Does Call Of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified Point To Vita’s Real Future?

It’s probably fair to say that Sony did Vita no favours at E3. When there was no room for the handheld in a conference packed with such joys as Wonderbook, it’s no surprise that some observers promptly called time on the machine.

Well, it’s not dead yet. Today info slipped on Black Ops: Declassified, the long-promised handheld version of the game that makes other entertainment franchises look like small beer, and it’s got us all excited like.

Why? Because the thought of taking a fully-fledged Call Of Duty mobile is awesome. If the leak is true then Declassified will also be filled with bite-sized, Spec Ops-style missions, but forget that noise. MP is where it’s at.

We’ve said it before, of course. But it bears repeating. Activision want Call Of Duty to be on everything: consoles, tablets, phones, washing lines (probably). Branching to Vita, and then enabling players to push their stats, rankings, weapons etc from their consoles and carry on playing is the endgame, and Declassified is going to be a step on that road.

Vita may have not be smashing it in terms of sales, but with both Nintendo and Microsoft committing to second screens with the Wii U and SmartGlass Vita could be Sony’s weapon in that upcoming tech battleground. Games like Black Ops: Declassified could be an important step on the way to this becoming a reality. Vita may have underwhelmed at E3, but it’s real value may soon become apparent.