Playstation Vita thread

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Walmart had a ton of Vitas today around 6pm. Only had 3 different games, but they looked pretty stocked with those 3. I guess my rural little area wasn't all that stoked about the Vita. Big shock

Vita seems pretty popular around here. I went into the local Gamestop (I know) just to take a look and there were at least 5 people I saw walk out with Vitas.

[GSZX1337]

Somehow I doubt it cost more than the 30% chunk Apple takes on apps.

Yikes 30 percent? Still, keep in find that instead of having Apple take a percentage out of your profits you now have three parties to pay: Sony, the retailers, and the distributor. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony is somehow double dipping. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think this is GameLoft going "Hey! Let's take a $8 game and charge five times as much for the Vita sequel!"

[the7k]

Well, I was planning to get a Vita early today, as I wasn't supposed to go into work until 6pm. I figured I'd go to sleep late and still wake up more than early enough to get the system, some grub and play it for a bit before going to work.

Then I get a call at 12 Noon saying that they need me to come in ASAP - and I'd still be getting off at 10:30p, long after the stores have closed.

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

We'll try it again tomorrow. Also tomorrow, not answering the god-damned phone.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Somehow I doubt it cost more than the 30% chunk Apple takes on apps.

Yikes 30 percent? Still, keep in find that instead of having Apple take a percentage out of your profits you now have three parties to pay: Sony, the retailers, and the distributor. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony is somehow double dipping. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think this is GameLoft going "Hey! Let's take a $8 game and charge five times as much for the Vita sequel!"

Rovio did it with Angry Birds for PSMinis, and Gameloft I believe did it with their God of War ripoff as a PSMini too. Not 5 times as much, but they certainly weren't afraid to charge you more.

[dsheinem]

So now that I've spent several hours with it (about 15 minutes in Stardust, 30 minutes each in UMvc3, Wipeout, and Lumines, about 90 minutes in BlazBlue, and about 2 hours in Uncharted) here are my initial thoughts:

-The form factor of the device is pretty solid. It feels sturdy (not kind of cheap like the PSP-2000 does), it is more comfortable to hold for extended periods of time than the PSP, and it has a surprisingly light feel to it. I'd like if the Select and Start buttons were slightly raised or a little bigger, but this is my only complaint. The dual analog sticks feel good (better than the PSP nub or the DS circle pad) and the D-pad might be the best one that Sony has ever made (which is really saying something).

-The 2D games on the system look absolutely as good as their PS3 counterparts. They move blazingly fast, they are animated exceptionally smoothly, and they control exactly as they would with the a dual analog stick. I am absolutely blown away by how great 2D games look on this screen, and BlazBlu in particular is stunning.

-The 3D games - when not moving fast - are clearly not up to par with the PS3's first wave of games but it's pretty damn close. Uncharted, while prettier than any comparable handheld game, has some visuals that look closer to the best PS2 graphics (think God of War II or Shadow of the Colossus) than they do early PS3 jaw-droppers (the original Uncharted, for example). That's not to say that they are PS2-esque...in many portions of the game you are so busy that the graphics absolutely look like their contemporary console counterparts. As devs get a few years under their belts with the hardware, I am sure the graphics produced by the Vita will continue to amaze. Right out the gate, the Vita is closer to the PS3 than the PSP ever was to the PS2 in terms of graphics. Wipeout 2048 is probably the prettiest 3D game I have played, and it as a whole looks better than Uncharted (in part because it is constantly moving fast).

-Too many of the games are pushing touch screen/rear input/gyroscope gimmicks just because they can. Uncharted is the worst offender, as there are some sections where you have to swipe or tilt. I hope this is indicative of fist wave games only, and that we'll see them scaled back in time (sort of like how games on the PS3 moved away from SixAxis integration unless it REALLY makes sense in the context of the game).

-The Vita OS is not very smooth, especially compared to iOS or Android (the clear inspirations). I wish you could navigate it with the controller, and I preferred the XMB. It isn't a deal-breaker by any stretch and I have hopes it will improve in time, but it isn't a great frontend overall.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll be sinking a lot more time into it over the next few weeks and I'll have more thoughts in time - I would happily recommend it to anyone who has had a lot of enjoyment from either the PS3 or the PSP.

[noiseredux]

I'm waiting for inevitable price-drop, and for a bigger library... as it stands now, there's not a single game I could see myself buying for Vita. Sure there's BlazBlue and MvC3, but I have no need for either as I've got both on PS3. And I'm a big Lumines fan, but with a PSP and PSN version already in my collection, I can't see this is a must-buy. So yeah, I'm just waiting for a lot more exclusive good stuff.

[BoringSupreez]

I'm waiting for inevitable price-drop, and for a bigger library... as it stands now, there's not a single game I could see myself buying for Vita. Sure there's BlazBlue and MvC3, but I have no need for either as I've got both on PS3. And I'm a big Lumines fan, but with a PSP and PSN version already in my collection, I can't see this is a must-buy. So yeah, I'm just waiting for a lot more exclusive good stuff.

Me too. Seems like a neat little system with plenty of potential, but I'm going to wait for the potential to deliver before I dive in.

[ZenErik]

I just want Gravity Daze (US version won't be here til May), Touch my Katamari (not likely to bring much new to the franchise), and Lumines (also probably not much new, and no Genki Rockets tunes :'().

And if I had the buy 2 get 1 deal I would add in BlazBlue CS Extend even though I already have the PS3 version. And then I'd probably just sell it sealed to make it basically a buy 1 get 1 deal.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I'm waiting for inevitable price-drop, and for a bigger library... as it stands now, there's not a single game I could see myself buying for Vita. Sure there's BlazBlue and MvC3, but I have no need for either as I've got both on PS3. And I'm a big Lumines fan, but with a PSP and PSN version already in my collection, I can't see this is a must-buy. So yeah, I'm just waiting for a lot more exclusive good stuff.

Yup. Once we get an influx of XSeed games I'll go out and buy a Vita.

[ZenErik]

A new Project Diva game is confirmed for the Vita. That's an instant buy for me. One of the most addictive rhythm games ever created.