Sony launched the Vita just about eight months ago, and in that time the portable system has had its loyal followers and not-so-loyal detractors. The fact of the matter is that the handheld hardly has any worthwhile software. And while we can all sing the praises of the hardware’s technical specs, even the most faithful fan can attest to the fact that the Vita just isn’t delivering in terms of quality gaming experiences. Well, said faithful fan will probably never admit it openly, but he’ll think about how the system isn’t faring all that well, because it really isn’t.

Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studio President Shuhei Yoshida has spoken up regarding the Vita’s failure to catch on in a massive way, reports Gamasutra. “We’re having a more difficult time than we had anticipated in terms of getting support from third-party publishers, but that’s our job,” said Yoshida.

I like the Vita, and I want it to succeed. That said, I’m not biased, and I’m certainly not blind. The Vita needs some killer apps, and it needs them ASAP. People can continue to talk about how it took the 3DS a while to get some solid software, but the fact remains that Nintendo’s handheld has managed to do pretty well as of late. Ubisoft and Activision have already signed on to release some major titles like Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation and Call of Duty: Black Ops Classified, but the Vita needs more than just two promising games.

I’m a huge fan of indie games, so knowing that titles like Sound Shapes (which just launched earlier this week) and Retro City Rampage are bringing quality gameplay to the Vita is great news for me and other indie aficionados. The handheld needs a nice balance of mainstream and indie titles in order to succeed. Personally, I’m just happy getting games like the aforementioned indies, but I know there’s a wider audience out there that wants more. People can defend the Vita all they want, but until some more devs get behind it, the system won’t succeed.

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