojang Studios released in 2011. It has become the best-selling video game since then and has been ported to multiple platforms. Do not get surprised when we say that it sold over 200 million copies in total across all the platforms. Not only this, but a total of 126 monthly users are active as of 2020.

Interestingly, the Minecraft game has been featured on every console since 2011, including the PlayStation Vita and the new Nintendo 3DS. Today the game has arrived at another achievement as it dispatches on Sony’s PlayStation VR as a feature of a free update for the PlayStation 4 version.

Though it’s not the first time of virtual reality for Minecraft, the game had already launched on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR platforms in 2016. Instead, it’s the first time for Minecraft to appear on a console-based VR platform. The PSVR release of the game was being planned since the Minecraft Bedrock Edition was brought by the team for PlayStation 4, according to Mojang.

Mojang also mentioned that the version brought to the PlayStation 4 is real and wholesome. Not a single thing removed from it. Thus, you can enjoy it in the same manner as you already do on other platforms. However, there are a few additions made to tweak your VR experience. It includes the availability of two new modes upon downloading, Immersive Mode and Living Room Mode. The details regarding the two modes are yet to be revealed. However, the confirmation regarding the use of the Dualshock 4 controller is out there.

A lot of fans of the Minecraft game requested for the PlayStation VR support since the cross-play was enabled in 2019. Undoubtedly, this is the best time to release a PlayStation VR update for Minecraft as pandemic has given people a lot of time to stay at home and explore the best of everything.

Sony’s PlayStation team has shared a short video of the game via social media for you to get an idea, and it does seem interesting. Though the news of the PlayStation 4 update of Minecraft is exciting, a lot of PSVR fans are concerned about Sony’s plans as they still haven’t announced the PlayStation 5 support for the headset.

Anyway, looking forward to more updates anytime soon but for now, it’s time to enjoy the most influential game of all time with PlayStation VR experience.

Hi, I’m Kinsley. I’m a web developer living in Pontiac, USA. I am a fan of web development, programming, and entrepreneurship. I’m also interested in innovation. You can read my blog such as. ukreader.com

Source: PlayStation VR

#PLAYSTATIONVR #MINECRAFTLAUNCHED

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tumblunni · 7 years ago

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BONNU GET A VITA

* ok lol so my regular europe psn name is Bunni89 and this america one is Bonnu98 * if any1 want 2 friend * The screen is really hi def??? what?? its actually kinda hard on the eyes cos its in such a small space. like srsly this is the same sort of quality as my tv and its just.. completely unnecessary. I saw this really cool video once that was breaking down the reasons why the ps vita tanked so hard, and the number one was that it just didnt have any idea what priorities make sense for a handheld console. So much focus on being the most graphically intensive one when thats not even something people value as much compared to home consoles, and the money needed to make it as powerful as a home console means that each unit costs loads to make and has to sell at a stupidly high price. And like.. now even after they’ve lowered the price so much its too little too late. And even if it suddenly became a success they still couldn’t make up the money lost from not selling it at £500 a unit. All that and then the game availability problems and the lack of any real gimmick to set it apart compared to the 3DS, and the fact that “its basically the ps4 but worse” isnt really a good selling point, and the fact that it isnt even very portable for its size and the high quality screen is way more fragile and it doesnt have a clamshell design to protect it.. * Basically I can understand why the vita failed. And even I only bought it now simply because there’s like two intriguing jrpgs that were exclusive to it. And they both failed super hard cos of the console’s low audience, aaaa * Anyway lol back 2 me getting dis vita and checking it out, woop woop! * I legit had NO CLUE that it had a touch screen??? Isn’t that kind of a rip off?? Like seriously wtf was it with playstation and xbox around the early wii and ds era just copying the fuck out of touch and motion controls. like seriously noone is gonna buy your thing with an inferior version of a thing they can buy elsewhere. Focus on your actual strengths! * Tho actually the touchscreen is kinda really good? i don’t think its necessarily the quality but just the layout of the console with the horizontal screen in a fairly big size with your hands on each side. its more conveinient for me with my shaky anxiety hand problems, i usually have a lot of trouble using a regular mobile phone! Sucks that nowadays EVERY phone is touchscreen and theyre always so tiny T_T So yeah typing with double thumbs and having a console to grip to steady myself works a lot better. Tho the 3DS’s stylus is equally conveinient, i just keep losing it lol. I wonder why they didnt make it with one of those chains like the pens at the post office? * WHY ARE ALL THE APP ICONS BOUNCING M&MS LOL I mean i guess its not too ridiculous to do spheres instead of the standardized square icon on every pc ever, but why are they full 3D models that have jiggle physics as you scroll the screen. Its semi addictive to poke them but i wonder how much it cost to develop that?? Your console was already a money loser! * I have officially managed to make a fake american account, woo! Its funny that all it needs to confirm you’re correct is a real post code and town name. I just googled random american place names so now my alternate self apparantly livs in fremont, new hampshire. That one sounded the cutest! i am literally in “Town I Made Up, Place That Doesn’t Exist” though. I wanted to make it “Hey I Made This Account Just To Buy Summon Night 5, Fuck U” but yknow.. character limits. * Summon Night 5 is right there in the psn store and i am crying cos i only just found out that ps vita does not have any inbuilt memory. AAAAAA. Moral of the day: do your research! So yeah i now have to wait about a week for a delivery cos i couldnt find memory cards available anywhere but preowned. Sucks that it uses a console-limited mem card system instead of global SDs like the 3DS. Thats another reason this thing will never win! poor underdog console, but also i can completely understand how its failings were its own damn fault. I just hope that like the gamecube its failure inspires the company to learn a lesson and come back with a better sequel, rather than how the dreamcast killed the whole thing. Tho I mean at least sony has the PS4 that’s doing alright, maybe they should just give up on handhelds entirely? * also wtf why does this thing have mobile phone sim card compatibility?? i hope thats not necessary for anything cos there’s no way i’m connecting my phone line to a random gaming company * COME FORTH SOON, NEXT WEEK. BLESS ME WITH ABILITY TO ACTUALLY PLAY ME CONSOLE. It may have barely any games but i will kill for oreshika and SN5!!!

#blunni thoughts

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Can Steam Deck Succeed Where the PlayStation Vita Failed?

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While it’s understandable that Valve’s Steam Deck is already drawing comparisons to the Nintendo Switch, the Steam Deck’s closest (and most important) comparison in the history of video game handhelds has to be the ill-fated PlayStation Vita.

Released in Japan in December 2011 as the follow-up to the PSP, the PlayStation Vita was positioned to be the direct challenger to the Nintendo 3DS (which debuted earlier that year). In retrospect, though, it feels more accurate to say that the PS Vita was designed to compete with the Nintendo DS. After all, Nintendo was still trying to sell people on the 3DS’ core gimmick during the course of its slow rollout (and would continue to struggle to do so during the handheld’s run), whereas the DS was still seen by many as the definitive handheld gaming device on the market and arguably the best handheld ever made.

On paper, the PlayStation Vita had everything it needed to defeat the DS and 3DS. It was significantly more powerful than either handheld, it featured an OLED screen (sound familiar?), it was designed to address most of the PSP’s biggest issues, and, most importantly, it was supported by the PlayStation team and their legions of fans, developers, and veteran engineers. The Vita had absolutely everything going for it and should have been the handheld that finally dethroned Nintendo or at least loosened their iron grip on the handheld gaming industry.

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Yet, when the smoke cleared, the 3DS outsold the PS Vita by about 59 million units. Neither handheld came close to matching the Nintendo DS’ astonishing sales records. From a sheer sales perspective, the PS Vita was a failure. Some Sony executives tried to argue the handheld was ultimately doomed by the sudden rise of the mobile gaming market, but the truth of the matter is that most of the Vita’s biggest problems could have been addressed by the PlayStation team.

“Price” is somewhere near the top of any list of the PS Vita’s most preventable problems. While the PS Vita matched the 3DS’ launch price, it was significantly more expensive than the Nintendo DS at that time and was only about $50 cheaper than a PS3 or Xbox 360. It certainly didn’t help that the Vita’s memory cards were also quite expensive and that Sony made few official efforts to address the Vita’s price over the course of the handheld console’s lifespan.

Actually, in retrospect, that was the Vita’s biggest problem. One of the handheld’s best attributes should have been PlayStation’s support, but the fact of the matter is that the PlayStation team pretty much left the handheld to die just a couple of years into its run. They half-assed its backward compatibility support, they struggled to get first-party exclusives out the door with any sense of urgency, they never really figured out how to make the console’s PS4 remote play capabilities appealing, and they didn’t bother to release the kind of mid-cycle hardware upgrades that rescued the 3DS from its own terrible start.

The PlayStation Vita was supposed to be a way to be a premium console you could take with you, but within a couple of years, it essentially became a niche device praised by those who loved its collection of indie titles, design, Japanese exclusive games, and general capabilities but was ignored by pretty much everybody else. Sony greatly overestimated the global desire for a more powerful handheld, and they immediately paid a price for their mistake that they clearly weren’t prepared to deal with.

While every video game device ultimately forges its own legacy in terms of both the mass market and in the hearts and minds of individuals everywhere, it’s nearly impossible to talk about the PlayStation Vita and not immediately spot the frightening ways that failed handheld feels like the unfortunate predecessor to the Steam Deck.

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Just as the PS Vita tried to challenge more established Nintendo devices, the Steam Deck is clearly building off the incredible success of the Nintendo Switch (even if both devices are fundamentally going for different things). Much like the PS Vita, the Steam Deck hopes to separate itself through its hardware capabilities, an improved screen, and a built-in library of titles. Sadly, the Steam Deck is also potentially burdened with a higher (perhaps too high) price point, late release date relative to its competition, and the “support” of a company that has historically struggled to support its hardware experiments to the degree that they need to be supported.

If you take a look at the history of companies that have tried to challenge Nintendo’s handheld (or handheld adjacent) hardware with more powerful and more expensive alternatives, you’ll find a tragic tale starring a variety of notable failures. The Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear, PS Vita, and more all tried to topple Nintendo by seemingly doing the things Nintendo wasn’t, and each failed to offer a widely compelling alternative to the arguably more important things that Nintendo chose to emphasize.

That’s the oddest thing about making PS Vita and Steam Deck comparisons. While the line on the Vita has always been that it was a handheld “ahead of its time,” that doesn’t mean that the Steam Deck will somehow be the handheld of its time. We still live in an age where the handheld scene is dominated by mobile games and a Nintendo console that is clearly doing quite well. People online say they want a “Switch Pro,” but when you look at the success of the Nintendo Switch, the hype for the Switch OLED, and the entire history of handheld gaming, you wonder whether or not a more powerful handheld gaming device will ever be more than a premium item meant for a relatively small number of gamers.

Yet, there are other ways that the Steam Deck already emphasizes some of the things that eventually made the PlayStation Vita a beloved piece of handheld hardware with a cult fanbase.

Just as the PS Vita let players access a decent library of classic titles (even if that feature always needed work), the Steam Deck lets you play any classic PC game available via Steam (and even more outlets). The PS Vita benefited from the support of elite Japanese studios, and the PC gaming scene has been gaining the support of many of those same studios in recent years. The PS Vita was beloved for its power, options, and accessibility, and Steam Deck is seemingly built on emphasizing all of those features.

If Valve wants the Steam Deck to succeed where the PS Vita failed, they need to be willing to acknowledge whatever failures they may incur along the way and immediately address them. They also need to find a way to sell the Steam Deck to those gamers who helped turn the Switch into a “mainstream” hit as well as those who are still saving their money for a PS5, Xbox Series X, or just a new GPU. If they can find a way to do all of that, they may just achieve something that nobody else before them has quite been able to.

Then again, maybe that’s not the plan at all. Maybe Valve isn’t targeting gamers everywhere but rather those same gamers who passionately defend and support the PS Vita to this day for being the one device that gave them the things that nobody else in the industry bothered to give them at that time. It might not sound like the best business strategy, but when you’ve got what we like to call “Steam money,” making the best handheld possible for a smaller group of gamers who will grow to truly love it may not be a bad way to go.

The post Can Steam Deck Succeed Where the PlayStation Vita Failed? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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plug2game-blog · 6 years ago

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10 Worst Video Gaming Console Flops

Today, we reside in a world of oligopoly, at least when it comes to computer game consoles (but, come to think about it, many product or services are managed by a few big name providers and makers). Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are the three big-name business that supply us, the players, with boxes that are our primary source of digital entertainment. Even on PC, an open platform that needs to use unlimited flexibility when it pertains to hardware and software we also are confined to simply a number of prominent suppliers.

Microsoft for the back-end software application; Nvidia, Intel, and AMD when it comes to the most crucial hardware, and Steam, GOG, and Microsoft once again (with its Microsoft Shop) when it pertains to video games. And while it may look like that we had more options a couple of decades back, that really isn't the case. Video game console business was always pretty expensive venture and at each moment, there were just a couple of business providing full-fledged video game consoles. Throughout the years some endured, some faded into history, and some stayed alive, in some type or another.

The gaming industry is filled with different consoles that came and went, some ending up being cult classics and finest sellers and other leaving the marketplace way quicker than anticipated. Those failures carried crucial lessons with them. Lessons their creators discovered and stayed alive and kicking, or lessons that weren't absorbed or were too tough to be discovered upon, leaving numerous makers in the dust, their remains delegated rot in the graveyard of computer game industry. Today we will review the biggest video game console failures, will see what were the factors for their demise together with lessons of failure they carried with them. Let us start.10.

PlayStation Vita

The PlayStation Vita isn't really a flop, but on the other hand, it definitely is. If we look simply at Japanese market the Vita is doing pretty great. There are great deals of titles for the console and it still gets its fair share of new games, even today. Looking internationally, the PlayStation Vita flopped, there's no doubt about it.

Released in 2011 in Japan and in 2012 in the rest of the world, this handheld console was to replace the PSP, among the most successful portable consoles of perpetuity, on of unusual devices that handled to interfere with Nintendo and their handheld video gaming supremacy. It featured top of the line specs along with great deals of quality titles offered at or quickly after its release however something failed along the way and the console's sales started to decline pretty quickly after its release, other than in its house market (Japan). At the end the console offered in between 10 and 15 million systems, which would be a solid outcome on its own. Its predecessor was hugely popular, offering more than 80 million units.

In the end, the fall of the Vita made Sony clear that the company won't create another portable, leaving handheld console market to Nintendo and mobile gadgets. As for why it stopped working well, there are many reasons. We saw the rise of mobile gaming and while today it is controlled by freemium titles most of which aren't games that would be launched on a correct portable console back when the Vita came numerous though mobiles are the future of portable gaming, skipping on getting the Vita. Even more, Sony decided to slap a price that was too expensive for numerous fans, particularly if we integrate its rate with relatively pricey video games for the console. Next, Sony didn't have a clear strategy for the portable device. It was promoted more as a PS3 buddy gadget, efficient in streaming PS3 video games over home Wi-Fi than a standalone portable console. And lastly, Sony stopped providing quality first celebration video games few years after the release while at the very same time revealing no appreciate third-party titles, specifically indie video games that are the huge part of the recent success of the Nintendo Change. In the end, the PS Vita had lots of potential but Sony somehow managed to turn it into among the greatest flops in history.

9. Ouya

Do you keep in mind Ouya, the video game console that guaranteed a revolution in gaming? It appeared back in 2013 when Kickstarted was at its peak popularity. This made its Kickstarter campaign a substantial success, thus rapidly becoming available for everybody to buy. Quickly after the complete release, Ouya began to face multiple issues. Its controller was considered as a piece of low-grade gaming peripheral that failed in comparison to those offered by Sony, Microsoft and other huge name brand names such as Razer or Logitech. Its hardware was strong when the console appeared however since the console ran on Android, which was pretty optimized for video gaming and big TELEVISION screens in the past, many games ran improperly on the console.

And likewise, the video games library was poor at best. The days when everyone believed that mobile gaming will bear fruit to many quality games were gone and Ouya owners didn't have lots of games to play. The creators of the console attempted to start Ouya video games advancement however that failed after a while. It was easy; gamers saw Ouya as a low-cost alternative to popular home consoles or as a way to play mobile video games on a TV screen and didn't desire to pay high rates for games, resulting in designers enormously deserting the console. Its $99 rate was quite economical however without quality games, the console was en path to total failure.

After simply two years Ouya stopped selling and the company was sold to Razer in 2015. Poor hardware, dull video games library, dreadful positioning (who would want to buy video games for a console that's simply a customized Android gadget?), and a number of other reasons made Ouya a substantial flop.

8. Sega Nomad

Nintendo released the Switch more than a year back and the console still sells like hotcakes. It is near 20 million units sold, a figure that will be passed prior to completion of Summer. As we noted in our article on handheld consoles, Nintendo made a best gadget for those who dip into house however likewise want full game experience while outdoors. And couple of know that Sega did something similar back in the nineties with the Sega Nomad.The Nomad was a glance of the future. The console was a portable variation of a hugely effective Sega Genesis(Sega Mega Drive for us from Europe), being capable of playing complete Genesis video games. It had a slot for full-sized Mega Drive cartridges suggesting you might play all those games on the go! It was a substantial technical accomplishment given that even today we can not play full console video games (if we don't count the Nintendo Switch, or all those emulators readily available for Android gadgets) in a portable form.

Even today Nintendo had to make numerous cuts in order to enable players to play their preferred titles (did somebody stated Skyrim?!) while travelling or cooling at a park. Back in 1995 when the Nomad launched, Sega likewise had to make many cuts in order to permit for the console to work properly. It was actually large and heavy, with a below average screen that wasn't capable of showing games in all their splendor. Next, we were light years far from huge rechargeable batteries we have today. In order to run the Wanderer you needed to pack it with six AA batteries and even then the console would work simply 2 hours before asking for a brand-new, pricey, meal. 1995 was the year when Sega Genesis was at the end of its lifecycle and gamers gradually started moving on to brand-new devices. They didn't wish to pay a premium price for a device capable of running games they currently played to death.

Nevertheless, Sega attained a big accomplishment with the Wanderer. It was the very first correct 16-bit portable console, it can running full Sega Genesis games - picture if Sony or Microsoft launched portable versions of the PS4 or Xbox One? They would offer like crazy, even today when we are waiting for the two to announce the brand-new generation of consoles - and it can running games on a TELEVISION, together with the assistance for an additional controller. Its primary fault was in its poor timing of the release. It's simple, the world (and battery innovation) simply wasn't prepared for a device that was cool as the Nomad.

7. Gizmondo

When it comes to dealt with consoles there were lots of failures, and among the biggest was Gizmondo. The console had a massive marketing campaign that might freely be defined as megalomaniacal. Countless dollars were invested in arranging celeb parties, promoting the console on TELEVISION, and even participating in 24 Hours of Le Mans race as a part of the promo technique. The console included effective internals for the time (it introduced in 2005) and was intended to contend with the PSP and the Nintendo DS. It was promoted as a full-fledged portable home entertainment system capable of playing motion pictures, music, and supporting SMS and GPS. A dream gadget in theory. But it came a cropper.

First of all, a widescreen version of it was revealed quickly before the launch of the initial variation that assured better resolution, TELEVISION out, a GPS, and smart device abilities affecting the sales in a negative (duh!) way. Next, the company owners were involved with mafia activities in Sweden, spurring substantial controversy. The console sported a release cost of $400, which would be too much even today when we are living in a period of $1000 smartphones. The games library was very poor, with less than 10 video games launched in overall. The console also had a dreadful build quality, with its rubberized plastic that made up the body melting and deteriorating in time.

The business behind Gizmondo (Tiger Telematics) managed to accumulate $300 million in financial obligations, and the console offered in less than 25,000 systems. Its best-selling game was dubbed Sticky Balls. Discuss bad marketing. A big flop by any account.

6. Apple Pippin

Apple is not a company that showed visible interest in computer game. A recent Facebook post by John Carmack (the man behind id Sofware and Doom) revealed that Steve Jobs didn't want for Apple devices to be defined as gadgets suited for gamers. However even Apple could not look past the success of the Sony PlayStation and decided to establish a video game console of their own. However back then, Apple planned to make the Pippin (what a name!) an open source standard, similar to what Android is today, only in hardware kind. Essentially, the Pippin was a video gaming form of its Macintosh platform.

Apple developed the hardware and after that signed a handle Bandai, which were responsible for providing casing, product packaging, and controller style. The console was launched in Japan in 1995 and in the US in 1996 but the high cost and absence of games (the console sported a $599 cost tag) were the reasons for its massive failure. The console managed to sell in Japan, but in 1997 Steve went back to Apple and shut down the Pippin job in a heart beat. Apple is what it is today thanks to its closed software application environment and the Pippin was the precise opposite.

The system was a huge flop it did bring some cool new things to the world of home consoles. It offered an appropriate wireless controller, which was an enormous task to accomplish in 1996. And likewise, the Pippin console came with web gain access to, a function not offered by other big gamers in the market that not long after (once Microsoft launched the initial Xbox) ended up being one of the standard features every computer game console needed to include.

5. Virtual Young boy

Nintendo had some truly marvelous video gaming gadgets, however the business likewise produced a couple of enormous failures. The most significant one was probably the Virtual Boy. If you believe that virtual reality is a novelty tech that surfaced with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive you most likely weren't here throughout the eighties and nineties, when both VR and 3D came and went a couple of times, each time stopping working miserably.

And back in 1995 VR was hot news, prepared to take the world. Nintendo guaranteed a complete revolution in video gaming, a gadget capable of offering complete immersion, and experience capable of transferring people to new worlds, worlds constructed by the biggest computer game business of perpetuity. But once the console released to the public, the public quickly found that Virtual Young boy was way ahead of its time, in an entirely unfavorable method.

The console offered monochrome dual screens that didn't use immersive VR experience. Instead, they offered queasiness and their red image was incredibly undesirable to take a look at. Also, the 3D result of the console was not impressive and it used really poor image quality. Further, Virtual Young boy was quite expensive and its mounting mechanisms was everything but easy to set up and very pain to use. The lack of quality titles was the last nail in the casket. Virtual Young boy handled to sell about 750,000 units and the console vanished from stores simply one year after its release.

Yes, Virtual Bot provided a totally new video gaming experience but it came at a rate, a price that was too expensive for many. The console was ahead of its time however unlike the Sega Nomad, the Virtual Kid was more of an evidence of principle than a genuine, functional item.

4. Atari Lynx

Okay, the Atari Lynx is the 3rd portable console on this list, just even more showing that developing a capable and popular portable gaming console is way harder than it looks. Back in 1989 Atari was, along with Nintendo and Sega, one of the biggest players in computer game market. The company sold the Atari ST, a personal computer that included an excellent library of quality games and Atari wanted to produce something brand-new. The decision was to choose a portable console and the Atari Lynx was born.

The system launched in 1989, just a couple of months after Nintendo Launched the Game Boy and it appeared that Atari had a massive hit in their hands. The Lynx provided beefy hardware along with a color screen, something that its greatest competitor might just dream about. Its cost was likewise ideal, and the release date was perfect for the console to end up being best seller throughout 1989 holiday season. Atari made some wrong turns, and those errors were very comparable to the ones Sony made when promoting the Vita.

The company messed up the production providing a bad number of systems, way lower than need. This resulted with kids who wished to own it getting a Video game Boy instead (the Lynx looked much better and was way more effective than the Video game Boy at the time). Then, Atari counted on its brand name acknowledgment and decided to not invest great deals of cash on marketing, leading to Nintendo getting even more popular with kids, the main part of the market for video game consoles back then. And lastly, Atari was lazy when it concerns launching quality video games. The Lynx's video game library was much poorer than Video game Young boy's although Atari's console used much better specifications and enabled developers to create better-looking video games. In 1991 Sega launched its Game Equipment portable console that likewise provided beefy specs and a color screen, however it likewise came with a much richer game library. All this led to reasonably bad reception although critics applauded the Lynx, keeping in mind that it controlled over Game Young boy when it pertains to hardware and features. However once again, the quality of its video games library was a choosing factor for its failure.

3. Wii U

The Nintendo Wii U was a successor to the third highest-selling house console of all times, the Wii. The Wii offered in more than 100 million units and it seems that Nintendo believed their next offering will sell well by default. It didn't. When it came out, the Wii U had more than one significant problem. The very first problem was its identifying plan. Since the Wii accommodated casual gamers who didn't care much about technical specs, they thought the Wii U was an easy upgrade of the Wii and didn't bother to get it. The Wii U also lacked in processing power compared to the PS4 and the Xbox One, making lots of third-party publishers to just prevent the console since porting video games would be too costly, intricate, and lengthy.

Next, the Wii U's tablet controller was a bit too chunky and a bit too cumbersome to be used comfortably. Its integrated screen was capable of running Wii U games, however only if you were in the wireless variety of the console, so that was a subpar function that didn't resonate well with customers. The system did not have in video games. While the Wii offered strong first-party titles right at launch, Nintendo used simply Mario video games when Wii U introduced, and the very first Zelda game for the Wii U (Breath of the Wild) arrived after the console's discontinuation.

All this resulted in very bad sales numbers, at least for a console made by Nintendo. Yes, the Wii U offered in about 13 million units however for a follower of the Wii that was simply undesirable. If Nintendo didn't have lots of money lying around and an effective portable console (and an advanced product in the type of the Switch), the business could've ended its presence due to the fact that a failure of Wii U's magnitude generally means the end, as seen in the last two spots on our list.

2. Atari Jaguar

The second most significant console failure of all times is called the Atari Jaguar, and this one made Atari exit the hardware business and focus just on software application. Simply put, Atari Jaguar killed among the big name companies in the computer game console world. The system debuted in 1993 and it was marketed as the ultimate console in terms of power; it sported 32-bit CPU and GPU together with 64-bit "visual acceleration" system in a world dominated by 16-bit systems. But the console offered in simply one-quarter of a million units.

The primary factor for its failure was Jaguar's incredibly bad video games library. Yes, the system was noticeably more powerful than Sega Genesis and even the PlayStation. The Jaguar delivered with a defect in its memory controller, making games development incredibly complex. Developers just couldn't work with the console since it demanded more time and cash so the majority of the multiplatform video games skipped the Jaguar.

And because Atari didn't have resources to spend on marketing the console couldn't reach sales numbers that would guarantee profit for developers who decided to make games for the Jaguar. And the console also featured bad industrial style with a controller that might easily be referred to as one of the worst controllers in the history of video gaming. Add to that the failure that the Atari Lynx was and you get a fast ticket out of the console market. Atari finally decided to pull the plug on the Jaguar in 1996, leaving the console market with simply three major players.

1. Sega Dreamcast

Oh, the Dreamcast. A big flop that wasn't truly a flop. Look, Sega Dreamcast was an outstanding piece of hardware, an appropriate life belt for the issues Sega got themselves into after the business suffered substantial losses with the Sega Saturn, another big flop that isn't mentioned on this list. The Dreamcast had all of it; an effective insides, outstanding and innovative controller, quality games that launched in addition to the console (like Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, House of the Dead, Jet Set Radio, Ikaruga, Sonic Adventure, and so on), and solid sales numbers. Even all this, a practically best launch circumstance, wasn't enough for the console to end up being lucrative.

But, Sony chose to include dirty promo methods in order to harm Sega's sales. The company started to promote its upcoming console (the PlayStation 2) as the most powerful console ever to be produced, effective as supercomputers of the time. This made fans top await the PS2 and avoid on getting the Dreamcast. Even more, even though the console saw a solid success in Western markets, its sales in Japan were underwhelming, prohibiting it to end up being successful. Microsoft and their huge promotional budget plan decided to go into the scene and Nintendo promoted the upcoming Game Cube as even better than the PS2. Sega was also left in financial obligations because the Saturn was a huge failure. And the Saturn being such a failure grew customers wary of Sega's new console, even though critics adored it.

All this lead Dreamcast to stop working to end up being profitable. Sales numbers were solid (the console sold around 9 million units in less than three years) but the console didn't manage to create high sufficient profit margin. Sega needed to lay off a 3rd of its workforce and the business pulled the plug on the Dreamcast in March, 2001. Dreamcast was the very first major console to provide Internet connection and online play, its controller was revolutionary, and video games were exceptional. The business didn't have the cash to put into promo and hardware losses and to wait for the console to become successful. It is a pity because Dreamcast was, by many, the very best sixth-generation console and if sales continued at the very same pace and if Sega didn't stop the console it would probably end up being one of the very popular consoles of perpetuity. Sega is alive and the company still makes cool games. It's a pity they can not develop games for their own hardware though.

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