This Is How Sony Hopes To Boost PS Vita Sales

The PS Vita has endured an interesting journey since its debut in early 2012. First touted as a system that would bring AAA gaming experiences on the move, it has slowly changed into something else entirely. The console now sports a ton of popular indie games with many more coming, but not a lot of ‘big meaty’ titles that were initially promised. Maybe due to that identity crisis, the console has never quite been able to live up to that promise and as such, has been left in the dustby Nintendo’s 3DS system.

With the release of the PlayStation 4, Sony is attempting to turn things around and boost the appeal (and therefore sales) of the device. One of the features thatmany reviewers have been impressed with on the PS4 is just how well the system implements Remote Play with the PlayStation Vita. This allows users to play PlayStation 4 games on the Vita screen, freeing up the television for others to use, in the ilk of the Wii U’s tablet controller.

According to Adam Boyes, Sony’s VP of Publisher and Developer Relations, in aKotaku interview, Remote Play is just one of the three prongs that Sony wants to use to get the Vita back on track. The other two are put on the shoulders of AAA and indie games.

Those who invested in the Vita early on the promise of big AAA experiences on the move, may be a little disappointed with the console’s recent output. Boyes tries to reassure those customers that Remote Play is a big part of convincing publishers to output games onto the Vita.


“I do think that the Remote Play aspect of PS4 is going to help the amount of Vitas that are out in the wild, and then that will start informing more publishers to build that bigger, meatier content.”

Finally, Boyes also feels like indies have a really important part to play in the Vita’s success.


“When I play Spelunky or when I play Hotline Miami on my Vita, I play differently than when I play on my PS3, it feels like it’s at home. And that’s why I think you see a lot of focus on getting great content for the Vita. And we had a ton of announcements at Gamescom for great content like that on the Vita. So the reality is, we’re trying to create a bunch of different content for a variety of gamers so they get satiated with a device on the go or within their house.”

Sony seems to be putting a lot of hope on the Remote Play feature of the Vita and PlayStation 4 to save the handheld console. The powerful mobile console is already split between AAA and indie games and its struggle to have a definite identity may have confused gamers about what to expect on the console in the future. Hopefully Sony will outline its plans real soon to clear that very issue up.

Do you think the Vita can be saved? Do you want to pick one up to support your PlayStation 4? If you have one, are you happy with it and have you tried Remote Play yet?