Koller confirms: Vita did very well after PS4 launch

PS Vita didn’t exactly set new sales records since its launch in 2011. Despite a strong launch lineup, the latest portable gaming device by Sony struggled outside of Japan, where the handheld gaming market is still strong.

However, PS Vita found an unexpected ally in its bigger brother (or sister, depending on how you view it) : PlayStation 4. As confirmed by Vicepresident of Marketing John Koller during a chat with GotGame, the Vita has been doing very well since the PS4 launch.

You know, Vita has done very very well since the PlayStation 4 launch. People are starting to use it for things like Remote Play, which allows you to play PlayStation 4 games on your Vita via wi-fi. If you combine that, with things like PlayStation Now, you can play PlayStation 3 games on your Vita and utilize that brilliant screen. We’ve got a lot of titles from third party publishers as well as titles from us and it’s an exciting time to be a Vita owner because you get to play a cross section of the best games from across the PlayStation universe, so that makes it really special and a great portable device to boot.

I have to say that while there might not be a single, killer reason to get a PlayStation Vita, there are many smaller reasons piling up especially for those who bought a PlayStation 4. Personally I’ve never been a huge fan of handheld gaming and I only ever owned a GameBoy (first edition) before, but after buying my PS4 and hearing great things about Remote Play, I caved in. I can safely say that I wasn’t disappointed, and even better, since PlayStation 4 pretty much requires a PS Plus subscription this also instantly added many great games for free to my Vita collection.

That’s not even the whole story, as PS Vita can be used as a PS4 controller if you don’t have a second DualShock 4, and although very few support this functionality right now, it is also possible for developers to use the Vita as a second screen, showing the map or other useful information in a PS4 game, similarly to the latest “companion applications” for tablets and smartphones.

Of course, then there are some great PS Vita specific games as well, such as Media Molecule‘s Tearaway; if you want to know more about our most anticipated titles coming to the console, don’t forget to take a look here.

In terms of sales numbers, we know that there was a boost of 68% units sold in the first week after PlayStation 4 became available, and the second week maintained a steady 65% growth. As more and more gamers invest in a PlayStation 4, it is easy to see how they might be attracted by the PS Vita, and I expect this trend to continue in 2014. While it may never surpass 3DS, it can still turn into a healthy platform for Sony.