Poll: Advice on PS Vita

[Akimoto]

I'm mostly a PC gamer but I have played some PSP games like Gods Eater Burst and Project Diva. I'm somewhat of a fan of GEB (216 hrs in) so I am seriously considering getting the Vita just for GE:2 and Project F. I'm starting work soon so I imagine the only time I can get to play would be during travel or on the crapper. Although the title says PS Vita, I'm open to suggestions to others like the DS.

TLR Which mobile gaming platform should I get and why?

EDIT: Wow thanks for the response guys! It's a great help in my decision. One more thing I forgot to ask was how I should expect to manage my games. Do I do it through a program on my computer or is it drag-and-drop like any other external HDD?

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Dude, my situation is EXACTLY similar to yours. I'm mostly a PC gamer, but I own both PSP and Vita as my little gateway to console gaming.
As for Vita, I think it's worth it by now. It has enough good ports, like Atelier Totori, Dead or Alive 5+, Ninja Gaiden 2,3, Persona 4: Golden (seriously, Vita worth buying just for that game), Mortal Kombat etc.
Also, there is extensive library of PSP and PSOne titles. So, as Vita owner, I'd say go for Vita.

 

[Akimoto]

I think it's worth it by now.

Interestingly I consulted a friend who follows the console market closely. His opinion is that while the Vita has promise and the prices may go down, Sony's stock value indicate a losing interest from game developers to invest in the Vita. The price of the propriety card also puts me off somewhat... What were the good and bad experiences for you on the Vita?

Also, do I need a PSN account just to play? Anon's attack on Sony is hanging on the back of my mind.

 

[Rack]

Agreed, between upcoming games and the back catalogue the 3DS just has much more going for it. The Vita is a much much nicer piece of kit but the game selection just isn't there. If you have a PS3 then Plus makes it a different game but without...

You might also consider an iPad. There's a lot of seriously great games on that.

 

[Korten12]

I think it's worth it by now.

Interestingly I consulted a friend who follows the console market closely. His opinion is that while the Vita has promise and the prices may go down, Sony's stock value indicate a losing interest from game developers to invest in the Vita. The price of the propriety card also puts me off somewhat... What were the good and bad experiences for you on the Vita?

Also, do I need a PSN account just to play? Anon's attack on Sony is hanging on the back of my mind.

No, you don't. You only need PSN to update games, and download them. Otherwise you can be psn free. IMO the Vita is becoming worth it. Contrary to what your friend stated, more devs specifically indies are really starting to love the vita. Plus in general there is more games and good ones that people seem to discredit...

 

[Baron_Rouge]

Honestly, IMHO, the Vita is amazing. I know people say the library is lacking, but I have quite a backlog. With the release of Soul Sacrifice, LittleBigPlanet, Gravity Rush and P4 Golden, I think it has enough great retail games to justify a purchase, with the promise of some more quality titles to come. However, it's the downloadable ones that have been taking up my time. Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack and Guacamelee are two excellent, very fun action-platformers, and I've recently fallen in love with Thomas was Alone, which is a unique and wonderful experience. Jetpack Joyride is a surprisingly addictive, very fun diversion,and it's free. You also get the console ports like Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (which I haven't had a chance to play yet) and PS All-Stars, and it's getting the Sly and Jak and Daxter collections in the future. Honestly, I haven't regretted mine for a moment.

I can't promise you'll fall in love with it like I have, but so long as you're not too much of an FPS-focussed player, it's a wonderful device. If FPS's are what you want, the two it has a are mediocre and dismal respectively, from what I've seen. Could definitely pick up with Killzone Mercenary though.

 

[Akimoto]

but so long as you're not too much of an FPS-focussed player

For games on the console I'm more of a action guy with some music based games on the sides. I have a long standing dislike of FPS (read:mouse and keyboard) on a controller system (and vice versa) but to be fair, I have played Dark Souls on the keyboard and it was great fun.

I know one of my friends would be ecstatic when I start on the Persona series. =)

 

[gorfias]

Get a good Android Phone.

But, the PSVita is supposed to have a future with the PS4. If you're thinking of a getting a PS4, this could be really amazing.

I like the Vita over the DS because I think it has better graphics and dual thumb sticks.

EDIT: If you have a Nvidia series 6 PC graphics card...

 

[DelphiSantano]

The 3DS has a huge range of high-quality titles, I spend most of my gaming time using mine (I commute to work and back, it's perfect for the train).
Fire Emblem: Awakening, especially is a great title that sucks you in.

 

[Jhooud]

I picked up a Vita a couple of months ago from eBay, and have been very happy with the purchase. The thing is fighting game heaven at the moment, with some solid PSP fighters (Soul Calibur, Tekken and such) as well as some great Vita fighters (MvC 3, All Stars Battle Royale (with cheese) and Mortal Kombat). Plus really does pay for itself pretty quickly, so I'd suggest that. There are some other awesome titles as well (Gravity Rush, Uncharted and more mentioned above). If you're looking for PSP titles, just make sure the ones you're most interested in are available for the Vita on the PSN store. Not all of them made the jump (e.g. Battlefront, DBZ, etc.).

The real downer to the system is the price of the proprietary memory cards...but if you can get one used it's not quite so painful.

Best of luck on your decision!

 

[Akimoto]

The real downer to the system is the price of the proprietary memory cards

That's one of the grouses for me. It's hard to show support for the system without being able to vote no to the cards. But how would you transfer your UMD games and saves to the Vita? As far as I know it does not have a UMD reader.

 

[shrekfan246]

Also, do I need a PSN account just to play? Anon's attack on Sony is hanging on the back of my mind.

Barely anything even came out of that "attack" in the first place, and nothing has happened since then. A few people had to change a little bit of information. It didn't even affect everyone who had PSN accounts.

But unless you want to download games (which you would need to for PS1/PSP games), the Vita doesn't even need to be connected to the internet. Though the games do get updated every now and then.

Anyway, it depends on what you're looking for. Between Soul Sacrifice, Metal Gear Solid 2/3 HD, Gravity Rush, Persona 4 Golden, LittleBigPlanet Vita, Playstation All-Stars (it's not a Smash Bros. clone -_-), BlazBlue Continuum Shift EXTEND, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, and upcoming titles like Dragon's Crown, Muramasa Rebirth, Final Fantasy X HD, among others and most of the PS1/PSP library from the PSN, it's got a little something for everyone and I really feel like it paid back the cost.

 

[Jhooud]

The real downer to the system is the price of the proprietary memory cards

That's one of the grouses for me. It's hard to show support for the system without being able to vote no to the cards. But how would you transfer your UMD games and saves to the Vita? As far as I know it does not have a UMD reader.

Unfortunately, you can't transfer UMD games to the Vita. There's a pretty clunky way to move saves over (google transfer PSP saves to Vita, it involves a computer and the content manager software on the Vita), but no way to move games.

So, if your favorites are all on PSP, then that might be the way to go. I guess this is a taste of what the coming generation of Sony consoles has in store for us regarding backwards compatibility...

 

[Korten12]

I'm mostly a PC gamer but I have played some PSP games like Gods Eater Burst and Project Diva. I'm somewhat of a fan of GEB (216 hrs in) so I am seriously considering getting the Vita just for GE:2 and Project F. I'm starting work soon so I imagine the only time I can get to play would be during travel or on the crapper. Although the title says PS Vita, I'm open to suggestions to others like the DS.

TLR Which mobile gaming platform should I get and why?

3DS has a larger library of games, and a great backlog of original DS titles.

The Vita hardly has ANY games right now. So far I can count a total of... maybe 5 must-own titles. Virtual Console/PSX games do NOT count, at all.

If you really want a Vita, I suggest holding off until a few more games come out for it. Like FFX and X-2.

I feel like people who say this don't actually own a Vita and just go on the word of mouth of other non-Vita owners... :/

There is actually more then just 5 must own games on the Vita.

LBP, P4:G, Gravity Rush, Soul Sacrifice, Thomas was Alone, Ragnarok Odyssey, Uncharted... and the list goes on. I feel people give the Vita way to little credit.

 

[Zero=Interrupt]

Once you get over the memory card costs, the Vita is a solid buy. I waited until Black Friday, and in conjunction with an Amazon Deal and gift card ended up only paying $80 for an Assassin's Credd bundle. It's an excellent system, and I still have my old PSP for the games I have on UMD. I wish I could transfer the data, but it's not that big a deal. Add in that Muramasa is coming out in June, and it's a definite clincher.

That said, I may look for a used cheap 3DS so I can play Bravely Default when it comes out here....

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

I'd recommend the vita. If Sony keeps up with its habit of putting indies on the vita then it might be pretty good for a pc gamer. I really wouldn't buy that many indi games because playing them on my computer feels like a hassle (in terms of the size of my laptop and how quick it is to start compared to a vita). But machinearium and Thomas was alone on the vita? I'll play them. And I agree that there's plenty of good vita games out now and most psp and ps1 games can be downloaded.

The main knock against the vita is that it's future is a little uncertain. I'm expecting it to pick up when the ps4 comes out. I'd expect it to sell if you can stream ps4 games to it

My only thing against the 3DS is I'm afraid Nintendo will focus too much on the touch screen and stylus for games as opposed to buttons (if I'm wrong, please tell me) . I already know that most vita don't focus on the touch screen and gyroscope. And duel analogs is a plus