Back in October 2012, one year ago, I was getting increasingly frustrated at the difficulty of finding out which games were coming to the PlayStation Vita. There were quite a few lists out there, but they were pretty much all incomplete and many contained out of date information and passed off old rumors as fact.

So, I decided to make my own, and posted it here on the site. When I continued with the list, I choose to make a new post each month so that I could look back upon it and see what was announced and coming out at a later date.

And pulling it up now, It was a pretty nice month actually - 10 retail titles alongside 7 more downloadable ones. And most of it came out as expected, though Alien Spidy turned out to be a bogus announcement, while Warrior's Lair and the localization of Picotto Knights were silently cancelled. We are however still waiting for Tearaway, Final Fantasy X, Rainbow Moon, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee New N' Tasty, and Orc Attack. And then there's Snapshot, which was one of the earliest indie games showcased for the Vita. Originally it was due out fall 2012, but it kept getting delayed and there's been news since May. I guess I have to start thinking about moving it to the vaporware pile.

Moving on to this October it's not quite as full, but Batman: Arkham Origins Black gate paired with gritty action RPG Valhalla Knights 3, Angry Birds, LEGO, Worms and more indies and you've still got a nice lineup.

New announcement-wise, it was more indies and Kickstarter games in the west. After much mumbling about more people needing to buy Book of Memories, Wayforward finally committed to another Vita game with Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero, while Pavilion ventured forth with a "4th person" perspective. Hyper Light Drifter promises pixel art Diablo, James Pond 2 promises a HD remake, Furmins a iOS port, Mighty No. 9 not Mega Man, and Super Exploding Zoo an exploding zoo. There were also two Europe specific revalations, with Spanish animated movie franchise Tadeo Jones getting a tie-in game, and MXGP from Italian racing game factory Milestone.

Japan had a much, much meatier month due to Tokyo Game Show and Sony's pre-show event a bit earlier in the month, with close to 30 new games being announced. Highlights include a new Gravity Rush game, Phantasy Star Nova (an offiline companion to Sega's free to play MMO), Soul Sacrifice Delta, a new Deception game from Tecmo, Samurai Warriors 4, a Dangan Ronpa survival horror spin-off, Monster Hunter Frontier G, something La-Mulana related, five otome games from Idea Factory's Otomate label, a remake of Neptunia mk2 and more. They also introduced new hardware - the slimmer, lighter 2000 model of the Vita, and the rather surprising Vita TV, the Vita's guts stuffed in a little white box.

Anyway, that's it for this post. Now a year of updates is done, and rather than being dead, the Vita has a larger list of upcoming games than ever, not to mention exciting new hardware on the horizon. So look forward to next month, when we're graced by Media Molecule's delightful adventure Tearaway, and a new entry in a classic action RPG series with Ys: Memories of Celceta.

October

Retail

• Angry Birds Star Wars - What it says
• Valhalla Knights 3 - Sequel to the PSP Action RPGs
• LEGO Marvel Super Heroes - More LEGO
• Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - Metroidvania tie-in with the console game

Downloads (Tentative)

• Die!Die!Die! - "Medical defense" game
• Atomic Ninjas - Competitive multiplayer platformer
• Worms Revolution Extreme - Port of the game with extra content
• Malicious Rebirth - Enhanced port of the PSN game
• Angry Birds Trilogy - Console port of the three first games
• Proteus - Ambient exploration
• OMG HD Zombies! - Zombie themed chain reaction puzzle game
• Crazy Market - Free to play supermarket cashier game

Rest of the Year

Retail

• Ys: Memories of Celceta - Action RPG in the long running series. (December?, XSEED)
• Tearaway - Papercraft adventure from Media Molecule (November)
• Injustice: Gods Among Us - Ultimate edition with all the DLC (November)
• The Amazing Spider-Man - Port of the open world movie tie-in (November)
• Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God - Cutesy roguelike/mystery dungeon (December, Aksys)
• Ragnarok Odyssey Ace - Expanded version of the boss hunting game (Winter)

Downloads

• Luftrausers - Vlambeer does (Nazi) planes?
• Snapshot - Platform puzzler
• Rainbow Moon - Turn-based strategy RPG
• Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee - HD remaster of the Xbox game
• Putty Squad - Remake of the Amiga platformer
• Bit.Trip Runner 2 - Indie runner
• Starlight Inception - Kickstarter funded space combat sim
• Cloudberry Kingdom - Hard as nails plaformer
• Fieldrunners 2 - The tower defense favorite returns to PlayStation platforms
• ZRun - Zombie apocalypse endless runner
• Forgotten Memories - Survival horror set in an abandoned psych hospital
• James Pond 2: Robocod - Remake by System 3
• Gunslugs - Retro 2D action game
• Furmins - Puzzle game from Housemarqe
• CastleStorm - Sidescrolling action tower defense game (November)
• Flower - Port of the PS3 exclusive (November)
• Flow - Port of PS3 exclusive (November)
• The Wolf Among Us - Telltale's latest adventure game

Next year?

Retail releases

• Final Fantasy X HD
• Final Fantasy X-2 HD
• Toukiden: The Age of Demons - Omega Force does Monster Hunter (Tecmo Koei, Q1 2014)
• God of War Collection - Port of the two first games
• Invizimals: The Alliance - The Invizimals return for the Vita (2014)
• Demon Gaze - 1st person party based dungeon crawler RPG (2014, NISA)
• Trigger Happy Havoc Dangan Ronpa - Enhanced port of the PSP murder mystery game (NISA)
• The LEGO Movie Videogame - What it says.
• PlayStation Vita Pets - Befriend a virtual dog and go on adventures with him/her
• Borderlands 2 - Portable version of the loot driven FPS
• Deception IV: Blood Ties - New game in Tecmo Koei's trap focused Deception series
• Hyperdimension Neptunia PP - Neptunia idol management spin-off

Downloads

• Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee New N' Tasty - HD remake of the PS1 game
• Orc Attack - 4 player co-op character action game
• Two Brothers - Action adventure game with a Game Boy aesthetic
• The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth - I don't care what anyone says, it's a Zelda clone not a roguelike :P
• Deathmatch Village - 3v3 free to play MOBA with PS3 cross-play
• Frozen Synapse: Tactics - Console remake of the indie turn-based strategy title
• Hungry Giraffe - Native Vita version of the Minis title
• Metrico - Vita exclusive from indie studio Digital Dreams
• Terraria - Minecraftvania?
• TxK - New Vita exclusive Tempest game from Llamasoft
• 1001 Spikes - Retro platformer
• Counterspy - Stylish cold war side-scroller inspired by Flashback
• Doki-Doki Universe - Open ended story about a robot exploring the galaxy
• Hohokum - 2D sandbox snake thing
• C-Wars - Retro RTS thing
• Olliolli - 2D Tony Hawk. Vita exclusive.
• A.N.N.E. - Retro metroidvania thing
• DYING: Sinner Escape - Horror/puzzle game from the creators of Saw
• The Next Death Ray Manta - New version of the indie dual stick shooter
• Stick It to the Man! - Humorous platforming adventure
• Destiny of Spirits - Free to play spirit battle game
• Dead Nation - Port of the dual stick shooter
• Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z - Action brawler. 4 player co-op. (January)
• Soul Saga - JRPG-inspired Kickstarter funded game
• Mutant Mudds - Indie platformer
• Liege - Kickstarter funded turn-based, tactical RPG.
• Rainbow Skies - Successor to the SRPG Rainbow Moon
• Duke Nukem 3D - Port of the classic FPS
• VVVVVV - Port of the indie platformer
• Hotline Miami 2 - Sequel to the psychedelic murder spree simulator
• Heroes of Loot - Randomly generated Gauntlet thing
• The Chaos Engine - Port of the Amiga classic
• Fez - Perspective shifting indie platfomer/cryptography sim
• Velocity 2X - Sequel to the fast paced shoot 'em up
• Murasaki Baby - Creepy platforming adventure
• Big Fest - Raise your own band?
• Rogue Legacy - Randomized indie platformer with comprehensive upgrade system
• Volume - Stealth game from Tomas Was Alone creator
• Nuclear Throne - Procedurally generated action game from Vlambeer
• Helldivers - Co-op scifi twin stick shooter from the Magicka devs
• Starbound - Scifi 2D sandbox with optional plot
• Legend of Raven - 2D fighting game from former King of Fighters devs
• Minecraft - You may have heard of it
• Age of Zombies - Probably and upgraded version of the minis title
• A-Men 2 - Sequel to the launch multi-character puzzle game
• Assault Android Cactus - Indie twin-stick arena shooter
• Joe Danger - Joe goes portable
• Joe Danger 2: The Movie - Joe continues being portable
• Samurai Gunn - 2D deathmatch thing
• Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse - Fifth installment in the classic point and click adventure series
• Kick & Fennick - Charming platforming adventure about a boy, a robot, and giant gun
• Supermagical - Bust-a-Move with RPG stuff in it
• Eufloria HD - Port of the RTS thing
• Switch Galaxy Ultra - Expanded version of the mobile scifi racer
• Gravity Crash Ultra - Just Add Water's 2D shooter returns
• Avoid Droid - Mobile 2D action game. Avoid the droid.
• Frutorious - Mobile slingshot platformer
• Final Horizon - RTS/tower defense hybrid
• Flame Over - Fast paced fire fighting game with random levels
• Table Top Racing - Minature kart racer
• Lemmings Touch - New game in the Lemmings franchise
• Dustforce - Indie platformer abaout ninja janitors...?
• Road Not Taken - Procedurally generated puzzle game
• Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero - New game in Wayforward's series of platformers
• Pavilion - Surreal "4th person" adventure
• Hyper Light Drifter - 2D action RPG
• Super Exploding Zoo - Action puzzle game from Honeyslug
• Mighty No. 9 - Completly not Mega Man game from Keiji Inafune
• Surge Deluxe - Enhanced version of Futurlab's block matching game

Unconfirmed/Vaporware

• Zero Escape 3 - Development has started, but patforms have yet to be annouced
• Sly Cooper HD Collection - ESRB rating
• Yakuza game
• Still Time - Minimalist indie puzzle platformer
• New Ys game

Europe

(Titles out in Europe with no American release announced.)

• Travel Bug - Social pet raising sim
• t@g - Augmented reality game for 3G Vitas
• Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge
• International Snooker 2012 - Well, it's Snooker
• MotoGP13 - Motorcycle racing
• Mahjong Royal Towers - Mahjong solitaire
• WRC 4 - Rallycross from Milestone (October)
• Football Manager 2014 Classic - You can't even escape the craze on the toilet now!
• Sparkle - Classic bubble popping game
• Tadeo Jones - Sidescrolling action-adventure
• MXGP - Motocross Grand Prix
• Doodle Devil - Puzzle game

Japan

(Incomplete list of Japanese titles that have yet to be announced for western release)

Upcoming

• God Eater 2 - Fast paced scifi take on Monster Hunter. (November)
• Over My Dead Body 2 - Dungeon crawler set in ancient Japan (Summer)
• Eiyuu*Senki - Turn based strategy game - conquer the world, one anime girl at a time
• Gundam Breaker - 3rd person action game based on the Gundam franchise (October)
• J-Stars Victory Vs - Shonen Jump crossover game
• Chou Megami Shinkou Noire Gekishin Black Heart - Neptunia spin-off staring Noire
• Choji Jigen Game Neptune Re;Birth1 - Remake of the first Neptunia game (October)
• Sakatsuku: Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! - New entry in the soccer RPG series from SEGA (October)
• Corpse Party: Blood Drive - Sequel to CP: Book of Shadows
• Freedom Wars - Multiplayer action game from Japan Studio
• Super Heroine Chronicle - Turn-based anime heroine cross-over extravaganza
• Exstetra - Fantasy RPG from FuRyu (November)
• Dragon's Dogma Quest - F2P 2D spin-off from Capcom's action RPG
• Love Live! School Idol Paradise - Rhythm game based on the franchise
• Rozen Maiden: Wechseln Sie Welt ab - Visual novel based on the manga/anime
• Chronos Materia - New RPG from Gust
• Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2013 - More cutesy Japanese baseball (October)
• Rewrite - Visual novel by Key
• Chou no Doku Hana no Kusari - Otome visual novel by Aromarie
• Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd - Another rhythm game staring the popular vocaloid
• Eiyuu Densetsu: Ao no Kiseki Evolution - Enhanced port of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Blue
• Criminal Girls Invitation - Whip a set of female delinquents into capable RPG warriors. Literally.
• Disgaea 4: Return - Port of Disgaea 4
• Samurai Warriors 2 HD Version - Includes Xtreme Legends and/or Empires. (October)
• Uta Kumi 575 - Rhythm game from Sega (2014)
• Robotics;Notes - Visual novel from Nitroplus
• Getsuei Gakuen Kou - Visual novel from Arc System Works (October)
• Slotter Mania V: Gakuen Mokushiroku Highschool of the Dead - Anime themed pachislot game (October)
• Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram - Side stories to the popular visual novel (Winter)
• New Atelier Rorona - Full remake of Gust's first game in the Arland trilogy. (November)
• Infinite Stratos 2: Ignition Hearts - Game based on the Infinite Stratos franchise (Winter)
• Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds - Side-scrolling beat 'em up from 5pb.
• Ro-Kyu-Bu! Naisho no Shutter Chance - Game based on the novels/anime
• White Album 2 - Visual novel from Leaf (November)
• Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends - Full game with the expansion
• To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers - Vita version of the fanservice heavy dungeon crawler RPG
• Wonder Flick - Free to play RPG from Level 5
• Akiba's Trip 2 - Explore Akibahara and tear random people's clothes off in case they're demons
• Shin Gundam Musou - Dynasty Warriors Gundam returns
• Mato Kurenai Yugekitai - "Romance adventure" RPG from Toybox
• Phantasy Star Nova - New action RPG from tri-Ace
• Soul Sacrifice Delta - Expansion of the original game
• Samurai Warriors 4 - More Tecmo Koei hack and slash
• Natural Doctrine - SRPG from Kadokawa
• Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode - Third person action spin-off. Looks survival horror-ish.
• Dangan Ronpa 3 - Proper sequel it would seem
• Kan Colle Kai - WWII warships as anime girls
• Hakuoki - Port of the classic tale of girl meets imperial death squad
• Hakuoki SSL: Sweet School Life - Reimagines Hakuoki in a modern high school setting
• Amnesia - Otome game
• Amnesia World - Sequel to Amnesia
• Diabolik Lovers - More otome
• Puyo Puyo Tetris - What it says
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Battle Pentagram - Action game based on the anime
• Damascus Gear: Tokyo Shisen - Mech combat game
• Fantasy Hero: Unsigned Legacy - Action RPG
• Magical Beat - Block matching rhythm game
• Kud Wafter - Visual novel by Key
• '&': Sora no Mukou de Sakimasu you ni - Visual novel
• Sengoku Hime 4 - Yet another strategy game with anime girls
• Badman G - Free to play version of What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?
• Monster Hunter Frontier G - Subscription MMO based on Monster Hunter
• Gravity Rush 2 - Kat is back!
• La-Mulana - Either a port or the new game or both?
• Airship Q - Terraria inspired Japanese indie
• Neptunia Re;Birth 2 - Remake of Neptunia mk2
• Tokyo Shin Seiroku: Operation Abyss - Dungeon crawler RPG related to Labyrinth Cross Blood
• Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment - Fulfilling all your fake MMO needs
• Golden Time: Vivid Memories - Based on the novels/anime
• Amagami - Dating sim

Retail (released)

• Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f - Rhythm game with the popular vocaloid.
• Time Travelers - ...Level 5 does Heavy Rain?
• Little Battlers eXperience W - Minature mech battle action RPG thing from Level 5
• Lord of Apocalypse - Multiplayer focused action RPG
• Tales of Innocence R - Remake of the DS game.
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Battle Destiny - 3rd person action game
• Moe Moe Daisensou - SRPG with weaponized anime girls.
• Ciel no Surge - Visual novel/dating sim/DLC machine from Gust
• Little Busters! - Visual novel
• The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki Evolution - Enhanced port of the PSP RPG
• Nobunaga's Ambition: Tendou - Port of the PS3 strategy game.
• Fate/stay night Realta Nua - Visual novel.
• Special Reporting Division - Adventure / Visual novel from NIS
• Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru: 11ninme no Suspect - Murder mystery visual novel from Chunsoft
• Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2012 - Japanese baseball
• Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2012 - Cutesy Japanese baseball
• Monster Monpiece - Card battle game with boobs.
• Sengoku Hime 3 - Historical strategy game with anime girls
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms 12 - Historical strategy game
• Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus - Dynasty Warriors + boobs + destructible clothes.
• Phantasy Star Online 2
• Sakura-so no Pet na Kanojo - Visual novel
• Tales of Hearts R - Remake of the DS game.
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 - Musou game based on the popular franchise
• Tales of Hearts R Infinte Evolve - Dowloadable 2D companion to Tales of Hearts R
• Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2013 - More Japanese baseball
• Steins;Gate - Visual Novel
• PhotoKano Kiss - Dating sim with photography
• Labyrinth Cross Blood Infinity - Port of the PC/360 scifi dungeon crawler RPG
• Kajiri Kamui Kagura Akebono no Hikari - Visual novel from light
• Sangoku Rensenki: Otome no Heihou! - The Vita's first otome game
• Haiyore! Nyaruko-san - Feel your sanity slip away as 5pb brings Vitas the most moé incarnation of the Cthulhu Mythos yet!
• Memories Off 6 Complete - Compilation of the two Memories Off 6 visual novels
• Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku - Visual novel
• Winning Post 7 2013 - Horse racing simulator
• Sangoku Hime 2 - Strategy game with anime girls
• XBlaze Code: Embryo - Visual novel
• Mind 0 - Dungeon crawler RPG with a high school setting
• Grisaia no Kajitsu - Visual novel from Front Wing
• Conception II - Sequel to the PSP RPG
• Super Robot Taisen: Masou Kishin Pride of Justice - More Super Robot Wars
• Hotch Kiss - Visual novel by GIGA
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Flash - Latest game in the Legend of Heroes series
• Yahari Game Demo Ore no Seishun Rabu Kome wa Machigatteiru. - Light novel based game.
• Furuiro Meikyuu Rondo - Visual novel by Yatagarasu
• Rui wa Tomo o Yobu - Visual novel by Akatsuki Works
• Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate - Even more enhanced version of the musou crossover game

Download (released)

• Samurai & Dragons - F2P fantasy MMORPG with Sega tie-ins
• Guardian Hearts Online - 2D F2P MMORPG
• Assault Gunners - Simple mech shooter
• Spelunker Collection - Compilation of the classic arcade games
• Kaku-San-Sei Million Arthur - F2P card battle game from Square-Enix
• Pawapuro Stadium - F2P cutesy baseball card game
• Miku Miku Hockey - Play AR air hockey with Hatsune Miku