Sony on Lack of Vita Games at its Press Conference

This year should have been Vita's coming out party.

Sony should have rolled out the metaphorical red carpet to current Vita owners, underscoring why Vita was a worthy purchase, one to pay dividends with quality software for months and years. The press conference didn't drive that point home.

It felt like Vita was just one more thing, not a focus.

Shuhei Yoshida is PlayStation's head of worldwide studios, and he's well aware of that perception.

"I got a lot of tweets," he told me during an interview yesterday.

Yoshida is active on Twitter, which means he's quick to hear from super passionate fans.

"I think that's our fault to not be able to meet expectations," he said. "I understand. We really tried hard this year in terms of planning the conference to make it shorter. We've been criticized and made fun of! Our marketing department said we're going to make it short and sweet, and we were really selective in terms of what to show."

When you walk through Sony's booth, there's a respectably wide-ranging lineup of games coming to Vita, from Sound Shapes to Frobisher Says! to Snapshot. None of those showed up at the press conference, which Yoshida blamed on the many topics Sony's forced to cover during its event.

"We could have focused more on new, exciting PS Vita titles," he said. "That's our fault."

And unless I'm mistaken, there was nary a mention of 3D during the press conference. Much of Sony's event last year was actually in 3D, and there was a big push to show how much Sony was getting behind it. No more?

"While I was waiting for the show to start, I was watching the Twitter feed and one journalist tweeted: 'thank god there's no 3D glasses.'" he said. "I showed it to Mr. Kaz Hirai and he laughed. What's happening with 3D is that it's no longer new."

It appears 3D has been reduced to a bullet point. Yoshida would not confirm what games from Sony, like Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, would be actively supporting 3D. Expect that number to drop off, though.

"I think that initial evangelizing period is over," he said.

Poor Vita

Kinda shows the press conferences aren't for the games. People interested in those will watch other coverage.

It was pretty disappointing the lack of games on show. Surely they could have at least put some time aside for it, with a mini conference like nintendo is.

At least it seems like they're grounded in reality and not trying to convince people that 3D is the current thing.

As interesting as Wonderbook was, it's frustrating to see them cut back Vita content due to time constraints while spending way too long showcasing a glitchy story book that's not for gamers.

I like how candid he is.

PSVita definitely has some strong upcoming games and it's really a shame that Sony didn't feature any, even in a quick sizzle reel or something.

I'm actually using some of the income from my last game to purchase a Vita for gamedev. PSM is really great, and it's very nice that you can port most C# things around to PC, X360, and Mac via Mono with it.

(not to mention unity's support for it)

C# used to be sort of crumby, but with all these tools supporting it, I can't wait to make games for the Vita.

Yeah, give no time to Vita and spend 40 minutes talking about Wonderbook. Brilliant, Sony.. just brilliant. 

Yeah, it's a bummer, hope to see more about the Vita at TGS. There are a few games I'm definitely looking forward to on the system, and hopefully there are more that I haven't heard about yet. As someone who bought a PSP 3 times, got bored with it quickly and sold it off, the Vita is a huge improvement in my opinion. The 2nd analog stick makes a world of difference in shooters and pretty much everything on the system.

Seemed like the Vita was something that they were actively trying to ignore

Good riddance to 3D.

It would have taken 5minutes to showcase some of the cool indie downloadable titles coming to vita. Even just to say hey, we don't have the time to show you in depth looks at all these games but we have TWENTY(or some impressive number) downloadable titles coming to PS vita this year! Check them out on the show floor...

I'm still getting a Vita for Persona 4 Golden and for anything that comes out. Also Patrick, is this a fact that Vita isn't doing well or is it your option because you act like there isn't any games for it when in fact there is when you look.

@Legend said:

Yeah, give no time to Vita and spend 40 minutes talking about Wonderbook. Brilliant, Sony.. just brilliant.

Yeah no kidding. They could have cut that PS Move stuff by a few minutes and at least mention one or two Vita only games.

At least he admits that Sony made several mistakes during the press conference. It shows that they are listening and at least being honest with the Vita's current situation. The lack of 3D is also smart from Sony. I think they're done with showing 3D as a new big thing. It showed during the presser that 3D wasn't anything to debut and to make vital to the Sony brand. It's smart for them to put less interest in 3D and move on to better things. I may be biased in loving Sony's franchises, but I think they're overall presser was solid and showed that unlike Microsoft they just want to show games. Lastly I hope they do something big for the Vita, it needs as much help as it can get.

You guys.... you guys don't want Frobisher Says.

What's a Vita? You mean the Persona 4 Golden Machine? I have one of those.

@metalsnakezero said:

I'm still getting a Vita for Persona 4 Golden and for anything that comes out. Also Patrick, is this a fact that Vita isn't doing well or is it your option because you act like there isn't any games for it when in fact there is when you look.

Have you not seen the sales figures...?

What's this Sound Shapes, Trick? I don't think you've ever mentioned it before. Please, tell us more!

Sony decided to spend a huge chunk of their press conference on a peripheral for a peripheral that no one is buying or developing for. The wonderbook was only there because of the Pottermore connection. I really think that Sony needs to get some PR folks that understand games.

It's a shame because the Vita is a slick device and could be really awesome. Sad.

Then why they always derail from games and show lame shit???? Isnt E3 supposed to be about videogames??? It is that disonance that worries me with the big 3

It's true.. the press conference is for things that promoted right, have the potential for really good sales. The Vita doesn't have that potential, and Sony knows it - it only has the potential for becoming a somewhat accepted second fiddle for core gamers over a longer period of time. With the right push, and poor as it looked, Wonderbook could sell very well in December. I remember what it was like to see a dumb gadget like that as a kid. It could enjoy exactly the same trajectory as the Kinect.

I'm still getting a Vita for Persona 4 Golden and for anything that comes out. Also Patrick, is this a fact that Vita isn't doing well or is it your option because you act like there isn't any games for it when in fact there is when you look.

At least they're not stubbornly pushing 3D anymore, they're seemingly in touch enough to realize it's not the way to go.

I am glad to see 3D dying out in games, it is not the future and no one really cared about it.

It is damn tragic how determined and resolute Sony is to kill any and all hope that exists for the Vita. The way they market this platform cannot possibly be attributed to their usual incompetence. Less than one minute of one Vita game after half an hour of Wonderbooks is just malice.

Why would they need to push/show off 3D? Everyone knows what it is, and almost everyone has experienced it by now in movies and with home TVs.

It's like wondering "Why didn't Sony push the features and capabilities of the Vita?" Well it's because we all know what it can do and a lot of us have them already.

@PXAbstraction said:

As interesting as Wonderbook was, it's frustrating to see them cut back Vita content due to time constraints while spending way too long showcasing a glitchy story book that's not for gamers.

The problem is that E3 is no longer a show just for gamers. With how the games market has broadened into 'casual' games, or 'games' for non-gamers, E3 is the perfect place to show that off. The companies know that E3 is when all the non-gaming press will be looking, so it is the time when sony HAS to show off Wonderbook. Because if not, its going to be hard for them to draw the attention of the people who could possibly be interested in it.

I've always felt that E3 is when you show of NEW things, of course new games, and it would've been nice to see some Vita stuff, but ultimately new tech. I understand why Sony would want to say "hey look at this neat new idea we have" instead of going "hey, remember that handheld everyone took a dump on and no one bought? yeah we are making new games for that" because its a given, of course they are making new games for the Vita. I understand to some people it looks like Sony is completely abandoning the Vita, but its not the case.

Personally, I think the way they should've went is just said "with the vast number of PS1 and PS2 games available on PSN, the Playstation Vita is becoming the perfect way to play your playstation classics" . I think the strongest case for Vita is as a portable handheld music/video/internet machine that also plays games, including emulating old ps games. Partner with Spotify, get a ps3/psv spotify app and they have a really nice little handheld that does a lot.

I still don't get why, if they had to shorten their conference, they ended up talking about two games which were already fully featured in E3. It just doesn't make sense. It's like they think those two games are their wild cards or something. That boat combat from AC3 was so boring.

Glasses-free 3D is still pretty nifty, if not necessary for most games. And I still want to hear/see a list of these Vita games they have but didn't talk about in their press conference. Same with the 3DS. It just doesn't seem like either company puts much of a focus on it anymore (though I'm looking forward to Nintendo's supplemental press conference specifically for the 3DS later).

They couldn't just show off Gravity Rush or something? I'm pretty hyped for that.

Got my vita at launch and have yet to buy a game since then.

3D no longer new, and we lost hella money on TVs.

I expect Nintendo's upcoming 3DS event to also downplay 3D.

all they needed was like 2-3 min montage video of games for vita and most people would have been happy with it.

The wonderbook stuff just seemed not rdy to show, so that puzzled me. Beside the lack of Vita and Wonderbook Sony did a good job, but the lack of Vita seemed like a white flag saying "we give up" even if its not that in reality. Public perception is everything.

Good thing I didn't get that 3D TV last month when I upgraded then. I had the feeling that it was just a fad and I don't think I'd enjoy playing in 3D for an extended period of time.

That being said, of upcoming Vita games, I hope you guys does a quicklook or a review of Gravity Rush, because I'm really curious of your opinion on it. I already posted my opinion when the NDA was up and I was absolutely blown away by it. It's every bit the reason to own a Vita.

Yes , sony is dropping 3d more and more ... first with their own 3d display. I just had to redo my sony ps3 3d display in my store and remove the 3d functions and show only 2d content on it....

Announcing Sound Shapes for the PS3 and a bunch of ports sure doesn't make me feel good as a Vita owner. Truth of the matter is that there's just not that many Vita games coming out. Sony claimed it was over a hundred but I've yet to see any indication of such a number.

If they couldn't make on-stage demos or a more detailed look, they could've had a sizzle reel and said "here's all the cool stuff coming for Vita". Wouldn't have eaten that much time and considering Sony started late anyway, a minute and a half trailer wouldn't have made a dent

RIP 3D

(December 18, 2009 - December 18, 2009).

The best creators from the LBP community have been working on LBP Vita for a long time. It'll be the best game for the Vita but it won't be enough.

I don't hold a love affair with 3D, it's a nice welcomed addition to digital software. But, my primary gaming display method will remain 2D. I'm pretty sure the Vita has a long list of good releases coming out soon. I'll probably splurge on the Assassin's Creed III bundle.

I respect how candid he has been about it. Personally, as someone not very interested in the Vita, I thought Sony's conference was okay, although they had it easy after Microsoft's performance.

They probably should have just cut the Wonderbook time in half and showed a reel of Vita gameplay content. I'll admit, some of the Wonderbook stuff is cool, but it wasn't worth the time they spent with it.

@Mystyr_E: This is what surprised me the most, the lack of even a sizzle reel was very perplexing.

If I wasn't checking gaming sites like a madman throughout E3, and I based my ideas on what the companies were showing from their pressers (I know many who already do) I would have left without much knowledge at all on the Vita and it's future, brief glimpse of ACIII aside, what else was there to show me what it can / will do? Black Ops? (no gameplay or screens) All-Stars? (PS3 game, not much more than brief mentions about Vita version)

It's super weird, were they afraid it would eat up too much of Wonderbooks time? #e3mysteries

The Vita's a good device... but there are few vita-only games for it that interest me. I have one... I haven't touched it since I finished Golden Abyss a few months ago. I don't really relish the prospect of playing PS1 games on my Vita - I could already do most of that on my PSP, which I did end up getting a decent amount of games for.

I hope things improve for the Vita, I really do. It's a technically impressive piece of hardware. I hope it doesn't die. But there's no doubt that Sony committed almost exactly the same mistakes with the Vita as they did with the PSP. They thought that the hardware alone was enough to attract attention, and that the games would just naturally appear after release.

3d is over

The vita makes a great remote for your ps3

Interactive books are the future

@rjayb89: Hey don't forget- you can also download P3P from the store!