Speaking with IGN at the Develop Conference in Brighton, Andrew House (President of Sony Computer Entertainment of America) talked about the plans they have for the future of PlayStation Vita. He admitted that the future of the Vita remains unclear.

“I certainly think you’ll still see the Vita as a triple-A machine in Japan where it has a different function with the console dynamic of the marketplace, that for me is a given. It’s hard to say in terms of the other markets. I think remote play is still in its nascent stages, I think we need to have better understanding. We know a lot of players are embracing it and using it and seem to like the experience a lot, but necessarily that changes the dynamic. You know, if you can play your PlayStation 4 content at will on Vita, then does that obviate the necessity of having Triple-A content or not? I think that question will stay unanswered for a little bit.”

The PlayStation Vita was released in 2012. So far most of the games released on the system can also be obtained for home consoles, such as; Hotline Miami,Rayman: Origins, Borderlands 2, and Child of Light. There are a few games that are exclusive to the PlayStation Vita, (Gravity Rush, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Persona 4 Golden, Tearaway), but they are few and far between.

My Opinion:

The problem with the PlayStation Vita is that there aren’t enough first party games to warrant a purchase. I hear great things about Gravity Rush and Tearaway (I would play them if I had the system) Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Persona 4 Golden are the only two games that make me want a Vita. It doesn’t help that you must use a Sony branded SD card to save your data instead of the freedom of choice you get on the 3DS.

The other problem is that Sony doesn’t put their top tier first party studios to work on Vita games. The Vita isn’t doing so well in the United States, while it’s doing fine in Japan. However, that’s not enough to help Sony and I won’t be surprised if they stop production of the Vita in the next year or two.

The last problem they have is branding. Instead of focusing on all new games for the Vita, they are using it as peripheral for the PlayStation 4 and its Remote Play. It’s impressive, sure, but not the system seller that the Vita needs.

Sony seriously needs a PlayStation 3 like turn around to make the Vita worth getting, otherwise we could see games like Gravity Rush and Persona 4 Golden make their wayon to the PlayStation 4 as downloadable games.

Jesse Webster has the ability to stare into your soul. You can find him at Twitter.