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Can we talk about GAF's overreaction to PS Vita TV?

So... the PlayStation Vita TV.

i9iK0hFhlnOtF.jpg


This thing has been released in Japan just a shy over two months and there's really no denying the thing is a complete flop. Here are the following sales since launch according to Media Create:

2013, Week 46 - 42.172 (Launch week)
2013, Week 47 - 7.868
2013, Week 48 - 5.391
2013, Week 49 - 3.772
2013, Week 50 - 5.506
2013, Week 51 - 5.504
2013, Week 52 - 6.031
2014, Week 01 - 5.313
2014, Week 02 - 2.522

And so, after two months, the device has sold a tremendous amount of... 84.079. In comparison, after 9 weeks the Game Boy Micro had sold 337.190 units. The PSP Go had sold 71,852 units. And the WonderSwan Color at 343.094 units (Famitsu number, Media Create doesn't go back that far). What an absolute joke. The device has no signs of growing sales, and Sony's announcement for PlayStation on other platforms further kills the novelty of this set top device.

This thing never had a chance for changing the Vita's misfortunes and the sales solidify that statement. This was something I assumed from the beginning yet, I am still amazed to actually go back and read the reveal thread and read some of initial reactions to this thing. Now that people's emotions have settled and the thing is likely to die off, can anyone explain why people thought this was going to be a "game changer"?

This is the single smartest decision that Sony has made with the Vita. This is cheap and and allows Vita games to be played on TV, which is something that people have been asking for since it was released.
WOW megaton, anyone who has more than one room they game in normally need to fuck about moving console around or buy another one. This kills that problem for a low cost. Also its a cheap media streaming box, and it plays vita games im in fucking day one son. Love it.
They just killed Apple TV. They effectively have one of the cheapest consoles on the market on top of featuring multi media apps that people can't get enough of. If they can get HBO and ESPN on this thing it's going to be a huge success. It also breathes life into VIta software.
This is a huge, huge game changer. Sony single-handedly saved the Vita's future while also providing consumers with an affordable alternative to getting the games on Vita in the way people seem to prefer it. Really impressive surprise announcement.
Megaton. Gamers that "don't get" handhelds will still be able to enjoy the existing PSV library and PS1/PSP titles in an environment they prefer to game on. This bodes extremely well for the platform and for existing Vita owners.
So bought. Great move Sony, great move. You got yourself a winner right there. A Netflix device that plays games that look good....At an amazing price..This is nuts.
i don't think this will be that popular in the united states. however, i think it could become the lead console in japan. it's extremely inexpensive, has a library japanese gamers care about (yakuza's even coming to the thing), and has been building a bit of steam over the last year or so. i could see some sort of weird competition between the ps4 and vita in japan.
$100 for an indie machine in the west
$100 to play your PS1/PSP games on your TV
$100 to play all the latest vita games
$100 for a portable Minecraft everywhere

This is an incredibly brilliant decision by Sony, this will not only increase userbase but give developers a lot of reason to put their games on it.

Viva la Vita
Another nail in for that Wii U coffin.
At this price, pretty much everyone will want this. I will rock P4G with this, awwww yeah!.
This sounds like a way smarter revision of a system than the 2DS was. Was going to pick up a regular Vita after the price cut but this sounds way more convenient for my current situation.
Sort of funny just how much Sony is hitting it out of the park at the beginning of this gen compared to the clusterfuck of dumb ideas I remember back in '06.
Wow I actually think this could be huge
This is genius. Nintendo needs to be watching. This is their future.
This will revive vita.
This is such a great play by Sony.

They read the market perfectly.

etc. etc. etc.
 
mang id buy it when it comes to america, or is it region free? specially worth it with playstation now. 100$ for all the awesome PS3 games I missed this gen and PS2 an PS1 gems? thank you very much
 
I made the same mistake. I thought that the price was so low that people who were only interested in one or two games could jump in. Even if the thing didn't sell at first, it would sell steadily. Doesn't look like it happened.
 
There is like one quote that mentions the Japanese market and I'd imagine the rest are talking about how it would do well in the US, etc.

Edit: I bought one and I'm hoping they announce it for the West so I'll be able to use my US PSN down the road. They better!
 
I think people were (are still?) intrigued by the notion of a cheap Apple TV competitor from Sony that also played Sony games. The idea of a Vita that connects to the TV alone is not that exciting.

I haven't really been following I guess it doesn't have enough Japanese streaming TV/Media services to be compelling to the Japanese market?
 
Major problems:

PS4 didn't launch at the same time (still hasn't?) in Japan.
It's titled handheld... isn't majorly supported, due to lack of front/back-touch support (thank god, maybe more games will patch this bullshit out?). So why buy it if you can't play Tearaway/et. al. that uses those features and are recommended on it?

The whole thing was half-baked and Sony could've done a "TV in a box" for far cheaper than throwing their flopping handheld's innards in a flopping TV-in-a-box system. :/

But yeah, OP. Most of GAF that is hyped for it is a tiny market. The rest of the world will buy a Roku or the handheld itself since it supports the "must have" titles that GAF raves about. Like I said when it was pretty much announced, heh.
 
I still have no idea why any kind of microconsole is appealing, especially since the VitaTV can't actually play most of the quality Vita games.
 
Omg these reactions are gold. Absolute gold.
My favorite one has to be the Apple TV comment. I mean seriously guys?

We definitely need more threads like this.
 
Doesn't make sense to me at all but if people are willing to bite lol, go for it. Clearly Japan isn't. I really doubt the rest of the world would either tbh but some big fans here.

I feel like some people want a Vita but they've been put off by the negativity towards it and think this magically fixes that.
 
What overreaction? They were hyped up about it but it just didn't sell well.

I'm still interested in getting it too, having a cheap netflix player for the downstairs TV would rock.
 
We need more threads like this.

I never had high hopes for the Vita TV anyways. Thought it was a gimmick but it seems I was right.

Thing is $100 without a memory card and $150 with an 8GB memory card.

Might as well just invest in a Vita or PS4. I agree with OP too, Playstation TV killed any hope for this thing. You say this is a cheap device that will play PS3 and below? Why not have the PS4 where it universally plays all games?
 
That's Japan though, a country where streaming boxes and home consoles aren't popular. If they release it in the west and market it right, it could still be HUGE.
A £99 box that little jimmy can play minecraft on, mum can stream netflix and dad can play his PS4 / VIta games in another room? BOOM
 
Serious question... are they even marketing this thing in Japan? And if so how are they going about it?

There is no reason why a small, sleak and more importantly cheap device that can play PS1, PSP and PSVita titles (while also having the capability to stream PS4 games) should be selling so badly.

Maybe this will be the best entry device to Playstation Now when that launches? If Sony aren't planning on marketing this in such a way then they sure as hell should be.

If Sony play their cards right Vita TV could have a huge role to play in the success of Playstation Now and vice-versa.
 
I don't see how PlayStation Now takes away from this device's appeal. If anything it enhances it since it'll be able to use PlayStation Now on non-high end Sony TVs.
 
Some of those quotes to me just seem like people were excited about the device not that it would sell gangbusters. I like the idea of it, if I get a ps4 I will look into importing one or are they coming to US?
 
Still want one. Though maybe slightly less now that used Vitas can be had for $129.

(I just want some form of Vita, dammit. I hate being a filthy poor. ;_;)
 
why the fuck dose it matter if it sells or not , the device is one of the best handhelds ever created ,and people are excited if they get anything on it(if you ever held one you ll know what i mean).

the vita tv is a different market ,and sony didn't advertise it enough ,and wishing that a device would die , so you could have sony develop for ps4 only is selfish (imo) , the device still getting more games everyday , and people are really in love with it , with the right marketing it would do wonders , but sce is spread thin .

and if you compare the vita to the 3ds , you would know how much supporting one device can do to a company , nintendo is one of the biggest publishers in the business and for 3ds to be a successes they had to abandon the wii early , and fuck thier next gen console .

i still have games to play on my vita , that would last me more than a year of play time.
so stop with the circlejerk about the vita dying , because it wont .
 
I'm baffled they decided to release it in Japan instead of North America. Should be the other way around. Consoles are dying in Japan, while handhelds continue to do well. It's the opposite here in North America. I'm certain a $99 PSN Classics + PS4 streaming machine (and also a Vita game player) would have done much better in the West.

It was never going to be a game changer.
 
I still want one because I don't really game on handhelds. I want it to play PS4 in any room. it doesn't play Vita games? Even if it don't play vita games I wanted as a PS4 companion for the different room without needing to unhook and hook up PS4 wherever I want it.
 
Wow I'm sure this has been said before but, VITA saved! I'm definitely intrigued by the device.

Vita is saved......in Japan.
I can see this being fairly successful here in the US depending on how much marketing muscle is put behind it.

Treat this as a re-launch Sony.

This is such a great play by Sony.

They read the market perfectly. They know that dedicated console gaming is losing the battle against smartphones and tablets. So instead of pushing Vita games that no one has the console for, they push the Vita platform instead, widening it to include TVs, making it complementary to the PS4, and doing all the stuff you expect a media set-top box to do, all at an extremely competitive price.

PlayStation gamers who don't care for portable gaming will buy this to play Vita games. I know I will. Especially PS+ subscribers who already have a backlog of Vita games they haven't been able to play yet. The hardware doesn't matter, it's the software they make the most money on. And making the Vita platform more accessible means more potential software sales.

Think of it like iOS. You can get it on a phone, you can get it on a tablet, but the experience is consistent on both, and everything within the ecosystem is available on whatever device you have, like music, video, streaming and games. Next to Apple, Sony have the next best shot at creating such an ecosystem. They have the content. They have Sony Pictures, Sony records, Gaikai and of course PlayStation. They have all of that already. Thy just need to deliver it in a way that makes sense. And $99 for a PS Vita/media player/Netflix box/PS4 extender makes perfect sense.

The Vita has been saved, just not in the way we imagined it.

VITA saved?

Probably saved the Vita by increasing the user base in the long term, but the touch screen aspect makes it pretty useless right now. Here's hoping Sony's working their asses off to get all the games that rely on it patched.

Vita saved!
.

Edit: To be fair, I thought it would have at least helped Vita sales, but not save it though.
 
I'm baffled they decided to release it in Japan instead of North America. Should be the other way around. Consoles are dying in Japan, while handhelds continue to do well. It's the opposite here in North America. I'm certain a $99 PSN Classics + PS4 streaming machine (and also a Vita game player) would have done much better in the West.

It was never going to be a game changer.

They messed up by not having it out w/ the ps4.

I would have ridden that launch hype wave and gotten one. I have no use for a normal vita.
 
It could be a big deal with PlayStation Now.
Majority of PS1-3 big hits on one small, cheap device.

There might be a chance of that if it ever got released outside of Japan.

This thing was never going to explode, but it at least makes a little more sense to release it in a region where people play games on their TVs.
 
There are overreactions to every tech announcement, and people are wrong a lot of the time. Of course the Vita TV wasn't going to be any different. It was a cool-sounding idea that didn't pan out, there's not really much more to it than that. We've seen dumb negative reactions before too ("no one wants an iPad, it's just a big iPhone"), people on a forum not knowing what will or won't be a game changer shouldn't really surprise anyone. At least this was people getting hyped about something instead of automatically acting cynical and shitty.
 
I'm getting one if it comes out in North America. I will stream my PS3/4 to it. No more having to lug my systems into the basement when need be.
 
Most reactions I read carried an implication that it wouldn't matter in the portable-focused Japan, but might have niche appeal in the USA. If Sony were aggressive, it could be / have been an Apple TV killer. The announcement alone didn't signify that though.
 
So... the PlayStation Vita TV.

i9iK0hFhlnOtF.jpg


This thing has been released in Japan just a shy over two months and there's really no denying the thing is a complete flop. Here are the following sales since launch according to Media Create:

2013, Week 46 - 42.172 (Launch week)
2013, Week 47 - 7.868
2013, Week 48 - 5.391
2013, Week 49 - 3.772
2013, Week 50 - 5.506
2013, Week 51 - 5.504
2013, Week 52 - 6.031
2014, Week 01 - 5.313
2014, Week 02 - 2.522

And so, after two months, the device has sold a tremendous amount of... 84.079. In comparison, after 9 weeks the Game Boy Micro had sold 337.190 units. The PSP Go had sold 71,852 units. And the WonderSwan Color at 343.094 units (Famitsu number, Media Create doesn't go back that far). What an absolute joke. The device has no signs of growing sales, and Sony's announcement for PlayStation on other platforms further kills the novelty of this set top device.

This thing never had a chance for changing the Vita's misfortunes and the sales solidify that statement. This was something I assumed from the beginning yet, I am still amazed to actually go back and read the reveal thread and read some of initial reactions to this thing. Now that people's emotions have settled and the thing is likely to die off, can anyone explain why people thought this was going to be a "game changer"?













etc. etc. etc.

Hmmmm.......Didn't coldfoot get banned for making posts like this (let alone you making a whole thread like one)?
 
This thing never had a chance for changing the Vita's misfortunes and the sales solidify that statement. This was something I assumed from the beginning yet, I am still amazed to actually go back and read the reveal thread and read some of initial reactions to this thing. Now that people's emotions have settled and the thing is likely to die off, can anyone explain why people thought this was going to be a "game changer"?

First of all the Vita is doing ok in Japan. Second of all judge the performance after Vita tv comes to the west since Japan is more about portables than home consoles. Third of all, you seem upset about the positive reaction towards the device.
 
It could be a big deal with PlayStation Now.
Majority of PS1-3 big hits on one small, cheap device.

i await this thread's sequel when people realise that playing smeary artifact ridden PS2 games with half a second of input lag isn't all that fun.
 
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