Playstation Vita thread

[strangenova]

That is alot of games for an otherwise dead console. I've never played a vita, is it really worth getting one Exhuminator?

I had a PSP way back and I liked the games on it but hated the terrible battery life.

[Exhuminator]

I've never played a vita, is it really worth getting one Exhuminator?

I'm going on a hundred physical games for the thing, so my answer is yes. But that "yes" comes with a caveat. Do you like Japanese niche genres? If you don't, the Vita's not gonna do much for ya.

[Kuruwin]

The problem with Vita is that almost everything it has is on the PS4. Unless portability is a big thing then there's not much reason to get Vita (well unless you don't own a PS4) I do still get games for it time to time but that's mainly because Vita versions are cheaper. I have preorder for Danganronpa 3 for example and on the Vita version is around 35e and on the PS4 it's 45e.

[alienjesus]

2017 has been a productive year for physical Vita releases in the USA.

Released thus far this year:

A Rose in the Twilight (platformer)
Akiba's Beat (action-RPG)
Collar x Malice (otome visual novel)
Deemo: The Last Recital (adventure / rhythm)
Drive Girls (ecchi racing?)
Farming Simulator 18 (dirt molesting)
Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star (musou strategy)
God Wars: Future Past (SRPG)
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds (otome visual novel)
Mary Skelter: Nightmares (DRPG)
Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy (DRPG)
Period: Cube - Shackles of Amadeus (otome visual novel)
Tokyo Xanadu (action-RPG)
Toukiden 2 (Monster Hunter alike)
Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception (visual novel / SRPG hybrid)
Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth (visual novel / SRPG hybrid)
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA (action-RPG)
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games (collection of visual novel / adventure games)

Still coming up this year for physical USA release:

Danganronpa 3 (visual novel / adventure) (Sep 26)
Summon Night 6 (SRPG) (Sep 27)
Axiom Verge (metroidvania) (Oct 17)
Chaos;Child (visual novel) (Oct 24)
Yomawari: Midnight Shadows (survival horror adventure) (Oct 24)
Demon Gaze II (DRPG) (Nov 14)
Tokyo Tattoo Girls (action-adventure) (Nov 30)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Igavania) (Mar 2018)
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's Memory (JRPG) (March 2018 MAYBE coming to Vita)

Has anyone been buying any of this stuff other then me? Anyone planning to buy any of the upcoming releases?

I think the third party support for Vita in 2017 has been very impressive, especially considering Sony doesn't even acknowledge its existence in the west.

I picked up Deemo when it was a Limited Run games release, and I also bought Undertale and Ys Origins on Vita via Fangamer and Limited Run too.

Most of what is upcoming or recent for the system is failing to interest me though. There's a lot of B tier SRPGs which I don't have time for because I have a backlog of dozens of A tier ones, and so so many dungeon crawlers which generally aren't my thing.

I'm also definitely noticing a push towards Nintendo Switch for some of the stuff that has been traditionally associated with Vita. They even announced Gal Gun 2 for Switch this week.

[Exhuminator]

The problem with Vita is that almost everything it has is on the PS4.

I wouldn't say "almost everything", there's still a lot of exclusives on the Vita:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category: ... only_games
http://gematsu.com/exclusives/ps-vita

But I do agree exclusives have become a rare thing in the Vita's twilight years. Not only do Vita games often have PS4 versions released in tandem, but publishers have been back-mining their once Vita exclusives and porting them to PC.

There's a lot of B tier SRPGs / so so many dungeon crawlers

You're right on both accounts. In my case, I have an affinity for those genres, and am glad to add to the pile.

I'm also definitely noticing a push towards Nintendo Switch for some of the stuff that has been traditionally associated with Vita. They even announced Gal Gun 2 for Switch this week.

That makes sense given the Switch is basically the Vita 2.0, but again in that instance Gal Gun 2 is also coming to PS4.

Ultimately I would be just fine with the Vita's westward support ending in 2018. I've been collecting for this thing for five years and am starting to get burnt out if I'm being honest. I'm not complaining mind, having a huge library to play for years to come is great. But I'd like to see those developers move to newer platforms, and push themselves further with more modern hardware.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Even if the Vita and PS4 had an exact overlap I'd still opt for the Vita. Cheaper games and portability? Sign me up.

I actually like seeing all these games get PC ports. The more accessibility and availability, the better.

I recently read an interview with Falcom personnel where they stated that if Steam was as big in Japan as it was in the U.S. then they wouldn't bother releasing console or handheld games at all(!).

[PartridgeSenpai]

Even if the Vita and PS4 had an exact overlap I'd still opt for the Vita. Cheaper games and portability? Sign me up.

The biggest setback with the "cheaper games which are also portable" idea, in my experience the Vita versions are WOEFULLY ignored post-launch. With every good indie game that comes to Vita, there's another indie game (perhaps even that very one) that has some horrible bug, issue, or whatnot that just never gets patched. I've just stopped buying games on the Vita for the most part because my experience with post-launch support has been so bad. This is especially the problem for me with LRG releases. Every Vita game I've bought from them (2) has had awful optimization for Vita. $30 wasted too many times for me to keep gambling like that when I could just get something that works on Switch or PC

[BoneSnapDeez]

I never even bothered with LRG and likely never will. Having to compete with scalpers and resellers is a dreadful proposition, and there are enough normal Vita retail releases to keep me satisfied.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I never even bothered with LRG and likely never will. Having to compete with scalpers and resellers is a dreadful proposition, and there are enough normal Vita retail releases to keep me satisfied.

Honestly LRG worked out for me in this case. I could just resell these broken games to people who want them for the collecting value, where if I'd just bought them digitally I'd be SOL and just be stuck with a digital game that don't work

[Exhuminator]

I actually like seeing all these games get PC ports. The more accessibility and availability, the better.

I understand for the greater good ports are a positive thing, I totally get that. But exclusives give a platform an identity, as its exclusives are stripped away it loses some of its distinctive personality. Also once-exclusive games lose monetary value when suddenly they're available on other platforms.

there are enough normal Vita retail releases to keep me satisfied.

I agree. I know a lot of folks love playing ports of PC indie games on their Vita. But I've always been solely interested in its retail releases, especially exclusives.