Vita May Resonate With Older Gamers
See Full ImageSo sue me, I happen to really like the PlayStation Vita. But I'm starting to figure out why.
I've mentioned the available software before, and that amazing screen. However, there are plenty of other factors at play here, and it leads me to believe that older gamers will be enticed by Sony's new portable.
First and foremost, I really believe those who have been playing games for several decades are more resistant to gimmicks. It's a general rule of life that the older we get, the more resistant we are to change and this is no exception. For instance, while I think the PlayStation Move has a ton of potential, I really don't care about it. I like that motion-sensing has gotten millions of gamers moving, which is probably a much-needed feature for a weighty population.
But I'm sorry, for me, playing games is a sedentary hobby (I get my exercise elsewhere), and other gimmicky features just aren't doing it for me. That includes 3D and the integration of "social" websites like Facebook and Twitter into our games. I'm hardly the only one my age who thinks this way; those over the age of 30 just don't put as much stock in this stuff; our priority is - and always has been - the games. So although the Vita has plenty of nifty options and features, the focus is on games and furthermore, it's a focus on traditional gaming.
We've got the sticks; we've got just about everything we have when holding the PlayStation controller in our hand. Very much the same controller, by the way, that we had 15 years ago, and remains similar to other old-school gamepads. On top of which, the somewhat prohibitive price of the Vita means those who are more settled in life are likely to pick it up immediately. You should - ideally - be making a little more money than you were in your early 20s, and although time might be an issue, your bank account should be able to handle the cost of the unit.
Lastly, you've got the types of games: Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Wipeout 2048, Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen, Dungeon Hunter Alliance, Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, etc. are all geared towards a slightly older age group. At the same time, we do have plenty of family-friendly options, but the point remains: this software lineup doesn't look like Nintendo's. When you combine all these factors together, you get a machine that might - at the start, at least - appeal to the 25-40 crowd rather than the 13-24 crowd.
Tags: vita, playstation vita, vita games, older gamers, gaming culture
2/23/2012 9:22:04 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (39 posts)
JackDillinger89
Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 9:57:26 PM
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4 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 10:01:58 PM
1 up, 2 down
Jawknee
Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 10:01:07 PM
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0 up, 4 down
Cesar_ser_4
Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 10:32:59 PM
1 up, 0 down
FatherSun
Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 10:51:36 PM
4 up, 1 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 12:17:10 AM
3 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 1:00:48 AM
0 up, 0 down
Shams
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 1:19:42 AM
1 up, 0 down
gumbi
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 8:57:01 AM
I'm quite happy with the build quality of my Vita. It's lighter than I expected and it feels quite sturdy. I might not put it up there with the PSP-1000, but again, that thing was a tank.
2 up, 0 down
Highlander
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 11:16:34 AM
0 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 3:05:58 PM
BTW, the Vita is only close in size & weight with the very first PSP 1000, so I eliminated the PSP 2000 slim, PSP 3000, and the PSP GO.
The Vita & PSP 1000 basically are about the same thickness(maybe a few millimeters difference in favor of the Vita)
Everything else in size & bulk, goes straight to the Vita......
I weighed them on a postal scale that I set to ounces
I then stood the Vita & PSP 1000 straight up & placed them up against each other, back to back.
Vita = 10.10 ounces
PSP 1000 = 9.92 ounces
The Vita is about a 1/2 inch taller than the PSP 1000.
The Vita is also about an inch longer end to end than the PSP 1000.
9 up, 0 down
Neo_Aeon666
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 5:09:36 PM
Well you have your opinion but we have different views of *sturdy*. My 3ds screen and the one of my gf feels *slack* and the console is plain plastic. The D-pad is not at a good spot and the console crys when we push the buttons XD.
Kind of weird you did not notice that. 3DS is a good console and I like it but... It cannot be compared to the Vita in any way.
1 up, 0 down
FatherSun
Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 10:48:43 PM
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I agree with you Ben that this is a GAMING First console but I see VITA2 as a Thinner, Lighter, Stronger, 4G, SSD, Dual 10 Megapixel Cameras with 3D thrown in. Give or take a spec or two. Now that Sony has incorporated Mobile Communications they will be manufacturing phones possibly on a yearly basis. What's to stop Sony from putting out VITAS every couple of years. Just Like Apple does. In a slight way VITA feels like a test run just as the PSPGO was but a much more fleshed out product. As i have been saying lately, technology is on a verge. The next few years will amaze us.
Last edited by FatherSun on 2/23/2012 10:53:47 PM
3 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 11:18:16 PM
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Plus, my Vita says it needs to FW updated, but I can't do it with no online capability.
So, I'm almost ready to throw in the towel & just return all my Vita stuff & get my $450+ back.
BTW, you can see all my problems trying to get it online, over in the "Vita Social Club/Playboy Bunny" a few threads below this one.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 2/23/2012 11:20:48 PM
0 up, 0 down
sdragon001
Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 11:31:45 PM
1 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 3:04:08 AM
1 up, 0 down
___________
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 5:34:34 AM
when you first turn your vita on and setup the settings, then when you go link it to your PSN account it will ask for a connection and link to your PSN account but it cant because theres a FW update required.
its really stupid how $ony has set it up, they should of made it that it checks for a FW update first, but what you have to do is let it create a dummy account, then you finally get to the home screen and you can update the FW from the settings menu.
1 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 2:17:09 PM
"THANK YOU, IT WORKED"
You're my new hero!!!!
---------
Beamboom,
Thanks for your help too, I did see your reply & I just replied back in that thread...
Anyway, some good news, & some more of the same ole news...
------------
__________________, Yeah, I thought that was crazy, you can't do anything till you've updated the FW, but you can't online to do the FW update.
That was a real "Catch-22" moment if I ever had one
And if it wasn't for the PC suggestion made above, I would've never been able to update or use it.
OH, another thing that baffled me was that although I could NOT get my WIFi to connect(& I hadn't done AT&T's G3 data plan at that time), my Vita still was able to connect to to their signup website without a hitch????
What, for over 5 hours I can't get on-line, but somehow my Vita knows how to get itself on-line instantly in order to get AT&T my money????
WTF was up with that happening???
Last edited by BikerSaint on 2/24/2012 2:36:25 PM
0 up, 0 down
sdragon001
Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 11:27:31 PM
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what a long night time for escape plan and bed.........
Last edited by sdragon001 on 2/23/2012 11:29:39 PM
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Jawknee
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 12:10:39 AM
1 up, 0 down
JackDillinger89
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 12:36:25 AM
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Bonampak
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 1:26:10 AM
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If Sony goes about promoting the handheld as such, it could backfire. Some devs will think twice before supporting the system. Since they will have to consider the handheld's demographic/user base. They'll go: "Oh, wait... this game won't work on that system... let's cancel it or move production to iOS or 3DS". Screw that.
I mentioned the 3DS... Well, notice that that doesn't seem to happen on the 3DS. There you got games for everyone - kids (Pokemon, Mario, Nintendogs), teens and adults (Kingdom Hearts, Monster Hunter, Metal Gear, Resident Evil, Spirit Camera, Zelda, New Love Plus, etc.) and even for really old people (Brain Training games). Games for everyone right there. Therefore, with the 3DS devs don't have that stigma of having to worry finding an audience on that system. I see no apathy toward that system coming from Japanese devs.
So why would anyone would want to give that stigma to the Vita? Why limit its appeal to a certain age group? Its ridiculous to even go there in the iPad/iPhone era. There is so much competition out there (direct or indirect its still competition).
Vita needs mainstream gamers to succeed. Not just us core gamers supporting it.
And BTW, Sony should not be afraid going head-to-head with Nintendo. They have beaten them before and for many years. Sony should look into getting into the kid market with Vita. Heck, that market alone was precisely what made Kinect a hit on X360. Kids have no cash, but they have parents that do!
Anyway, IMO Vita being a universal hit with everyone should be Sony's goal.
1 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 3:16:27 AM
I believe that if you want to create a machine that cater to everyone, well then you don't go create a dedicated, expensive (relatively speaking) proprietary and closed gaming handheld: You make a device based on the Android platform. That or the Apple alternative is what "everyone" wants right now. That's catering for everyone.
So if - IF - at first Sony *have* to make a product like this then I believe their marketing guys are doing the right thing profiling it as a toy for the "rich, big boys", with Playboy models etc. That's making the best out of it, imo.
Personally I'm just not too optimistic about the market potential for this device. But that's beating a dead horse by now around here.
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/24/2012 3:33:15 AM
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Rogueagent01
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 5:28:35 AM
I know 40+ year olds that play Pokemon games just as an example, and the older gamers seem to be far less disappointed if a game doesn't have brilliant up-to-date graphics, making it a little bit easier on devs at the moment. The only drawback going towards older gamers is we are sticklers for gameplay and if it isn't good then we will bite your head off. And like I said being that it isn't a holiday season younger people that don't have the money will have a much tougher time trying to talk there relatives into buying one for them.
2 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 6:08:21 AM
It's the exact opposite: The old boys want things the way they are used to have it. They want to play what they are used to play using what they are used to use to experience it how they are used to experience it. They are anything *but* open minded, while the kids don't mind new stuff.
That's how real life is in general, also - but not only - when it comes to gaming. And the Vita is oldschool - it's how we are used to have portable gaming.
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/24/2012 6:10:51 AM
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 10:24:16 AM
If you want kids games, or casual games, watch this space, because they will come. Oh, and BTW, there are free games with the Vita that are more tech demos than anything else. One of them is a fireworks display that uses AR to put the fireworks wherever you lay the AR card. It's fairly casual as games go, and free, and I think demonstrates that the unit is not simply about twin stick shooters.
3 up, 0 down
Rogueagent01
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 7:54:20 PM
Even when I am up at games shops I see the older players looking at the backs of all kinds of games where the younger players come in and no exactly what they want. Again I am not picking on younger gamers in any way, and I also am not trying to imply that all older gamers are open minded, but many of them are.
2 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 9:28:50 AM
It's an *amazing* spelling error in that post of yours there, Highlander. I'd... I'd never expect such a thing from someone of your calibre! :)
@Rogue:
I am sorry for saying so Rogue, but the fact that the older you get the more "stuck" you are in how things used to be, well that's a universal fact for as long as man has walked on the face of this planet. It's never the older generation who first adapt to new technology, new trends, new culture or new products. Never.
It's the exact same with music, technology or even humour! Humour changes with the generations, and typically the new generations humorists/comedians are looked down upon by the older clan. Just like the new generation music, "it ain't what it used to be for sure". That you don't see this all around you is just amazing!
But I'll not rub it in. Or, as a local Norwegian writer once put it, "If you take the life lie from an average man, you take away his happiness as well.".
(Henrik Ibsen, 1828 - 1906) :)
(PS I am 42 myself!)
Last edited by Beamboom on 2/25/2012 9:38:14 AM
1 up, 0 down
Rogueagent01
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 10:38:24 PM
I agree that the majority of people are that way, but that only means anything over %50. And these last couple of generations have all but turned around on that true close minded aspect. Real conservatives aren't as powerful as they used to be and the only reason is many other people are starting to be more open minded and seeing logic in trying something or thinking about it in another way.
And in a way it may be regional, I mean look at certain drugs or certain types of marriages. If we still lived in that close minded society that we used too have those things wouldn't even be talked about let alone passed in certain places. The only thing I can say is that the world you are describing doesn't exist everywhere, some places have broken out of the mold.
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Fane1024
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 1:37:32 AM
Young people very much tend to believe "their thing" is better than all other things (even when they have no knowledge of those things), while older people tend to have developed wider tastes. Older people, however, tend to reach a point (eventually) where they stop engaging new trends, whereas the young people tend to follow the new trends as they come and are therefore more comfortable with the "new" (though not always the "old").
One can see both effects clearly exhibited on the Rock Band Forums when the weekly DLC is announced: the kids complain about anything that isn't current or their favorite genre, while the fogies are lukewarm about the current stuff, but happy about a wider variety of music.
In other words, you're both right.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 2/26/2012 1:44:53 AM
1 up, 0 down
___________
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 5:32:40 AM
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allot of people are not interested in new features, new ways to play games, new things to do, they just want what there use to!
i wish companies would stop adding in this useless crap into our games like facebook for instance.
if facebook was not on the vita, those developers could of been used to make a new game for it.
i know which on id choose!
0 up, 3 down
sdragon001
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 7:30:22 AM
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0 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 10:34:51 PM
FYI: According to the PS Blog, there were a few changes made with FB, & something screwed it up.
But but they're working on fixing it.
They also said they'll have it corrected shortly
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I007spectre
Friday, February 24, 2012 @ 3:46:52 PM
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Fane1024
Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 1:56:08 AM
If there are other games coming soon, we'll hear about them after the launch marketing has diminished. There's only so much bandwidth.
Hopefully, there won't be an extended drought, but that is pretty much S.O.P. in the first year of any system.
p.s. You left out LBP.
p.p.s. I did not intend to sound confrontational; apologies if I did.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 2/26/2012 1:58:34 AM
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LanceNLT
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:36:30 PM
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Last edited by LanceNLT on 2/25/2012 1:37:29 PM
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LanceNLT
Saturday, February 25, 2012 @ 1:36:30 PM
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ulsterscot
Monday, January 21, 2013 @ 8:35:38 PM
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tes37
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Thursday, February 23, 2012 @ 9:37:41 PM