gaming PS Vita - I Want To Love You

[Guest]

 

Sony seems to always do either moderate or terrible in the handheld market. With Nintendo's driving force, it's no wonder that only Sony dared venture into the market along with them and Microsoft waited quietly in the dark hoping that this would all blow over. The PSP saw moderate success with 80 million units sold and to this day is actively supported as an emulation device with a decent library of PSP games to boot. So in 2011 Sony announced the inevitable sequel, and right from the first announcement I knew it was going to be a disaster. While it boasted impressive specs there was just so much wrong with the handling of the system right out of the gate that just made it doomed to obscurity and failure. I  recently got one for a few standout titles and I have to say though, the system is not all bad and it boasts a lot of great ideas for a handheld that Nintendo is far behind with, however the flaws it has really hurt it.

 

It's a system that many people love to hate, but I actually want to love it more. It's a great idea, and on paper it's amazing. The design choices with the Vita though ultimately make it fall short...

 

Let's talk about the highlights of the device first though:

 

• Flash cards mean that the games are now portable unlike the PSP UMDs, can hold a decent amount of data and load far faster. The switch to cartridges was just an all around great idea.
• Nice big 5 inch screen which makes video apps like Netflix far more feasible on the device.
• Media capabilities are there, with the ability to play video and music, the Vita definitely has a lot of the media features we remembered from the PSP days.
• Two analog sticks, something that Nintendo still hasn't... Quite mastered yet. Must needed for 3D games
• Dual sticks make for great PS1 emulation which the system does like a dream.
• PS2 games on the go are possible. Granted it's limited to titles on the PSN store, but it's a great bonus!
• PSP backwards compatibility, while limited, it's there.
• Remote play is a great way to play games from your PS3/PS4 without the TV.
• PSVita games look pretty nice in terms of graphics.
• Trophy support for handheld games.
• Usually graphically superior to 3DS counterparts.
• Comfortable in the hand vs. the PSP.
• Touch screen.
• Can find full fledged console games on the system. A full version of Borderlands 2 exists on it.
• Save Compatibility for PS3 and PS4 games.
• Can be used as an additional PS4 controller.

There are so many things to like about the Vita, but unfortunately there are enough drawbacks to make it not stand out. Enough to where it hurt the system enough to the point where I doubt it'll recover any time soon.

 

• OS is clearly ripped off from Android. Should have just given people Android so they would have a lot of app support.
• Console sized games just don't work in terms of portability.
• Many of the larger games run rather slow on the unit.
• Remote play runs rather slow as well, not unplayable, but wouldn't be my first choice.
• No theme editor like the PSP, and the default theme looks childish and stupid.
• Vita memory cards are proprietary and expensive. Worst part is that if you don't have the 2000 model like I do, you can't do anything without one. And the 2000 model only comes with 1GB of internal storage.
• No multiple user support. So if you want to share an expensive unit, tough shit.
• Games are expensive. Due to the console level graphics, development of Vita games is expensive and thus the consumer price is rather high.
• Hard to find good games for it. There is a handful of decent games, but they are few and far between.
• Upon release, $250 price tag and $300 for the 3G model.
• 3G model was a rubbish idea. At the time, 4G LTE was starting to blow up and within 2 years was the standard for phones. 3G was, is and remains too slow to game on and no one is going to buy a plan to play a Vita online. To top this off, the 3G was exclusive to AT&T. Device exclusivity to a network is a horrible idea.
• Proprietary charger on the original model. Fortunately they fixed that with the 2000 unit.
• Proprietary transfer software to hook the system up to your PC and put anything on it. This basically means anything you want to put on the system has to be done through said software. Sony was so afraid of people hacking into the unit like the PSP and running ROMs and such that they locked it down. Customization is virtually non-existent.
• A lot of Japanese titles that are on the Vita in Japan get passed up here in the western world.

The Vita will probably come and go, and be remembered as a moderate failure (Not the worst one in the history of the industry though), but there are still a couple of good stand out titles that are worth it if you can find the system for relatively cheap:

 

1. Virtue's Last Reward
2. Gravity Rush
3. Persona 4 Golden
4. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
5. DisGaea 3
6. Corpse Party: Blood Drive
7. God of War Collection
8. Zero Time Dilemma
9. DisGaea 4
10. Need for Speed Most Wanted
11. Tales of Hearts R
12. Borderlands 2

 

[Shanks 10,816]

I mostly use my Vita as a dumping ground of sorts for downloadable games, it is a shame because it had a lot of potential that was not properly utilized. 

[Megas 27,742]

The Vita was a really neat system, but there so many things holding it back, and the library isn't as strong as the PSP, I could only recommend it if you're a big fan of Sony or JRPGs. 

[-Nobody- 519]

Vita should've been bigger than it was, but Sony gave up on it too soon.

 

 

I would've liked to see more shooters on it.

[Guest]

Vita should've been bigger than it was, but Sony gave up on it too soon.

 

 

I would've liked to see more shooters on it.

 

And it was very well built for portable shooters. A genre that generally doesn't work well on handhelds.

[Jeric 46,854]

I'm actually picking one up specifically for PS Now streaming after seeing it do fairly decently on one of my kids friends system. 

[JonasDarkmane 19,787]

I actually just recently bought a Vita and I am really happy with it. I was happily reunited with my loved Patapon games <3 <3 <3. I also like the concept and idea behind the Vita. When I first started it up, all these helpful manuals were actually pretty designed in a pretty fun ways and all those mini games inside the manuals, I thought it was a nice idea and a catch to those working at Playstation/Sony. 

[Guest]

I'm actually picking one up specifically for PS Now streaming after seeing it do fairly decently on one of my kids friends system. 

 

It is pretty good for that, but sadly not as good as doing it on say... A PS4 or PS3. Mostly because the hardware is weaker, but it IS a good solution for it. For $130 used, it does the job!

[Jeric 46,854]

It is pretty good for that, but sadly not as good as doing it on say... A PS4 or PS3. Mostly because the hardware is weaker, but it IS a good solution for it. For $130 used, it does the job!

 

 

Yep. I actually noticed a difference between PS4 and PS3 when using the service so I assume there will be some lag in using the pseudo XMB and initialization, not to mention using back touch for R2/L2. The convenience aspect is what is a selling point for me, since there have been times the TV's connected to the consoles have been in use. Of course, the fact that I now would have an opportunity to pick up Persona 4 Golden and Gravity Rush doesn't hurt. 

[Koukatsu 5,899]

I still play Soul Sacrifice. Sorry to see that didn't make your list up there.
I felt like Borderlands didn't get the attention it should've, and the lack of effort making it a VITA game really showed when I tried to play it with my brother, long ago when it was new to the handheld. :/
Overall, I just feel Sony kind of half-asses handhelds. They know they'll get a portion of us, but they don't strive to get more of us when it comes to handhelds. That's just the feeling I get.

[Guest]

 

 

I felt like Borderlands didn't get the attention it should've, and the lack of effort making it a VITA game really showed when I tried to play it with my brother, long ago when it was new to the handheld. :/

 

Borderlands 2 is a "playable" port, but definitely not a definitive one. Graphic wise it could have been toned down just a bit more to get the framerate more smooth. Like it's a PLAYABLE version. It's a good game, but it just didn't have as much effort put into it as the console versions. It also failed to deliver on promises. First we were promised full 4 player co-op, then right before the release, like a little bit over a week prior they tell us "yeah we had to tone it down to 2 player".

 

That and it's long port time meant it should have been a better port, but it just... It just wasn't...

 

 

 

Overall, I just feel Sony kind of half-asses handhelds. They know they'll get a portion of us, but they don't strive to get more of us when it comes to handhelds. That's just the feeling I get.

 

The PSP was a lot less half assed. I mean it had some flaws, but the flaws were not as drastic as the PSVita. Yes, the PSP used those memory sticks which were slightly more expensive, but at least they weren't proprietary. You could find third party ones with ease and they were supported. This meant you didn't have to wait for Sony to release one and charge top dollar (such as a 64GB Vita Memory card is $130!). Also the system was very "open source"-y. The ability to customize your theme yourself, the ability to put media on it without any proprietary crap, and of course the ease of hacking it and running homebrew made the PSP a pretty "decent" handheld.

 

It did have its drawbacks like the horrible UMDs which broke easily and weren't portable, but the system was a solid release. It didn't outdo the DS, but it sold a respectable 80 million units, making it a success.

 

The Vita though felt like instead of doubling down on what made the PSP so great, it was a matter of just trying to undo the things that made the PSP successful. Sony got paranoid about people hacking the system again so they locked so much down and made it not as open source friendly. 

[Mercury 455]

Obligatory "It's Dead Jim" 

But seriously though, the PS Vita is a wonderful system. I've loved the 3 that I've had since it came out and the current slim version might not have as great of a display as the first gen's OLED, I do still enjoy it and it's thin enough for me to take around. 

 

While the library wasn't nearly as strong as the PSP's I do appreciate that they did let me bring over a good number of my downloadable PSP games onto this system as I enjoy being able to play all of the old games as well as some of the newer titles (Though I regret buying memory card...so so expensive).

[Megas 27,742]

I actually sold this my Vita for the Xbox One, but admittedly I'm considering rebuying it just for Persona 4 Golden alone, now that its gotten cheaper, Loved that game so much

[Mercury 455]

@, Oh yes! That is something I should probably get for mine. I <3 the persona series. 

[Guest]

https://youtu.be/Fhxxc5g55kI

 

Little review I did on the system just a bit ago for those interested.

[Throwaway19573639385 764]

I use my PS Vita mostly for emulators (was lucky enough to get one with older firmware) and ps2/ps1 classics. The games on the system itself don't really interest me as JRPG games aren't my thing and the other Vita games that stand out I don't really care for.

 

Rereleasing classics on the PS Vita was a great move by Sony as Nintendo still has no idea how to do it properly (perfect games for the 3DS like super metroid or castlevania only available for the Wii U).

 

I hope that in the future Sony becomes a little more lenient with their grip on the OS and release the source code to let the few consumers that are keeping the handheld barely alive a go at making apps and games. It's a beautiful handheld with great hardware, but it's sad to see Sony kill its potential so stupidly and quickly. The Vita could've taken over the market.

[Guest]

 

 

I use my PS Vita mostly for emulators (was lucky enough to get one with older firmware) and ps2/ps1 classics.

 

I am severely hoping that when Sony stops updating the system that people find a way to get emulators working on it again.

 

 

 

The games on the system itself don't really interest me as JRPG games aren't my thing and the other Vita games that stand out I don't really care for.

 

Had the system taken off in America, I'm sure there would have been more American titles that would have made it to the device. :c