I wouldn’t say I’m a man who hated the PSP per se, I just never felt the inclination to purchase or even play one. The DS was more innovative, had better games and was what I wanted from a portable gaming device. Unlike consoles, I also didn’t think there was much benefit in owning more than one handheld, and thus, I pretty much ignored it.
Now the Vita has come along and spent the morning trying to escape the firm clutches of my sweaty hands. It has come about three months too late to dislodge the 3DS as my preferred option -- a status it very nearly didn’t achieve -- but has surprised me in some aspects. In others, it’s just as rubbish as I expected.
The first thing that struck me was how light it is. It’s much bigger than the 3DS -- about the same size as it with the Circle Pad Pro attached -- but thinner and weighs about the same as the 3DS own its own, if not a little less. It’s the perfect weight for such a device, but it’s hard to define it as portable. You need to make sure you leave space in your bag specifically for the PS Vita.
As for the games themselves, wow. That’s all I can say. I’ve spent most of my time playing Wipeout 2048 and it looks absolutely stunning. I still can’t believe handheld games can look this good. Uncharted proves that it isn’t quite able to match the PS3, as it’s a little rough around the edges, but damn, it’s much closer than I expected. I’m almost tempted to go out and buy my own unit just to look at Vita games in all their glory.
The touch screen is standard and works quite well. I much prefer the screen that is designed for use with fingers, rather than a stylus. That said, when holding the console, it’s a bit of a stretch to hit things in the middle of the screen.
Therein lies my first major gripe with the handheld. Perhaps this can be changed in the settings, but menus must be navigated using the touch screen. I kept finding myself wanting to scroll down in the PSN store using the analogue stick or D-Pad, but it can only be done using the touchscreen. It would have been nice to have had both options.
Speaking of which, I’m not crazy about what Sony has done with analogue sticks. I like their positioning, but I prefer the 3DS’s much bigger Circle Pad. It offers better control than the PS Vita and being slightly raised isn’t as good as it sounds on paper. It feels weird going from the flat buttons to the higher right control stick since they are so close together. They also look like they could easily get damaged in a bag.
The PlayStore Store is impressively populated with a back catalogue of PSP games. Pretty much everything you could ever want is there -- including surprising additions like AFL Challenge -- and most are priced fairly. There are a few strange decisions like Smackdown vs Raw 2009 asking for $55, but most are around the $10-20 mark.
All of the new Vita games are also available to download. This might be more tempting after the prelaunch sales, but their pricing isn’t making me rush to join the digital revolution. A digital copy of Uncharted will set you back around $63, slightly below RRP, but stores are selling boxed copies for as little as $55. Why is that happening?
The console itself feels good in your hands. It would be easy to get lost for hours in a game without too much discomfort. The clear L and R buttons are a nice aesthetic touch, while the whole thing is sleek. There are plenty of ports, but they are all hidden away. In fact, it’s not obviously apparent where the games or memory card goes.
But that brings me to another issue. Why does it have a memory card with an outrageous amount of packaging? $25 for a 4GB memory card is ridiculous when it could have used a much cheaper SD card. This isn’t 1997, Sony. It’s blatantly a grab for extra cash which didn’t have to happen.
The additional features look decent but don’t interest me. I’m not doing to use the free Facebook app and Google Maps says I’m three streets away from where I actually am: that could be problematic if you want to use it as a legitimate GPS. Multimedia looks good, but I don’t buy a handheld to watch movies and listen to music so they don’t really interest me.
The final problem comes from retailers. Too many in Australia have decided not to stock the Vita, leaving the rest to almost collaborate and form a monopoly. There are no good deals out there. I wanted to pay $350 for the console, memory card and a (lower quality) game. That didn’t happen. Just $2 off RRP has turned out to be a good deal.
The Final Verdict
In the end I’m left in two minds about the PlayStation Vita. It looks great, works wonderfully and appears to have a decent launch line-up. However, I’m not sold. For every positive there’s something niggling that leaves me asking “why?” It could, and should, be a fantastic gaming platform, but I can’t tell you to run out and buy one right now. I certainly won’t be for $350 + a memory card + games. For now, I’m going to wait and see what the future holds.
By Ben Salter