Sony Vita games still in stores?

[PizzaKat]

So its pretty safe to say that the Vita is a flop since Sony even admitted that they have no plans for the handheld. My question is do stores around your area still carry any games? The Walmarts I've checked stopped carrying games and the vita itself except for the insanely priced memory cards. The EB games barely carry anything and theres one store which is a small chain that does carry a decent selection.

[Colorado Rockies]

My local Target stopped carrying any Vita games about 6 months ago. My Best Buy has about 10-15 games usually with 75% of them being used. My Fry's has about 25 different Vita games or so on average. Amazon is really the only way to go for U.S. games nowadays. If you're into imports than Play-Asia, Nin-Nin, and Solaris are all great options.

[Leo_A]

My local Wal-Mart just got a restock of the handhelds. Still PSTV's, handhelds, and a small selection of titles. Even still a couple of PSP Go's gathering dust in the locked case, still too expensive despite the words clearance clearly labeled for both.

[Aussie2B]

Sony just pulled the plug on the PSTV, so grab one of those if you want one. I don't go to them often, but there's a small Vita section at every GameStop I visit near me. But for many years, Amazon has been where I primarily buy current gen games, so it doesn't really make a difference to me how present Vita stuff is in brick and mortar stores.

[Tanooki]

I saw a few at Target but they're not being pushy about it anymore giving it up front shelf space, but other stores still do in small numbers for the most part new and those who do it used too. Online is the best bet if you want to own the game and not just lease it as a download on an expensive proprietary memory card Sony makes.

[celerystalker]

Actually, yeah, there are surprisingly many. I counted 17 stores within 5 miles of my house that I know of that have Vita games in stock, and quite a few more if I expand that radius to twenty miles. Maybe I shouldn't bitch so much about how game stores suck so bad to my friends. St Louis has a pretty active scene, I guess. I'm just bitter that my favorite store closed a couple of years back.

[Tanooki]

I get being hurt by a place going bad or out of business. My favorite in town here since early 2003 when I found it only about a year after I returned here in 2013 started charging at the level of ebay thanks to half price books marking everything highest paid BIN listings because when they tried not to everyone picked them clean and nothing came in which could ruin them forcing their hand. I don't buy much there anymore because of it as I'd rather not waste my time and gas when I could sit on my ass and wait a few days for the mail to do its job. Thankfully they have movies, CDs, and other junk I like so I still go, but it's like once every month or two instead of every week or two.

[Nebagram]

In the UK, cex definitely have them but I don't think you can get any new ones from GAME anymore.

[Flojomojo]

Wouldn't you rather have digital games on it anyway? I would.

[Aussie2B]

Vita memory cards are both small and overpriced, so nah. I feel having physical copies for Vita is more important than with most systems that have a digital option. I save my memory card space for games that are digital-only.

[Colorado Rockies]

Wouldn't you rather have digital games on it anyway? I would.

Fuck no

[davidbrit2]

Wouldn't you rather have digital games on it anyway? I would.

Considering the "support" the Vita gets from Sony, I'm sure it won't be all that long before it's not possible to redownload PSN games you've bought. Hoping it gets hacked as wide open as the PSP once Sony gets close to pulling life support.

[kupomogli]

Sony really sent the Vita out to die, and even though they stopped supporting it, the Vita could be doing better if it actually had Japanese support. Now this is the fault of Sony, true, but let's look at some publishers like NIS, Atlus, XSeed, and Aksys putting for the effort to actually deliver to their fanbase. But then look at shitty management of Square Enix, who's released many games for the Vita but don't release them in the west because they're too afraid to take a risk and support fans, despite how big of a name the company is. Just their newest games. Final Fantasy Adventure, This is Setsuna, Romancing Saga 2 are all Vita games but Square refuses to release them in the west. Whether or not they'll make millions upon millions of dollars, they'll atleast make money and continue to have popular support with their fanbase rather than losing fans as they have over the years. I mean look at NIS. Almost every game they publish gets released in the west, usually with full voice acting during story and side events. NIS isn't even as high profile of a name as Square Enix, but they've supported their fanbase by releasing Disgaea 3, 4, Demon Gaze, every Neptunia game, and they're a year behind, but all the Atelier games on the Vita. They're releasing Stranger of Sword City and Grand Kingdom to the Vita as well. Square Enix is a literal fucking joke to many of the online fans with constant quotes like "please be excited." Please be excited for what? You don't release shit over here.

Even Namco Bandai is heavily supporting the Vita since late last gen. They've been releasing many PS4 games in the west and if it's had a Vita version they've released that too, even if it was digital only. Hell, for games that they might never even decide to publish, they've still been localizing them and releasing English language versions for the Asian releases. If by some chance Gundam Breaker 3 isn't released in the west, I'm going to purchase it for the PS4, but I can purchase it for the Vita as well. Same goes for the PS4/Vita Super Robot Wars. The least Square Enix could do is localize the games and allow people who are willing to pay the extra cost to import to do so. Localization costs really aren't that much when you consider you're only paying out a couple translators and a couple people to edit font types and insert the text into the game. Hell, run the stuff through Google translate like Namco Bandai did with the Legend of Heroes PSP games and Sword Arts Online Hollow Fragment on the Vita. Atleast they're giving the fans the chance to give them money and they're both gaining a loyal fanbase and profiting, even if not by much.

Let's even take a step back and look at a successful product like the 3DS, and again, look at Square Enix. Except when localizing a shitty Final Fantasy spinoff like Explorers(Theatrhythm is good) or a Kingdom Hearts game, Square refuses to localize anything for the west. The fans have begged for years for the Dragon Quest 7 remake, they begged for many games. Square Enix constantly stated they aren't sure how successful how it will be in the west and didn't want to release the game, despite how well Dragon Quest 9 sold in the west, and even if they didn't sell as well as expected, the other remakes still turned a profit. But Dragon Quest 4, 5, 6, and 9 weren't even localized by Square. Nintendo took the risk to localize them and publish them. Bravely Default? Nintendo took the risk to localize and publish the game, and despite selling so well, Square Enix STILL wouldn't consider the second game in the west. Which recently Nintendo announced that they're publishing Bravely Second, Dragon Quest 7, and Dragon Quest 8. Don't think those pricks at Square Enix. Despite not liking Nintendo as a company because imo they show disrespect to their fanbase for a lot of their decisions, I do show my gratitude when they do something like this and I will be purchasing every one of these games eventually.

[Aussie2B]

Uhh, so basically that was a rant specifically about Square Enix and has nothing to do with the Vita not getting Japanese support. Square Enix =/= all of Japan's game publishers. The Vita is doing pretty well in Japan, and in the West, localized Japanese games is practically all the Vita gets in recent years (not counting indie stuff). Like you said yourself, there are several Japanese companies heavily supporting the Vita. (PS: NIS America stopped localizing Neptunia games a while ago. That's Idea Factory International's territory. And they're another publisher showing a lot of love to the Vita.)


Localization costs really aren't that much when you consider you're only paying out a couple translators and a couple people to edit font types and insert the text into the game. Hell, run the stuff through Google translate like Namco Bandai did with the Legend of Heroes PSP games and Sword Arts Online Hollow Fragment on the Vita.

You have no idea how localization works, do you?

[kupomogli]

Uhh, so basically that was a rant specifically about Square Enix and has nothing to do with the Vita not getting Japanese support. Square Enix =/= all of Japan's game publishers. The Vita is doing pretty well in Japan, and in the West, localized Japanese games is practically all the Vita gets in recent years (not counting indie stuff). Like you said yourself, there are several Japanese companies heavily supporting the Vita. (PS: NIS America stopped localizing Neptunia games a while ago. That's Idea Factory International's territory. And they're another publisher showing a lot of love to the Vita.)

The point is that it could be doing better if there weren't publishers that do a half ass job in the west(or in SE's case, in general.) Square Enix isn't the only publisher, but they have a lot of games that'd sell well enough to turn a higher profit than the other publishers I mentioned off brand name alone.


You have no idea how localization works, do you?

Sure I do, but localizing is not the same thing as publishing. I didn't mention copyright costs, publishing costs, printing costs, etc, which is what I assume you're inferring. If they're already going to release an Asian or Japanese version, adding English text to the version in that country would atleast allow them to avoid the other costs if they're not willing to take the risks these smaller companies have.

The Google translate thing was a joke. The localization for Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment(I played the English Asian version) and Namco published Legend of Heroes games were pretty poor though and felt like it did indeed come from something you'd read from Google translate.

[PizzaKat]

Wouldn't you rather have digital games on it anyway? I would.

when there were free games on PSN I loved it. that is untill I ran out of space and the price of those cards were so high...honestly why havent they lowered the price or why is it so freaking high?

[Tanooki]

Captive audience, don't think anyone else makes a vita memory card so they can just hose you all they want. It's kind of the same argument I make against digital rental games, they can choose to barely put up a sale on rare occasion or just leave stuff at full price which all three of them are guilty of.

[Gamevet]

Captive audience, don't think anyone else makes a vita memory card so they can just hose you all they want. It's kind of the same argument I make against digital rental games, they can choose to barely put up a sale on rare occasion or just leave stuff at full price which all three of them are guilty of.

It's the same problem that they had with the PSP. They could have easily used a very common storage card, but wanted to rake in the profits by offering their own proprietary cards instead.

[Gameguy]

You can get a memory card adapter to use Micro SD cards for the PSP. Several brands make them. It wasn't just the PSP that used this type of memory format which is why these adapters exist.

http://www.amazon.com/SANOXY%C2%AE-MicroSD-Converts-MicroSDHC-Packaged/dp/B00B6DYDZS


I don't think there's one yet for the Vita. Sony did announce that they would be making an adapter for the Vita to use normal SD cards, of course they posted that as an April Fools joke. Just a kick to the balls as that's what Sony likes to do.

http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/vita-getting-an-adapter-to-support-normal-sd-cards-external-storage.453884799/

[kupomogli]

I don't think there's one yet for the Vita. Sony did announce that they would be making an adapter for the Vita to use normal SD cards, of course they posted that as an April Fools joke. Just a kick to the balls as that's what Sony likes to do.

http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/vita-getting-an-adapter-to-support-normal-sd-cards-external-storage.453884799/

Might be best if you didn't throw out accusations as fact if you're unsure. Yes, the link says "http://blog.playstation" but that's not where it leads. It's not redirected by Sony, and you can see that before you even click on the link if you pull your head out of your own ass. No offense.

http://www.google.com (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)

How about you click on my link and see if it goes to Google. It won't, even though the text says Google. Don't worry, not sending you anywhere unsafe, but that's the same thing the person who used the April Fools image did. Look at the address it directs you to before you click on the link.

*edit* Changed the link from Yahoo to an old meme. Click it.

[Gamevet]

You can get a memory card adapter to use Micro SD cards for the PSP. Several brands make them. It wasn't just the PSP that used this type of memory format which is why these adapters exist.

http://www.amazon.com/SANOXY%C2%AE-MicroSD-Converts-MicroSDHC-Packaged/dp/B00B6DYDZS

[/url]

Yeah, but that was something that came out years later, right?

You were pretty much stuck with Sony's expensive proprietary memory sticks until other options became available many years later.

http://www.cnet.com/news/using-cheaper-microsd-memory-in-your-psp-and-sony-cameras-is-a-no-no/

[Gameguy]

Yeah, but that was something that came out years later, right?

You were pretty much stuck with Sony's expensive proprietary memory sticks until other options became available many years later.

http://www.cnet.com/news/using-cheaper-microsd-memory-in-your-psp-and-sony-cameras-is-a-no-no/
Yeah, but now is the time to start buying old PSP games. They're all near worthless now along with the systems. I pretty much just start buying systems after they're discontinued.

As for that April Fools it seems I was wrong, it wasn't posted by Sony. I spent more time searching for a suitable adapter than checking out in detail every link on that page. That adapter is real, it's just for smartphones and tablets. It's still shit of Sony to keep using expensive proprietary cards while other companies like Nintendo have been using standard SD cards for years.

[kupomogli]

Sony's moved to SD cards for their other devices. No one's happy with it, but you can understand why they used yet another proprietary card for the Vita when it wasn't long before the PSP was hacked and most people pirated everything they played. Dissidia Final Fantasy was pirated five million times, five times more than the game sold. While you could make the argument that some people wouldn't have bought these games if there was no ability to pirate you could also make the argument that most would have. The amount of money lost due to piracy for just that one game was in the multi millions if atleast 1/5 of the people who pirated it actually purchased it, think of the amount pirated since the PSP got hacked. So yeah, new proprietary memory card. Anyone who was in charge of the development process of the Vita and making sure the same didn't happen to the Vita as it did the PSP would have done the same.

And yeah. Nintendo uses standard format SD cards, but Nintendo does some bs every time you turn around. I especially like how they slandered the other publishers who released DLC last gen when they didn't really have much of an option for it but this gen comes along and Nintendo has disc locked content through $13 toys. Day one DLC, some of it locking out content programmed in the game like Fantasy Life's end game content, DLC that is higher priced than the game Fire Emblem Awakening($40+,) Hyrule Warriors Legends($38, so almost,) and there's already over $20 of DLC for Fire Emblem Fates. It wasn't really bad with Pokemon as it's the same game either version with minor differences, but Fire Emblem Fates costs $100 to actually get the full game unless of course you got a special edition that couldn't be found anywhere days after the announcement. Nintendo purposefully gimping the release of their portables(no second analog on the 3DS and no XL even though they knew everyone wanted it after the DSi Xl, and then no second analog on the XL which was released after the analog attachment. Or how about the slap in the face to Zelda fans with Twilight Princess releasing a month earlier on the Wii in order to push sales, but this is already after the game was delayed a year for the Wii release to begin with. With all Nintendo's bullshit, I don't see how anyone could ever bring Nintendo up as being a shining example when they're done far worse than Sony's Playstation branding ever has.

[Aussie2B]

Nintendo is never going to release an XL out of the gate, that's just obvious. They're going to release the standard version and then see about upgrades and premium versions later on. Not "everyone" wants an XL. Personally, I like my DS Lite more than my DSi XL. I hate how blown up and fuzzy the picture looks, and it's a big, bulky system. So you have plenty of people who are passionate about games who don't prefer an XL, and then you have all the more casual gamers who wouldn't care to spend the extra money and parents who don't want to give a premium version of a system to a child who may break or lose the system anyway, on top of the fact that children have small hands and can better handle a non-XL. Keep in mind just how large a percentage the DS/3DS user base is children (hell, the 2DS was basically solely designed for children).

If you don't want to buy multiple versions of a Nintendo handheld and really want a specific model that'll come later on past the first model's launch, then it's been common knowledge for a LONG time that you wait with Nintendo.

Besides, it's silly to act as if this is solely a Nintendo issue because the PSP has four different models, and the Vita has two. Heck, I would argue that there are more downsides to owning a launch PSP than a launch DS.

[Gamevet]

Yeah, but now is the time to start buying old PSP games. They're all near worthless now along with the systems. I pretty much just start buying systems after they're discontinued.

As for that April Fools it seems I was wrong, it wasn't posted by Sony. I spent more time searching for a suitable adapter than checking out in detail every link on that page. That adapter is real, it's just for smartphones and tablets. It's still shit of Sony to keep using expensive proprietary cards while other companies like Nintendo have been using standard SD cards for years.

That's sort of a different subject. I waited until the PSP 3000 came out and lugged around a 4GB memory card until the 8 GB card dropped in price.

The Vita has a lot of good games available through PSN, but having a memory card big enough to have a dozen digital games is way too expensive. Spending over $250 for a Vita and a decent sized memory card is/was probably a major turnoff for most people thinking about getting it. I know it was a turnoff for me, even though I think the Vita is a really nice piece of hardware. I'd really like to hunt down an older model that has the OLED screen, since the LED screen isn't as nice.

[Aussie2B]

I have a 4GB Vita memory card (as small as they come; it was bundled with my Vita), and I make do. If you get most everything you can physically, it's not a problem. You also don't have to have every game downloaded at once and stored on your Vita. The list of what you've bought is in the PSN system, so you can just download what you're going to actively play at the time and delete what you're done with. And if you really don't want to lose your save files (since, unfortunately, you can't delete JUST the game file and keep your saves) or if you want to spare yourself the trouble of downloading later, you can store your games on your PC and just transfer them back to your Vita when needed.

[ScourDX]

I see less and less Vita game. So my only way to get them is through online store like Amazon, Bestbuy, & gamestop. Shame really. The system has potential, but Sony drop the ball.

[Gamevet]

I have a 4GB Vita memory card (as small as they come; it was bundled with my Vita), and I make do. If you get most everything you can physically, it's not a problem. You also don't have to have every game downloaded at once and stored on your Vita. The list of what you've bought is in the PSN system, so you can just download what you're going to actively play at the time and delete what you're done with. And if you really don't want to lose your save files (since, unfortunately, you can't delete JUST the game file and keep your saves) or if you want to spare yourself the trouble of downloading later, you can store your games on your PC and just transfer them back to your Vita when needed.

I think I have a couple of games that I can install on a Vita, stored on my PS3's HDD. I guess the idea was to have the take your game with you thing, where if you bought a digital copy of a PS3 game, you'd also get a digital copy for the Vita.

[Colorado Rockies]

I was in Best Buy yesterday looking for Blu-ray's and I walked by the so-called Vita section which had 3 games total. A used MLB 14 w/ no cover, MLB 15 and the Persona 4 Dancing Special Ed with the security clamps on it so tightly that the box was severely crushed.

[Gameguy]

Sony's moved to SD cards for their other devices. No one's happy with it, but you can understand why they used yet another proprietary card for the Vita when it wasn't long before the PSP was hacked and most people pirated everything they played. Dissidia Final Fantasy was pirated five million times, five times more than the game sold.
How many copies do games normally sell? It used to be an uncommon accomplishment to sell over 1 million copies of any game, or else every game would have been a Player's Choice or Greatest Hits release.

As for the console's failure, I find it odd how piracy is supposedly the reason why the PSP failed. The Wii was hacked for piracy just as widely if not more yet that console was still a major commercial success. It's almost like piracy wasn't why the PSP failed, back when the PSP first came out most people I knew who bought it only used it for a portable emulation machine. Not to play pirated PSP games, just to emulate old consoles or rip and play their PS1 games. If it couldn't be hacked even fewer people would have bought it. It has a niche appeal to gamers almost like the Virtual Boy, 3DO, or CDi.

As for all the other complaints you've mentioned, that's pretty much a problem with all modern games. I'm really not into modern games much at all and I'm not planning to buy anything unless I come across it cheap. Day one DLC, I've heard that problem with all consoles. How about having to download updates before being able to play a game? If you only have a couple hours of free time and you just want to play a game, do you really want to spend hours to first download updates and patches before you can play it? The whole reason to own a console is so you don't have to bother with that, you might as well just stick to computer games then and save some cash and space by avoiding a console entirely. I've bashed Nintendo plenty in other threads for the various 3DS versions and with Xenoblade only working on one of them. All of the console makers are generally lousy these days in my eyes.

[Aussie2B]

The PSP was never a failure in the first place. It may have not enjoyed DS-level success, but it still did solidly in the US and even better yet in Japan. It did better than every other non-Nintendo handheld that has ever existed (perhaps that's not saying much, though), and its hardware sales were about on par with the GBA. So far, only the GB/GBC and DS have the PSP beat.

I think you may be letting the Vita's lack of success color how you view the PSP if you think that system also performed poorly. Piracy definitely hurt software sales (which was also the case with the PS1, to put things into perspective), but the system overall was a success.