Former Sony Executive Says: “PlayStation Vita is Dead on Arrival”

I actually kind of like Sony’s PlayStation Vita as a gaming device. It’s got a number of interesting bells-and-whistles like the multi-touch screen, the back touch pads, the dual-sticks; it’s pretty close to achieving a true sense of “PS3 on the go”; and while it may not be ultra-portable (it’s not a very pocket-friendly device, for example) I definitely get the sense that it’s functional. Of course, none of that stuff really matters without two things: enough must-have games to compel me to buy it and a price point that I see as worth the value that the hardware and its library offers. And, well… it’s not quite there.

I guess I’m not the only one who thinks so, though. Despite being on sale for over a year – the system debuted in Japan in December – it’s only managed to sell just over two million hardware units. One-time Sony veteran Richard Browne has gone so far as to say that it’s basically dead-on-arrival. Like a repeat of PSP’s rocky start – only worse. Here’s a more contextualized quote:

“The gamer in Japan is still very much a core market that will play PSP, DS, 3DS and in time possibly Vita when the core IP that propelled the PSP to great success becomes available. In the West, though, that has not proven the case and the Vita is almost DOA. Sony has been very cautious with giving exact numbers of units sold, but it’s evident from publisher and developer support that the future of the Vita is very much a problem for Sony.”

I plan on giving the Vita a closer look at E3 (I’ll admit that I still haven’t tried it out!), but in the meantime, I’d like to ask my dear ZI readers: What do you think of PlayStation Vita? Do you think that more software, particularly more uniquely Vita-oriented software, will help bring it out of its slump? Do you think that developers are going to really give it much of a chance in the long haul if things down rectify themselves soon? If you own one, are you satisfied? Do you have any dream Vita E3 announcements? And if you don’t own one, what’s keeping you from picking it up? (I’d preferably like that last one to be answered by people who actually might consider buying it down the line.)

Source: GamesIndustry via Kotaku