Thinking of buying a vita

[nightmare_gorilla]

So, with the borderlands 2 vita bundle set to drop Tuesday I wanted to ask some questions about it since I'm thinking of getting it.

1. I have a psp so i'm wondering is it'll play those games too, even if it means rebuying them would I be able to play them because I only really play one or two games because of the awful crab finger you get using a psp. I have phantasy star universe 2 and a few others but that's the one I want to keep playing for sure.

2. The grips, how is it to hold compared to the psp and is it still comfortable after playing for a few hours?

3. I know the memory cards are expensive and bullshit, the bundle comes with an 8gig card but I imagine i'm going to need at least 16gigs. how big are the game saves and how big do you recommend for memory cards.

4. how is it stand alone? I know some of the functionality is linked to the ps3 I was thinking of unloading mine since I rarely play it to help with the cost depending on how much I can get for it. am I better off hanging onto it.

5. any other helpful advice or tips?

 

[shrekfan246]

1. In general, yes, the Vita can play PSP games, but only the ones available for download on the PSN. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Phantasy Star Portable 2 is available on the PSN right now, from some Googling.

2. Personally, I find its larger, smoother shape to be quite a bit more comfortable than the PSP. The rear touchscreen is a bit large, though, in my opinion, and the way I hold it generally leaves a few of my fingers touching it. It's only a problem in games which actually use the rear touchscreen, but still.

3. The saves are nothing, it's the downloads you need to be careful of. If you're going to be downloading a lot of games, you'll want a big memory card.

4. The only time I've ever really linked it with my PS3 is to update the software or transfer PSN-downloaded games, and that's just because my wireless internet is pretty crap. Though there are some PSN games which still aren't playable on the Vita unless you download them to a PS3 first, which is stupid.

5. The battery life isn't terrible, but it's only got about a continuous four-six hours in it, which is something you'll want to bear in mind. Also, if you ever get multiple memory cards, always make sure that the system is turned off completely when swapping them (as the system can be put into an extremely handy sleep mode if you simply press the Power button, while holding down the Power button will open the prompt to turn the Vita off, but it's still technically on while sleeping).

 

[Fonejackerjon]

Sorry to be the prophet of doom but don't buy the Vita, its dead technology. Sony have completely ignored it and AAA releases are as bare as the Sahara desert. It will not get any better, since most smartphone now have completely leapfrogged its technical power.

As Jim Sterling said and I agree, its a beautiful piece of technology that appears to have been made by chimps.

A machine like the Dreamcast something that doesn't deserve to die but will.

 

[JayRPG]

Sorry to be the prophet of doom but don't buy the Vita, its dead technology. Sony have completely ignored it and AAA releases are as bare as the Sahara desert. It will not get any better, since most smartphone now have completely leapfrogged its technical power.

As Jim Sterling said and I agree, its a beautiful piece of technology that appears to have been made by chimps.

A machine like the Dreamcast something that doesn't deserve to die but will.

That.. is, at the very least, a misinformed statement.

You're welcome to your opinions but the release schedule for this year seems to contradict it being a "dead technology".

If you're a JRPG fan, this year is absolutely huge for the Vita, while AAA releases from other genres do appear limited, there are a whole backlog of PSP and PS1 games to play.

Over the past 6-8 months the Vita has done nothing but pick up steam and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon.

Freedom Wars
Hatsune miku 2
Arcana heart 3
Danganronpa 2
Disgaea 4
Akiba's trip
Blazblue chrono phantasma
Xblaze code: Embryo
Hyperdimension neptunia PP
Mind zero
Tales of hearts R
Demon gaze
Conception II
Ragnarok odyssey ace
deception IV
Final fantasy x/x-2 HD
Toukiden
Sorcery Saga
YS: memories of celceta

These are all games that have been recently released or are being released this year for the Vita, and these are just the JRPGs.

You've got the god of war and sly collections, borderlands 2 and a few others also coming shortly.

It's confirmed release schedule for this year is almost twice as busy as the 3DS and it rivals the Xbox 360, Xbox One and PS4. The only console with a busier release schedule is Sony's other JRPG machine the PS3.

I would go as far as saying that the Vita will be a required console for JRPG fans by the end of this year.

2. Personally, I find its larger, smoother shape to be quite a bit more comfortable than the PSP. The rear touchscreen is a bit large, though, in my opinion, and the way I hold it generally leaves a few of my fingers touching it. It's only a problem in games which actually use the rear touchscreen, but still.

The new Vita 2000 model fixes the back touchscreen problem, they made it smaller and the grips larger, it's so much more comfortable to hold than my old Vita, I do miss the OLED screen though but I just couldn't resist the FF10 HD limited edition white Vita Console.

5. any other helpful advice or tips?

Shrekfan answered your other questions so I'll just touch on this one and say that you won't regret the purchase, especially if you enjoyed the catalogue of games the PSP had, if you're a JRPG/RPG fan the Vita is really picking up steam in that department.

Oh and the Atelier Plus ports the Vita get are so much better than their PS3 counterparts, they are amazing on the Vita.

 

[wcaypahwat]

I haven't heard the best things about borderlands Vita, so I'd look into the other games available on the system to see if it's worth investing in. There's not a huge library available, but there's some great stuff in what is.

Research some of the games and see if it's worth the investment to you.

 

[mysecondlife]

3. I know the memory cards are expensive and bullshit, the bundle comes with an 8gig card but I imagine i'm going to need at least 16gigs. how big are the game saves and how big do you recommend for memory cards.

5. any other helpful advice or tips?

Saves aren't big. There is nothing to worry about on that one.

..Which leads to my advice: Deleting your game also means deleting your save. Make sure to back up your save before you delete the game when making room for your storage.

And obviously, bigger the storage you have, the better. I have 4 gb and 16 gb memory card. I download all my indie games (about 100 - 300 mb) on 4 gb, and the AAA games on the 16 gb.
EDIT: I mention this because you can get 4gb used pretty cheap

I think you'll manage just fine with 8 gb. But if you feel like you need more, be patient and vigilant for low price. I got my 16gb for $20. Its still not the best price, but its tolerable.

 

[shrekfan246]

The new Vita 2000 model fixes the back touchscreen problem, they made it smaller and the grips larger, it's so much more comfortable to hold than my old Vita, I do miss the OLED screen though but I just couldn't resist the FF10 HD limited edition white Vita Console.

Oh, does it? That's interesting to hear. I didn't even realize they'd already put out a new model of the system, but I guess that kinda makes sense, considering what they did with the PSP.

 

[Blitsie]

Sorry to be the prophet of doom but don't buy the Vita, its dead technology. Sony have completely ignored it and AAA releases are as bare as the Sahara desert. It will not get any better, since most smartphone now have completely leapfrogged its technical power.

As Jim Sterling said and I agree, its a beautiful piece of technology that appears to have been made by chimps.

A machine like the Dreamcast something that doesn't deserve to die but will.

And yet two years after its release they not only brought out an updated model, its also getting a crapton of fantastic games and ports heading its way, is a fantastic addition to the PS4 and is overall gaining more steam as time passes along. It may not be super popular, but its very far from disappearing into obscurity.

Anyway, if you're set on getting it, be sure to at the very least invest in a 16gb memory card, physical copies of Vita games have been a love\hate affair for me with them sometimes being cheaper, and sometimes being much more expensive than digital, so I've got a half digital\half physical library going on and its quite pushing the limits of my 16gb already. I've also heard mixed things about Borderlands so maybe buy an extra game with if you can, I highly recommend LittleBigPlanet or Gravity Rush, both fantastic exclusives that nicely show the Vita off and are probably quite cheap now.

And to answer one of your questions, only digital games take up lots of space (average being around 1-3.5 gigs, some go over 5 if I remember right, but those are rare), if you buy phyiscal copies you can pack quite a lot of games into an 8 gig card since saves barely take up a megabyte if I'm not mistaken, but still, go for 16, you won't regret it.

And just have fun Its a great portable system that you really can't help but love, especially with it getting zany games like Conception and Demon Gaze and whatnot. Owner of one since release and enjoying every moment I spend playing on it.

 

[JayRPG]

The new Vita 2000 model fixes the back touchscreen problem, they made it smaller and the grips larger, it's so much more comfortable to hold than my old Vita, I do miss the OLED screen though but I just couldn't resist the FF10 HD limited edition white Vita Console.

Oh, does it? That's interesting to hear. I didn't even realize they'd already put out a new model of the system, but I guess that kinda makes sense, considering what they did with the PSP.

Yeah, they made some changes, it's thinner and lighter, the back touch screen has been made smaller as already mentioned and they included 1gb of on board memory so you don't need a memory card unless you are downloading games from the PSN (because the 1gb is enough for saves).

They changed the OLED screen to a regular LCD though, the LCD has a more green color spectrum so it's not as good but you don't notice it unless they are side by side.

Overall the change to the screen made the Vita cheaper though, and that's why they did it.