Topic: Is the lack of Wii U sales exactly what Nintendo fans need?

[broodwars]

The only games that have made me remotely interested in the Vita are Dragon's Crown, Killzone: Mercenary, and the PS One classics. If it were not for these games, or if they were availalbe on the 3DS, then the Vita would be useless to me.

You're entitled to your opinion, but if that's all you see of value I doubt you've really looked at the Vita's library, especially on the digital side.

There is nothing about the Vita that justifies paying full price for it. The Wii U is just the opposite.

Whatever, man. I've gotten way more usage out of my Vita in the past year than I likely ever will my Wii U. My Vita justified its cost a long time ago. I'm still waiting for the Wii U to even BEGIN to prove its worth, especially as a multi-console owner.

[broodwars]

The only games that have made me remotely interested in the Vita are Dragon's Crown, Killzone: Mercenary, and the PS One classics. If it were not for these games, or if they were availalbe on the 3DS, then the Vita would be useless to me.

You're entitled to your opinion, but if that's all you see of value I doubt you've really looked at the Vita's library, especially on the digital side.

There is nothing about the Vita that justifies paying full price for it. The Wii U is just the opposite.

Should I put that quote in the fanboy thread?

Just put his entire account in that thread and be done with it. 

[Adrock]

I cannot wait for Dragon's Crown. I'm so glad it's coming to PS3 because I'd seriously consider a Vita (at some point, not for $250) just for the game. I really wish it was coming to Wii U as I prefer the Pro Controller, but I'm happy enough just having access to the game without having to buy new hardware.

[Oblivion]

Me neither. I'm not sure which version I'd get though. I gotta decide between the larger player pool on the PS3 or the ability to take it anywhere with the Vita?

[Luigi Dude]

Did you just call Persona 4 a niche Japanese game?

Yes I did and I got the official sales from Atlus themselves to prove it.


http://www.siliconera.com/2009/10/06/well-how-many-copies-did-persona-4-and-devil-survivor-sell/

Persona 4 (PS2) – 110,000 (150,000 expected)

Persona 4 is the best selling Persona in America and that only did over 110k.  So yes, Persona 4 is a niche Japanese game since selling over 100k is the very definition of the word niche.

[Oblivion]

since selling over 100k is the very definition of the word niche.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niche


Wasn't aware that 100k game sales was the "very definition" of niche.

[TJ Spyke]

In terms of video games, it is. Especially when you (falsely) claim that JRPG's are "huge" outside of Japan. And considering Final Fantasy XIII (both versions) sold well over 2 million in North America, 100K is nothing. 100K is very low in video games, and that is the BEST selling entry in the series (that means every other entry did even worse). I have no doubt it made Atlus money since they specialize in profiting from game with low sales numbers, but it's still niche.

[broodwars]

Me neither. I'm not sure which version I'd get though. I gotta decide between the larger player pool on the PS3 or the ability to take it anywhere with the Vita?

Something both you and Adrock should consider in deciding between the two versions: Dragon's Crown was originally designed as a Vita game, and as such there are frequent spots during the game where you need to tap a background object to release secrets or tap a treasure chest to open it.  On the Vita, this is just a tap of the touch screen.  On the PS3, you have to use the right analog stick to steer a cursor over the objects and click on them.  Most reviewers seem to think this gives the clear nod to the Vita version since the two are pretty much the same game.

On the downside, there's no cross-play between the two versions, though there is cross-save.  Obviously, the platform with the bigger online player pool will be the PS3.  Personally, my Vita's never handled online play well, but as Muramasa played exceptionally well on the Vita I went with that version. I'm not going to be able to play online and I've accepted that, but the online co-op could be a big issue for you.

[Oblivion]

In terms of video games, it is. Especially when you (falsely) claim that JRPG's are "huge" outside of Japan. And considering Final Fantasy XIII (both versions) sold well over 2 million in North America, 100K is nothing. 100K is very low in video games, and that is the BEST selling entry in the series (that means every other entry did even worse). I have no doubt it made Atlus money since they specialize in profiting from game with low sales numbers, but it's still niche.

Post the numbers for Persona 4 Golden and then you can speak.

[Oblivion]

Me neither. I'm not sure which version I'd get though. I gotta decide between the larger player pool on the PS3 or the ability to take it anywhere with the Vita?

Something both you and Adrock should consider in deciding between the two versions: Dragon's Crown was originally designed as a Vita game, and as such there are frequent spots during the game where you need to tap a background object to release secrets or tap a treasure chest to open it.  On the Vita, this is just a tap of the touch screen.  On the PS3, you have to use the right analog stick to steer a cursor over the objects and click on them.  Most reviewers seem to think this gives the clear nod to the Vita version since the two are pretty much the same game.

On the downside, there's no cross-play between the two versions, though there is cross-save.  Obviously, the platform with the bigger online player pool will be the PS3.  Personally, my Vita's never handled online play well, but as Muramasa played exceptionally well on the Vita I went with that version. I'm not going to be able to play online and I've accepted that, but the online co-op could be a big issue for you.

Damn. I really wish this had been cross-buy.

[broodwars]

Me neither. I'm not sure which version I'd get though. I gotta decide between the larger player pool on the PS3 or the ability to take it anywhere with the Vita?

Something both you and Adrock should consider in deciding between the two versions: Dragon's Crown was originally designed as a Vita game, and as such there are frequent spots during the game where you need to tap a background object to release secrets or tap a treasure chest to open it.  On the Vita, this is just a tap of the touch screen.  On the PS3, you have to use the right analog stick to steer a cursor over the objects and click on them.  Most reviewers seem to think this gives the clear nod to the Vita version since the two are pretty much the same game.

On the downside, there's no cross-play between the two versions, though there is cross-save.  Obviously, the platform with the bigger online player pool will be the PS3.  Personally, my Vita's never handled online play well, but as Muramasa played exceptionally well on the Vita I went with that version. I'm not going to be able to play online and I've accepted that, but the online co-op could be a big issue for you.

Damn. I really wish this had been cross-buy.

Yeah, so do I.

[TJ Spyke]

In terms of video games, it is. Especially when you (falsely) claim that JRPG's are "huge" outside of Japan. And considering Final Fantasy XIII (both versions) sold well over 2 million in North America, 100K is nothing. 100K is very low in video games, and that is the BEST selling entry in the series (that means every other entry did even worse). I have no doubt it made Atlus money since they specialize in profiting from game with low sales numbers, but it's still niche.

Post the numbers for Persona 4 Golden and then you can speak.

Since the numbers we know show you are wrong, it seems like you would need to find numbers to prove that P4G is not niche like EVERY other game in the series. Even if you trust VG Chartz (which you shouldn't), it doesn't look very good as VG Chartz thinks the game has only sold 470K worlwide (with the majority of those being in Japan).

[Oblivion]

I fail to see how 110k is niche. Sorry bro. I thought I made that clear? Bee tee dubs, you didn't do jack ****. That was Luigi.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm about to ban everyone in this thread for stupid pointless semantic arguments. I know that's your specialty, TJ, but let's move past arguing over the definition of "niche."

[Kytim89]

I'm about to ban everyone in this thread for stupid pointless semantic arguments. I know that's your specialty, TJ, but let's move past arguing over the definition of "niche."

I have been discussing why the Wii U is better than the Vita.

[TJ Spyke]

LOL, I don't know when 100K became anything EXCEPT niche. Way to lower the bar. Oblivion, i'm done since you fail to see how niche sales are niche.

As fro Dragon's Crown, I don't see cross-play getting more people to buy a game. So I don't think they will lose any sales for it, but Vita hardware and software sell like horse dung covered in rotting corpses, so I don't see the Vita version doing that well at all.

[NWR_insanolord]

Cross-play has gotten me to buy games I was on the fence about. It's a huge plus for me, especially when the PS3 and Vita games interact.

[TJ Spyke]

But if the game was not good enough for you to buy it, why would adding portability make a difference?

[Oblivion]

I want cross buy because I can't decide which one I want, but the game isn't good enough to warrant paying $90.


Cross play isn't what broodwars and I were even talking about.

[broodwars]

Vita hardware and software sell like horse dung covered in rotting corpses, so I don't see the Vita version doing that well at all.

You'd be surprised. The overwhelming majority of Dragon's Crown pre-orders at my local GameStop are for the Vita version, & allegedly the Vita has a software attach rate of around 10 games per user.  I personally own 8 physical retail games, something like 6-7 digital retail games, and probably around 15-20 digital download-only Vita titles.  I'm certainly an outlier, but while we Vita owners are small in number we are a dedicated bunch.  The thing is, we tend to buy our games digitally, which is ironic, really, considering the Vita's memory card issues.  :

[Stogi]

[lolmonade]

The only games that have made me remotely interested in the Vita are Dragon's Crown, Killzone: Mercenary, and the PS One classics. If it were not for these games, or if they were availalbe on the 3DS, then the Vita would be useless to me.

You're entitled to your opinion, but if that's all you see of value I doubt you've really looked at the Vita's library, especially on the digital side.

There is nothing about the Vita that justifies paying full price for it. The Wii U is just the opposite.

Whatever, man. I've gotten way more usage out of my Vita in the past year than I likely ever will my Wii U. My Vita justified its cost a long time ago. I'm still waiting for the Wii U to even BEGIN to prove its worth, especially as a multi-console owner.

This bears repeating.  Especially if you have a PS+ subscription, you've paid a high up-front cost for the Vita for a quick, expansive access to a variety of games, including Gravity Rush, Uncharted, & Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward.

I always think people hammering the Vita for having nothing worth buying for haven't even looked into it.  I understand some people may just not have interest in the games they're offering, but the degree of Nintendo fans here hating on it to distract from Wii U's abysmal software releases as of late is a bit pathetic.

[broodwars]

I think a lot of the Vita's library is stuff that you really just need to discover for yourself.  For instance, I doubt anyone here has heard of DJ MAX Technika Tune, but it's one of my favorite games on the Vita.  It's a Korean-developed K-pop rhythm music game, and if I hadn't bought the game on a whim I wouldn't have known how much I'd like it.  The really good games on the Vita don't tend to be immediately obvious.

[pokepal148]

Well... i hammer at it because its such an easy target. in all honesty its a very strong platform(until you read the sales numbers (had to slip that one in there)) that i have a large amount of respect for.

At the same time however the problems its facing aren't that different from what the Wii U is currently facing. the biggest difference however is that Nintendo actually seems to give a rats corpse about the what happens to the system whereas Sony seems to be barely willing to pay for life support.

[lolmonade]

Well... i hammer at it because its such an easy target. in all honesty its a very strong platform(until you read the sales numbers (had to slip that one in there)) that i have a large amount of respect for.

At the same time however the problems its facing aren't that different from what the Wii U is currently facing. the biggest difference however is that Nintendo actually seems to give a rats corpse about the what happens to the system whereas Sony seems to be barely willing to pay for life support.

I'm assuming Sony's expecting Vita's features with PS4 to boost the install base, and then for those people to find by owning them that there are actually pretty good games already available for the Vita.

I don't think anyone expects the Vita to do any better than the PSP, but that's not such a bad thing, as long as there's something worthwhile to play for the system.

Also keep in mind that I doubt Sony expected to topple Nintendo's handheld business from the start.  Nintendo has had a stranglehold on the handheld market for some time now, so Sony's expectations should be for it to be a long fought battle to steal market share from them, or be happy with being a somewhat niche product in comparison.