Sony needs big Vita announcements at E3

by Gaetano Prestia Featured 8 Comments 12 Votes 1286 Views 04/06/2012 Back to Articles

The reveal of Assassin's Creed III: Liberation for PlayStation Vita has given Sony a nice head start in the race for handheld supremacy at E3 2012.

The video game extravaganza, which kicks off on Wednesday our time in Los Angeles, will be Sony's first opportunity to showcase the handheld's software capabilities since it launched in Japan late last year and the rest of the world shortly after.

The AC announcement shows what sort of software the Vita can produce, although we're yet to see anything especially special from third-party developers for the handheld.

What Sony absolutely needs to do is showcase some actual gameplay, on the same platform as it would PS3 gameplay footage for an upcoming blockbuster.

Ultimately, Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty for Vita would probably send sales for the hardware rising even before such games hit store shelves.

But there also needs to be some recognisable first-party software. The likes of Infamous, Killzone, God of War, and perhaps even Gran Turismo, need to at the very least be announced, just to give the Vita faithful a small glimmer of hope.

Unfortunately, all we've really had so far are a few decent games of the Unit 13 and Rayman Origins variety, and the grossly disappointing Resistance: Burning Skies, which, while cool for about 10 minutes, is nothing more than a shallow first-person shooter: solid, but not especially memorable.

There's no question that Sony's focus should lay firmly on the PlayStation 3, especially with the proposed PlayStation Plus revision, The Last of Us and a handful of other first-party and third-party exclusives.

But E3 2012 poses a massive opportunity for the platform holder to really showcase what Vita is capable of, because at the moment it's just a lot of promise without much to show for it.

Can Vita follow the 3DS's gradual rise from nothing to something? The handheld's fate may be determined in the next few days.

What are you hoping to see for Vita from E3 2012?

By Gaetano Prestia - Bio

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Sony needs big Vita announcements at E3 Comments

Kudos: 35,617

Tyrus

Great article. Yeah I think the Vita's software line-up needs to kick it up a notch in the next few days. It's scarily echoing the 3DS's first few months, but I'm a little more skeptical about Sony catching up in overall software quality, judging from their performance with the PSP and PS Go or whatever the mini iteration was. Some gems but not enough to warrant an expensive hardware purchase.

04/06/2012

Senior Games Writer and Reviewer for MMGN and GamesFix. Twitter: @nathmisa.

Kudos: 45,782

iamtom

I'm going to buy a Vita in a few weeks. I want something to freaking look forward to. That new AC game is a start.

04/06/2012

/no1

Kudos: 73,689

Tsunamo

I really don't think Call of Duty for the Vita would push the hardwares sales more, it does best on consoles and it'll probably stay that way, I don't think too much of the fanbase would jump on board with a Vita CoD unless it was marketed really well.

Grand Theft Auto on the other hand. :P

Looking forward to seeing what Sony show for the Vita at E3.

04/06/2012

[Perth, W.A | MMGN]

Kudos: 64,308

Leasha

GTA on the Vita will certainly push sales.

04/06/2012

In your house stealing your stuff..

Kudos: 26,639

OllyEbbz

I've given up on the Vita to be honest for many reasons. CoD on the handheld won't push sales, no matter the controls i don't think FPS titles will ever find the same success found on consoles and PC. GTA on Vita will sell ok but again i don't see huge sales. Sony just lack original, handheld focused ip's. Everyone prefers console titles on console.

04/06/2012

Lives in the United Kingdom.

Kudos: 10,518

LMA0

PS Vita should have games where u don't put full focus on playing, something where players pick up n play and connect other players like Monster Hunter where people help, play and trade with other people or friends which was a big hit. A decent RPG/adventure game with good online community gameplay will attract bothe core and casual gamers. I think they have games like CoD and AC because of the name sells n attracts customers like Lemmings.

05/06/2012

Outer West Sydney aka The Ghetto

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OllyEbbz

Maybe Vita will get some game announcements next E3 :P

05/06/2012

Lives in the United Kingdom.

Kudos: 28,583

MicDaMan

COD would be fantastic for people who already own one. But don't see people buying one for this alone. I did however buy it for Uncharted and Resistance. And although I am enjoying Resistance the FPS is really suited to the small screen. Far off enemies are too small and apart from holding the screen 1 cm from your face really can cause strain on the eyes after extended periods of play.
GTA would be tops....

05/06/2012

If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.

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