Maybe it’s Maybelline.

WHAT KIND OF ALTERNATE REALITY IS THIS!?

Also, something I think is important, is that few other handheld console makers ever got the importance of games designed for portable gaming. With the previously mentioned smart phone/tablet markets, that is changing (yeah, those aren’t handheld consoles per se), but in the dedicated console world I still get the feeling Sony and the Vita are just offering smaller scale home console efforts and spin offs. To be sure, that isn’t all the Vita offers. I don’t even know if it’s the majority of games or not, since I don’t really play handheld games. But historically this was an issue with Nintendo’s competitors (among other things, certainly) in the handheld market. Has the Vita bucked this trend?

If Activision and Ubisoft put a good effort into their CoD and AC titles that they are releasing at the end of the year, then that might make for some Vita selling software. On the other hand, the CoD game looks like a B-effort endeavour, and while the AC game looks like the real deal, Ubisoft nevertheless have historically delivered lesser efforts to handheld additions in the franchise.

However, I would argue that the Vita suffers more because its first-party titles simply are not as strong as those of Nintendo. And when first-party software is all you can rely on (given that third-party devs are going to incline towards cheaper, non-traditional development), having the weaker first-party development is a clear disadvantage.

So, the current market hurts Sony more than Nintendo, and I certainly think part of the Vita’s sales woes are down to that. (Nintendo’s, too. Just not as much, which explains the trouble Sony is having relative to Nintendo.)

Venue change! Fort Lauderdale is way too touristy. I think we should go to St. Martin or one of those little island nations!

Setting aside the intent of making TRULY EXCELLENT gaming experiences, if I were the CEO of a company charged with making handheld games, and profit was the bottom line, I’d be producing quick-and-easy iOS titles with 6mo. project turnovers rather than hoping for blockbusters with large-scale handheld development in a divided market where I will need many sales of a $40 game just to break even: and this in a world where other handheld games are going for 99¢.

Of course, if devs want to make jaw-dropping game experiences that gamers will remember forever, they’re going to need to put the time in. The problem (at least, for us as gamers) is that profit drives businesses, and so they are going to incline towards what is most profitable. Unfortunately for us, that doesn’t seem to be large-scale handheld development anymore.

My initial thoughts are just that Sony isn’t very good at managing their hardware (considering the various PSPs, PS3, and now Vita) because lately the software hasn’t been lining up for them the way it used to.

Something related to what I’m saying:
http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-overthinker/game-overthinker-episode-39-emperor-has-no-clothes

It’s old (it’s also a bit long), perhaps people have seen it, but I wonder what people think about it.

Why can’t we have the best of both worlds?

“I really love the 3D whatever the fuck it is” is the quote of the year. Take a bow, Julian!

So you don’t subscribe to the xkcd theory of passwords? http://xkcd.com/936/

I have to agree that the Vita is a great technical device that lacks anything worth playing. Sadly, Touch my Katamari seemed to be underwhelming, and I might play Gravity Rush, but that means the only other game out right now I’d play is Disgaea 3 and I already have that. And the next games I’d buy are Persona 4 Golden, which I also already have, or Zero Escape (the 999 sequel), but I’d get that for the 3DS. And if I got the PS All Star game, I’d get it for PS3.

I agree with you guys about the Vita. I’ve played it a number of times and it’s awesome hardware. But it took me years for the PSP to have enough games to push me over the edge. I imagine it’ll be a while for the Vita as well. Lusipurr makes a good point about guaranteed Nintendo software. Although I still haven’t spent a single cent on the 3DS. There are games I like on it, but nothing is a must-have for me yet.