That's What She Said Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Well, it was launched in Japan last month but sales were not as high as expected. Layout: Reviews: from IGN: For years, I had longed for a console-quality experience on a portable, but due to hardware limitations and the high costs associated, it was impossible to achieve. Now, Sony has developed a solution that is powerful, compact and affordable in the hope that consumers like me will not only revitalize its handheld business, but also combat the ever-growing popularity of smartphone and tablet gaming. After spending the last few weeks with the model released in Japan, it's clear that the PlayStation Vita is the handheld I've been waiting for, but could a few critical flaws make it too little, too late? As a standalone device, the PS Vita is a strong effort -- it's powerful, well-designed and surprisingly battery-efficient -- but steep pricing, heightened competition in a rapidly evolving market, and Sony's insistence on proprietary formats could inevitably be its downfall. The design, large as it may seem, is actually far more practical for day-to-day use than I would have expected. While it won't fit in your pocket as comfortably as a smartphone, I found myself able to easily slip it into my jacket or backpocket with ease. What's more, if you travel with a backpack or messenger bag, as I often do, the impact is negligible. The casing is made entirely out of plastic, though its construction and the materials and finishes used give it a premium look and feel. As noted in my initial hands-on, the biggest problem with the build is the high-gloss material used for front and rear panels, which is not only extremely reflective, but also prone to smudging and collecting dirt and dust. After only moments of use, my factory-sealed PS Vita went from looking pristine to a fingerprint-plagued mess. Fortunately, the 5-inch OLED screen is bright enough to conceal smudges during use, but glare from ambient light is a consistent issue. While controlled interior lighting is manageable, exterior use is far more of a challenge. The moment you step outside, regardless of whether it's overcast or on clear sunny day, the brightness of the screen is severely diminished, making gameplay or even basic interface navigation challenging. Maxing out the brightness will help, but it comes at the cost of more rapid energy consumption. With brightness maxed out, battery life can dip below 4 hours per charge, but when it and other features are adjusted to optimize energy use, it can run for just over 5 hours per charge. The Vita falls short of other mobile products such as tablets, which can run for over 8 hours on average, but considering its features and graphical fidelity, its battery life is impressive. As for the rest of the design, Sony has done a fantastic job offering most of the key functional elements of a controller while preserving a relatively compact and streamlined device. Though considerably smaller than those offered on a DualShock, the d-pad, dual analogs and action buttons are well placed, tightly mounted and responsive. The analog thumbsticks have a narrower range of motion than you're used to, but provide sufficient accuracy for most of the titles currently available. The real test will come, however, when a traditional shooter is released for the device. Currently, the closest thing to a shooter available is Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and the dual analogs work well, but I did notice moments where small aim adjustments went undetected or missed the target entirely. Then again, the Uncharted series has never been known for its outstanding shooting mechanics and upcoming titles like Call of Duty Vita might make better use of the controls. And then there's the PS Vita's alternative control schemes, including the front touchscreen, rear touch panel, built-in accelerometer and cameras for spatial and motion detection. Early reactions to these features were understandably dismissive -- after all, as standalone technologies they seem somewhat gimmicky -- but developers have come up with some creative uses for them on the Vita. Uncharted, for example, combines both traditional analog controls and the motion and touch interfaces. The accelerometer controls your perspective when sniping, while the touch controls come into play when investigating artifacts you find or making charcoal rubbings of glyphs. At one point, the game calls upon the user to aim the rear-facing camera toward a bright light to reveal hidden text on a piece of parchment. While just a small aspect of what is an otherwise traditional third-person action game, the motion and touch controls provide an interactive experience that is wholly unique to the Vita. As compelling as gameplay can be, other aspects of the device aren't quite as polished, such as some of the native Vita apps and the system's operating system and user-interface. The PS Vita comes loaded with a few pre-installed apps, like Near, Sony's answer to Nintendo's StreetPass. Near allows users to see what other players nearby are playing and acquire 'Game Goods.' Instead of making Near features accessible from within games, it stands awkwardly on its own. The same could be said for the rest of the Vita's social functions; group messaging, friends lists and trophies are all walled off from one another. On the other hand, Sony has made sharing media between your PS3 and PC fairly simple with the Content Manager, which allows you to transfer games, music and videos via USB. Unfortunately, the Content Manager program is currently limited to Windows-based PCs, so Mac users are out of luck. As for the central UI, Sony has ditched the XMB in favor of an app-style interface that arranges games along with native functions as alternating rows of bubble-shaped icons. The rows can be rearranged and custom tailored to a user's preference, but there's no way to organize them into folders or hide icons without deleting the program entirely. As a result, users are stuck with an ever-growing array of bubble icons that is, quite frankly, ugly and unintuitive. What's worse, every function, be it a game or simply the system settings menu, must be launched like its own individual app. Though hardly a deal-breaker, small cumbersome design choices like these add unnecessary steps for the user. I would have much rather have seen Sony maintain the XMB or, at the very least, a tweaked version of it that makes use of touchscreen controls. But Sony's aversion to standardizing its user experiences across both console and handheld platforms is not nearly as confounding as its choice to utilize new expensive proprietary storage formats for games, saves and media. Games for the PS Vita can be acquired in one of two ways: game cards bought through retail or from the PSN Store. In either scenario, however, users must purchase a memory card (ranging from $19.99 for 4GB to $99 for 32GBs) due to a lack of onboard storage for saves and other gameplay data. What's worse, because the memory card format was developed exclusively for the PS Vita, no cheaper third-party solutions are available, at least not yet. And really, the cost to consumers to adopt the Vita could be a huge challenge when it finally arrives in English speaking countries in February. With the Wi-Fi unit itself costing $249, plus another minimum purchase of $19.99 for the memory card and $49.99 for most games, users are looking at an investment of over $320 after taxes. In a market where you can purchase a PlayStation 3 or an iPhone 4S for less, the latter of which offers games that are at most $4.99, the PS Vita may find itself in troubled waters. Should consumer reaction follow that of the Nintendo 3DS, however, Sony could be forced to slash prices, boosting the PS Vita's value offering considerably. Still, many of the aspects of the device aren't even fully operational yet, such as remote play, modes of Near and more. As the device makes its larger global debut and new games and updates emerge, expanded functionality and value is sure to follow. We plan on conducting a comprehensive review of the version launching next month, so stay tuned. Again, this is just the beginning for the PS Vita. Despite its faults and the challenges it may face in the larger consumer market, it remains an impressive handheld. It offers gameplay experiences never before seen on a portable device and with time, could emerge as a powerhouse mobile platform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Singh Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Label it " [Official] PS Vita Thread ". It looks better. But nice thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ṣpiderman Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Looks exactly like my PSP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Try Again Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Looks exactly like my PSP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's What She Said Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 I really want this even though I haven't had a PS since the original console, but that price is a bit steep. Hoping for a price drop a la 3DS, but not counting on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollarAndADream Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Finally.....2 joysticks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
î мцšт вяздк чфµ Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 these things are built for girly hands. i had a psp once and sold it as soon as i noticed the analog stick was starting to F up. not interested in shelling out $200+ for a "joystick" even though I could afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g_bassi13 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 It looks pretty damn sweet, even if I have absolutely no intention of buying one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Garrison Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 if only there was NHL, i would bring this EVERYWHERE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Reading the joystiq review sounds like the typical sony trend in motion... Beautiful, powerful system with too big of a price tag, featuring gimmicky functionality that ultimately dies out due to it's lack of enjoyment or overall purpose. *cough* six axis I own a PS3. I enjoy it. But it's the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RO8!! Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 these things are built for girly hands. i had a psp once and sold it as soon as i noticed the analog stick was starting to F up. not interested in shelling out $200+ for a "joystick" even though I could afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7thMan Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Reading the joystiq review sounds like the typical sony trend in motion... Beautiful, powerful system with too big of a price tag, featuring gimmicky functionality that ultimately dies out due to it's lack of enjoyment or overall purpose. *cough* six axis I own a PS3. I enjoy it. But it's the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armada Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Reading the joystiq review sounds like the typical sony trend in motion... Beautiful, powerful system with too big of a price tag, featuring gimmicky functionality that ultimately dies out due to it's lack of enjoyment or overall purpose. *cough* six axis I own a PS3. I enjoy it. But it's the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Archer Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Already got a 3DS, but I'm saving for this as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's What She Said Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 So, anyone get this/plan to get this soon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollarAndADream Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 How does the 3G work on this? Do you just pay monthly or something and you get internet everywhere you go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's What She Said Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 How does the 3G work on this? Do you just pay monthly or something and you get internet everywhere you go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jab316 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Got mine + Uncharted & Lumines. This new system kicks serious ass. The graphics are right up there with the PS3... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfruits Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 not a big rush for me looks neat but im gonna wait for the price drop then probably dive right in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryBoy Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I'm a fan of the massive touch screen but the battery life and lack of "pocketablilty" hurt its appeal. The 3DS has the same fingerprint problem, so another crappy "Trend" there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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