Discussing the PlayStation Vita
by CheekyGuy, HSM team writer
I love handheld gaming; for me it’s something of a convenience. With my current PSP system – an early adoption PSP White – I can walk into my bathroom as traditionally in the same way I would do carrying a tabloid paper. At night, I could hide under the covers to sneak a game in before I slept.
It’s great for hotel rooms when there is nothing watchable on the TV. I can browse the ‘net using the free Wi-Fi most hotel establishments now provide or watch a movie from a UMD.
From the beginning, I have followed handheld gaming with great interest, from Nintendo’s Gameboy, through to the Color and then the Advance models.
When Sony announced it would be making a handheld, and it would have the power to display PS2-like graphics capability, not to mention multimedia and Wi-Fi functionality, I thought, “You have got to be kidding me!”
It was simply called the PlayStation Portable. Or PSP for short.
So here we are, Sony’s third generation of it’s PSP hardware. The Vita. With a name that sounds aptly Italian – and refreshing to say the least – Vita continues the trend for Wi-Fi gaming and yet, despite its size, seems to be almost as powerful as your average PS3. In this generation of PSP, Sony is focusing more into motion and touch control. The exciting thing about Vita is now finally we have the twin analog sticks that we have been begging for. And not just a little stub found in the corner under the directional pad either.
The game "Resistance" on the PS Vita - note the resolution
What models can you buy?
There are two models of which you can buy. There is a Wi-Fi only version for $249 (€249.99 /£223 /24, 980 Yen) and $299 (€299.99/£268/ 29,980 Yen) for the 3G model. It’s price point is far lower than many industry insiders had predicted.
FEATURES
OLED Screen – Vita uses a five-inch organic light emitting diode (OLED) screen. What that means is incredibly sharp detail and contrast, with reduced power consumption.
Front Touch Pad – Using a multi-touch user interface, you can tap, draw and swipe at the screen to control games and create objects. It’s responsive and opens up many new gameplay possibilities.
Twin Analogue Sticks – These are real ball joint sticks this time, unlike the one used on the previous PSP; they feel just like dual shocks, just only smaller.
Shoulder Buttons – The familiar shoulder buttons, these are designed to go along with the contours of the machine and not to break up those gentle curves, and boy is this baby curvaceous!
Face Buttons – The familiar four symbols of square, triangle, circle and X that we know and love are there, albeit slightly smaller than your average DualShock pad. They are responsive, with a tactile ‘click’.
Front Facing Camera – Useful for capturing your face “In game” (example, the Wipeout 2048 game sends an image of your ‘win’ face to rivals) No word of video chat yet, but you can bet it’s in the cards.
Rear Camera – This rear camera is used for augmented reality, as well as capturing images to use in various games.
Headphone Jacks – Despite the powerful stereo speakers, no handheld device should be complete without the option for private gaming.
Rear Touch Pad – Drawing your fingers over a pad you can’t see will take a little getting used to, but once mastered, it will add plenty of new options to gameplay.
Software Format – The Vita comes with its own memory cards. A Flash card that you can buy games on as well as save updates and downloads.
Cloud Saving – This lets you upload a Vita game save onto an online cloud storage system, like PlayStation Plus. Not only can you upload your progress and keep it safe, but you can then download and continue playing on your PS3 with compatible games.
Near – This is a proximity-based service that lets two or more Vitas nearby “talk.” They swap information on the games you’ve played, trophies which you’ve earned, and other statistics. You’ll also be able to swap virtual gifts with other gamers.
GAMES
Uncharted; GOLDEN ABYSS
This huge adventure game will sell more Vitas then any other, as it will really show what the machine can do.
Streetfighter Vs Tekken
These two major fighting game franchises collide for the first time! Already porting to PS3, this fighter looks amazing, with the painted anime art style looking crisp and vibrant on PS Vita.
WipeOut 2048
The fast, futuristic rollercoaster arrives to Sony’s new handheld. Using responsive motion control steering, (you tilt the Vita to steer) touch and voice controls and cross platform eight player races between Vita and PS3, this could be a winner.
Little Big Planet (LBP)
This game needs no introduction. If you weren’t lucky enough to get the original from the welcome backpack this year, I recommend searching this out or its sequel. And for this game to be running on Vita, this is something of a miracle. This game will take advantage of Vita’s touch screen technology to select and move objects on screen, and possibly drawing your own materials to decorate levels. This feature will also come into its own when actually playing the game. This featured version of the game includes all the circuits and gadgets of LBP2, only now you can connect and wire things up with just a swipe of your fingertip, while still retaining the felt cuteness from its PS3 cousin.
Resistance
Sony’s big FPS shooter will come faithfully transferred to the small screen, featuring glorious bloody combat, huge set pieces, and a big PS3-quality multiplayer.
My only regret is in that Sony didn’t stay with it’s UMD format, as I do like my games and movies packaged in this way. Again, I would have liked to have seen backward compatibility, which was my original attraction to the early adoption models of PS3 in terms of playing my PS2 titles. But today’s technology is now heavily reliant on download sales in regards to products and services, and I think this is the direction Sony may want to go towards.
PLAYSTATION HOME CONNECTIVITY
The question on my mind – and probably every other Home user – is whether or not PS Vita would be able to connect to Home while on the move. If the PSN could allow for backup data to be transfered onto Vita, I can’t see why not we can all connect to Home wherever we are? Or perhaps Sony may have other ideas as in regards to a virtual world service on the new system.
RELEASE DATE
Sony has confirmed a 2011 release date for PlayStation Vita in Japan, but the handheld won’t hit Europe or the US until next year.
If you can’t wait until next year to get your hands on the device, Vita will be publicly available during the Tokyo Games Show this September. Or for the price of getting out to Japan, you could just import one (Editor’s note: with a bit of sleuthing, you can find websites that cater to importing JDM consoles. They’ll likely have a selection of Vitas to offer once they are available, as they did with the limited edition Japanese Final Fantasy PS3s). The PS Vita is expected to be region free.
You can watch the demonstration video here:
September 1st, 2011 by CheekyGuy | 6 comments
CheekyGuy is a loveable, mischievous Brit who first entered virtual reality via Second Life, and now frequents Home as a Grey Gamer to keep in touch with friends. In real life, Cheeky is a video editor who has just completed a Master's degree in screenwriting from Liverpool John Moores University.
Sony turned away from the UMD long ago. It was a proprietary format that never gained mainstream acceptance for a number of reasons. That’s why Sony introduced a non-UMD version of the PSP.
As for PS Home being on the PS Vita, it’s my understanding that the PS Vita is powerful enough for this to happen.
Though I have never used hand held video gaming devices I may need to look at getting one of these next year when they show up. They look very exciting to say the least. I saw all the demos of this and the tech is amazing! Good article Cheeks!
This is all I need..another distraction while driving…between makeup and texting…As much as I love HOME..I’ll have to draw the line on this one as this would really put me into another category of nerdiness..
LOL susan… You might already be across that line. Embrace the inner geek.
HOME on the go. No thanks…Home connectivity and extension on the go? Yes please.
I hope that autonomy will be long, but I do not believe in it too much.
(I hope my love will give me for Christmas (^^))