Hallo und herzlich Willkommen zu einem neuen yourPSVita-Feature!

Das mediale Interesse der PS Vita ist zwar sehr klein, die Fanbase unseres Handhelds ist jedoch riesig! Glücklicherweise sind wir nicht die einzigen PS Vita-Fans in den Weiten des Internets. Zusammen mit einigen bekannten und weniger bekannten Websites und YouTubern haben wir eine Community hinter der Community – quasi die Puppenspieler für Sony Playstation ?

Um euch zu zeigen, wer denn noch so enthusiastisch hinter der PS Vita steht, wollen wir euch die einzelnen Personen und Websiten in einem Interview genauer vorstellen.

Heute haben wir uns Paul Murphy The Vita Lounge geschnappt.

Hier könnt ihr sie folgen: Facebook | Twitter | Youtube

Hi Paul!

Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. Can you please introduce yourself to the audience?

My name is Paul Murphy, and I am the owner/founder of The Vita Lounge. I first got into gaming in the late 1980s and much of my gaming has been Nintendo-orientated and more specifically handhelds.

When did you start noticing about the PS Vita?

I first heard about the Vita back when it was announced and labelled the NGP. I kept a close eye on things, but I was too busy with work and my 360 to really think about getting one. A career break and an inability to monopolise control of the TV meant that something needed to change, and thus I bought a Vita around four months after it launched.

What was the reason to buy one and covering news and reviews about it?

As mentioned above, I needed to be able to play games without impacting on the others around me, and a love of handheld gaming in general meant that it was a no-brainer. As regards to covering news, I very quickly realised that media coverage for the system was surprisingly poor for something that was just a few months old and TVL was born. Initially just myself, it rather quickly snowballed into something I couldn’t do alone and evolved into what it is now thanks to the contributions of many others that are far better than me.

What was your first game and why?

FIFA Football. I love FIFA, and it was a logical and safe first game to get whilst I researched other games.

How would you describe the Vita’s development since launch?

How else can you describe it but poor? The system had a rather strong launch but it was all downhill from there, and once development on Killzone Mercenary and Tearaway wrapped, Sony themselves effectively abandoned it. It has remained a viable platform thanks to the indie and third party developers that see it as a system with an engaging and passionate fan base, but Sony cannot take any credit for that.

Where do you see reasons for it?

The handheld market is a very different scene now, and many people that would have played video games on the go are content enough with their phone, which these days pack far more power than any dedicated portable gaming device. Nintendo may have sold a fair few 3DS units, but it’s practically 33% of what the DS sold; it HAS affected them. The core difference is that Nintendo HAVE marketed the 3DS, they have put their core franchises on the device and didn’t abandon it at the first turn. Sony obviously saw the amount of time and investment that would be needed to turn the Vita’s fortunes around and decided to just pull the plug and focus on the PS4 instead.

From a scale of 1 to 10: How much did Sony affect it?

In terms of Sony managing the poor situation they found themselves in? It’d be hard to score with a number but it’s disastrous. Launching with proprietary memory (AGAIN), failing to recognise that they had the wrong price point – and still not rectifying that nearly five years later, redesigning the system yet missing the opportunity to correct the memory limitations, not properly marketing the device or supporting it with first party titles, the list goes on an on.

What is in your opinion a must buy criteria for the vita?

If you are looking for a device to supplement your gaming needs and have a wide variety of tastes, the Vita is an essential device, especially if you have a PS4. It does complement that home console well. For me, the Vita is my primary gaming system but that’s not the case for everyone. In terms of must-buys for the system, you’ll obviously need a memory card and if you plan on getting the most out of the system then you’ll realistically need a 32GB memory card, as well as PlayStation Plus.

If you have to pick one epic moment with your psvita, what would you choose?

There are so many epic moments to choose from thanks to the fabulous experiences that are present. It’s difficult not to be impressed the first time you play Gravity Rush though, so that gets my pick.

What are your favourite games on it?

There are too many to list. I’ve played the best part of 200 Vita games and whilst they aren’t all outstanding, I’ve enjoyed the vast majority. I’m not a frame-rate, visual obsessed fanatic, I play games because they are fun and even in a truly awful game there can be enjoyable moments. Or at least bits that will make you laugh. My all-time favourite game is Tearaway, which I consider to be the most “Nintendo-like” title that PlayStation has. It’s charming, colourful, vibrant, fun and needs to see a proper sequel soon.

What are the most disappointed games/moments for you?

Disappointing moments? I’m a realist; I know that all products have a shelf life and that gaming is a business but Sony never game the Vita a fair crack of the whip. It baffles me that so much would have been invested in the development of the product for it to essentially be cast aside within two years. What’s worse is the blatant disregard for many millions of people that did buy the device, only to have their voices ignored. Great attitude towards your customers…

As for worst games, Die!Die!Die! almost made me want to.

Just a guess: How long do you estimate Vita’s remaining lifetime?

There are around 200 games currently slated to be in development for the Vita and many more being announced each month. Assuming these make it through development, we could have a reasonably strong 2017. I’m expecting the Vita to continue to be a viable system for the next year or so, before support starts drying up into 2018. That’s for existing owners of course – new adopters getting one now have five years’ worth of awesome to catch up on. Of course, a gaming system never really “dies”, especially with a digital store.

Do you have any future plans for your media you want to share with us?

We are constantly looking at ways of improving our coverage, and we will be with the Vita until the end. And then beyond, as people will always be looking for that content in the future.

I have other ventures in mind for the future too for other systems, but it’s way too early to be discussing any of that.

Tell me one feature you are desperately waiting to be on PS Vita.

Given that remote play was obviously planned early on in the Vita’s development it’s amazing that we didn’t have dual shoulder buttons of clickable analogue sticks…

Your wishes for the future?

To be healthy, and to live a long and rewarding life. Or did you mean gaming? To play some great experiences and have fun.

Some random questions: Twitter or Facebook?

Twitter. I despise Facebook with a passion. Twitter is far better suited (IMO) to engaging with a gaming audience.

Nintendo or Playstation?

The Vita is my all-time favourite console but I don’t feel particularly affiliated with the PlayStation brand. I grew up with Nintendo and despite my falling out of “love” so to speak, nostalgia is a powerful feeling so it has to go to Nintendo.

Nathan or Monokuma?

Embarrassingly, I’ve not actually played any of the Danganronpa titles so I’ll have to say Nathan.

Cross, Circle, Square, Triangle?

Circle.

Thank you so much Paul for this interview!