The PS Vita is now officially a year old in North America and Europe, and a lot has changed over the past 12 months. The PS Vita is a powerful portable console but has had trouble gaining market share in the competitive mobile gaming space. The console is expensive for a start, but hopefully the console will get a price cut in North America and Europe, like it received in Japan recently.
The PS Vita had a show start, with many gamers complaining about the “lack of games” available on the system. But now there are plenty of games available for the system now, with a number of new titles releasing every month. The introduction of PlayStation Plus on the PS Vita back in November has improved uptake of the console, and gives gamers good value for money, but sales have still been lower than expected.
Sony has revised the estimated sales figures for the PS Vita a number of times over the past 12 months, as each quarter came in lower than expected. The PS Vita now stands to sell 7 million units combined with the PSP, according to Sony’s current estimates. Hopefully, uptake of the console will increase when the PlayStation 4 is released, since the PS Vita will be a vital part of the next-gen console.
The PS Vita will have better remote play capabilities with the PS4 thanks to Gaikai’s streaming technology, and the Vita will be a key part of the PS4’s second screen strategy. The PS4 isn’t out until the Holidays, so it may take a while for the PS Vita to increase it’s market share, especially since the Nintendo 3DS has been outselling the Vita since the beginning.
What do you think will happen with the PS Vita over the next 12 months? Will it ever be as popular as the PSP, or even the Nintendo 3DS?