He is a writer. He is a guy who plays games. He is The Perfect Strom. People keep saying the Vita doesn’t have any good games. Compared to what, exactly? Like a mighty tempest, Steven will descend upon one of the video game industry’s most recent tragedies and rain down his thoughts.
People are always telling me the Vita doesn’t have any good games compared to the 3DS. My usual response is usually one of puzzlement. I play games on my Vita quite a bit more than my 3DS, you see, and have never felt like it didn’t have enough games to hold my attention.
Whatever the handheld’s problems (expensiveness, hideously overpriced memory, poor rear-touch support) a lack of games isn’t one of them. So, rather than argue on Twitter over why I should or shouldn’t be in romantic love with this year’s Animal Crossing, I decided to gather some numbers from Metacritic and see how the 3DS and Vita’s games actually compare.
To do so, I’ve taken into account every game in each portable’s library which holds a 75 or higher on the review aggregate. I chose the number 75 because any game that breaches this threshold has its score displayed in green, as opposed to yellow or red, and presumably meet the site’s requirement for being “good.” It’s also exactly midway between 50 and 100 which, in theory, should be a noncontroversial starting point between mediocre and nearly flawless.
This is by no means a perfect metric. I am using Metacritic, after all.
Beyond the service’s own bizarre way of averaging certain scores, its lists are… interesting. For example, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, a cross-buy title, is currently sitting with a 76 for the Playstation 3 version while the Vita version isn’t even listed. Meanwhile, Colors! 3D and New Art Academy for the 3DS are art apps and, it could be argued, aren’t technically games. In the interest of fairness and simplicity, I haven’t included or excluded any titles. What I have here is what’s on Metacritic’s listing.
I’m (just) smart enough to know my little column won’t assuage most of the angry Nintendo fans yelling at me on Twitter. I do hope it will clear up some misconceptions for those who haven’t already entrenched themselves in their own, unassailable opinions. At the very least, I’ll have sweet, nonjudgmental numbers to tightly clutch the next time someone makes fun of me for playing my Vita.
[box_dark]Official North American Launch Date[/box_dark]
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Vita: Feb. 22, 2012 (not counting the early “first edition bundle” on Feb. 15) — Just over 12 months ago.
3DS: March 27, 2011 — Just over 23 months ago.
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[box_dark]Games with a Score of 75 or Over to Date[/box_dark]
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Vita: 39 3DS: 46
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[box_dark]Games with a 75 or Over Per Month[/box_dark]
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Vita: 3.25 3DS: 2
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According to Metacritic, the 3DS clearly has the stronger overall line-up. But let’s not forget Nintendo’s plastic clamshell landed on American shores nearly a year before the Vita. Some simple math wizardry tells us that, on a month-to-month basis, the Vita is actually releasing a greater number of well-received games per month than the 3DS.
One of the major complaints leveled at the Vita’s existing library is its number of high-definition remakes. It’s true some of the best games for the system were originally sold elsewhere (Persona 4: The Golden springs to mind) but how many of the systems’ highest rated games fall under this category. While we’re at it, let’s look at the 3DS’ remake line-up for comparison.
These numbers only include HD and 3D remakes of game released on previous generations of hardware. Ports of games released on current consoles are not included.
[box_dark]Remakes Rated 75 or Over[/box_dark]
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Vita: 5 (12.82% of top-rated games — 2.4 top-rated remakes per month)
3DS: 8 (17.39% of top-rated games — 2.875 top-rated remakes per month)
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Currently, the 3DS edges out the Vita both in terms of raw numbers and monthly releases. Depending on your definition of a single release, Metal Gear Solid might skew this number somewhat. Metacritic counts the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection as one game instead of two, while Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D is also counted as a single game. However, both the two-pack collection and the single 3D remake can be had for around $30.
Both systems also have at least one high-profile remake on scheduled for this year (Muramasa Rebirth for the Vita and Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers for the 3DS).
Interestingly, the top game on either portable is a Japanese remake: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D with a 94 and Persona 4: The Golden with a 93.
This is only a snapshot, of course. Games will continue to come out and people will continue to say “But is it the one game that will save the Vita?!” Journalists said it would be Gravity Rush, and when it wasn’t, many were understandably disappointed; analysts said it would be Call of Duty, and when it most definitely wasn’t everyone said the Vita was already dead. The fact of the matter is that no single game will ever completely reverse the fortunes of any system (except maybe Monster Hunter, but then only in Japan.)
A Zelda remake didn’t pull the 3DS out of its nosedive. It took a $70 price drop, a batch of free, old games and several smatterings of good, old-fashioned Nintendo promises before it took off.
The problem with the Vita isn’t that it doesn’t have enough games; it’s that it doesn’t have the Video Game Messiah everyone keeps saying it needs. The many great titles out now and set to come in the future aren’t good enough for anyone because none of them can cure the blind and heal the sick. Until those people realize a good thing when they have it they will continue to be disappointed with great hardware and solid games.
Nobody should ever expect anything short of excellence from those they pledge their hard-earned money to, but they should learn to recognize it when they see it.
Personal Recommendations
Vita: Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation, Dokuro, Persona 4: The Golden, Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward and Gravity Rush.
3DS: Fire Emblem: Awakening, Devil Survivor: Overclocked, Super Mario 3D Land and Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward and Crimson Shroud.
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