The PlayStation Vita is a technological breakthrough that does not seem to be being put to good use. I have owned my system for a year now, and while a few titles have come out, mostly the system remains lacking. Fans have been wondering when this system would finally get some attention, and the outlook for 2013 looks bleak as well. With rumors today of a patent being leaked for a next-gen 4G Vita, why hasn't the current one gotten any attention?
Two of the bigger announcement late in 2012 figured to help the system, but ultimately hasn't. The use of a free Vita title when you buy the PS3 version of the title was meant to help push the system. However, the only real title to use this has been PlayStation All-Stars, which hasn't sold that well. I believe a lot of people bought both versions of The Show 12 last year to do this, but it doesn't seem like the idea of the free Vita version will happen with The Show 13. The other big addition was PlayStation Plus and an instant game collection that features Uncharted and Gravity Rush, among others. But what both of these ideas trickle down to might be something hidden underneath the covers. That something remains the requirement of expensive, proprietary memory cards. Sony must not be selling enough of these. The fact that they are willing to take a loss on the PS3-Vita edition bundle and the free titles for Plus (which you still pay to play monthly) means they are trying to make money off the memory cards. If you bought a 4GB card for $20, there's not much that you can fill up on there. Yah, you can switch back and forth while you're at home, but not many people want to do that. Then you think you can buy a 32 GB card. Well, those are around $80, which is as much as everything you would probably want on Plus.
In addition, much has not been planned for release on the system this year. The Assassin's Creed bundle and game was not successful, and the version of Call of Duty on the game was complete trash. The biggest things lined up are Killzone: Mercenary, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Dead or Alive 5 Plus, and MLB The Show 13. Hopefully, Killzone will be an excellent experience and won't suffer what Call of Duty did. Tearaway was a unique game shown at E3 last year, and nothing new has really come up about it. There's also a Sly Cooper game due soon, but are any of these titles really going to sell this system? It's highly unlikely.
The biggest thing the Vita is being used for is the PS1 games. They look excellent on this screen, and you can pack a good amount into a 4GB memory card, depending on what you're playing. However, not all the games are available (Chrono Cross?). There either needs to be a new, addictive IP, a Gran Turismo game, or Monster Hunter to start selling this system. Hopefully, Sony will show some support at E3, and not by announcing a new 4G model.
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