Opinion: Reports of the Vita's death have been greatly exaggerated

Pocket Gamer's handheld editor Peter Willington believes the commonly held belief that the PS Vita is circling the drain is just a myth. Here's why he's still rooting for the handheld.

I've been writing about video games for about four and a half years now, and avidly consuming games criticism for well over a decade.

In that time, I've noticed that certain phrases about gaming hardware and software get bandied about quite a lot, regardless of their legitimacy. Before long, these self-perpetuating 'truths' about a product or range of products seem to get taken for granted by, well, everyone.

The latest, and most concentrated, of these 'assumed facts' to come to my attention are centred on the PlayStation Vita.

It was "dead on arrival", "there are no good games", and "the games that do come out are simply a reduced version of the home console experience" are three of the most commonly made allegations about the Vita.

Where there's at least an element of truth in all of the above statements, the same arguments can be made about the 3DS. And the iPhone. And the original Game Boy.

I'm beginning to question why it is, then, that the Vita has become the whipping boy of this portable gaming generation. First, though, let's debunk a few myths about the Vita by tackling some of its biggest criticisms head-on.

The first, and easiest to disprove, 'claim' is that it was dead from the moment it saw the light of day.

The Vita had an amazing launch line-up of games, including WipEout 2048, Everybody's Golf, and Super Stardust Delta.

All phenomenal must-have titles for the system. Worth buying a Vita for? Quite possibly.

But, wait, there's more...

Want hardcore 2D platformers with heart? You've got Rayman Origins and Escape Plan.

In need of a pixel-perfect, strategically complex fighter? Here are BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 to satiate your needs.

You're after an intensely challenging puzzler, are you? Try Lumines Electronic Symphony.

Oh, and you may as well throw in Uncharted: Golden Abyss while you're at it. And Virtua Tennis 4.

If this is not the very definition of a good start (in terms of software), I don't know what is. Games are only part of the story, of course - price and market awareness of the device are also key factors in determining a product's early success.

The latter of these wasn't an issue, for Sony made damn sure that consumers were well aware that its new handheld was available through its usual blend of billboard, TV, and viral advertising aimed at 20-somethings. Like this one by UK hip hop duo Rizzle Kicks.

Okay, the PS Vita's price was a sticking point at launch, and Sony didn't help matters by refusing to lower this barrier to entry.

The cost of the games themselves is another issue, and this one is impossible to deflect. The price of your average Vita game is too high. Full stop.

When you're competing with a price point of 69p / 99c for an (arguably) equally entertaining experience on an iPhone, £40 for a Vita title suddenly sounds like a lot of money. Again, though, to say or suggest that all Vita games are expensive is incorrect and misleading.

The powers that be over at the PlayStation Store hold plenty of software sales, and the PlayStation Plus subscription package regularly includes a bevy of portable gaming delights.

Then, there are the perennially cheap (or free) Vita titles, such as the ultra-competitive MotorStorm RC, WarioWare-esque Frobisher Says, and delightfully positive sun drop catch-'em-up SunFlowers.

It's not a lot, but it's a start.

Another point continually brought up by the Vita doom merchants is that there still aren't any good games for Sony's newest portable console.

Though the Vita games on the horizon may not be quite as strong as the launch line-up listed above, the Vita does continue to enjoy a steady stream of high-quality releases. Sure, there isn't a multitude of amazing games coming out each month for the system, but to suggest there are none is doing the device a disservice.

To demonstrate my point, here's a selection of post-launch window games that hit the Vita. All of them were awarded 7/10 or higher on Pocket Gamer, and all of were released on Vita in a single year:

[deep breath]

Resistance: Burning Skies, Gravity Rush, Mortal Kombat, Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention, Plants vs Zombies, Unit 13, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz, LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, Sound Shapes, MLB 12: The Show, Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Street Fighter X Tekken Vita, When Vikings Attack!, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Zen Pinball 2, Persona 4 Golden, Retro City Rampage, Flying Hamster HD, Knytt Underground, DJMAX Technika Tune, Big Sky Infinity, and Virtue's Last Reward.

That equates to about two strong releases for every month of the Vita's one-year life. That list doesn't include the entire PSP digital back catalogue, by the way, nor the PSone Classics available.

People who bemoan a lack of half-decent games for the Vita clearly haven't done their research, or are purposely misleading themselves.

The other negative statement concerning the Vita that often does the rounds relates to the console gaming experience it provides. The Vita sceptics argue that titles on Sony's powerhouse portable don't offer anything new in terms of gameplay. In contrast to many smartphone or tablet games.

So, why buy a Vita when you can have an iPhone or an Android device?

I love my iPhone. I have the 4S. It's with me absolutely everywhere I go, and I've enjoyed playing literally hundreds of the games available on the App Store. I talk about these experiences regularly on the Pocket Gamer podcast, and my game-playing world would be significantly smaller without that Apple blower in my pocket.

But, comparing an iOS or Android device to a Vita is like comparing an orange to an apple just because they can both be made into juice. Playing on a smartphone and playing on a dedicated handheld are different experiences: neither is necessarily better than the other. They simply offer different flavours for different occasions.

Over the Christmas holidays, I was travelling a lot on public transport for long stretches of time. In that type of scenario, I want the kind of expansive, deep, mechanically dense couple of hours of play a game like Rayman Origins on Vita affords me; not hundreds of attempts at besting a high score on Rayman Jungle Run.

The notion that the "home console experience in your hand" is in itself a bad thing has me stumped. It's not ideal - or even desirable - to have that kind of experience on a five-minute commute. For half an hour lying in bed before sleep, though, it's perfect.

Different types of dull situations lend themselves to different forms of entertainment, and the Vita provides a stellar middle ground between a marathon session on Halo 4 and an ultra-quick blast on N.O.V.A. 3.

Besides, the Vita does boast titles that offer a one-of-a-kind experience.

Though nowhere near the main thrust for the device, and not nearly as successful commercially or critically as the likes of Uncharted: Golden Abyss or Gravity Rush, games like the augmented reality social title t@g do exist. So does PulzAR. So does Monster Radar.

Writing this article has actually worked me up into a bit of a lather. It seems to me that the Vita is a top-notch device. And while it's not as crucial to your gaming life as the mobile in your pocket, it's a powerful piece of kit with a large and broad selection of games.

Maybe because Sony bodged the handling of the PlayStation Portable and the launch of the PlayStation 3, the goodwill that the Japanese tech giant engendered through the first two home PlayStation consoles has evaporated. Consumers are no longer convinced Sony will deliver solid games in the long run.

Or possibly it's lazy journalism. Apathetic and trigger-happy critics are perhaps unwilling to spend the time properly exploring what the Vita has to offer, preferring instead to regurgitate the same old lines about its doomed beginnings, its dearth of games, and its innovation-free software.

Whatever the reason, the Vita deserves better than that.