The PlayStation Vita
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 3:30AM The PlayStation Vita has finally gone on sale in the UK and retails for £209.99 for the Wi-Fi-only version. This may seem expensive for a portable gaming console, but when you consider the specifications it looks to be price about right. However, the cost of the games will raise eyebrows in 2012 as the portable gaming market moves to a more casual approach.
Two reviews from Amazon sum up the opposing thoughts of this product-
“There are so many ambiguities with the handheld I don't know where to start:
1) It's too expensive at £200+.
2) Battery life is a joke.
3) No Multi Account system.
4) The system uses expensive proprietary memory cards.
5) £30/40 a game is laughable, portable gaming has changed and nobody wants to pay that much anymore for gaming on the go, especially if you have a Android/iOS device.
6) It's only a games system, it doesn't do much more than play games. I expect more from a £200+ device these days.
7) The tech will be outdated within 12 months as smart phone/tablet GPU/CPU's are advancing so quickly. It won't be long until you see games that are on Vita appear on Android/iOS devices…”
“Most of the cons above can be remedied with firmware updates and price drops which is great. Apart from that the Vita shines bright. It's easily the best handheld gaming device available today with powerful tech behind it, great controls and a gorgeous touchscreen. Most importantly it's competitively priced at launch for what it can offer. Sony has gone all out and created a new mobile gaming platform which it intends to back 100% - you can just tell by looking at the games available now and also scheduled for release.
The PlayStation Vita is the best handheld ever made and offers an experience which the DS, 3DS, iPhone nor iPad can match. Once the firmware updates start rolling in to iron out the minor things the Vita will keep on improving. Hopefully prices will get better for the device itself as well as the games and memory so the Vita has a chance at being widely adopted. Great device - well done Sony.”
So, how about you? Should this product exist in 2012 and will it be a success in your opinion?
Reader Comments (5)
I bought one yesterday. For the tech I think it's reasonably priced. The battery life is comparable to other handheld consoles. There are more control schemes than you could ever wish for, dual analogue sticks with buttons and triggers, tilt, two touch screens and front and back cameras.
As for the price of games it varies. Motorstorm RC is just over a fiver up to the most expensive games that cost around £35 in shops. There are "minis" that are closer to smartphone games and they come in at a couple of quid a pop.
That said if you just want to play a simple physics based puzzler whilst sitting on the toilet then it's going to be overkill.
To quote what I said yesterday on Twitter, "Playstation Vita... Meh. Like releasing an analogue CRT TV in 2010".
The point about Mobile Gaming is having the device with you when you are out and about. Specialist devices are not going to be that, but the Smartphone is (especially considering that more than 50% of mobile phone owners have smartphones). The hardware/software combo on smartphones equals or exceeds what the Vita has. It is dead before it started.
Depends if you're prepared to carry a tablet around. Some of the games available for Tegra 3 look console-quality to me, and the developers are only just getting started.
What's lacking with the tablets (and smartphones) is the control system. There are a couple of small Bluetooth controllers but there's a distinct lack of choice, and game support apparently isn't that great. I've got my PS3 controller working wirelessly with my Prime and it works perfectly with Riptide GP and Shadowgun THD (the games are far better played this way); haven't tried it with other titles.
So to sum up I don't feel the need to buy a Vita, but I would like some decent portable Bluetooth controllers and better support for them.
Well, I did play with one yesterday. The gameplay is good, that's OK. But... honestly... For 299EUR I would have no doubts in getting a smarphone instead. And then again... for piracy reasons SONY is making a fresh start in all directions... hardware speaking and this means... throwing everything you had to the trash bin and buying it all over again.
One thing speaks for it all: there was no one around the PS Vita. No hype, no nothing. Just the device with a few blue cases with nice designs and the stick: 39,99EUR.
Maybe it's a toy for wealthy kids whose parents don't want them to have a phone just yet.