official Playstation Vita Thread

[jonmoseley8]

Eurogamer have posted the prices of the PSN exclusive titles:

Escape Plan: ?9.99

Top Darts: ?6.49

Hustle Kings: ?6.49

Super Stardust: Delta: ?6.49

MotorStorm RC: ?4.79

Source: http://www.eurogamer...nly-game-prices

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Yeah just like PSP was going to flop, just like PS3 was going to flop.

Sad thing is, a lot of people still do think they both flopped because they did not have great launches. It is a deeper conversation about the overall mindset of society these days. We live in a "now" culture. So really do not even bother trying to talk about it, as some people just do not get the whole concept that a product actually goes more than it's launch and success is not just about how it did initially, but how it does over the span of it's entire life cycle. Also a whole lot of people tend to think US (North America) sales are the only thing that matter as well.

Anyway, Kotaku has reviewed the Vita.

Some good quotes from the article...

Talking about using it as compared to an iPad for gaming...

When you have a PlayStation Vita to play, you look at people like the boy with the badly controlling wannabe Western and you just? well, you pity them.

Another quote saying what I believe a few of us have said all along. This is a handheld for gaming...

If the Vita is going to be an argument for the worth of dedicated handhelds, then it is a nearly perfect argument. This new machine is an extraordinarily capable device?for gaming. It already rivals its handheld peers and even home consoles in terms of quality gaming experience. It sparkles not just because of its hardware but because of its services, which even on Launch Day Minus 1, are already some of the best-engineered in the medium's history.

This the experience I'm breathless about: the Vita isn't just providing attractive, high-end gaming on a beautiful screen but it's able to do that while running several other applications that are useful to a gamer at the same time.

Pretty much their "final thoughts."

There are valid reasons to worry if the Vita would be a good investment:

• The Vita could be the PSP all over again. Sony pitched the idea of console-quality portable games with its PlayStation Portable. It produced a respected system in the PSP, but one that most Western game developers abandoned early, blaming piracy though a stalled market in the West, where Japanese smash hit Monster Hunter hadn't caught on didn't help. Maybe Western creators won't stick around on the Vita for long, either, especially if they're still chasing gold on iOS.
  
• The Vita could once again not be sufficiently different from a PlayStation Console. Sony itself might again find itself recycling too many of its popular console games onto its handheld and fail to strike upon its own Pokemon, WarioWare, Advance Wars, Mario & Luigi or other best-on-handheld series that rival Nintendo uses to keep its handheld system fresh. Nintendo has been able to establish its handhelds as something separate from its console; Sony hasn't made as convincing a justification to non-wealthy consumers yet.
  
• The Vita could simply be one too many devices to carry around for people already loaded up with some combination of smartphone, laptop, tablet or 3DS (the last of which is entering its second generation of much better software than what it had at launch).
  

There are reasons, however, to decide to take this plunge, which is what I recommend:

• This is indeed, the most powerful and physically capable gaming handheld ever made, one sold for a reasonable price and that supports both the buy-games-at-a-gameshop lifestyle and the download-everything one. It's a connected device that will run classics (eventually from the PlayStation 1, too) and modern games.
  
• The Vita has the support of some third parties Japanese developers and, more importantly, the vast assembly of in-house developers in Japan, North America and Europe who have given Sony the ability to regularly turn out very good games under their own label?they also are likely to have better support from their Japanese studios who've been overwhelmed by the scale of PlayStation 3 development but seem perfectly suited for Vita game creation.
  
• Until you reach your fifth hour of consecutive gameplaying on the Vita, there is nothing unpleasant about the machine.
  

So yeah, basically saying it is a great device, hopefully developers stick around to keep it a great device, and can in compete in a smartphone dominated market? All the things I think anyone with common sense have been saying all along. But those of us who are just looking for a gaming device, sounds like we have made a decent decision.

They also reviewed Uncharted. Have not been able to read that yet.

EDIT - Read the Uncharted review, and it unfortunately confirms what I thought may be the case, and it is why I personally chose only to rent it. Hope those who purchased it do enjoy it, and it is only one opinion after all.

When all is said and done, Golden Abyss feels like a cut-rate version of the Uncharted games that most people have already played. It's mostly affable, it's functional, but it mimics its console big brothers so deliberately that its shortcomings stand out. Everything feels like the console version but smaller?smaller levels, smaller set-pieces, smaller combat encounters, smaller stakes. A bolder, more distinctive game, more-creatively designed for the platform and built around the characters we love could have been a great showcase for the Vita's unique elements and its console-like power.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

i really think this thing is going to flop harder then the 3ds.

yeah the 3DS really flopped by selling more units than the 1st year of the original DS.

Sad thing is, a lot of people still do think they both flopped because they did not have great launches. It is a deeper conversation about the overall mindset of society these days. We live in a "now" culture. So really do not even bother trying to talk about it, as some people just do not get the whole concept that a product actually goes more than it's launch and success is not just about how it did initially, but how it does over the span of it's entire life cycle. Also a whole lot of people tend to think US (North America) sales are the only thing that matter as well.

youre right - people have no patience these days. if a product doesnt sell 4 million units in day 1, it's considered a flop. people also love to forget history too - remember past console launches?

[Hell-In-A-Handbasket]

I am interested in the vita. But atm doesnt seem to be a good rash of games, i like and want WipeOut. Have liked that series since PS1.

Im going to wait though to see what other games come out.

I sold my PSP after a year i think. I only had 6 games though, the only ones that interested me that i bought were Mercury ( awsome ) , wipeout, and Untold Legends, i had the medal gear acid at its launch, but didnt really get into untill months later.

I still miss Mercury

[TheLegendOfMart]

Definately going to pick up Motorstorm and Escape Plan, put that massive ?5 discount voucher us Brits get with Vita pre-orders to use.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Unfortunately a Vita won't be gracing my hands for a while, but if you all buy one title at launch, make it Super Stardust.

9.5/10 - http://uk.vita.ign.c.../1218495p1.html

[TheLegendOfMart]

I wanted to start a separate post on this so it was easy to keep a track of, as I thought some people may find it of interest.Depending on how on top of it I can stay, my plan is to update this posts with links to the individual reviews, the scores given out, etc.

Hope you dont mind me stealing these to put in the first post.

[rajputwarrior]

if the 3DS isn't a flop why did nintendo downgrade their number of units they think they will sell and drastically lower the price mere months after it launched?

cell phones and tablets are the future of mobile gaming. things like this are slowly dying.

and just saying...

Vita sales got off to a decent start in Japan, but have tailed off in recent weeks. Since launch, weekly Vita sales have come in at 324,859 units, 72,479, 42,648, 42,915, 18,361, 15,219 and most recently 18,942.

http://www.computera...-not-a-problem/

i'm sure the vita is awesome, and when they get cheaper and CFW'd i may pick one up, but you gotta be kidding yourselves if you really think that portable gaming consoles have a real future in a world dominated but super powerful smart phones (that anyone can get and in some cases for free with a mobile plan) that can pull off graphics/gameplay like infinity blade 2 and shadow gun.

[(Spork)]

got to toy with one today i have to say love the screen very responsive other than that im not to impressed with it

[Fish]

I'm definitely waiting until the price drops by a considerable amount. I'll probably get it once it goes below ?150.

This is how I feel. ~?230 is too much for me and what will very likely be a small collection of games and very casual gaming. I've always loved Wipeout and Everybody's Golf, but that makes those two games very expensive! Sony need to really push out some decent PSN games. Pick up and play games are perfect for portable games machines.

[Slammers]

if the 3DS isn't a flop why did nintendo downgrade their number of units they think they will sell and drastically lower the price mere months after it launched?

cell phones and tablets are the future of mobile gaming. things like this are slowly dying.and just saying...

http://www.computera...-not-a-problem/

i'm sure the vita is awesome, and when they get cheaper and CFW'd i may pick one up, but you gotta be kidding yourselves if you really think that portable gaming consoles have a real future in a world dominated but super powerful smart phones (that anyone can get and in some cases for free with a mobile plan) that can pull off graphics/gameplay like infinity blade 2 and shadow gun.

Your so wrong. Cellphones may be the future for gaming, but not the near future. They will not surpase the vita and 3ds in this generation - but yes possibly the next one. Sure 3ds may not pull off graphics like infinity blade and shadow gun but it's gameplay that makes the games and those two titles are terrible examples as they both feature extremely shallow gameplay that if was released on 3ds or vita would probably recieve review scores of 6-7... No matter how you put it, there is not one cellphone game that can rival any of the full fledged games on my 3ds like the controls of Mario 3d land, the multiplayer experience of mario kart 7 or the full console quality gameplay and features of Resident Evil revalations.

I don't see how people claim cellphones are better for playing games. I haven't played one game on my phone since I got my 3ds. As much as there are great games on them they are nowhere near the leagues of the games tht are up and coming for 3ds and vita.

[KoL Veteran]

3DS a flop? WAT?

Dammit I thought the 3G bundle was going to ship on Feb 15 like the First Edition. Well I have to wait another week. :(

[KoL Veteran]

BTW Vita livechat now here - http://blog.us.plays...at-3pm-pacific/

EDIT: PS1 Classics support coming soon, awesome! and the free game for the 3G Launch Bundle is Super Stardust. :woot:

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Hope you dont mind me stealing these to put in the first post.

Absolutely not. Can keep taking from it as I update it some more, which I plan on trying to stay on top of.

Unfortunately a Vita won't be gracing my hands for a while, but if you all buy one title at launch, make it Super Stardust.

9.5/10 - http://uk.vita.ign.c.../1218495p1.html

Absolutely picking this game up. (Y) I might just go ahead and purchase it next time I fire up my PS3 actually. This is a definite in all regards.

[Blackhearted]

if the 3DS isn't a flop why did nintendo downgrade their number of units they think they will sell and drastically lower the price mere months after it launched?

cell phones and tablets are the future of mobile gaming. things like this are slowly dying.

and just saying...

http://www.computera...-not-a-problem/

i'm sure the vita is awesome, and when they get cheaper and CFW'd i may pick one up, but you gotta be kidding yourselves if you really think that portable gaming consoles have a real future in a world dominated but super powerful smart phones (that anyone can get and in some cases for free with a mobile plan) that can pull off graphics/gameplay like infinity blade 2 and shadow gun.

And you've got to be kidding yourself if you think phones can ever replace a proper gaming device. Games are meant to be fun things. Touch only devices that rely on emulation of controls create games that are INFINITELY more frustrating and un-fun to play. Add in the fact that there are very very few games that can even match a proper handheld game in depth, quality, longevity(meaning you play longer than 30 mins before it gets boring), etc. and phones have no chance of replacing handhelds. Plain and Simple. People like you really need to wake up from this delusion.

As for your belief that the 3ds has supposedly "flopped", i'd suggest you look at sales numbers. 16 Million worldwide in less than a year after its release(and being the worldwide best selling gaming device of 2011) is anything BUT a flop. And as for your thinking the vita will completely flop too, eh, it probly wont either. But things will mostly like end up as another ds vs psp situation where sony fails again to dethrone nintendo from the handheld market.

[Boxster17]

Tossed the stream on when I saw KoL's post so was listening in while working here. Seems they're tossing Super Stardust Delta as the downloadable game that they're bundling with the first edition system so that's an excellent game to be getting for those who went that route. They also announced Resistance Burning Skies would be coming out May 29th for those interested.

[rajputwarrior]

if you guys are gonna reply to what i said, read what i said first then reply or else don't even bother. especially the smart ass that thinks that the 3ds sold 16 million when it hasn't and won't.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Lumines 9/10 - http://uk.vita.ign.c.../1218560p1.html

Rayman 9/10 - http://vita.ign.com/articles/121/1218602p1.html

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Could not have gone any better with the planning...

Wipeout 2048 arrived today, along with the 32GB memory card.

Seriously I am dumbfounded by the actual size of the memory card. It is so small it is insane, literally. I think it is actually to small, not even kidding. Can easily misplace the damn thing. Have to be super careful about handling it. Just crazy how small 32GB has gotten.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

if you guys are gonna reply to what i said, read what i said first then reply or else don't even bother. especially the smart ass that thinks that the 3ds sold 16 million when it hasn't and won't.

15.03 million as of 12/31/11 (<1yr).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS#Sales

the nintendo DS sold 14.43 million in its first year

fact is, cell phones arent a unified platform like handhelds are. there are many chipsets, cpus, and gpus. Developers would need to code for each platform and no company would want to invest in that. as someone mentioned above, emulated controls on a cell phone are terrible. also, Golden Abyss is 2.7GB - who's going to want to download that to their cell phone? even if the particular game is smaller for whatever cell phone, you'd still be talking several hundred MBs. cell phone games, today, do not have the depth of story or gameplay that handheld games have either.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Added Lumines and Rayman to the IGN list.

Both scored a 9. (Y)

Lumines is now on my radar, never played any of the earlier games. Just seems a tad expensive. Will pick it up once it drops in price.

[TheLegendOfMart]

if the 3DS isn't a flop why did nintendo downgrade their number of units they think they will sell and drastically lower the price mere months after it launched?

cell phones and tablets are the future of mobile gaming. things like this are slowly dying.

and just saying...

The 3DS "flopped" because of the high price of the console relative to the hardware you get with it and the complete bomba launch line-up. Nintendo sells Nintendo, if there is no Mario or Zelda (though there was the OoT Remake) then people just arent interested.

Though once the price dropped they started to fly off the shelves, Nintendo completely overestimated initial interest but now Mario Land 3D, Mario Kart 7, etc.. are out the 3DS is easily clearing 75k units a week compared to 24k PS3s, 17k Vitas, 15k PSPs, 1,000 DSis.

Nintendo has lost touch with the market, they are in danger of being left behind, just look at the Wii U they completely got it wrong and now they have gone back to the drawing board and are rethinking it for this years E3.

http://www.computera...-not-a-problem/

i'm sure the vita is awesome, and when they get cheaper and CFW'd i may pick one up, but you gotta be kidding yourselves if you really think that portable gaming consoles have a real future in a world dominated but super powerful smart phones (that anyone can get and in some cases for free with a mobile plan) that can pull off graphics/gameplay like infinity blade 2 and shadow gun.

Sony knows the market has changed, when the DS and PSP launched smartphones were only just coming out, now phone manufacturers and companies like Apple have drilled it into us that we need to carry a device that does everything instead of seperate devices and the app market has drilled into us that you can pick up simple casual games for 99c. Which is why they have aimed the Vita as a high end piece of kit, a lifestyle device. They arent gunning to take out smartphone sector of the market they are hoping to supplement the market for the core gamers who want better hardware, better controls, etc..

The problem with smartphones is the relative lack of power, poor controls, etc.. you will never see a 10-12 hour game like Uncharted on a smartphone because thats not what the smartphone market wants, they want quick pick up and play 99c games to waste time while they are waiting for their next appointment, waiting for the bus, etc..

Personally I think Sony are smart, its got the back catalogue of AAA IPs like your Uncharteds, Wipeouts, etc.. but the machine also has enough power so that they can tempt indie devs to port their IOS games, the architecture is pretty much the same whereas iPad 2 has dual core ARM CPU/GPU the Vita has quad core ARM CPU/GPU.

In a future where a smartphone gaming boom (and ultimately collapse in the future IMHO) the Vita is perfectly placed to capitalise on the core gamer as well as the casual IOS gamer, theres no reason why developers couldnt do a multiplatform release for IOS and Vita.

Why cant we have a platform that has 99c casual pick up and play time wasters AND ?20-30 Core games?

[Matthew S.]

Hey isn't the first edition launch supposed to come today (the 14th)?

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Hey isn't the first edition launch supposed to come today (the 14th)?

Yeah it comes a week early.

[LingeringSoul]

Thanks for putting that list together, Larry. I might do one for Destructoid, just because they have been pretty good about staying on top of Vita reviews as well.

I'm surprised at the somewhat lukewarm reviews for Wipeout 2048. Extremely long load times seem to be one of the big detractors, and sadly I can definitely see how that could get on somebody's nerves (remember Modnation Racers on the PS3?). I'm still getting it, just out of my love for that franchise, but long load times are definitely one of my pet peeves, so we'll see how long I can tolerate it for.

If I do buy Super Stardust (and it's slowly starting to win me over), I'll probably buy that on PSN, just so that it's always available. It seems like the kind of game that would be perfect for little 5-10 minute sessions here and there. I'm kinda wishing that I had done that with Lumines, but I think the box is already en route to my house. Ahh well...