Official PSVita launch thread.

[Todd33]

I have tons of demos and stuff ready on my PS3, just waiting for Amazon delivery today. I bought a 16GB card and will try to stick to DD stuff.

 

[blurredvision]

I just tried out the Unit 13 demo and I am pleasantly surprised. I'm one of those who think that the analog sticks are nice for a handheld but didn't really think they'd have enough throw to properly handle traditional console shooter controls. It would appear I am wrong. I thought it handled pretty good considering, definitely serviceable. I upped the sensitivity a bit and it felt better than at default (went from 50 to around 70).

The graphics are also fantastic and really make me smile when I remember this is a first generation Vita game. Some of the poor geometry/animations and muddled textures will be cleared up once developers get better with the hardware.

There are some touch controls but it's limited to performing actions such as defusing a bomb or picking up weapons. They've smartly put these touch icons on the screen right next to the sticks so you don't have to let go of the device just to reach over to the middle of the screen.

It's a really impressive demo of the Vita can do, it also seems to be pretty fun.

 

[KentState]

I will have to look at Unit 13 tonight. I've been having a blast with Super Startdust.

 

[Aikouka]

Worst part so far? Having to sit through that worthless opening video! It's like movie trailers on my vita, but this didn't even tell you about the features. It just showed random apps.

 

[ViRGE]

Well the bad news is that Sony owns my eternal soul. The good news is that I'm really impressed with the hardware.

However if I have to use the touch screen in Wipeout one more time, I may kill someone. This is as bad as the DS launch where everyone thought they had to use the touchscreen, or the PS1 launch where Sony didn't allow 2D games in order to emphasize 3D.

 

[Aikouka]

However if I have to use the touch screen in Wipeout one more time, I may kill someone. This is as bad as the DS launch where everyone thought they had to use the touchscreen, or the PS1 launch where Sony didn't allow 2D games in order to emphasize 3D.

Yeah, Lumines annoyed me a bit with that in the menus too, but fortunately, they weren't dumb enough to remove "manual" control from the game itself.

Speaking of Lumines... sweet baby Jesus, I went for about 68 minutes in my first play and unlocked all but 10 skins! Now I remember why I try to avoid Lumines... it's way too easy to waste a ton of time on it!

EDIT:

Is there a different Vita power adapter that you can buy? I don't think all three pieces (plug, converter, usb cable) will fit into this case that I got.

 

[ViRGE]

Is there a different Vita power adapter that you can buy? I don't think all three pieces (plug, converter, usb cable) will fit into this case that I got.

Not one that I've seen. And Sony has either locked the Vita to approved chargers or made it very picky, as I'm unable to charge it from my iPhone charger (5V @ 1A) or my TouchPad charger (5.3V @ 2A).

 

[stuup1dmofo]

Initially, I was excited for the Vita to come out. Something I could play on my lunchtime at work, or on my couch, or even while on the crapper. Then the price for memory hit and I was quite disappointed. However, once I started reading reviews and impressions from other gamers, I was sold. Most were positive and impressed by the quality of the games. It was by all means a portable console experience, something I have been yearning for since the debut of the original PSP. A few button clicks later and a few days of waiting, voila PS Vita.

I must say, I am impressed. Uncharted, Lumines, Super Stardust Delta, Rayman Origins and a few hours of netflix along with some old PSP games transferred over have made me a follower of this little machine.

It is surprisingly light and about the size I imagined. Sure it wont fit in my pocket, but that's why i wear coats. The battery gets me through most of the day without a hitch. It wont replace my phone, but then again, it's not meant to. I bought a wifi version and use my phone as a mobile wifi spot when im not home. The best part of this machine has got to be the screen. OLED, I am a believer. The blacks are so rich and deep, i cant tell the difference between on and off. As for what separates this gaming machine from tablets and phones? Physical buttons and a real pair of analog joysticks. Call me old fashioned, but nothing beats the tactile feel of buttons or a mouse click.

Overall, I am really digging this thing. Are there some things that need improvement? Of course. Battery life, price, memory card prices, more apps, and flash would be nice. Regardless, given some TLC, this might actually stand a fighting chance in the shrinking yet still significant handheld market.

 

[LookBehindYou]

So I picked up my 3G vita yesterday with uncharted and a case. I still haven't opened it and am contemplating taking it back this afternoon after work. I read all the comments from people that own them about how awesome they are, but I had buyer's remorse as soon as I left gamestop. Kind of hard to justify the $400 I spent when I have 2 360s, a ps3, and a wii that get almost no play out of me. I'm not questioning whether the vita is good or not, but I am questioning whether it is worth it to me or not. I'd hate to spend the money and then two weeks from now it is just collecting dust.

 

[mmntech]

So I picked up my 3G vita yesterday with uncharted and a case. I still haven't opened it and am contemplating taking it back this afternoon after work. I read all the comments from people that own them about how awesome they are, but I had buyer's remorse as soon as I left gamestop. Kind of hard to justify the $400 I spent when I have 2 360s, a ps3, and a wii that get almost no play out of me. I'm not questioning whether the vita is good or not, but I am questioning whether it is worth it to me or not. I'd hate to spend the money and then two weeks from now it is just collecting dust.

I'm going through this right now. I kinda want it but I'm not sure if its a smart decision. I haven't really touched my PS3 since before Christmas. Everything has been on PC lately.

 

[Axon]

So I picked up my 3G vita yesterday with uncharted and a case. I still haven't opened it and am contemplating taking it back this afternoon after work. I read all the comments from people that own them about how awesome they are, but I had buyer's remorse as soon as I left gamestop. Kind of hard to justify the $400 I spent when I have 2 360s, a ps3, and a wii that get almost no play out of me. I'm not questioning whether the vita is good or not, but I am questioning whether it is worth it to me or not. I'd hate to spend the money and then two weeks from now it is just collecting dust.

Same. I'm trying to resist getting caught up in the launch hype.

More to this point, I will like the gaming market is changing dramatically, and I'm tired of paying $30-$50 for mobile titles. I have just as much fun with Angry Birds or mega mall story as I do with, you know, Zelda 3D.

If Sony can start selling games digitally in a Steam style sale, I'd be far more inclined to pick one up. Funny how I, like many, will dump tons of cash on a steam sale, but I feel nauseous when I think of paying $46 for Uncharted for the Vita.

 

[Aikouka]

I must say, I am impressed. Uncharted, Lumines, Super Stardust Delta, Rayman Origins and a few hours of netflix along with some old PSP games transferred over have made me a follower of this little machine.

I haven't had a chance to play Rayman or Uncharted yet, but I'm honestly a little disappointed in Lumines. As a bit of a background, I've pretty much played every version of the game except for the one for the PS2. I already mentioned the touch control in menus, but along those lines, if you're going to make me use touch in a menu, don't make the menu items ridiculously small!

Although, one of the biggest problems in Lumines that would easily drop a point from my rating is the slowdown. I saw a single point when the game's frame rate would tank, and that was when a trophy notification receded. I don't know if it's Q! Entertainment's fault or an issue with the PSV, but it happened every time on my system, and odd performance issues don't usually help you in fast action puzzle games.

I also wish they would remove the horizontal theme transition. I like the old way where the entire screen would just change at once. I find the new transition to be too distracting.

I also didn't really like any of the themes. Lumines has always had some weird music and sound effects, but they never really bothered me before. Overall, it's kind of disappointing, because I typically find a few themes that I enjoy, and I could create a playlist with them.

Kind of hard to justify the $400 I spent when I have 2 360s, a ps3, and a wii that get almost no play out of me.

I have a ridiculous number of consoles too, and I just ignore that nagging feeling that I shouldn't be buying a new "toy".

 

[warcrow]

Spent a few hours with my 3G Vita, and a few games and here are some initial thoughts:

HARDWARE:Sony proves once again they're top notch hardware engineers. The physical build of the device feels very sturdy. So from nuts to bolts--it's just a wonderful thing to hold, and oh man that OLED is goddamn gorgeous. I feel like if I were to drop the device on my kitchen floor it would probably survive without cracking screen (not testing that!). I'm still not sure how the Vita will fit into my life--as I just got it--because I love it, but it's just not small enough to tuck into my pocket. It seems it'll be for couch while my wife plays SKyrim for the next 2 years and, of course, travel.

OS & UI: Although at first a little awkward to use, it turns out I really like the look and feel of the interface. It's fast, responsive and mostly intuitive once you understand the format. When you tap an icon to launch the game, it instantly goes to a start-up screen where there are links to start the game, read the manual, go get DLC (if available), visit the website (if available) and a few other things. Not all games include all the stuff, but in my experience most appear to. It doesnt feel cluttered or overbearing to me, and really apprecaite the digital manual thing.

Applications close instantly, with a simple press of the home button and a quick swiping--love it.

The screen treads downward as you install new software. Like iOS there are little dots along the side so you can see what page you're on. So far I have not found a way to remove icons though. When I put in my copy of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, is prompted to install (huh?) and did so in about 2 seconds and now the icon sits there even when the cart is removed.

The virtual keyboard layout is also very similar to iOS where the key you hit pops up over your finger so you can see what character is hit, and I like it. However the autocomplete isnt nearly as competent, but at least it's there.

Trying to set up the 3G account thing with ATT was a nightmare, but perhaps not necicarily at the fault of Sony or ATT. Though I already have a mobile account, I couldnt remember my login to the ATT website. Trying to reset my password sucked. The dropdown security menus to answer the security questions didnt work on the Vita. I tried various other ways and finally gave up. I tried for a good 30 minutes, mainly because I wanted SSDD, but eventually just spent the $15 on the game. It was worth the frustration (and wasted time, now that I'm a daddy).

Also, in the inital setup I had to login with a temp account to update the Vita firmware in order to get my regular PSN to work. But the fun didnt end there. Initially my account was recognized either, despite being 100% certain I was inputting the correct username and password. Heck I even changed my password twice on my PS3 to make sure of it! I was 2 seconds away from calling Sony support until I plugged the Vita into my PS3 and it prompted "would you like to use the current account on your PS3?" I said yes, input the same password I've been using and it connected--YES!!

Transfering all the games over (6) from my PS3 to the Vita was slow, but there was also 8GB of data to move (read: not copy). But the interface to do all this worked well enough.



(Note: I've not beat any of these games, this are initial impressions so my opinions could change!)

(9/10) Rayman Origins: The showpiece! This is the software you're going to pull out to show off what the Vita is capable of, and in particular how beautiful the OLED screen really is. But if you're not aware, Rayman Origins is cheeky and fun and worth the $40.

(8/10) Mutant Blog Attacks: An underrated, great game I hope people don't pass on, especially for the price. In fact it's probably tied with my second favorite Vita title (Super Stardust Delta). It's wacky, fun, easy to jump in and out of. It's like a 2D Katamari. You roll around collecting junk to get bigger, so it's got a puzzle aspect to it. Is it better than Katamari, I dont know because I've not played it yet, but it's a lot cheaper.

(7/10) Lumines: It's Lumines, but with more Electronic Symphony.

(5/10) Dungeon Hunter: It's ok, but not really worht the $40 they're asking. Pick it up when it hits $15-$20 unless you're dying for a dungeon crawler.

(3/10) Asphalt Injection: Pretty bland and boring. The graphics are mostly a bore (but hey there's lens flare!), the physicals model is mostly nonexistent, the car handling is mediocre, the female commentator talks to you like you're a horny 13 yr old boy and the music is lame. You drive a car and there are things to unlock and upgrade. Word.

(7/10) Army Corps of Hell: So far I really like this game. It follows in the footsteps of Pikmin where you have a bunch of little creatures who follow you and do your bidding. It's fun, gory and coupled with really bad 80's thrash metal (which I sorta love). Cool game!

(6/10) Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus: If I'm not mistaken, it's a remake of a remake. It's not 60 frames and closer to 30, but it still looks great. I think purist might be a little turned off by that but I think it's pretty cool and kinda hard so far. If you like NG you'll like this IF you've not played Sigma.

(8/10) Super Stardust Delta: ...more more more SSD! I love it, and the controls, though a tad awkward at first, work well too. A fairly good looking game, great framerate and just so much fun.


...Still waiting to check out Uncharted, Gravity Rush (!), Hot Shots Golf, Virtua Tennis 2 and a few others I can't think of right now.


edit: updated some info and added some more opinion.

 

[Aikouka]

I'm trying to decide whether I should just buy Super Stardust Delta or do the whole AT&T 3G thing to get it for free. The only problem with the latter is that you have to wait for it.

 

[exar333]

Spent a few hours with my 3G Vita, and a few games and here are some initial thoughts:

HARDWARE:Sony proves once again they're top notch hardware engineers. The physical build of the device feels very sturdy. So from nuts to bolts--it's just a wonderful thing to hold, and oh man that OLED is goddamn gorgeous. I feel like if I were to drop the device on my kitchen floor it would probably survive without cracking screen (not testing that!). I'm still not sure how the Vita will fit into my life--as I just got it--because I love it, but it's just not small enough to tuck into my pocket. It seems it'll be for couch while my wife plays SKyrim for the next 2 years and, of course, travel.

OS & UI: Although at first a little awkward to use, it turns out I really like the look and feel of the interface. It's fast, responsive and mostly intuitive once you understand the format. When you tap an icon to launch the game, it instantly goes to a start-up screen where there are links to start the game, read the manual, go get DLC (if available), visit the website (if available) and a few other things. Not all games include all the stuff, but in my experience most appear to. It doesnt feel cluttered or overbearing to me, and really apprecaite the digital manual thing.

Applications close instantly, with a simple press of the home button and a quick swiping--love it.

The screen treads downward as you install new software. Like iOS there are little dots along the side so you can see what page you're on. So far I have not found a way to remove icons though. When I put in my copy of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, is prompted to install (huh?) and did so in about 2 seconds and now the icon sits there even when the cart is removed.

The virtual keyboard layout is also very similar to iOS where the key you hit pops up over your finger so you can see what character is hit, and I like it. However the autocomplete isnt nearly as competent, but at least it's there.

Trying to set up the 3G account thing with ATT was a nightmare, but perhaps not necicarily at the fault of Sony or ATT. Though I already have a mobile account, I couldnt remember my login to the ATT website. Trying to reset my password sucked. The dropdown security menus to answer the security questions didnt work on the Vita. I tried various other ways and finally gave up. I tried for a good 30 minutes, mainly because I wanted SSDD, but eventually just spent the $15 on the game. It was worth the frustration (and wasted time, now that I'm a daddy).

Also, in the inital setup I had to login with a temp account to update the Vita firmware in order to get my regular PSN to work. But the fun didnt end there. Initially my account was recognized either, despite being 100% certain I was inputting the correct username and password. Heck I even changed my password twice on my PS3 to make sure of it! I was 2 seconds away from calling Sony support until I plugged the Vita into my PS3 and it prompted "would you like to use the current account on your PS3?" I said yes, input the same password I've been using and it connected--YES!!

Transfering all the games over (6) from my PS3 to the Vita was slow, but there was also 8GB of data to move (read: not copy). But the interface to do all this worked well enough.



(Note: I've not beat any of these games, this are initial impressions so my opinions could change!)

(9/10) Rayman Origins: The showpiece! This is the software you're going to pull out to show off what the Vita is capable of, and in particular how beautiful the OLED screen really is. But if you're not aware, Rayman Origins is cheeky and fun and worth the $40.

(8/10) Mutant Blog Attacks: An underrated, great game I hope people don't pass on, especially for the price. In fact it's probably tied with my second favorite Vita title (Super Stardust Delta). It's wacky, fun, easy to jump in and out of. It's like a 2D Katamari. You roll around collecting junk to get bigger, so it's got a puzzle aspect to it. Is it better than Katamari, I dont know because I've not played it yet, but it's a lot cheaper.

(7/10) Lumines: It's Lumines, but with more Electronic Symphony.

(5/10) Dungeon Hunter: It's ok, but not really worht the $40 they're asking. Pick it up when it hits $15-$20 unless you're dying for a dungeon crawler.

(3/10) Asphalt Injection: Pretty bland and boring. The graphics are mostly a bore (but hey there's lens flare!), the physicals model is mostly nonexistent, the car handling is mediocre, the female commentator talks to you like you're a horny 13 yr old boy and the music is lame. You drive a car and there are things to unlock and upgrade. Word.

(7/10) Army Corps of Hell: So far I really like this game. It follows in the footsteps of Pikmin where you have a bunch of little creatures who follow you and do your bidding. It's fun, gory and coupled with really bad 80's thrash metal (which I sorta love). Cool game!

(6/10) Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus: If I'm not mistaken, it's a remake of a remake. It's not 60 frames and closer to 30, but it still looks great. I think purist might be a little turned off by that but I think it's pretty cool and kinda hard so far. If you like NG you'll like this IF you've not played Sigma.

(8/10) Super Stardust Delta: ...more more more SSD! I love it, and the controls, though a tad awkward at first, work well too. A fairly good looking game, great framerate and just so much fun.


...Still waiting to check out Uncharted, Gravity Rush (!), Hot Shots Golf, Virtua Tennis 2 and a few others I can't think of right now.


edit: updated some info and added some more opinion.

The unit feels good, but Sony cut corners on the cheap, plastic screen. That was definitely a poor decision IMHO.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

The unit feels good, but Sony cut corners on the cheap, plastic screen. That was definitely a poor decision IMHO.

Screen is fine, I put a protective film on it, but I do that with everything. Nothing about the system really feels cheap to me, and glass would have tacked onto the price substantially.

 

[warcrow]

Screen is fine, I put a protective film on it, but I do that with everything. Nothing about the system really feels cheap to me, and glass would have tacked onto the price substantially.

...and weight too. Heck I didn't even realize it's plastic until just now when reading Krakn3Dfx's post. It's not like it's poor quality plastic.

 

[blurredvision]

(8/10) Super Stardust Delta: ...more more more SSD! I love it, and the controls, though a tad awkward at first, work well too. A fairly good looking game, great framerate and just so much fun.

I got my first "near" discovery from you last night, you had unlocked a soundtrack or something that I was able to download. The gift/discovery said something about it expiring in 3 days, though. I wasn't sure if that meant I had 3 days to "claim" it within the near app or I could only use it for 3 days.

 

[tornadog]

The unit 13 demo was good, not great. the controls were a bit twitchy for my liking, but then again I dont play shooters on consoles. The graphics are nice, sound is not very good. I played the training and half of level1 then had to do something. When I went back I had to restart the level, so screw that. I will play it when I pick up the full version on 6th.

I need one more game, any suggestions. So far I have little deviants, uncharted, rayman and fifa. I am swinging between hotshots golf and virtua tennis 4, but dont know if both have enough content to keep playing. I have already dismissed lumines, UMvC3, NGS, all the racing games, and Jap games.

 

[warcrow]

I got my first "near" discovery from you last night, you had unlocked a soundtrack or something that I was able to download. The gift/discovery said something about it expiring in 3 days, though. I wasn't sure if that meant I had 3 days to "claim" it within the near app or I could only use it for 3 days.

Oh cool, are you near LA?

Yeha I turned on the location services for a bit and fooled around with Near. It's kind of a cool concept, but also a little bit creepy. I'm trying to think of what action I took that gifted you something.

But your post reminded me of the action log on the Vita. I like how it shows my friends activity cleanly. And for some reason Trophies mean a little more to me now that they're on the Vita. For some reason I couldnt care less about the Trophies on the PS3. Havent figured that one out yet.

 

[finbarqs]

waiting on my amazon order... should be here today... gonna head to gamestop, cancel my pre-order there, and get rayman and uncharted... maybe they'll match toys r us?

 

[Todd33]

Got my Vita, bought SSDD bundle and Mutant Blog Attacks along with all the demos. Not sure which "full" game I want. I ordered a case and screen protectors today, so it will not travel with me anywhere until they come in.

 

[warcrow]

The unit 13 demo was good, not great. the controls were a bit twitchy for my liking, but then again I dont play shooters on consoles. The graphics are nice, sound is not very good. I played the training and half of level1 then had to do something. When I went back I had to restart the level, so screw that. I will play it when I pick up the full version on 6th.

I need one more game, any suggestions. So far I have little deviants, uncharted, rayman and fifa. I am swinging between hotshots golf and virtua tennis 4, but dont know if both have enough content to keep playing. I have already dismissed lumines, UMvC3, NGS, all the racing games, and Jap games.

MUTANT BLOB ATTACKS! DO IT! For $8 its a fun game.

 

[tornadog]

MUTANT BLOB ATTACKS! DO IT! For $8 its a fun game.

I got that. I am returning extra copies of fifa and rayman to toysrus since I also got them from the Amazon b2g1 sale. So now I need to return them and get 2 other games, one would be Unit 13.

 

[Doppel]

Neat unit. I have no use for mobile gaming really. Something on a phone is ok but when at home (the time I would be likely to game) I have consoles. It's unreal the power they have in such a small device but I think they made a huge mistake not offering video out on this. It should be possible to hook up to a TV when at home and watch on the big screen, or for whatever media it's capable of playing. Sure has come a long way from the black and white game boy.