Sony just wrapped up its 2014 Gamescom conference and while they did show a slew of interesting titles I couldn’t help but notice a distinct lack of Vita content. When I say this, I mean news, game announcements or anything Vita related really. I know a while back Sony said they were cutting back on their first party support of the console. I didn’t see that as huge deal, personally, since the PSP did just fine without a lot of first party games from Sony. That being said, what happened at Gamescom is unacceptable. They basically acted like the console did not exist at all. I understand they have to show off the PS4 and the newest thing coming for that console so it can stay on top, but they shouldn’t forget about their loyal fans of the Vita or the fact that people might actually want to buy the hardware if they would market the damn thing just a little bit.
The saddest part of all of this is the fact that there is a plethora of Vita games already coming to the console or recently released that they could have talked about. You have Rainbow Skies, Tales of Heart R, Sword Art Online: Hallow Fragment, Freedom Wars, Chasm, and this list could go on and on. Not to mention recently released titles like Rogue Legacy and Hohokum.
Yes, Gamescom is more than just today’s conferences, but this is the most visible time Sony had in the spotlight by itself to promote its games and they chose to ignore a current console.
I think Sony has decided to just let the Vita become an add on for the the PS4 or a niche/indie machine. This is a shame since this wonderful hardware could be so much more if they would just put a little effort into it. While being a niche/indie machine is fine and appeals to many of us, this isn’t how you market to the masses. Even if that is there plan, they still have to market the console in some way. It’s not like they don’t know how to come back from being down. The PS3 in its early days was at the bottom of the heap and no one thought it would survive. Sony stuck to their guns and now the PS3 has a strong, diverse library of titles and no one can argue that the system wasn’t worth pushing.
The idea has been thrown around on Twitter that Sony should do something like a Nintendo Direct for the Vita. Something that showcases upcoming games and software. Even if these were all indie or niche games, it would acknowledge the system and show people that they do have some sort of support coming for it. It’s almost like Sony doesn’t want people to see the great titles available for the Vita, or to realize what potential the console has.
This conference was a slap in the face to every loyal Vita owner out there. Sure us hardcore Vita people know there are games coming–and they put posts on the PlayStation Blog about new games all the time–but you cannot sell a console to masses this way. I hope they realize soon that this will simply not work and give the console the attention it deserves moving forward. Was it really too much to ask for them to give the console 5 to 10 minutes of time? I mean, really, how do they ever expect to sell a console if they don’t show it off?
