Despite its lackluster sales and slow death of the Sony PlayStation Vita, the console is nonetheless a fantastic device with outstanding potential. As many have described, its early demise can be attributed to poor marketing by Sony West, propriety accessories, memory cards that were overpriced, a high initial launch price, a poor set of launch titles, and, later, a total lack of large developer support.
Still, the device had a lot of merit. Rather than describe only what went wrong, we would like to take a moment to shine a light on everything the PS Vita did right.
A Place For Indies To Thrive
The PS Vita provided consumers a place that could easily handle some of the best indie games ever made, and it showed. While the hardware was initially made with large, graphic-intensive AAA titles in mind, titles like Hotline Miami, Guacamelee, Shovel Knight, Iconoclasts, Rogue Legacy, Spelunky, Stardew Valley, Undertale, Risk of Rain, Binding of Isaac, Crypt of the Necrodancer, and many more were player favorites. These games ranked among the best selling games on the console, only needed a fraction of the hardware’s power to look as good as they did.
Today we have the Nintendo Switch, and indie games are an important part of the Nintendo eShop. Still, there are many issues present, particularly with regards to switching between devices. Titan Souls is one example of a great indie game that can be played on either the PS4 or the Vita, and its cross-save functionality is exactly what player have wanted. With the Switch, a console that literally goes with you and then docks back at your home, there is ongoing criticism for the upcoming Lite version because it appears to lack this feature present on the Vita as early as 2014. In this way, the Vita was ahead of its time.
A Landmark Console For JRPGs
Certain developers were able to find success and grow towards bigger and better things with the PS Vita, despite the proportionally small consumer base. Developer Atlus went on to make or port Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Persona 4 Golden, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, and Persona 4, all of which released to critical and commercial success, at least relative to the small base of Vita owners. Atlus was also responsible for high-profile games like Odin Sphere Leifthrasir and Dragon's Crown, not to mention smaller JRPGs like Dungeon Travelers 2, Lost Dimension, and Conception II.
Other developers like Falcom had great success with the Ys series of games, as well as The Legend of Heroes series, and Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) with a broad range of memorable games such as the Disgaea titles, God Wars, and Experience Inc.'s trademark dungeon crawlers. Publishers like Aksys and Bandai Namco also found success, with the latter even releasing an exclusive entry of their Tales franchise. The success of these developers might not be as apparent here in North America, but those games helped to propel the Vita to greater heights in Japan.
Niche Series Thrived
The Vita was home to a few games that were extremely popular and idolized among a small proportion of players on the console. The Hyperdimension Neptunia and Senran Kagura franchises had their moment to shine on the console, with entries exclusive to the console that went on to be beloved by fans. There's also the fact that Danganronpa, the smash-hit visual novel/rhythm game hybrid, called the Vita its only home until recently.
Would these games have had the same success today without the Vita? Likely not. In any case, the console has a die-hard fanbase of players even today, and these series are partially responsible for that.
AAA Experiences On The Go
Remote play for a select number of PlayStation 3 titles was touted as the future of gaming, and a major benefit to owning a PS Vita. However, Sony’s marketing department was overzealous and frankly irresponsible in their advertising at launch, making it appear as though the device could be used with all games, no exceptions. The result was a class-action lawsuit against Sony, and disappointed consumers.
Today this is a different story, and optimization has improved to the point where certain games look and feel fantastic at every level. Fans of the console can attest to using the remote play feature to play all of Destiny during its popularity, and today continue with Destiny 2. Diablo 3 and Fallout 4 are major titles that are fantastic on the console, and feel almost native to the portable hardware while using remote play.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss was a AAA exclusive that launched with the system, but to lukewarm reviews. Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Borderlands 2, and Killzone: Mercenary were among the titles released from the largest developers, but their global sales were relatively few due again to the small user base. Still, many were great games, and it is a shame that sales were so low, else who knows what other great titles we might have seen from these larger developers.
The Best Portable For Fighters
Fighting games on portable devices have always been hostage to the hardware associated with the console. But due to the Vita's fantastic D-Pad, along with both two analogue sticks, there really was no better option when the console released. The Vita’s controller hardware shines against the next more recent handheld release, the Nintendo Switch, with the default Joy-Con D-Pad paling in comparison to what the Vita offered a full six years prior.
As such, the Vita is home to some great fighting games that demand precision in controls and reward technical gameplay. In every sense, the Vita is one has been possibly the best mobile device for fighting games, even today.
Improved Compatibility With The PlayStation 4 And A Shared Library
Cross-Buy is still today one of the greatest redeeming qualities of the Vita. Consider how many games you may have purchased on the PS4, and then discovering that you also have the license to use that game on your Vita. One could purchase a Vita today, from some third-party retailer or auction site since the console is discontinued, and immediately begin enjoying a majority of content they already have paid for on their PS4s or claimed as part of their monthly PlayStation Plus subscription. What’s not to love?
In addition, if you happened to own a Sony PSP, most of those games purchased and downloaded through the digital store could also be downloaded and played on the Vita. This is a big deal, as Sony has been criticized for their total lack of backwards compatibility between their modern home consoles. Yet with the Vita, they granted access to games one may have purchased as early as 2004.
Intuitive Design And Interface
Even today, the design of the Vita feels sleek and sturdy in one’s hands. The Vita is an improvement upon the Sony PSP hardware in every way, and that was already a well-made portable console. The addition of the second analogue stick, the inclusion of a back touchpad, the camera for developers to experiment with Augmented Reality, the crisp screen... all of it makes for a top-notch product that still holds up today.
Although the console has now been discontinued, and support is all but non-existent, the PlayStation Vita was well ahead of its time. Despite its slow start, it finished with a community of die-hard fans who love and appreciate all of the games it did offer.