should I buy a PS Vita?

[nageov3t]

I can't tell if I really want one or if it's just the boredom talking (I'm laid up at home recovering from knee surgery... while my leg is in an immobilizer brace, it's hard to sit at my PC for long periods of time, which is normally my primary gaming platform)... I've got a 3DS, but I've pretty much run out of games that I'm interested in, and I'm batshit bored of every mobile game I've got on my tablet/cellphone.

I asked some friends, but I feel like reviews are mixed between "it's great!" and "don't bother, it's dying," so I figured I'd ask AT's opinion :thumbsup:

fwiw, I'm pretty much exclusively an RPG-player... the top games I'd be thinking about buying straight away are the Final Fantasy remakes (some of which I know are available on mobile platforms too, but reviews seem pretty bad). I've got a PS3, but no PS4, but I could see myself buying a PS4 down the road if I ever work through my backlog of PS3/360 games (promised my SO I'd hold off on a new living room console system until my backlog of games has been winnowed down... can't play in the living room currently, though, because of the aforementioned knee injury)

if I were to buy a PSV, I'm looking at the Borderlands 2 bundle ($188 on Amazon) and a 16gb memory card. seems like the best bang for the buck deals out there right now.

 

[Aikouka]

Are you or have you been a PlayStation Plus member? If so, have you ever "purchased" the free Vita games? Purchasing any of those games will give you an immediate library that you'd be able to play, and I think that would make it a lot stronger of a proposition... so long as they look interesting to you.

Also, I don't know if you intend on playing Borderlands 2 on the Vita (since you have a PC too), but I've heard that it's not so good on the Vita. It makes sense as the Vita has very similar hardware compared to the 3rd generation iPad.

 

[nageov3t]

Also, I don't know if you intend on playing Borderlands 2 on the Vita (since you have a PC too), but I've heard that it's not so good on the Vita. It makes sense as the Vita has very similar hardware compared to the 3rd generation iPad.

I've got no interest in playing Borderlands 2 on any platform tbh, but for whatever reason, the BL2 bundle is cheaper than the standalone PSV by about $10.

the only bundle that legit appeals to me is the Walking Dead one, but that's selling on Amazon for like $300

 

[gorcorps]

I wouldn't bother. Like Aikouka mentioned, if you're already a PS+ member and have been adding the Vita games every month to your library you might have quite a few games to play, but if not IMO it's not worth it.

I liked mine but haven't played it in a while because nothing is really being made for it. Good hardware IMO but game support has been pretty lackluster.

 

[JD50]

I just got one a couple of weeks ago and I love it. I'm not a PS+ member, I prefer to own my games, but it's a good deal if that doesn't matter to you. There are a ton of great Vita games and they're all relatively cheap. There are a lot of good RPGs and most of the good indie titles too. I'm definitely liking it over my 3DS at this point.

 

[artemicion]

I bought a PS Vita and have a huge library of PS Vita games from grabbing everything they offered on PS+ for the past 2-3 years.

I've logged maybe 5 hours on my PS Vita in the past year or so, so it wasn't worth it for me. Though I bought mine used for about $100.

I bought it partially for the FF remakes as well. Played a little bit of FFIX and FF:Tactics and left it alone. Gameplay and loading times are so dated in those games it was tough to play, despite loving them back in the day.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I got rid of my Vita a while back. Put the money toward other things.

 

[Aikouka]

I got rid of my Vita a while back. Put the money toward other things.

I've been tempted to sell my Vita and 3DS as I just don't use them enough. I guess I just keep them around in case there's a game that I want to play or if I finally decide to play one that I already have. I think I'd rather just keep the PlayStation TV as I don't have much desire to play on a tiny screen.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'm going to get another 3DS, had one too but dumped it when the value was high before the New model released. There's still a few games I want to play on there.

 

[DaveSimmons]

The PS Vita has a decent collection of JRPGs, indies and also plays some PS1 - PS2 oldies.

I got the BL2 bundle version when it came out. The new regular-LED screen looks great to me (don't listen to the first-gen OLED snobs), and Persona 4 Golden is fun.

Borderlands 2 is an amazing achievement and it is playable, but controlling it with the little nub and d-pad is much harder for me than with a mouse + KB on a PC.

If you can afford it and like the selection of JRPGs, I'd say go for it.

 

[pathos]

The PS Vita has a decent collection of JRPGs, indies and also plays some PS1 - PS2 oldies.

This

I love mine, but I play mostly rpg's, so I have plenty of games to make the purchase worthwhile.

If you don't care for rpg's, then you probably wont to take a good hard look at the vita library and make sure there are enough games to make a purchase worthwhile.

Hardware wise, it pretty much beats the 3ds. Unfortunately, it never really caught on, so the vita, outside of jrpg's, doesn't get much love. It might not be dead, it is limping along, however.

 

[lazybedone]

depends if you travel a lot. comes in handy

 

[mmntech]

Sony dropped the atomic bomb when they referred to the Vita as a "legacy product" in that investor's meeting last week. They've since back-peddled to appease gamers, but the writing is one the wall. IGN thinks it has one year left at most.

Large publishes stopped developing for it a while back. It's become a great platform for indie titles and off-beat JRPGs. If you can get it cheap, it's worth it for games like Gravity Rush and Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Most of the launch titles were curiously strong for a handheld. PS4 remote play is also a great feature.

It's a shame the Vita didn't do well, since it's one of the best handhelds ever made IMO. It just came at a bad time. It targeted adults and teenagers who were already moving to smart phones. Mobile became a huge cash cow for publishers. Despite the Vita having a high attach rate, the bigger games people wanted had a weak ROI for developers. Which is what ultimately sunk it.

 

[nageov3t]

ended up buying one used on the advice of a friend -- "take a look at the current game offerings. if there's enough out there that you want to play, do it, but don't bank on any big new games ever coming to the system."

 

[Aikouka]

Hm, the hardest part about considering selling the device is that games tend to have an awful return. I'll have to look into them to see if any of the games have an individual resale value. What actually makes me more tempted is that some people say that Lumines: Electronic Symphony works on the PlayStation TV. That's pretty much the main Vita game that I want to be able to play.

Sony dropped the atomic bomb when they referred to the Vita as a "legacy product" in that investor's meeting last week. They've since back-peddled to appease gamers, but the writing is one the wall. IGN thinks it has one year left at most.

I wonder if they're not really wrong with it being a "legacy product". The Vita is chasing after the high-end market, and they've got some pretty unfair competition... mobile devices. You may think, "But they don't even have buttons!"; however, a mobile device line usually gets a refresh every year. So, while the Vita is "stuck in time" with its iPad 3-like hardware, mobile phones are nearly twice as powerful as that.

 

[JD50]

ended up buying one used on the advice of a friend -- "take a look at the current game offerings. if there's enough out there that you want to play, do it, but don't bank on any big new games ever coming to the system."

Yep, good advice. The graphic that I posted earlier is what helped sway me. There's enough games on that list to last me a few years, easy. Check out the "hunter" type games too. I was never into those kind of games but now that I've tried them I'm enjoying it. I got Ragnarok Odyssey for $12 and I'm really liking it. After I finish that I'll pick up Toukiden and Freedom Wars, most likely.

If you're the kind of person that always has to buy the latest and greatest AAA title for $60 at release, it's not for you. Otherwise, there's tons of good games that will keep you busy for a long time.

 

[finbarqs]

i've tried selling mine (I've got the original Vita with the OLED screen) and basically might as well keep it at such a low price now... Plus the Remote play is a joke. Not enough buttons to translate directly to the PS4, unless the game doesn't use that many buttons (which 99.9% of the games use all of the buttons)

 

[mmntech]

I wonder if they're not really wrong with it being a "legacy product". The Vita is chasing after the high-end market, and they've got some pretty unfair competition... mobile devices. You may think, "But they don't even have buttons!"; however, a mobile device line usually gets a refresh every year. So, while the Vita is "stuck in time" with its iPad 3-like hardware, mobile phones are nearly twice as powerful as that.

I don't think advancing smartphone hardware is the problem, since so few games actually take advantage of it. Rather tastes in mobile games have changed dramatically since both the Vita and 3DS launched. Nobody wants to play in depth games on a handheld. They're more interested in F2P games that can be played in bite-sized chunks on a device they always carry with them.

The Vita's one fatal hardware flaw though was the proprietary memory cards. Cheaper storage would have encouraged more digital purchases.

 

[artemicion]

I wonder if they're not really wrong with it being a "legacy product". The Vita is chasing after the high-end market, and they've got some pretty unfair competition... mobile devices. You may think, "But they don't even have buttons!"; however, a mobile device line usually gets a refresh every year. So, while the Vita is "stuck in time" with its iPad 3-like hardware, mobile phones are nearly twice as powerful as that.

I think you're missing the point re: the "legacy product" comment. It's not so much a comment on the strength of the Vita's innards, it's more of a comment revealing Sony's future plans to support the Vita. "Legacy" status basically means PS3 status--no heavy investment in bringing new games to the platform, minimal firmware updates, etc.

 

[finbarqs]

I had fun playing uncharted on the Vita.

 

[Zodiark1593]

This

I love mine, but I play mostly rpg's, so I have plenty of games to make the purchase worthwhile.

If you don't care for rpg's, then you probably wont to take a good hard look at the vita library and make sure there are enough games to make a purchase worthwhile.

Hardware wise, it pretty much beats the 3ds. Unfortunately, it never really caught on, so the vita, outside of jrpg's, doesn't get much love. It might not be dead, it is limping along, however.

Pretty much beats the 3DS huh? Bit of an understatement. Damn thing was basically an A5x in a small chassis, which stomped basically any mobile gpu of it's time at least twice over. The 3DS gpu in comparison is probably roughly equal to the SGX 535 used in the iPhone 3GS, fantastic at the time, but mobile very rapidly surpassed it.

 

[pathos]

Pretty much beats the 3DS huh? Bit of an understatement. Damn thing was basically an A5x in a small chassis, which stomped basically any mobile gpu of it's time at least twice over. The 3DS gpu in comparison is probably roughly equal to the SGX 535 used in the iPhone 3GS, fantastic at the time, but mobile very rapidly surpassed it.

well, to be fair, the 3ds does have 3d (which I hate, I not a fan of modern 3d anything), and dual screens, which I actually like.

But, yes, in pretty much every other area, the vita pretty much throttles a 3ds.

 

[Zodiark1593]

well, to be fair, the 3ds does have 3d (which I hate, I not a fan of modern 3d anything), and dual screens, which I actually like.

But, yes, in pretty much every other area, the vita pretty much throttles a 3ds.

Hell, it's not even that the 3ds is a bad device. It launched at a time when mobile tech was beginning to really pick up. It also didn't help there was a severe lack of SoCs to choose from at the time. In a handheld console you'd need a chip that sips very little power under full load while still providing adequate visuals.

Even today, very few SoCs are well suited to hours long gaming sessions, guzzling large batteries very quickly, and rapidly feel like you're holding a hot plate. And yet, people likely expect next gen visuals from any upcoming mobile console.

 

[artemicion]

Hell, it's not even that the 3ds is a bad device. It launched at a time when mobile tech was beginning to really pick up. It also didn't help there was a severe lack of SoCs to choose from at the time. In a handheld console you'd need a chip that sips very little power under full load while still providing adequate visuals.

Even today, very few SoCs are well suited to hours long gaming sessions, guzzling large batteries very quickly, and rapidly feel like you're holding a hot plate. And yet, people likely expect next gen visuals from any upcoming mobile console.

3DS vs. Vita is a pretty good example of the importance of platform exclusives--far more important that CPU/GPU horsepower. 3DS is pretty crappy in terms of horsepower, yet Pokemon, Monster Hunter, and Mario carried the 3DS to huge success.

 

[mmntech]

3DS vs. Vita is a pretty good example of the importance of platform exclusives--far more important that CPU/GPU horsepower. 3DS is pretty crappy in terms of horsepower, yet Pokemon, Monster Hunter, and Mario carried the 3DS to huge success.

Nintendo also puts effort into their first party handheld games.

The 3DS proves that handheld can still be hugely successful. So far it's sold almost as many units as the Wii U, PS4, XB1, and Vita combined.

Their core market though is still children. Which is a great spot for them to be in since they're a recognized family friendly brand. Smartphones and tablets haven't cannibalized sales in that demographic yet. Even so, I don't think the 3DS has sold as well as the DS. They lost the adult casual market entirely.