EGX 2014 London Vita

Sony managed to squeeze a double-decker bus onto its booth at EGX London last week, but we didn’t spot a single PlayStation Vita. The flailing format has been largely ignored at the platform holder’s various press conferences this year, but has always enjoyed a strong showfloor presence, with titles such as Freedom Wars and Minecraft drawing plenty of plaudits. However, its animated area at Earls Court just a few days ago served as a saddening insight into SCEUK’s current interest in the console.

Sony squeezed a double-decker bus onto its booth at EGX last week, but we didn’t spot a single Vita

We’ve since been informed that it did dedicate a very small section of its floor space to the flagging portable. In contrast to the 200 playable PlayStation 4 pods, the manufacturer purportedly brought a grand total of four Vitas to the show. These – running Don’t Starve, MineCraft, BigFest, and Flame Over – must have been the most underused units at the event, as we can honestly say that we never even saw them; it’s almost as if the firm wants us to forget that the format even exists.

Unsurprisingly, things fared a little better upstairs, where the indie section played host to Velocity 2X and an absolute gem named Minutes, but even then, FuturLab’s booth was plastered with PS4 logos – despite the game being shown on both of Sony’s current systems. The Brighton-based outfit has since pointed out that it actually requested dual branding, but had to work with what it was given. This was, in all likelihood, an honest mistake – but it’s one that doesn’t really surprise us in the slightest.

It’s the unknown quantities that we tend to enjoy most about conventions, rather than the downright predictable

After all, gamers in the UK tend to be unimaginative, as was evidenced by the lengthy lines for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and FIFA 15. Fair enough, both annual outings boast some serious tweaks this year – but it’s the unknown quantities that we tend to enjoy most about gaming conventions, rather than the downright predictable. Observing the trends of the British gaming public, though, it seems that we’re very much in the minority, as only the likes of Bloodborne – itself a blockbuster first-party exclusive – seemed to draw a crowd without any real brand power.

So, what hope could the likes of Freedom Wars or Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines possibly have had? The games would have got played, on account of the event being busy enough to ensure that every stall is occupied at all times – but the PlayStation maker clearly felt that dedicating that space to an extra DriveClub or LittleBigPlanet isle made more sense. And honestly, we’re not entirely sure that we can argue, as it took us a good couple of days to even notice the handheld’s absence. Sony’s moving on – but maybe we are, too...

Did you attend EGX London in the hope of playing a few Vita games? Are you surprised to learn just how little presence the handheld had on the showfloor? What do you make of the current state of the system? Cry all over your favourite console in the comments section below.