By now you’ve probably heard the most serious news out of Sony. But even if you didn’t, a visit to your favorite place to buy games probably hinted at this grave announcement. It is now ridiculously difficult to find a Vita. The handheld is selling out, and there’s something I feel I must say.
Ha ha! I told you! I told you so! You nay-sayers and doom-and-gloomers kept trying to pull the “Vita has no games” card, but where is that now? Hm? Oh, right, I shredded it, because just like I predicted, 2014 is the year of the Vita !
I’ll admit that there was a time when even I lost faith. Back in 2013, there was a grey patch where it seemed like there weren’t any worthwhile titles in sight . But it was only a temporary rut, as the promise of 2014 was too bright to ignore. And sure enough, the first few months of this year were stellar. From a new, Vita Slim model, with games like Danganronpa 2 , Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster , Borderlands 2 , Soul Sacrifice Delta , and even Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars .
And now? Well, now the Vita can’t stay on store shelves. All around the world, people are realizing how good Sony’s handheld can be, and they want to join in the fun. Which isn’t at all surprising. Before E3, I told you to keep an eye on what the 3DS and Vita had to offer . Then, when the show was done, I pointed out everything wonderful for the Vita that had been at the show .
Of course, it would be a bit arrogant to think that maybe, just maybe, you all had listened to me and that’s why the Vita is selling out (though if it were true, it’d be awesome and I’d totally want you all to tell people I was the reason so I could get my 15 minutes). But I do think a big part of the sudden success is due to people like me. The people who work in the industry and have seen hints about what’s coming to the handheld. The fans who have owned Vitas since forever, and have been working long and hard to convince others of its greatness. Even those who have just joined our buddy bandwagon because they saw how much fun we were having, said, “Me too!” and pulled others along with them.
Naturally, PlayStation Plus and the PS4 have to take some credit as well. I’ve heard of and seen many people picking up a standard Vita, when they went on sale after the Slim was released, or even that Borderlands 2 Vita bundle, because they already had a formidable library of games amassed due to claiming the free, PlayStation Plus Vita games every month. It’s a lot easier to get involved with a handheld when you know you already have 10-20 downloads begging to be played. And the fact that it will work with the PS4 thanks to remote play? Forget about it.
By now, you’ve probably realized this rant isn’t just about me getting to brag about how I was right (though that part was fun, wasn’t it?). This has really been a refresher. It’s been a means of showing how a handheld can start out as a left-behind underdog, then over the course of about a year, turn into a hot ticket item that’s actually selling out.
It’s easy to be skeptical, but hard to have hope. And hope is exactly what all of the Vita early adopters and fans have had over the last two years. Now, that faith is being rewarded. Sony put the effort in and turned things around, and now we can all rejoice in the knowledge that there’s another awesome, thriving handheld on the market.