The PS Vita hasn’t had the best start in life, but it’s getting there. Sort of.
In recent months the powerful handheld has become a haven for smaller developers and independent game makers looking to get their games out on the best possible device for a reasonable price; hence the influx of indie games.
There’s nothing wrong with indie games in general, the majority that have released on the PS Vita have been of excellent quality. Just look back at Guacamelee!, Thomas Was Alone and Retro City Rampage, all have seen varying degrees of success on Sony’s latest entry into the increasingly competitive handheld market.
Sony has emphasised that they will be supporting indie games, free-to-play titles and your regular games for the PS Vita as well as the upcoming PlayStation 4, but is it being overdone?
I’m in no way against indie games, one of my favourite games for the Vita is currently sitting on pause and waiting for me to jump back in, that game is Guacamelee!, an indie game.
There’s definitely a place for indie games on the Vita, but the selling point for the device was Sony’s promise of home-gaming on the go. The Vita isn’t as strong as the PlayStation 3, but we know it’s more than capable of putting out some top quality titles that would have been heaped with praise if they had released on the PlayStation 3 at launch.
I’ve spoken to quite a few people about the matter (I like to do a bit of real research every now and again,) and the vast majority are happy with indie games being pushed hard on the PS Vita, but they also said that they would prefer more AAA experiences akin to Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time.
Basically, indie games fill a hole when there’s nothing much going on, but ultimately gamers want fuller, richer experiences to sit along their very expensive device. Some have spoken out and claimed the PS Vita is nothing more than a fancy emulator or a portable PlayStation 2 with HD capabilities. Of course the PS Vita isn’t just a fancy emulator, but if the focus is geared toward more indie games rather than big-budget thrills, I know a few who will be very disappointed in their investment, myself included.
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What do you think? More indies, or more big-name games? Do you think Sony is taking the easy option by supporting independents rather than splashing the cash and getting the big names on board? Share your thoughts down in the comment section below, we’d love to know what more people think on the matter.