PlayStation Vita skips 2011 for US and Europe

PALGN News | Life on hold.

Despite previous reports that Sony's upcoming portable gaming system and successor to the PlayStation Portable, the PlayStation Vita, would be launching throughout most of the world in time for Christmas this year, Sony has announced that the English speaking world will have to be a little more patient.

The report comes from MSN Money, stating that both Europe and the United States, and presumably Australia, will have the PlayStation Vita available for purchase sometime in early 2012. Importers eager to get their hands on the Sony branded platform will still be able to play the device in 2011, as the Vita is confirmed to be launching later this year in Japan.

Sony has not given any specific reason for the launch delay.

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22 Comments

G3ck0

1 year ago

Great news for Nintendo

Smurf80

1 year ago

why? i doubt people hanging out for this are suddenly going to change their mind and pick up a 3ds because its out.....

renegadesx

1 year ago

I was expecting it for Europe and Australia as Sony has always done that. The US delay obviously means they expect it to do big numbers in Japan and want to be able to keep up with demand.

G3ck0

1 year ago

Smurf80 wrote

why? i doubt people hanging out for this are suddenly going to change their mind and pick up a 3ds because its out.....

Kids and christmas. I bet parents who want to buy some kind of portable gaming console will have to buy the 3DS instead, therefore it's an extra sale. I'm sure gamers who are waiting for the Vita won't buy the 3DS instead, but I'm sure Nintendo will get a few more sales.

jesuslol

1 year ago

Hope Sony continues the tradition of not having region locking on the device or games.

IISpacebreakII

1 year ago

Silly Sony, western markets and eastern are different, yes. But your giving Nintendo more time to put out a solid line-up of games in the western market. And there already a few months up.

ronnycook

1 year ago

There were some rumours the platform would not launch until 2012 due to production problems from the earthquake. Looks like they weren't entirely wrong.

Darn Japanese, can't even launch a new gaming platform just because a piddling magnitude 9 earthquake killed thousands of people and levelled a chunk of their east coast...

Assuming that the problem really is with production delays, it makes sense to have a solid base in one location rather than a scattering globally.

Jarrod

1 year ago

Its still up in the air how significant the 3DS sales boost will be from the price cut, Super Mario Bros. 3D and Mario Kart 7. It might not play out as well as Nintendo hopes.

But Sony missing the holiday season in the West is quite a blunder, and disappointing if it was unavoidable. They could have made quite a splash for Christmas, especially with Uncharted.

I'm guess a mix of the earthquake and software coming along slower than expected.

bleach1st

1 year ago

jesuslol wrote

Hope Sony continues the tradition of not having region locking on the device or games.

I cannot plus this enough. If it has region locking I will cry till the next next generation of consoles arrive

ThunderCurls

1 year ago

IISpacebreakII wrote

But your giving Nintendo more time to put out a solid line-up of games in the western market.

Look, it's ok...you can say it.

Zelda and Mario games, times a BILLION FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER...

realitybites

1 year ago

I agree Jarrod missing holiday season is not particular good. May be unavoidable due to units available.

Nintendo may get more sales be hard to tell I think Nintendo's problems are more to do with software, lack of differentiation from DSi and external forces (competition from Android and Apple). Mario Kart will most likely appeal to the casual audience (how many variants of mario kart can you play?) but Mario Bros. won't.

Vita is a different market segment appeals to a different audience.

Trex0321

1 year ago

i wouldnt accept a 3ds from my dying grandmothers cold hands.

Benza

1 year ago

I'm pretty sure the Vita has allready been confirmed region free

sobriquet835

1 year ago

It still looks preferable to 3DS until we got solid dates on more than just more Mario Kart, more Mario platforming, more zelda etc. Honestly, unless 3DS finally gets some games between now and, say, March, this won't make much difference.

Benza

1 year ago

honestly I've gotta wonder how many people of the market that Vita is aiming at will really give a shit about a couple of Mario games?

The Truth

1 year ago

If only Nintendo would pull their fingers out and get some good games happening. I could use a new portable.

Sony should apologise by dropping some prices for DD games, My go could use some love from games not twice the retail price.

matrix-cat

1 year ago

I already pre-ordered my Vita from Amazon (about $259 Australian with the fastest shipping option), but I'm wondering whether I reeeeeaaally wanted one or if I was just caught up in the E3 hype. I might end up cancelling and buying one after a couple of price drops because I love Uncharted a lot but maybe not that much.

Benza

1 year ago

It's not actually being developed by the main uncharted team though is it Matrix? I reckon you'd probably be better off to wait and see if it's any good first.

Jarrod

1 year ago

realitybites wrote

Mario Kart will most likely appeal to the casual audience (how many variants of mario kart can you play?) but Mario Bros. won't.

This will be the seventh variation of Mario Kart, and the franchise is still among the best selling franchises ever, with no signs of slumping. Super Mario Bros. is up there too, and Nintendo has done a pretty solid job of making sure both appeal to the casual and 'hardcore' gaming audiences.

Apart from Pokemon, Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart are probably Nintendo's strongest IPs, commercially and critically, and among the strongest franchises in the entire industry. If anything is going to push Nintendo systems, its those (and Pokemon).

There's still a software issue with the system though, and Nintendo completely screwed themselves coming out of the gate, so it will be interesting to see just how much slack these two big games, the price cut, and the holiday season will pick up.

What interests me most about the whole 3DS Vs. Vita thing is that underwhelming 3DS sales dont guaranty Vita success. Its quite possible both will underwhelm, which would point to the entire portable market having changed.

For the worse, mind you.

matrix-cat

1 year ago

Benza wrote

It's not actually being developed by the main uncharted team though is it Matrix? I reckon you'd probably be better off to wait and see if it's any good first.

That's it exactly. If it was a Naughty Dog joint I'd be all over it, but Uncharted on the Vita is being handled by Sony Bend. They've got an impressive track record of PSP-ising console franchises to some critical acclaim, Syphon Filter and Resistance, but I'm not personally familiar with their work so I'm probably best off swallowing my giddiness and waiting to see.

That's what the rational part of my mind says, but that's rarely the part that operates my wallet

LeonJ

1 year ago

I tend to agree. I think the bad pick of of the 3DS bodes very badly for the Vita. I mean, it's just the PSP again, I would have thought Sony would have learnt that there isn't a great market for 'console' experience titles on the go. If they are going to charge $100 for a Vita game, then I wonder who will be buying them.

admeister

1 year ago

Wait, who said they'd be charging $100 for them? I don't think that the Vita is just another PSP. It looks pretty much the same, but it has major new features. Touch screen on the front, touch pad on the back, sixaxis motion controls. It actually has more a lot more new features than the 3DS does.

I think Sony's approach is quite solid, at least in theory. All the functionality of the 3DS, plus a touch pad and better graphics. That's something you certainly couldn't say about the DS vs PSP situation. Unless you really love the 3D effect, you can't deny that the Vita is a superior machine. The media playing capabilities are just a bonus.
The 3DS is just the DS again, but with a 3D mode. I think that fact, combined with the lack of games, is the reason why the 3DS has stalled so badly. Don't get me wrong though, I like my 3DS, but you can't help but think that Nintendo could have done so much more with it.

When you mention "console experience" titles, do you refer to games that are ports of existing games? If so, the 3DS is equally guilty. When I think about it though, what is a "console experience" game? It's a pretty vague term.

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