PSVita (Successor to PSP, was PSP2 then NGP)

[JSR]

Cough
New Super Mario Bros U
New Super Mario Bros 2
Mario 3D Land

Thats 3 within 12 months, that's more prolific than Fifa or even Guitar Hero (when it was 2 a year)

Not counting whatever other Mario platformers are planned for Wii-U and 3DS

I'd argue that the 2D and 3D Mario games are different enough than one wont be tired of the other even if you recently played one of them, and they have so far only released a single one of the 2D ones for the latest 3 systems. Though I think releasing both NMBU and NMB2 within a couple of months of each other could generate some brand fatigue, but then again, the 2D Marios always end up selling like crazy.

[ETC]

I'd argue that the 2D and 3D Mario games are different enough than one wont be tired of the other even if you recently played one of them, and they have so far only released a single one of the 2D ones for the latest 3 systems. Though I think releasing both NMBU and NMB2 within a couple of months of each other could generate some brand fatigue, but then again, the 2D Marios always end up selling like crazy.

I'm not questioning how many it will sell but I'm suggesting that even Nintendo are going down the same route I personally am quite sick of Mario at the moment, not the classic platformers but he is appearing on everything at the moment.

[saturn-gamer]

I remember when you used to play MALICIOUS...

I play a lot of Virtua Fighter now. On the console. And I have Gravity Rush.

But this was mainly a discussion about the Vita's chance of success. And there is no denying that Nintendo handles this better when it comes to software. Mario Kart 3DS has all the ingredients for a successful handheld game that will have legs till the last weeks of the machine, and its a kind of game you can recommend to anyone.

Sony also needs that kind of system selling stuff to draw more developers in. A lot of J-devs jumped ship to the 3DS, or they stick with the cheaper PSP. The Vita is not in a favorable position when it comes to Japanese games as well. Let it be Japanese or western support, one thought is rather universal; the future of the Vita is really vague. And the poor E3 performance didn't change that perception.

[Neon Ignition]

I don't see the Vita dying anytime within the next 5 years, for it to have its plug pulled would be tantamount to Sony withdrawing from the handheld market altogether and they wouldn't do so so easily. We can all pretty much agree about the quality of the hardware too but like many have said the Vita is in a very poor position and Sony's lack of support at E3 was the straw that broke the camels back for some. Mine happily sits on my unit with a layer of dust on it, games will come so it can sit there till then but I've got no real reason to turn it on at the moment and looking forward there's nothing except Hatsune Miku Project Dive F (Diva F is the same game as Next) that I'm interested in. That shouldn't be the case.

There's a partially fair argument that the 3DS was in a similar position last year but the difference is that Nintendo were very aggressive about addressing that situation once it became clear there was a problem. The frustration is more that Sony is ignoring the issue. It simply can't sit it out as Vita sales figures are continuously getting poorer and poorer and whilst Japan might be Sony's typically strongest handheld market to be selling around 6,000 units per week and falling is incredibly bad. They entered this gen's handheld race in such strong favour but they've lost the chance to steal market from Nintendo already and need to very seriously sit down and take TGS seriously. Even if the software doesn't make it out this year, they need to make it clear that they and developers are standing strongly behind the system.

There's constant jibes and rumours about a 3DS Lite but at the moment I'd wager that a Vita Lite is more likely for next year as it will get to the point where a marketing relaunch is required to spark interest. I'll be keeping mine to the side (though won't be buying Gravity Rush as I'll save it for when there's nothing to play, it'll even be cheaper by then) and honestly couldn't recommend it to friends at the moment.

[englishbob]

I'm not questioning how many it will sell but I'm suggesting that even Nintendo are going down the same route I personally am quite sick of Mario at the moment, not the classic platformers but he is appearing on everything at the moment.

Thats why I gave up on Nintendo. But even in the Gamecube days he started appearing on absolutely everything, from sports to puzzle games. Mario is used way too much, but this is now also true of Link just lately. Mario OTT and "waggle" and "touch" made me leave Nintendo years ago.

[BIG EDD]

Now this I like the sound of. Don't know why, but to me LBP could work ALOT better on Vita than PS3.

Can't believe I forgot about it.

It plays really well with the touch screen and to me suits the vita better than the ps3 versions

[SUMIRE]

Thats why I gave up on Nintendo. But even in the Gamecube days he started appearing on absolutely everything, from sports to puzzle games. Mario is used way too much, but this is now also true of Link just lately. Mario OTT and "waggle" and "touch" made me leave Nintendo years ago.

I just go where the good games are regardless of platform/company/ past record. I think you are just shooting yourself in the foot by saying you are "leaving" "giving up" a particular company, but yeah, do what pleases you.

It doesn't really matter if a particular character is over used or not to me, or if the game uses "waggle" All that matters is if the game is good, and there have been plenty of good Mario games recently in my opinion, Mario Galaxy for one, which uses "waggle" I thought was great.

I do understand were you are coming from though, reputations of iconic characters can be devalued if using the character in a lot of ****ty games, example, sonic, but if a new sonic game came out and it was amazing I would buy it still.

[ETC]

I have a crazy thought why don't they go cap in hand to a great untapped resource to see if they would like to make some games for it. Microsoft? Sounds crazy but Microsoft don't have a handheld and I'm sure they would very much like some sort of stuff to help their Windows phone along? Just a crazy idea but why not if they could come to some sort of special deal they probably should have made the thing together anyways at the start with the market share being less an nintendo being an especially tough nut to crack in the handheld market

[originalbadboy]

I have a crazy thought why don't they go cap in hand to a great untapped resource to see if they would like to make some games for it. Microsoft? Sounds crazy but Microsoft don't have a handheld and I'm sure they would very much like some sort of stuff to help their Windows phone along? Just a crazy idea but why not if they could come to some sort of special deal they probably should have made the thing together anyways at the start with the market share being less an nintendo being an especially tough nut to crack in the handheld market

I expect M$ to enter the handheld arena at some point in the next 5 years. All they need to do is take a WP7 phone and add a bigger screen, buttons and sticks.

[ETC]

^^ but an untapped revenue stream for both for the next 5 years no?

[englishbob]

I just go where the good games are regardless of platform/company/ past record. I think you are just shooting yourself in the foot by saying you are "leaving" "giving up" a particular company, but yeah, do what pleases you.

I'm not being a snob, but its just I think (maybe due to my age) Ninty didn't really offer anything for me anymore. The move into more casual gaming, rather than the hardcore precision stuff, just sealed the deal for me. That and a massive over-reliance on already established franchises and remakes. Does it suprise anyone that Pikmin 3 has been annouced? Was it really that good before to make a number 3?

I know the other 2 (Sony / Microsoft) are also quite bland in their choices, but I have found the range a bit more widespread than Nintendos. When Sony and Microsoft make their main console focus to be purely motion controlled, I'll leave gaming for good and stick to the retro, again not snobbery, just merely the fact I'd enjoy precision over motion-based controll inputs anyday.

[EvilBoris]

I expect M$ to enter the handheld arena at some point in the next 5 years. All they need to do is take a WP7 phone and add a bigger screen, buttons and sticks.

Because that went so well for Sony with their Ericcson Playstation phones.

I can't see them ever going for a proper handheld market.
It's gradually going to die out, Nintendo may even start to feel that in the next 5 or so years.

[wakka]

oooops

[ETC]

Because that went so well for Sony with their Ericcson Playstation phones.

I can't see them ever going for a proper handheld market.
It's gradually going to die out, Nintendo may even start to feel that in the next 5 or so years.

Which is why they may as well make a few quid to plough in to R+D for Keenect 2 by producing for a market they have no interest in pursuing themselves makes sense to me it also may help them lure more Sony players over to the darkside with Boris (ahem I meant the next Xbox system when announced )

[nonny]

Because that went so well for Sony with their Ericcson Playstation phones.

I can't see them ever going for a proper handheld market.
It's gradually going to die out, Nintendo may even start to feel that in the next 5 or so years.

My feelings exactly and one of the reasons I've not picked up a Vita or 3DS at launch. I dont feel either of them have the games library right now to match the price so I am happy to wait for that situation to flip-flop and hopefully even see some hardware revisions in the meantime.

Right now I think the speed in which the smart phone market is moving in terms of raw power it is only a matter of time before we see a dramatic shift in this space. The only limiting factor I can see at the moment is the focus of most smart phone manufacturers is on touch/gesture control when we all know full well tactile response in gaming is the benchmark for quality controls.

It stands to reason that if a main smart phone provider does this right and supplies a means to make that possible the whole market changes. It's just a pity that the best attempt at this so far has been the Xperia Play. Pretty great controls on the whole but a poor phone compared to others.

I dont think its going to take 5 years. More like 2 at most. What does gaming apps account for in terms of % downloads on smart phone platforms? I'm sure its over 50% overall.