The PlayStation Vita will not survive in Australia

Ever feel like something that you desperately want to succeed is destined to fail?

I have before, and now I do again. The PlayStation Vita hits Australian stores next Thursday, but it's already looking to be somewhat of a lost cause. Why? Because three of Australia's biggest retail chains are refusing to stock the dedicated gaming device on their shelves at launch or - in the case of K-Mart - have ruled out stocking it altogether.

The news first broke on Kotaku AU, with the normally Nintendo-focussed writer, Daniel Vukovic providing statements from representatives of Big W, Target and K-Mart. Sony seemed nonplussed by the announcement, claiming that they had identified the "active gamer" as "the specific target market" for the Vita. As a result, Sony had "chosen to launch the console with a focussed retail channel strategy across national specialist game and specialist technology retailers".

Now, not only does this effectively kill almost any competition for price, but it should serve to prevent the console from appealing to anything other than its - in my opinion - shallow target market. I say shallow because there's still something of a stigma associated with gaming in Australia; particularly that of "Teh h4Rdc0r3z" variety. You may have read one of my older posts entitled "Enough room to swing a gyroscopic cat" where I examined this phenomena in more frivolous detail. If you're short on time, however, the message contained within reads thusly: unless you're gaming on an Apple device, be prepared for the cold, judgmental stares of an at best casual gaming audience.

So, Sony's dick move to bypass the country's biggest and most far-reaching network of retailers should mean two things:

The PlayStation Vita is doomed in Australia: granted it should survive longer than the PSPgo, but it won't enjoy the enduring, though limited shelf space that the PlayStation Portable (models 1000 through to 3000) still manages to occupy.
The market for dedicated gaming portables in Australia shrinks even further.

Luckily enough, the Vita is region free; so the inevitable trickle of games to retail can be eschewed in favour of grey importing. The only trouble is for those who wanted to ride that digital marketplace wave, where I foresee publishers not even bothering to engage with Australia's costly and nonsensical rating system; which will in turn see less games arriving on the PlayStation Store (and at brick-and-mortar stores).

I'll still be there on day one. My Vita has been pre-ordered for months now, and I have every intention of experiencing more fulfilling gaming on the go. The only question is: how long will I be able to without having to look to purchase games and accessories abroad?

Are you picking up a PlayStation Vita at launch? Is the stigma associated with dedicated gaming devices perceived on my part, or have you felt it too?

Tags: Australia, Retail, PlayStation Portable, PSPGo, PlayStation Vita

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Samir Torres

February 17, 2012

It's like Sony WANTS the PS Vita to fail. The PSP Go was a joke, and now they're shooting themselves in the foot with this new gadget. I'm basically done with portable gaming anyway, but I was willing to give Vita a chance after Nintendo disappointed me with the 3DS.

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Tristan Damen

I'm not quite ready to give portable gaming the boot (I spend a lot of time commuting to and from work), but Sony are making it hard to take the plunge again. Despite what anyone says to the contrary, the 3DS is still a disappointing piece of kit; so I was hoping the Vita would reignite Australia's interest in portable gaming against all odds. Pissing on the three biggest retail chains in the country isn't a great start to this console's life Down Under.

Jonathan Oyama

February 18, 2012

Man, Sony's portable consoles seem like sinking ships these days.

I still like the PSP for its selection of rare RPGs. Sigh. I'd better stock up on the PS1 classics that are still around the Playstatiion Network.

Ed Grabowski

I never understood why people assume the original PSP was a failure...It wasn't...At all...It was a massive success, actually. The PSP has sold 74 million units worlwide. That's 10 million more units than the Xbox 360, and 12 million more units than the PS3. We all consider the Xbox 360 and PS3 to be successes, right? So why don't we consider the original PSP as a success, since it sold over 10 million more units than the Xbox 360 and PS3.

And it also pisses me off how everyone (not this article specifically) is screaming doom and gloom for the Vita after it has been released in ONE single territory. Just one. Count em', one. Not two, or three, just one. And it was released in one territory without a Monster Hunter game, which WILL be coming soon enough. And when it does, the Vita sales will explode in Japan like systems always do when they have a Monster Hunter game.

The 3DS crashed and burned in Japan as well, and picked up as soon as Monster Hunter was released, and the price drop helped a bit as well. So I just can't help but laugh when I see all the same people that screamed, bitched and whined that the 3DS was failing, doing the same exact thing with the Vita. Here's a thought for those people. How about we wait until the Vita has been released in more countries than Japan.

How about we wait for the Vita to be released worldwide before we start grabbing our pitchforks and chasing Sony off the edge of a cliff? Neither the Xbox 360 or PS3 or DS or 3DS or PSP sold incredibly well at the start of their life. Especially when only released in one territory. Handhled gaming isn't going anywhere. And to already spell out the fate of a handheld that hasn't even been released worldwide yet is beyond dumb and crosses the line over to absurd territory.

Again, my rant here isn't aimed at this article or the author, just at all of those doom and gloom babies screaming all over the internet about the Vita's death before the thing has even been released world wide.

Ed, I agree that it's way too early to call the Vita a failure and the only I intend to poke Sony with is my money. On the 3DS, I think you'd have to agree that it was floundering a bit. You don't make a significant price cut because things are going well! What I will say, however, is without the support of the big three in Australia, the Vita will not survive. The PSP must have done well enough to justify the shelf space in each of these same three retailers - as well as specialist retailers - across the country, so I just can't see why Sony is choosing to bypass them altogether. It's bad judgment on Sony's part and I can't see the Vita taking off if its not exposed to all of my countrymen, especially those that don't normally walk into Dick Smith Electronics, EBGames, JB Hi-Fi and GAME stores. Still, I hope the Vita makes a mint and portable dedicated gaming devices continue to thrive.

It's deceptively easy to pass the PS Vita off as a failure already. Most of Sony's system sales come from North America and Europe though. I think Sony is crossing its fingers and hoping that the West will stay devoted to the system.

At the very least, I think the system will still sell plenty of units. The real question is whether developers and retailers will stick with such an expensive piece of gaming hardware. They really just have to assess the system's long-term sales numbers for themselves.

I'm counting on the system doing well in the US and Europe so that games continue to be developed for the platform. Even if it fails in Australia, I can still import new games thanks to the Vita not being region locked.

A toast to the Vita's success in the West!