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**The PS Vita: A Misunderstood Console?**

This is every PS Vita ever made. Since its launch in 2011, the PlayStation Vita had tons of potential. But nowadays, it's known as one of the biggest mistakes that PlayStation ever made. But I gotta ask, was the PS Vita actually a failure?

**The PSP Legacy**

It's no secret that I loved the PSP. As Sony's first foray into the handheld market, it was the underdog that dared to challenge Nintendo's iron grip on portable gaming, with the Game Boy and later the DS. While it didn't quite dethrone the handheld king, the PSP carved out its own passionate fan base and left a real mark as the console for hardcore gamers.

**The Rise of Smartphones**

However, a looming threat was already on the horizon. By 2008, the world was evolving quickly. Apple had just released the first iPhone and later the App Store, and Google were preparing to launch Android, both of which were a new and arguably more convenient way of playing on-the-go without needing a dedicated handheld.

**The Birth of the PS Vita**

So when it came time to develop the sequel to the beloved PSP, the PlayStation team had to make a crucial decision. Would they build a true successor, or should they lean into something entirely new to compete with the upcoming smartphones? In the end, they chose to hedge their bets and do both.

**The Sony Xperia Play**

The Sony Xperia Play, also known as the PlayStation Phone, brought an almost PSP-Go-like form factor with slide-out physical controls paired with a full-fledged Android phone. It ran PS1 games along with some exclusive titles, like bringing Minecraft mobile for the first time. Funny, I feel like that game's got some potential.

**A Glimpse into the Past**

You know, here's the thing – I did a video on the Xperia Play when it came out, and I remember trying Minecraft on mobile, like, \ [insert context].

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- This is every PS Vita ever made.Since its launch in 2011,the PlayStation Vitahad tons of potential.But nowadays, it's known asone of the biggest mistakesthat PlayStation ever made.But I gotta ask, was thePS Vita actually a failure?It's no secret that I loved the PSP.As Sony's first forayinto the handheld market,it was the underdogthat dared to challengeNintendo's iron grip on portable gaming,with the Game Boy and later the DS.While it didn't quitedethrone the handheld king,the PSP carved out itsown passionate fan baseand left a real mark as theconsole for hardcore gamers.However, a looming threatwas already on the horizon.By 2008, the world was evolving quickly.Apple had just released the first iPhoneand later the App Store,and Google were preparingto launch Android,both of which were a newand arguably more convenientway of playing on the gowithout needing a dedicated handheld.So when it came time to developthe sequel to the beloved PSP,the PlayStation team hadto make a crucial decision.Would they build a true successor,or should they lean intosomething entirely newto compete with the upcoming smartphones?In the end, they chose tohedge their bets and do both.The Sony Xperia Play, akathe PlayStation Phone,brought an almost PSP-Go-like form factorwith slide-out physical controlspaired with a full-fledged Android phone.It ran PS1 games alongwith some exclusive titles,like bringing Minecraft tomobile for the first time.Funny, I feel like thatgame's got some potential.You know, here's the thing,I did a video on the XperiaPlay when it came out,and I remember trying Minecraft on mobile,like, "Wow, you canplay this Minecraft game"on an Android phone?"Whoa, that's crazy."What'll technology bring next?"Minecraft still looks the same, actually.I don't think...It's the same.Meanwhile, the core PlayStationteam stayed the courseto build the true successor to the PSP.Excitement for the next generationwas quickly reaching a fever pitch.After years of speculation,in January of 2011,Sony was finally ready to show their hand.At a press conference in Tokyo,then-CEO Kaz Harai took the stageto unveil what they were callingthe Next Generation Portable, or NGP.The reveal was met with excitementand a fair bit of skepticism.Sony was promising a devicethat could delivernear-PS3-quality graphicsin the palm of your hand,a claim that seemed alittle too good to be true.- But they're able to really enjoythat particular consolefor a very long time.- That's definitely true,just maybe not the way he thought.To underscore just how seriousthey were about the NGP,Sony brought in some serious talentto spearhead its development, Mark Cerny.What you might know him todayas the lead architect behindthe PlayStation 4 and 5,Cerny is one of the godfathersof the gaming industry.He cut his teeth at Atari and Sega,breathed life into "CrashBandicoot" and Naughty Dog,and helped shape franchisessuch as "Ratchet and Clank,"as well as "Jak and Daxter."At the heart of the NGP,which of course was basically identicalto the final shipping PS Vita,was a custom-designed system-on-a-chipthat pushed the boundariesof mobile gaming hardware at the time.With a quad-core ARM-basedCPU and beefy PowerVR GPU,there was a lot of power on tap.Memory was also a strongpoint for the Vita.It boasted 512 megabytes of RAMand an additional 128 megabytes of VRAM,which was a massive upgrade overthe PSP's mere 32 megabytes.The centerpiece of the Vita's hardwarewas its stunning five-inch OLED display.With a resolution of 960 by 544,it delivered vibrantcolors and deep blacksthat really made games popand absolutely embarrassed themediocre display on the 3DS.It was also a capacitive touchscreen,meaning no need for a stylus,and in a unique twist,the Vita also featured a rear touchpad,which was neat if not veryoften used by most games.For connectivity, the Vitaincluded Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,and uniquely optional full 3G cellular.It won't be a surprise to learnthat this was not acommonly chosen option,and it got phased out of theVita lineup pretty quickly.Then there were thequality of life upgrades,such as dual front and rear facing camerasand dual analog sticks thatfinally, finally had arrived.Honestly, it's probablythe biggest single upgradefor the PSP in my opinion,especially when itcomes to shooting games.Trying to use the little tiny PSP nubbinand nothing else, it's not fun.I mean, technically you use the D-pad,but like, no, that was not it.Compared to its main competitor, the 3DS,the Vita was packingsome serious firepower.In raw performance, it was estimated to beabout two to three timesmore powerful than the 3DS,and that was with Sony being conservative.Engineers could havepushed it much farther,but they were worried about two things,heat and battery life.Quote, "Well, it's not goingto run at two gigahertz"like a PS3, because thebattery would last five minutes"and would probably setfire to your pants,"according to an engineer who probablygot in trouble for saying that.But it was true.Even with this more conservative route,the Vita was still head and shouldersahead of the competition.To demonstrate the console's capabilities,Sony showcased a portable versionof their hit franchise, Uncharted.The game, later titledUncharted Golden Abyss,looked remarkably closeto its PS3 counterparts.It was a clear statement."Good luck running a PS3 quality game"on your wimpy smartphone."Angry Birds?How about angry that you ain'tgot that Vita energy, boy?This is the Vita sign, right?- No gang signs, please.- No, all right.No accents, no gang signs.Alex, can I have any fun ever?Geez.However, the reveal wasn'twithout its concerns.The impressive techspecs led many to worryabout the potential price pointand, of course, battery life.Sony remained tight-lippedon these details,leading to speculation that the devicemight be prohibitively expensive.Just imagine, Sony releasing an ambitiousand incredibly expensive console,like they would never, everdo something like that.(laughs)Oh, yeah.At E3 2011, they officiallyrebranded the NGPas the PlayStation Vita,Vita meaning life in Latin.The name was chosen toemphasize Sony's visionof the device as an integralpart of a gamer's lifestyle.Although, and maybe it's just me,it feels so out of place inthe history of PlayStation.We've got PS1, PS2, PS3,PSP, Vita, PS4, PS5.Like, it just doesn't roll off the tongue.As the Vita's late 2011launch date approached,anticipation continued to build,but Sony were facing big challenges.The devastating earthquakeand tsunami in March of 2011had disrupted supply chains across Japan.And, of course, themassive security breachof the PlayStationNetwork in April of 2011had damaged Sony's reputationand probably diverted some resources awayfrom the Vita's development.- Real greatness is what youdo with the hand you dealt.- Despite these setbacks,Sony pushed forward,determining to deliver on their promisesof the next generation of handheld gaming.The stage was well and truly set.The PlayStation Vita's launchwas a moment of both triumphand probably a lot of stress for Sony.After years of development and hype,the Vita finally hitstore shelves in Japanon December 17th, 2011.The initial response seemed promising,over 300,000 units soldin the first week alone.It was a solid start, outpacing the launchof its predecessor, the PSP.But the real test camewith the global launchin February of 2012.In North America, the Vitasold more than 200,000 unitsin its first month.Now, on paper, thesenumbers looked really good,but the reality was more complex.The Vita was enteringa very different marketthan the PSP did.Thankfully, the launchlineup was pretty solid,boasting 26 titles that showcasedthe device's capabilities.Games like "Uncharted: Golden Abyss,""Wipeout 2048," and "Rayman Origins"demonstrated that thePS Vita could actuallydeliver console-quality gaming on the go.Now, yes, maybe it wasn'tquite on the level of the PS3,but it was impressive, andthe variety of the gameswere there, too, frombig-budget action gamesall the way to quirky indie titles.However, the elephant inthe room was the price.At $249 for the Wi-Fi modeland $299 for the 3G version,the Vita was positioningitself as a premium device.This was a risky move,especially consideringthat Nintendo hadrecently slashed the priceof its 3DS handheld from $250to $170 after a rocky start.Equally as problematic werethe proprietary memory cards.If you wanted to download gamesor even save your progress on many titles,you needed one of Sony'sexpensive Vita memory cards.These ranged from $20 fora measly four gigabytesto an eye-watering $120 for 32 gigs.It was a decision thatwould haunt the Vitathroughout its lifespan,turning many potential buyers away.But as they say, never,ever, ever let Sonymake proprietary media, becausethey're going to milk itand make you buy it, and it'sgonna be really expensive,and it's not gonna beas good as an SD cardor literally anything else, because, argh.You know, I probably couldhave sent my childrento college instead of buyingall the PS Vita memory cards.That would've been a better idea.Actually, no, to befair, it has been years,but we actually can finally buy,there's micro SD adaptersfor the PS Vita memory cards.Highly recommend you get one of those,and don't buy one of the incredibly rareand expensive Vita memory cards in 2024.Despite these challenges,there was genuine excitementaround the Vita's launch.Tech reviewers praised thedevice's gorgeous OLED screen,comfortable controls, andimpressive horsepower.For gamers who had dreamedof console-quality gamingon the go, the Vita seemedto deliver on its promises.But as the weeks turned into months,cracks began to show in Sony's strategy.After the initial surge of launch sales,demand began to cool.By spring, the Vita was sellingonly around 12,000 units a week in Japan,and 50,000 a month in North America.Numbers that were concerningfor a brand new system.The competition wasn'tmaking things any easier.Nintendo's 3DS, afterits price cut at least,had found its footing and wasbeginning to build momentum.Popular franchises like Mario Kart 7and Super Mario 3D Landwere driving sales,and the 3DS's lower price pointmade it an easier sell toparents and casual gamers.The biggest issue, though,was absolutely the riseof smartphone gaming.It simply was eating into the marketfor dedicated handhelds.Why carry a separate devicewhen you can play gameson the phone you alreadyhave in your pocket?So I'll say that playingthe Vita even todayis still a really nice experience,especially when it comesto games such as Tearaway.Now, this was not a launchtitle, I don't think,but Tearaway is always the gameI think about with the Vitathat's most Vita-y.You know, it has all of thefeatures that the Vita had.So you've got touch controls.You've also got the rear touchcontrols for certain parts.You also can just rotate aroundand take your own photos in the game.Like, Tearaway, I think, dida lot that was very much like,hey, let's show off what the Vita can do.It almost reminds me, in someways, of "Astro's Playroom,"except that it was a paid $40 game.But it's just, it's lovely,and it looks really nice, too.Oh, I need to touch, right?No, touch on the back?It's a fingerprint, what do I need to?Oh, there we go, I had to push it over.Man, this just feels great,because there's so manyquality of life upgradesover the PSP.You've got yourselfthe dual analog sticks,which this game doesn'treally take advantage of,but most games do.You've got that beautifulOLED touch screen.You've got the fact thatit actually feels nice.You've also got the little dimpleson the back of the PSVita, which feel nice.Like, yeah, could you make the argumentthat it's a little bit small for today?Yeah, but it doesn't reallyfeel all that differentthan playing with your smartphoneon a controller, right?Like, this is a very reasonable size,especially in a worldwhere we're all playingon, like, Steam Decks orLegion Go's that are massive.This feels a lot more reasonable.Yeet.No, that's not it.Oh, I get it.Turns on the stairs, there we go.But the issue here was that even the Vitahad a lot of issues with games.Not only did it not havean enormous selection,but on top of that, you gotta remember,this is back when gameswere mobile versionson handhelds such as the Vita, right?Like, today, if you buy"Hogwarts Legacy" on the Switch,is it gonna look worse?Absolutely, but it's stillthe same game, right?But with this, unlessyou're playing a gamesuch as "Tearaway" that was designedspecifically for the Vita,games that were very few and far between,the vast majority ofgames that you would buy,whether it be a "Call of Duty"or a "Madden" or whatever,were definitely weakerversions of the games,and the ultimate thing that was a problemwas that a lot of smartphonesalso got very similar versions of games.In fact, this was in the erawhere you could play stuff like"Dead Space" on your iPhone,which felt like it was the future,and the Vita, well,the Vita just couldn't.Or at least, it didn't.The early years of the PlayStation Vitawere a rollercoaster of highs and lows.On the software front, theVita did keep up some momentum.2012 saw the release ofseveral high-profile titlesthat showcased what the Vita could do,including "Assassin'sCreed III: Liberation,""LittleBigPlanet," andprobably most notably,"Persona 4 Golden," whichquickly became a system sellerand remains one of the most beloved gamesin the Vita's library.However, not every bigrelease hit the mark."Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified,"a game that many hopedwould drive adoptionamong hardcore gamers, landed with,well, at least it wasn't"Modern Warfare 3" on the DS.With a Metacritic score of just 33%,"Declassified" became oneof the worst-reviewed gamesin the franchise's history.Despite some signs of life,hardware sales were really starting toring alarm bells now.By the end of 2012, Sony reportedthat the Vita had only soldfour million units worldwide.This number paled incomparison to the Nintendo 3DS,which had sold over 17 million unitsin roughly the same timeframe.Even more worryingly, thiswould be the last timethat Sony publicly disclosedthe Vita's sales figures,a move that many interpretedas an attempt to save face.In early 2013, the company announcedthe first price cut for the handheld,dropping it from 250 to $200.This was a necessarymove to stay competitive,but it also ate into Sony'salready questionable profit margins.2013 also saw the launchof the PlayStation 4.The ability to use the Vitaas a second screen for the PS4or to stream PS4 games to the handheld,a feature you might be familiarwith called Remote Play,gave the Vita a new leaseon life for some gamers.This wasn't exactly anew concept, mind you.The PS3 did have some limitedRemote Play capabilities,but the implementation on thePS4 was a lot more usable.Yet even as Sony tried to find new waysto make the Vita relevant,they faced a growing problem.Third-party developers were beginningto abandon the platform.The install base justsimply wasn't large enoughto justify the investmentfor many AAA games,when developers couldinstead target the 3DS,or in most cases, the truly enormousiPhone and Android ecosystems.Worse still, even Sony beganto lose focus on the Vita.With the brand new shiny PS4tearing up the sales charts,the actual support forfirst-party titles on the Vitawas winding down just about as quicklyas the Vita had even gotten started.In response to this challenge,Sony made a strategic pivot.Rather than continuing tochase after big-budget titles,they began to court indie developers.Sony even waived developer fees,making it easier than ever for small teamsto publish on the platform.This indie-friendly approach really ledto what many would considerto be a renaissance for the Vita.Games like "Hotline Miami,""Spelunky," and "Fez"found a perfect home on the handheld.The Vita began to carve out a niche,as the ultimate indie game machine,appealing to players who wanted uniqueand innovative experiences on the go.As the Vita struggled togain traction in the market,Sony pulled out theirtried-and-true playbook.Bring out a slim model thatremoves a bunch of featuresthat people actually care about.The most noticeable changewas in the form factor itself.True to its slim name,it was about 20% thinnerand about 15% lighter.However, the most controversial changecame with the display.Sony replaced the original OLED screenwith an LCD panel.Now, while this was primarilya cost-cutting measure,and I absolutely preferredthe OLED to the LCD,it was at least a pretty decent screen,the LCD offered accuratecolor reproductionand better visibility in bright light,although it of course lackedthe OLED's excellent contrast ratio.Battery life also saw animprovement in the slim model.Through a combination of themore efficient LCD screen,refined internal components,and a slightly larger battery,users could expect aroundan extra hour of gameplaycompared to the original model.Another notable inclusionwas one gigabyte of internal storage.Now, that might seem paltryby today's standards.It was a significant improvementover the original model,which had no built-in storage at all.This meant that users could save game dataand even download some very small gameswithout having to purchasea separate memory card,at least right away.Speaking of memory cards,Sony also made someadjustments in this area.The proprietary Vita memory cards,which had been a smallpoint of contention,mostly due to the fact that they costroughly as much as Snake Venom,Liquid Gold, or Printer Ink,they finally saw some price reductions.The four gigabyte carddropped by about $5,while the larger capacity cardssaw discounts of 15 to $20.Better than nothing, I guess.Although, it was not betterthan the SD or micro SDthat the 3DS used, whichwas, you know, cheap.In addition to the Slim model,Sony introduced another piece of hardware,the PlayStation TV.Now, this wasn't a handheld device.Instead, it basicallydropped the Vita motherboardin a small set-top boxthat paired to an included DualShock 3,so you could play most Vita games on a TV.Now, priced at arelatively affordable $100,it was an interesting concept,but it did struggle to find its audience.It launched to modest sales in Japan,with only around 42,000units sold in its debut week.Global sales figures werenever officially released,but estimates suggest thatit probably didn't even reacha million units sold worldwide.I remember, there was atime where these thingswere on sale all daylong for $40, maybe $50,until the stock finallydried up years later.And as soon as the stockdried up, they shot up,and now they're worth like,I don't know, 150, 200 bucks?It was a neat idea, but I thinkthe time for micro consoleshas sadly come and gone.The PlayStation Vita's journeymay have been less than smooth,but its impact on the gamingindustry is undeniable,and there's real argumentthat it was the right console,just at the wrong time.By 2019, which is alsowild to think about,that they still made the Vita two yearsinto the lifespan of the Switch,Sony had officially discontinued the Vita,with final sales estimateshovering around 15 to 16 million units.To put that in perspective,it's roughly on par with the Wii U,and by far the worst-sellingPlayStation console ever,even to this day.Certainly not the numbersthat Sony had hoped forwhen they set out to replace the PSP.And yet, sales figures, theyonly tell part of the story.As usual, PlayStation'squestionable marketing practicesdid not help matters.They were sued for misleading ads.Early PS Vita ads heavilypushed the system's remote play,cross-platform, and cross-save features,which while great in theory,were very limited in practice,available on only a handful of games,and some even requiredyou to buy two copiesof the same game, the PS3 versionas well as the Vita version.Their sexist ads definitelydidn't help either.- You can keep going all day long.Don't you like that?(imitates car engine)- I'm not even gonna makeyou watch all of them.I hadn't even seen some of theseuntil we started doing theresearch for this video,and yikes, I don't know what is wrongwith Sony marketing teams,but they were on one for acouple decades there. (laughs)Questionable ads aside, (clears throat)the Vita definitely didfind a dedicated niche,especially in Japan, where theycontinued to use the systemlong after most gamers had moved on.It became the go-to platformfor JRPGs and visual novels,titles that might not havefound a home elsewhere.Perhaps even more significantis the Vita's impacton the modding and homebrew community.Long after official support ended,enthusiasts have continuedto push the boundariesof what the system can do.For years, it was consideredone of the best waysto emulate classic games,thanks to its vibrant OLED screenand actually good controls.The Vita's influencecan be felt even today.The Nintendo Switch reallywas the spiritual successor,with its focus on both bigbudget and indie titles.It's clear that Nintendolearned from both the successesand the failures of the Vita.Now, I firmly believe that the PS Vitawas everything that gamerscould have hoped forfrom a PSP 2.It doesn't take a greatamount of imaginationto draw a line directly fromthe last portable PlayStationto devices of today like the Steam Deck.In many ways, the Vita was ahandheld ahead of its time,pushing boundaries that the marketjust wasn't quite ready for.Looking toward the future,it does seem like the time is perfectfor Sony to bring out a properlynext-generation portable console.Between the bizarre successof the PlayStation Portal,the enormous sales figures of the Switch,and the quickly growing PC handheld space,you can't tell me that a portable PS6wouldn't absolutely crush it.But I guess I've been wrong before.Thank you very much forwatching this video.If you enjoyed, pleaseconsider subscribing,and feel free to check outother episodes in this series,which we are making onevery single generationof PlayStation.Now, if you'll excuse me,I'm gonna start preppingfor the final episode.It's about to be PlayStation4 time, my friends.