210°

Data shows Vita's missing backward compatibility could cost Sony sales

Ars Technica were perfectly ready to speculate wildly on that very topic, but it turns out there's no need. Someone has actually crunched the numbers and tried to develop a statistical model to show just how valuable backward compatibility is for a portable system's overall market share. And the results show that Sony just might pay a price for its decision to ignore all the UMD owners out there.

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arstechnica.com
Mikhail4480d ago

If you go all digital, it functions the same way as iDevices. PSminis and PSP titles can be redownloaded for free.

KeybladeMaster4480d ago

The only two games I really cared about on the PSP was Birth by Sleep and Crisis Core and they aren't on the PS Store.

I signed this pention a few days ago and it needs more signatures if Square will take it seriously: http://www.change.org/petit...

Mikhail4480d ago

I love those games too. I just wish Sony would force Square but I doubt that would happen. They are pretty lenient with 3rd party.

f7897904479d ago

Again, I'll promote hacking your device when it's possible.

I was able to play FF7 on my PSP a year before it was sold on the PS store. It played just fine and the battery life was insanely high.

This gen I'll be hacking my Vita and putting iso files of my PSP games onto it.

darthv724479d ago

the ability to play older titles is a bonus. This device is about moving games forward not back although I do like the idea of being able to play my existing psn games on it that i already have on my psp go.

The loss of umd support isnt that huge when you think that if you have umd's you obviously have a device that can play them. Since getting the GO i havent the need to play my umd collection as much.

I do get feel for popping in powerstone collection or metal slug anthology from time to time but the go has the games i play most right now.

Soldierone4480d ago

Trying to find a good for sure answer. So ALL downloaded PSP titles will work on the Vita right?

I plan on buying a bunch of them since I missed so many when I sold my PSP.

f7897904479d ago

I heard something about compatibility issues with some but Sony is working on it. All big titles are pretty much guaranteed to work on launch day.

Knushwood Butt4479d ago

Almost all from what I can tell.

I have the digital version of SNK Arcade Classics, which for some reason (presumably emulation issues) is not possible to copy over to my Vita, but that's the only one I'm personally aware of.

To be honest though, what with the Vita full games and demos I have, I really haven't played any PSP stuff on my Vita bar about 30 minutes of Peace Walker.

rexbolt4479d ago

ACULLY psp gaes cant be redownloaded for free theres a fee of 12 dollers if im not istaken or was it 5

Neko_Mega4479d ago

Zero fee, I have redownload my stuff more then ten times.

I don't see the lack off a BC for UMD being a big deal, that is like saying DSI would do bad because it lack GBA support.

SactoGamer4480d ago

The lack of UMD support is the main reason why I'm not saving up any money to buy a Vita.

zeal0us4480d ago

You know there's nothing stop you from playing your UMDs on your PSP.

SactoGamer4480d ago

Let's just say I don't want to carry around a PSP-2000 and a PSP Vita at the same time when I travel just to play PSP games.

yesmynameissumo4480d ago (Edited 4480d ago )

I know when I buy a new portable, I want to play the old games from the previous portable I've already played/beaten. Do they really expect me to use the Vita to play Vita games? Or download PSP games I don't own and play them on the Vita?

And why would you carry a Vita and a PSP while you travel if you just want to play PSP games? Do you really have to try and find a reason to moan?

FriedGoat4479d ago

@yesmynameissumo Added battery life, also if you have the UMDs anyway (which im assuming you would if your complaining here) its FREE. Jesus this argument is stupid.

knifefight4480d ago

People reading game websites don't realize that they are a little more hardcore about gaming than Joe Everyman. Your view, while probably not popular on N4G, is shared more commonly than people leaving comments on game sites will ever realize.

eferreira4480d ago

why would you carry so many games at once, cant live without both devices? My vita will for vita games, what its designed for. If your going to cry over a little thing of bc. Then you're missing out on a great handheld.

knifefight4479d ago

Equating criticism with "crying" and assuming those being critical "cant live without both" is presumptuous at best, dickish at worst.

People can disagree without making sweeping generalizations about each other's intents and lifestyles.

ThePhuq4479d ago

That's why I love my 3DS. Allows me to still play my massive library of DS games without having to lug around two handhelds.

AbyssGravelord4479d ago

except you have to lug around all of your little DS cartridges.

darthv724479d ago

to be fair, that is why the ds carts are little. Easier to lug around 10-15 ds carts than it is 10-15 umd discs.

MasterCornholio4479d ago (Edited 4479d ago )

He could also just get a flash cart and download the games he already bought. That way he can carry his collection with him without worrying about multiple cartridges.

But anyways. It is sad that the Vita isn't backwards compatible but axing the UMD drive was necessary to give the Vita a decent battery life and shorter load times. So in the end it helps more than it harms. Which ie why I believe that if your a PSP owner and you are interested in the Vita you should get one. Not buying one because of backwards comparability is a poor excuse because it you do that you will be stuck on gaming on the PSP for all eternity.

XperiaRay

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4479d ago
smashcrashbash4480d ago

That is why you can download them. I don't think anyone is buying the VITA so they can just play PSP games.

Animals_as_Leaders4480d ago

"so they can just play PSP games."

I'm fairly certain most people don't want to have to buy the largest ( and extremely overpriced ) 32gb memory cards ( or multiple 32gb memory cards ) just so they can download their PSP games.

Nor would they want to waste hours downloading them.

The fact that the 3DS plays DS games is a big reason why people upgraded from a DS/lite/DSi.

You don't lose anything in doing so and it doesn't cost you anything to play them on the 3DS.

It's definitely going to be a massive deterrent, especially to the Vita's largest consumer base...people who own PSPs.

fear884480d ago

You're argument against the Vita helps support the reason for no backwards. Why bother if you already have a PSP?

Isn't the reason for buying a new system is to play its games?

The vita has an impressive launch lineup compared to what the 3DS had when it launched.

3DS needed it because it had virtually no killer apps except what was on the DS. Pokemon Black and White was the only game in many 3DSs for months.

Silly gameAr4480d ago (Edited 4480d ago )

fear88.

Using common sense.

I'm pretty should you would have to spring for one of those extremely expensive memory cards to play PSP games on the Vita anyway Animals. There's no getting around that.

I understand wanting to play your older games, but I would keep the system that plays those games, instead of getting a system that would rather focus on the new then the old.

Blaine4480d ago

On my PSP Go I have 18 games and 16 demos, plus trailers and music, and that takes up 14gb. I don't know how much space Vita games will take up, but I think it's safe to say you won't be needing a 32gb card (let alone multiple ones) anytime soon. Buy a small one for now and upgrade in a few years when you *might* need it (if ever) and the prices will have dropped.

Unless the lack of UMD put you off the Vita for good... In that case I'd just say: your loss.

JaredH4479d ago (Edited 4479d ago )

Why are you all justifying not including backwards compatibility?

I have a psp and all the games I have are umd other than lbp and modnation that I got from the psn hack. I'm getting a Vita but this is a bummer imo and I don't understand why you guys say things to make it seem "right". Nothing would have hurt them if they included it and you don't need to defend Sony in every decision they make. If they included it I GUARANTEE you that you guys would talk about how it was a smart decision and include it in your many "why I'm buying a Vita and it's the greatest thing ever" comments...

On a side note they waited till a week or so before the launch of the psp go too say no umd conversion too which I find odd.

Also I have the Vita preordered and I'm getting it day 1 and I'm not saying it's the worst thing ever. It's just a minor let down and I don't see how you can look at not including something, that's common in handhelds, in a good way.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4479d ago
NeoBasch4480d ago

I'm starting to switch over to the digital space with PSP games, just as I did PSOne, and hope to do for PS2. I will still keep the physical copies, but they're a bit obnoxious. It's easier just to scroll over to the games tab and just pick the one I want.

Not only that, but a 32 gig stick can hold at least 20 PSP games, and there's no way I'll have 20 PSP games downloaded at any one time. I might have 10. Also, you can download any number of PSP games. You could buy 100+ PSP games off the PSN store if you want. You can download them as much as you want. So even if you delete them from the stick, you can always re-download it later when you want to play it.

Now, if AT&T would give us a larger bandwidth to play with, we could download these games from anywhere at anytime. Now, that's convenient!

MGRogue20174480d ago (Edited 4480d ago )

Custom Firmware to the rescue! :D

If all of the hacking stuff happening nowadays is any sign of what's to come.. It shouldn't be too long after the system's launch that the device is hacked wide open.

Of course, there will most likely be piracy.. but you'll be able to play all PS1 titles as well as put all of your Vita & PSP titles together on your memory stick so you won't need to carry around all of those vita cartridges with you all the time..

You'll also be able to increase/decrease the quad-core's clock speed at free will in order to save battery life. It's your PS Vita, control it the way you want to. :)

TheFirstClassic4480d ago

Why won't they offer the umd transfer thing worldwide? If they offer it in Japan, why not the rest of us?

SaffronCurse4479d ago (Edited 4479d ago )

Because like 99.99999% of the time, Japan gets the cooler stuff it's just how things work.

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150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers20d ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken19d ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g20d ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing20d ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H920d ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola20d ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn66920d ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle20d ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg20d ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos20d ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola20d ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

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techraptor.net
ChasterMies41d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken41d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga41d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken41d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6440d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long40d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197240d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic40d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 40d ago
DivineHand12541d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91341d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer41d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit40d ago (Edited 40d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91340d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit40d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 40d ago
Christopher41d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6940d ago (Edited 40d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit40d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal41d ago (Edited 41d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher41d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken41d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197240d ago (Edited 40d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic40d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2341d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218340d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit40d ago (Edited 40d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder41d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts41d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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