What Sony's getting wrong.

The PlayStation Vita, whilst been a great piece of hardware, undeniably lacks in retail games, or in some people's opinions, it has no games at all. Which isn't true, but the problem is, and it's probably the biggest problem for the marketing team behind PSVita (If there is one) is how do you sell a system which has very little games?. And the answer is; You don't, or rather, can't.

Sony had estimated 10 million units to be sold in it's first year, but estimates show it's probably only a little over 3 million units, in almost a year and a half. A crippling amount in retrospect to the estimate, but what is the problem? At E3 Jack Tretton reported that PSVita owners in the US, on average have bought more than 10 games each, from the online store, and Vita owners are showing their appreciation for digital downloads. (He goes onto saying 60% of all Vita purchases are through the PSN - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XATPQBfugT8 )

There are many games available through the PSN, you just have to be able to access the PlayStation Network to know about them, which is doable with a PSVita, a PS3 or having a PSN account and logging into the store online. However, without the knowledge or having accessibility of these devices or service, there is no way to know what might be available for the PSVita's digital library. The marketing for PSVita is pretty poor, I don't even remember seeing an advert on TV for the Vita, maybe pre-launch and within the early launch months they did. But I would remember if I saw a PSVita advert on TV because it's just so rare.

This device just isn't been marketed, the best games are available on the digital store and you can only know about them if you have access to the store by the fore-mentioned methods, people who go into a game store get laughed at when they buy or inquire about the device. (As happened to my friends). The only respect is the few website's that continue to provide enthusiastic coverage about the Vita, including people on YouTube.

PlayStation Plus has been successful on Vita, offering gamers plenty to dig their teeth into, especially things they may never have picked up if they had to play for it. One of the games that impressed me was Tales from outer space; Mutant blobs attack! I would probably have overlooked this game, but it was offered a few months before I purchased my Vita, and checking my purchase history for compatible software, I saw that game and loved it, needless to say the makers, DrinkBox Studio wen't onto greater success with Guacamelee. Playstation Plus offered my PSVita games, when I didn't have one, I wanted a PSVita, and it really helped me decide I would pick one up and have something to play, I wonder if this has been the case for anyone else?

But as far as retail games go, it's no lie that the system is a little dry, and Sony aren't seeming to show that they care about it, when asked they generally brush it off by saying "It's going to be o.k, we're confident." or "Please be excited for Gamescom".

Which appears to have been retracted a little, if not totally by a Gamescom competition run on the Official Sony PlayStation Facebook page, where you can win a trip to Gamescom. The description reads;

"A host of next generation titles were unveiled at the PlayStation Meeting 2013 and E3 2013. At gamescom in August 2013 the focus will be on PS4 and its games lineup once again."

So does this mean they are disregarding the PSVita again? Sure they have a new console release, and showing the games is a good thing, but the consoles is going to sell either way, show SOME games, but don't undersell the PlayStation Vita even more. The people who are actually faithful enough to be PlayStation fans, and buy this handheld are the people who give you the benefit of the doubt, and are happy when they see PlayStation games, but there is a lack of them, and if they feel neglected, they're the ones who will leave, they might come back but you can't fix a broken heart so easily.
  Whether or not we see new AAA games, first-party and third-party for the Vita at Gamescom is unknown, but we can be optimistic, and maybe we will get some surprises and redeeming software.

Stay tuned for my guide to the digital store and the games you can play on Vita through the Summer, that won't break the bank. (especially since I have no money)