Why The PlayStation Vita Failed, According To Former Sony Exec

Previously associated with Sony’s PlayStation division, Shuhei Yoshida recently parted ways with the company, and since then he has been expressing his perspectives on the gaming industry and the PlayStation brand. Among other topics, he discussed why the PlayStation Vita did not gain as much popularity as competing devices such as the Nintendo 3DS.

In his latest interview, he mentioned several aspects that contributed to the Vita’s poor sales performance. One of these factors was its unique memory cards, which were quite costly and increased expenses for consumers. Unlike the PSP’s proprietary memory sticks, gamers could also utilize micro SD cards with an adapter in it.

Beyond its captivating OLED display, the Vita device also included a back touchpad. Although this feature offered innovative gameplay mechanics for certain games, it turned out to be more of a novelty than a necessity. The OLED screen and touchpad features added to the overall price of the product. A notable omission in the final version was a video-out option, which had been present in the development kit edition.

As a gamer, I could’ve leveraged that feature to link my device to a larger screen, but unfortunately, it got axed for cost-cutting purposes. Funny enough, the PSP actually had an output video option, allowing gamers like me to expand our play area by connecting their devices to a TV or external monitor.

Essentially, Yoshida stated that the primary cause of the Vita’s underperformance was Sony’s inability to devote enough resources to both the Vita and PS3 at the same time, with the PS4 looming on the horizon. In simpler terms, he suggested that the lack of sufficient resources was the key factor behind the Vita not meeting our expectations, as they were forced to divide their efforts between two separate platforms.

Sony has re-entered the portable gaming sector, adopting a fresh strategy. While the PlayStation Portal serves solely as a remote-play tool, it’s rumored that Sony is developing a handheld device for the PS5, aiming to challenge the upcoming Switch 2 and Steam Deck in the market.

During the same interview, Yoshida posited that due to his current work on Elden Ring: Nightreign, game director Hidetaka Miyazaki might not have the time for a remaster of Bloodborne at this point.

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2025-01-16 18:39