PlayStation Vita third-party support disappointing: Sony

Earlier this year, Sony had launched its latest attempt at a handheld gaming device - the PlayStation Vita. In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, talked about the third-party support for the PS Vita. According to Yoshida publishers have been drawn away from making games for the Vita by social and mobile games.

"One thing that was surprising and disappointing to us was the [lower] number of third parties to come out [in support] after launch," Yoshida told Gamasutra. "In retrospect, there are so many options for publishers now that we cannot take it for granted that our new platform would be supported by third parties, like [it would've been] many years ago."

Third party support for the device has been disappointing

It was revealed earlier this month that homebrew developer Yifan Lu is now working on a crack for the PlayStation Vita that will allow homebrew software to run on the device. The main way to bypass the PS Vita’s tight code is an unnamed exploit. There is no doubt that Sony will work on fixing the exploit as soon as possible, as the company is very much against letting its systems such as the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) get cracked. Players not only run homebrew apps and games with cracked software, but also pirated copies of games. The PSP is one of the most famous handheld systems purely because of homebrew software and piracy. Yifan claims that the exploit isn’t meant to be used for piracy, but what others do with the exploit is up to them.

Indie developer Wolfgang Wozniak has raised concerns over the exploit on Twitter in a conversation with Yifan. “Why would people want to buy games when they can just download my game from the next and load it up. It's not on a cart,” tweeted Wozniak. Yifan revealed in the conversation that the PS Vita would take months – at least half a year – to crack successfully.

Back in August, Kazuo Hirai, the CEO of Sony, revealed that the performance of the PlayStation Vita has been doing close to expectations of the company. The device has met scepticism among some analysts who doubt whether there is a place for such a device in a market which is increasingly dominated by games played on smartphones and tablets. "Worldwide, the Vita is pretty much along where we would expect it to be, maybe trending behind in certain territories," Hirai told Reuters on the sidelines of IFA, Europe's biggest consumer trade show, held in Berlin.

Back in June, the PlayStation Vita got the YouTube app. Sony claims that with the YouTube application on PS Vita, you can watch millions of YouTube videos on PS Vita’s five-inch OLED screen. With 3G connectivity, you can watch your favourite content, be it comedy, gaming tips or viral videos, while you’re at home or on-the-go. The application itself is straightforward and easy to use. Videos will be viewable in two modes, which include full screen and small screen. In Full Screen mode, a control panel will be displayed on the screen, which will allow you to easily expand or minimize videos. Additionally, an HD button will appear when playing high definition (up to 720p) videos. Simply tap on the HD button to switch from HD to SD. In Small Screen mode, you’ll be able to view a video, while having access to the Like or Dislike buttons, Suggested Videos, Comments and Information.