SONY PlayStation Vita (PS Vita)

[wermy]

That probably speaks volumes about the quality of the game


It's just shitty generic metal... I'm probably committing some sort of sin for not knowing who the artists are, but I don't really give a damn. Game soundtracks should either be incredibly carefully chosen, or simply composed for purpose.


Example: "Still Alive" from Mirror's Edge. I'm not sure what came first...actually... the game or the song.

Oh yes, Mirror's Edge has a fantastic soundtrack.

 

[Nintendo]

So emulation of megadrive is possible? How about snes and nes? Sorry just didn't realise this was possible. Would be great if it could emulate psone as well like. Guess it'll just take time. Shame that piracy takes hold as soon as things like that happen though. If only they opened it up completely but could only allow vita games that where paid for to be downloaded.

SNES9 I think.

 

[wermy]

So emulation of megadrive is possible? How about snes and nes? Sorry just didn't realise this was possible. Would be great if it could emulate psone as well like. Guess it'll just take time. Shame that piracy takes hold as soon as things like that happen though. If only they opened it up completely but could only allow vita games that where paid for to be downloaded.

SNES9 I think.

It should be noted that homebrew on the Vita currently requires a specific PSP game (Motorstorm Arctic Edge), which Sony has removed from the PSN store. So unless you already owned it, you can't do any homebrew (and even then, I've heard they have a whitelist of allowed apps/games that can be put on the Vita. This game may have been removed from that.).


EDIT: See here for more details: http://wololo.net/wagic/vhbl/

 

[Nintendo]

It'll be hacked again using another PSP game, me thinks.

 

[DaMummy]

i got my hand at a vita while wasting some time at gamestop, so might as well throw out some thoughts


first thing that struck me is, why are the face buttons so small? like, uncomfortably small. wish there was a fighting demo on it though so i could try out the dpad as it seems like it might be better than the original psp and dualshock dpads, but no thought on it since i didnt really use it, but it feels okay.


second, why force the user to only use touchscreen to control home menu? speaking of the touchscreens though, they work quite well, both of them, but theres no need for Sony to go all out in using them and making bad casual games for it.


demos i tried were little deviants, and uncharted. only about 3 minutes each though. played a level of little deviants with a confused look on my face, again back to vita games being smartphoneish. played uncharted just so i could actually try out some of the controls and these dual sticks. better than PSP's obviously, but imho, not the best things ever as some thought, although they do not stick out as much as i thought they did which would cause them to go bad within months after keeping it in your pocket, so thats good. the travel on the sticks isnt that great imo, and the tiny convex shape of them feel weird to my thumbs.


the screen you say? very nice, although i wish i couldve tried it outside to see how it works out there in the unknown-land, and both the touchscreen are very finger responsive. the plastic used is much better than that of the 3ds.


so while there are some software things that bug me a bit, and to each their own here, those should be fixable/replaceable in due time. the only things that bother me in the hardware department are the tiny face buttons, which i dont think id be able to get used to, nor do i see any reason for them being so small, and the convex sticks are a tiny bit too small as well imo, but i can imagine getting used to those

 

[Nintendo]

So, it's been 1 month and 2 days now since PS Vita launched in Australia/New Zealand...


Are your feelings still the same as mine in regards to PS Vita being the best thing since slice bread or to elaborate...Is it, in your mind still the best portable games console ever created?


I ♥ SONY PS Vita

 

[Halcyon]

i got my hand at a vita while wasting some time at gamestop, so might as well throw out some thoughts


first thing that struck me is, why are the face buttons so small? like, uncomfortably small. wish there was a fighting demo on it though so i could try out the dpad as it seems like it might be better than the original psp and dualshock dpads, but no thought on it since i didnt really use it, but it feels okay.


second, why force the user to only use touchscreen to control home menu? speaking of the touchscreens though, they work quite well, both of them, but theres no need for Sony to go all out in using them and making bad casual games for it.


demos i tried were little deviants, and uncharted. only about 3 minutes each though. played a level of little deviants with a confused look on my face, again back to vita games being smartphoneish. played uncharted just so i could actually try out some of the controls and these dual sticks. better than PSP's obviously, but imho, not the best things ever as some thought, although they do not stick out as much as i thought they did which would cause them to go bad within months after keeping it in your pocket, so thats good. the travel on the sticks isnt that great imo, and the tiny convex shape of them feel weird to my thumbs.


the screen you say? very nice, although i wish i couldve tried it outside to see how it works out there in the unknown-land, and both the touchscreen are very finger responsive. the plastic used is much better than that of the 3ds.


so while there are some software things that bug me a bit, and to each their own here, those should be fixable/replaceable in due time. the only things that bother me in the hardware department are the tiny face buttons, which i dont think id be able to get used to, nor do i see any reason for them being so small, and the convex sticks are a tiny bit too small as well imo, but i can imagine getting used to those

I agree with you the buttons X Triangle Square Circle buttons are a bit small. The problem I have is when I'm trying to play Wipeout my right thumb bumps into the right joystick. This actually does something in one of the styles of races and can be kind of frusterating. I'm not sure how much I really dig only being able to navigate the main menu with touch, I guess I just kind of want to use the joysticks and buttons but it is not the end of the world.


I'm really looking forward to advances in the Software as well, it should be able to load PS1 games directly to the device to play instead of connecting to the Playstation 3. I'm sure many good things are in the works and comming. I mean when I think about what the PSP originally offered in software and what it can do now it is quite a big difference so we will see.

 

[Jumpman]

So, it's been 1 month and 2 days now since PS Vita launched in Australia/New Zealand...


Are your feelings still the same as mine in regards to PS Vita being the best thing since slice bread or to elaborate...Is it, in your mind still the best portable games console ever created?

I'm LOVING IT!


I was playing Resident Evil Revelations right up to the Vita's release, and I finally went back to it a few days ago, but still havn't spent the time to finish it. The Vita has been my mainstay for the last month with only a little Pandora slipped in here and there.


Do I think it is the best portable handheld ever? Hands down this is the best. Sadly, to be consider a great device 5-10 years from now it will have to have a great software library, and that remains to be seen.


The touch screen didn't tickle my fancy at first, as I hate being forced to use it when my hand is already on the pad or analog stick, but over time it doesn't really bother me at all. The small buttons felt a little weird at first, but now I don't even notice them anymore. I have small hands, so they fit me well.


The size and shape are also perfect. I can play for hours and my hands never hurt. The screen is just beyond words, just PERFECT! I also find the new analog sticks to be perfect. A lot of people complained that they found the aiming in Uncharted to be hard compared to the console games, but my aiming was actually better here. Once again, this could be due to my small hands.


The operating system here is also very well done, and works very well for a handheld gaming device. EVERYTHING just works and is super quick. I have yet to have any kind of pauses or slowdown for anything.


So after a month would I like to change anything on the Vita? WOW, I'm really having to think about this and think hard. Right away nothing really comes to mind. I guess it would be nice if sometimes I didn't hit the rear touch pad, but that really can't be helped since it has to be the same size as the front, and I just need to place my hands better on the sides. This only happens on rare occasions, so that's why it's not a big deal, maybe later down the line it may become a bigger problem, but right now not so much.


Having to use the touch screen for everything kind of bothered me at first, but now I don't even think about it, it's just natural to me. This could also be fixed by a FW update, but now I don't even care.


So I guess someone might like it to be smaller our louder, but for me I really just can't think of much I would change if I could. The Vita just works, and works well. It will be really sad for the Vita to have the same life as the PSP, because it deserves so much better, but sadly it's looking like it may be about the same at best.


On the flipside of the coin, would I change anything about my 3DS? Oh HELL YES!


First off, It has been a year and I still can't get used to their choice for power button placement. Did anyone test this before release? Why the Fuck would you put the power button where the start button has been in the past? I also have small hands like most Japanese, and I can never play more than 5-10 minutes without my hands hurting. I never had this problem with my DS Lite or DSXL units. So for this reason alone, I don't play much anymore.


I would like a bigger screen, but more important to me would be a bigger sweet spot. I LOVE the 3D effects on the 3DS, but playing a game like Kid Icarus or Resident Evil where you kind of just move with the action, the 3D just doesn't work well unless you are a rock and can sit perfectly still. This in my opinion is the biggest flaw of the 3DS. Now if they can allow for a few inches of movement in any direction at some point, It would greatly help to improve the overall experiance. Which to me is the best part of a machine that is for 3D, am I right? So now I'm finding myself turning off the 3D more and more, which sucks because without 3D, what is the pooint in this machine.


So at this point I really can't see myself getting a second gen Vita unless they some how shrink it, and add better battery life, or improve the screen in some way, but I doubt this will happen to any great degree. The original PSP only shrunk, and then they mainly just improve the screen and battery life with later editions. Which is a testament to the original design(yes, UMD's sucked). Of course it needed a second analog nub, but we all knew that was not going to happen, as it would have killed the original user base. I personally never found it to be a huge problem, as I'm not a first person shooter guy, and the third person games worked well enough for me, but it would have been nice.


If Nintendo announces a new 3DS tommorow, I would sell my current unit ASAP, so I can get it. Anything they can add, would be an improvement in my mind, as the only thing that is really great about the 3DS currently is the games, but if I can't enjoy the 3D or feel comfortable while I'm playing, it is fairly useless long term.


Let the BATTLE BEGIN! Good luck to both units, as good competition benifits us all, but if I had to give up one of these units today, the 3DS would be in the garbage(Mario or not) !


Chris

 

[Null]

So, it's been 1 month and 2 days now since PS Vita launched in Australia/New Zealand...

Are your feelings still the same as mine in regards to PS Vita being the best thing since slice bread or to elaborate...Is it, in your mind still the best portable games console ever created?


I ♥ SONY PS Vita

My Pandora still wins out for me because of usability reasons, eg. you can hear what you're playing without the use of an ear trumpet, it has sanely sized face buttons + CMA can go and fuck itself.

 

[Myk]

Picked up an old psp on eBay for £20 while I wait for my pandora :/ at the moment the psp is far better than the pandora as I can have one now

 

[-Tj-]

After having it for this long, I can say I haven't been playing my Vita much, mainly because of the lack of being able to have multiple accounts on it without having to go through a complicated reformat procedure and a change of lifestyle in recent years.


Not being able to use multiple accounts means I have to do that multi-step format/memory card switch whenever I switch, which I've been doing surprisingly often, when it was working. I've actually somehow got both my 8GB and 32GB cards on my JP account now, and at no point had I formatted my US card, so all my saves still work... they just don't work with my US account anymore.


(If anyone knows how this happened and how I can fix it without formatting my card, please let me know :huh: )


I think Sony failed consumers and themselves by not doing the UMD Passport outside Japan because I have several games I would buy again if I could get a discount on PSN. What that means for Sony: more profits, since they're not actually selling physical copies of the game, AND they could be making money off the used games market because people would buy PSP games used just to put them on the Vita, which they would have to buy again. I would have purchased many of my PSP games for my Vita so I didn't have to carry both systems if I wanted to play, say, MHP3 and Wipeout 2048 on a trip. Now I don't have to (bought MHP3 on my JP account) but it would be nice to have my entire (admittedly small) PSP library on my Vita.


While I don't agree that the buttons are too small (they're small, but not too small), I do agree that the analog stick is way too close to the D-pad and buttons. The problem Halcyon mentioned with Wipeout is something I've encountered several times, and though it only happens in combat-style mode with the Wipeout-style control setup it's really annoying. X fires your weapon but tapping Up on the right analog also turns your ship around 180 and stops you dead in your tracks so you can fire on oncoming ships. Since my thumb brushes up against the analog stick while hovering over X, when I press the button my finger catches the upper portion of the analog stick and presses it up. This is such a bad oversight, both on Sony's part for designing it this way, and on Studio Liverpool for not testing the method or thinking it was a problem.


I don't enjoy having to navigate the menus with only touch, but it's not terrible. I also found it odd that the touchscreen keyboard is somewhat hard to use because of the screen size. I don't have large hands, and I like to thumb type with both hands so I have to reach to get the middle keys quite often.


tl;dr: Great hardware, questionable button layout, HORRIBLE account handling, "interesting" OS. Decent games, but devs could make some better decisions on handling controls.


EDIT: I'm concerned about the finish quality on the back. Apparently it's black painted plastic, as part has chipped off at the edge where the back case meets the back touch panel. The touch panel is raised so there's no way a drop could cause the chip, so something else may have come in contact with it. Regardless, the paint has come off.

 

[Nintendo]

1. There are many complaints online regarding the analogue and button placement for games like Wipeout 2048.


2. There have been many reports online regarding the left analogue stick being defective.


http://community.eu.playstation.com/t5/PS-Vita-General-Discussion/PS-Vita-Left-Analog-Stick-Defect-or-Possible-Firmware-Issues/m-p/15548313#M885

 

[-Tj-]

I think it's something devs will figure out, the button placement stuff. I don't recall doing any combat stages in Wipeout HD or Fury (it's been a while) so maybe it's one of those experimental control schemes that didn't get too much tlc.


Odd, the left analog stick issue... I haven't had any problems there. :blink:

 

[Nintendo]

http://kotaku.com/5896965/sony-killing-psp-games-to-prevent-vita-piracy

 

[Null]

http://kotaku.com/5896965/sony-killing-psp-games-to-prevent-vita-piracy

 

[-Tj-]

http://kotaku.com/58...ent-vita-piracy

Wat. :blink:


I wish Sony would get their act together and realize that enabling homebrew does NOT mean enabling piracy. Maybe I don't quite understand all the ins-and-outs of making a system homebrew compatible, but it seems to me that it'd be easier to enable people some level of homebrew ability on their system while locking up stuff that would enable piracy than to lock everything and swallow the key (string attached, just in case).


EDIT: On the other hand, I can understand them wanting to protect everything, but still. Pulling games from people who have purchased a game seems too extreme. Actually, I'm actually more for the physical copy purchase method now than ever.

 

[gadgetoid]

http://kotaku.com/58...ent-vita-piracy

Wat. :blink:


I wish Sony would get their act together and realize that enabling homebrew does NOT mean enabling piracy. Maybe I don't quite understand all the ins-and-outs of making a system homebrew compatible, but it seems to me that it'd be easier to enable people some level of homebrew ability on their system while locking up stuff that would enable piracy than to lock everything and swallow the key (string attached, just in case).


EDIT: On the other hand, I can understand them wanting to protect everything, but still. Pulling games from people who have purchased a game seems too extreme. Actually, I'm actually more for the physical copy purchase method now than ever.

Don't they sell the console at a loss and make money back by charging developers a fortune to deploy their game onto the PS Vita?


Seems to me that piracy doesn't even appear on the radar of concerns for enabling homebrew, it's all about licensing money.


If homebrew users are buying PS Vitas and making homebrew games for each other, who's paying Sony?

 

[-Tj-]

Hmm, good point. I suppose that would be a concern for them. However, it would seem to me that homebrew would never make up for the games they produce with money, as most homebrew games I've used have been things like tools or utilities, alternate image viewers, or games that usually aren't very long or deep. That's not to bash the homebrew game devs or anything, there's just a lot you can do when you have millions to work with.

 

[wermy]

Don't they sell the console at a loss and make money back by charging developers a fortune to deploy their game onto the PS Vita?


Seems to me that piracy doesn't even appear on the radar of concerns for enabling homebrew, it's all about licensing money.


If homebrew users are buying PS Vitas and making homebrew games for each other, who's paying Sony?

Hm, I'm not so sure that's the case with the Vita. I know they were trying to make it affordable for smaller devs to get into Vita development. That said, they are under a sort of obligation to the developers on their platform to make their best efforts to combat piracy (in my opinion, anyway).


While these PSP game exploits don't allow piracy of Vita games, they *do* allow piracy of PSP games on the Vita. If I had to guess I'd say there will soon be a firmware update that fixes the holes in the PSP emulator itself (Wololo has said multiple times that the exploits being used could easily be patched), and put the PSP games in question back on the store. That's what I'd do if I were in charge, anyway...

 

[WizardStan]

And this is why I don't understand the "Why get a Pandora? I'll get a PSP and just hack it". Yeah, there'll be a hack, there will always be a hack eventually, but in the meantime you're fighting a battle against a corporation eagerly patching every hack that comes up and pulling stunts like removing games you have already paid for.


SONY wants control, they need it, it is part of their business model, and they will fight you every step of the way in your attempt to gain control.


OPT wants to give you control, they don't want it, it is part of their business model that control be as much in the hands of the users as possible. My response to "why get a Pandora when you can hack a PSP" is "Why get a PSP and fight for your hacks when you can get a Pandora and have everything you need practically handed to you on a silver platter". You need to supply your own knife and fork though.