Is a Vita worth getting yet?

[Tupin]

It's been out for a while now, and I think Persona 4 Golden is starting to make it more popular. Any games coming down the line so I know if I should buy one if I find it at a decent price?

[GhostDog]

If you have to question it then probably not.

[retroman]

I like mine...got it on day one..

[The 1 2 P]

It's not worth getting until A). it has a decent amount of games you want to play for it and B). it gets a price drop. It just recently received a price drop in Japan(of course) and Sony US said that we are not getting an equivalent price drop. So just wait. After not selling for a few more months they will have to change their mind. I expect them to make a US price drop announcement around E3.

[kupomogli]

I think it is. I'm going to mention PS+ first, going to list the games afterwards.

Now if you do get a Vita, even though you aren't able to use Plus games during the time it's expired, it's a good option just to have a lot of great games while paying very little. It'll give time for those games to drop in price for you to get physical versions of so when Plus does expire. The games currently available for PS+ are Uncharted, Wipeout 2048, Gravity Rush, Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, and Mega Man Maverick Hunter X. In addition there's the PS3 content you get with PS+ as well.. If you get a year of PS+ before sometime next month, you get an extra three months, as long as you get it from PSN. So $50 for a years worth of content if you already know games that are on there that interests you, it's an amazing deal.

So anyways, the games.

Uncharted Golden Abyss is a great game. I'm not a fan of the touch screen sequences they shove down your throat, but it's a portable version of Uncharted with very very slight dead zone with the aiming. It's easy to get used to the dead zone and have no problem throughout the game. Some people lower the movement speed of the aiming, but it's better to leave it at a faster speed if you're going to do any of the higher difficulties.

Little Big Planet Vita. Plays like an LBP with touch screen options shoved down your throat. There's not always touch screen, but you have mini games with touch screens and some stages are designed touch screen. I think LBP Vita is just as good as LBP2 and a few of the touch screen only mini games are very good. Tapling, linked below, is a full game within a world of LBP called The Arcade. Touch screen only but extremely fun. Probably the best thing about LBP Vita is that you can now save any community games to your memory stick and play them without being connected to the internet, but you can still just favorite or like the stages just like you can in LBP. Vita doesn't use the stages from the PS3 games though, but there are already a bunch of great user creations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49H-EeZ1OgU

Wipeout 2048. The best Wipeout game in my opinion and one of my favorite racers. I think the stages in 2048 are the best in the series, but then you can purchase the Wipeout HD/Fury DLC, to add all the PS3 stages and challenges. There were some lag spikes and long load times before the first couple patches, but now it loads quickly the game mantains a solid 30fps no matter what's happening on screen.

Gravity Rush. An open world game and while using a variety of functions on the Vita, it actually uses these functions and the game is still a lot of fun playing. The game has a very large map which you can get around easily if you just shift gravity, but the missions and challenges require you to actually utliize your gravity powers in a variety of different ways which makes it a lot of fun.

Unit 13. For some reason I've heard people don't like this game, but I thought it was really good. There are 36 stages and then high priority targets. Some stages can be completed quickly in a couple of minutes, some are longer being between 2-15 minutes. Each stage you gain exp, allowing your characters to equip different weapons, different types of grenades, scopes, etc. You also get a ranking from one to five stars each stage. Unit 13 has no dead zone with the aiming. Everything is very quick and precise. There are only a few things you need to use the touch screen for, which is throwing a grenade which you'll throw it the direction you're aiming with the right stick by just pressing on the grenade, not the drag and drop bs like on Uncharted. You also use the touch screen to jump over cover or plant/disarm mines/bombs, whatever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH82sqVAGvw

Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus.

It's Ninja Gaiden Sigma. It's a decent game, although already on the PS3 and XBOX. I haven't played the Vita version, but still listing this.

I don't own these games, but games you might like that are currently out. Persona 4, Little King Story, and Assassin's Creed 3 Liberation.

I'm not a fan of every game I've played. I wouldn't recommend Little Deviants. Some people like Ragnarok Odyssey, and the game is okay, but going through each mission without doing the same ones over again, you still keep going through the same areas repeating the same stuff over and over. That's the style of play it has but it's not as fun as Phantasy Star Online which uses the same concept for quests. I'd recommend you try the demo out before you purchase the game.

--

Games that are coming out that I'm interested in.

Ys Memories of Celceta. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rdAdogcfgY
Dragon's Crown(PS3/Vita.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a_g7lUliQU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPASmQ-nqEA
Soul Sacrifice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD72jowQUsE
Killzone Mercenary(not so much, so probably after price drop.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOV_rVrnezE
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJuABtW-HEo
Dead or Alive 5 Plus(not really interested since I'm getting the PS3 version, but may end up eventually getting it. I own Dimensions on 3DS.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj51YcfBYpo

I have two Vita's right now. After getting ECFW on my original Vita, basically PSP custom firmware. Then a post from Wololo.net that said looks like the kernel mode is shut out for good. I didn't want to update. Playing emulators and PSP games on the Vita, the colors are literally jaw dropping and it's the perfect portable to play on. It's PSP CFW on the Vita, so no official Vita CFW, but still.

So I have a second Vita I end up using to transfer digital titles I have to my PC, then transfer them back to the Vita that I use as my main portable. If I want to play games online, such as Ragnarok Odyssey or others. I use my second Vita since I can't go on PSN with the other one. If I want to transfer my trophies to PSN, which I don't really care about trophies, I'll just swap the memory card with my Vita that can go online, then sync my trophies.

[WCP]

Truth be told, Vita is currently on life support, so if you get one, be aware of that fact. It's montly sales numbers are extremely abysmal. Very few games are on the way in 2013, and it's even worse in 2014. Sony is going to have to carry the load, in terms of software.

If you do get one, make sure to get one for a dirt cheap price. I see them on Craigslist for some pretty decent deals. This one guy was selling a Vita with a 16 gig mem card, and two games (Resistance: Burning Skies and Madden 13). I think he wanted $180 for it. I was tempted to buy it myself, just to get the 16 gig memory card. (I'd part out the rest of it and sell it off ). I'd try to get one with an 8 gig memory card at the very least. 16 gig or 32 gig is obviously much more ideal.


The thing is, you have to rationalize the purchase based on the games currently available. In my opinion, there is actually a pretty strong lineup of available games, so even if the Vita died a horrible death in the very near future, I could still survive with the games that came out for it, plus the PS1 games, and the PSP games that I can play on it. Also, if the system died, you'd imagine that it would get hacked, and you'd be able to run all the emulators on it too, which would be pretty cool.

If you end up getting a PS4, the Vita could come in very handy, from the standpoint of being able to be in your bed streaming a PS4 game to your Vita.

[Tanooki]

Honestly, no. I had one. I did not want to get rid of it, but I saw no future for it for my tastes and at large in general.

I had 5 games for the thing which were already all out by the time I got mine which I bought barely used off a former military contractor for a reduced rate as the stand alone price is a joke. I had Uncharted, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Hotshots Golf, Lumines and Katamari. I played the stuff out until it was done or I got bored with it and looking forward at the time it was a pile of inferior console ported FPS and adventure(AC3) type games plus Gravity Rush which looked alright but only reviewed with kind of mixed results so I passed on it. Beyond what I saw there was little with a 2013 date at the time and I felt it was a bad bet to keep because all the good coming for it on top of light spread releases was PS1 support which was at that point sketchy at best. It's a beautiful system with a hell of a lot of power and real potential there, but I'm thinking Sony's stupid greed and arrogance will and probably already has murdered it. They want +$10 for the games over 3DS. They still are taking the stance of third parties will come to us as we're Sony, we don't need to ask or bootlick for stuff and we're seeing how that's playing out.

At this point it has a release schedule looking something like on the amount of Neo Geo Pocket Color titles which is pathetic and that's just not good. I for one would buy the thing again if they actually started having games pumped out like the PS3 or 3DS gets and the price came down a notch too to compete with 3DS on even footing on hardware and software prices. Right now it's best looked at that 15:1 long shot in the Kentucky Derby. Sure, it has happened before, but usually they're in the back half of the pack.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Is it worth getting based strictly on the software available at brick & mortar retail?

While some of the software that is out is very good. I'd say - NO. Not at the present time.

Is it worth getting based on everything that's available on the Playstation Network Store, (Vita/PSN exclusive software, Playstation Mobile, Minis, PSOne games, PSP Games, Free content from PLUS)?

If you don't already have a PSP I'd say YES, BUT you're going to need a high-capacity memory card and the 32 Gig cards run $99 MSRP (though you can bargain hunt and find one for less).

Is it worth getting based on the quality of the hardware and the future potential that the device has within it?

Again, YES, but with that reasoning you can wait for future potential to be realized. I don't believe that Sony is going to scrap the device before they at LEAST pull a few more first party titles out of the bag to get Vita versions (God of War, Gran Turismo, etc. etc.)

So, ultimately, IF you can find one at a bargain price WITH a decent sized memory card (16 or 32) at a bargain price, I'd say it's worth it, or, really, there's no shame in waiting it out and seeing what they do with the thing in the PS4 era.

[GhostDog]

I haven't liked what Nintendo has been doing with their consoles since the Wii but when it comes to handhelds Nintendo is still king. I'm not a handheld gamer but if I were to get one I'd definitely go for the 3DS. The fact that it can play DS games is awesome as well.

[kupomogli]

They want +$10 for the games over 3DS.

and the price came down a notch too to compete with 3DS on even footing on hardware and software prices.

Get your facts straight. Golden Abyss and Black Ops Declassified were the only two games on the Vita priced at $49.99. All other retail titles have been $29.99 or $39.99, the same as the 3DS with most retail games on both portables releasing at the $39.99 price. But in comparison, Wipeout 2048 released at $29.99 compared to Mario Kart 7 at $39.99. Ridge Racer released at $29.99 compared to $39.99 on the 3DS. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection released at $39.99 compared to Metal Gear Solid 3 at $39.99. Although to be fair, developers do price games how they want to price them. Ubisoft priced Dungeon Hunter Alliance, a game that released on PSN for $14.99 at $39.99.

[Tupin]

You know what's really weird? You'd think stores would carry lots of Vitas, right? I go to the Best Buy nearest me, they never have any in stock. Even if I wanted one, I couldn't buy it there. So weird, considering they have like 50 Wii Us at any one time, and all of the Vita games available.

[WCP]

I think a Vita is well worth the money if....


1. You can get a cheapo used one on Craigslist.


Basically, you just need a Vita and a good sized memory card. You don't need to buy any games. I'd pay $150 for a Vita with no memory card, or $160 for one with a 8 gig card, or $170 for one with a 16 gig card. (I'd avoid the 4 gig cards, because they are just too damn small)



2. Get a PS plus account for it


You can get a PS Plus account for one year for $40 right now (it's on sale at certain places), plus Sony is throwing in an extra 3 months free if you do it before a certain date. With your PS Plus account, you really don't need to buy any physical games at all. Just play all the free games they give you, and try a bunch of the free demos. You'll have plenty to play. Plus, while you have a PS Plus account, there are special deals where you can buy certain games for really good prices. For example, Super Stardust Delta is only $4.89 or something like that. The games that you but at a discount, you get to keep, even when your PS+ deal is over with. Also, all the games you get with Plus, you loose them when you don't have Plus anymore, but if you ever re-up on plus, you can get all those games back.



Bottom line, Get a Vita and a big memory card and a PS+ account, and it's all gravy.

[Nature Boy]

I enjoy my Vita but I don't know what I'd say to someone thinking of getting one. Depends on how well I know them more than the Vita itself.

I'd think if you're already heavily in to the Sony world and have bought DDL games for your PSP Go or PS3 (like the PS1 classics) that you'll be able to take on the go with the Vita, it's worth it as it gives those titles new life.

If you're looking for just AAA Vita titles there isn't enough there to justify the purchase (yet/ever?) IMO. It's disappointing from that perspective but hasn't diminished my enjoyment of the device by any means. I might use my tablet 10x as much as I ever use my Vita, but I play games on my Vita 10x more than I do on any other portable device.

[eskobar]

If you have a PS3 and PSN Plus subscription is worth to have a Vita for the free games of the PLUS Instant Collection, it has decent games

[The Adventurer]

Get a 3DS, gets getting Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers and Shin Megami Tensei IV!

Among others, it definitely looks like the best portable in terms of software support in the near future.

[Trumpman]

If you want a dying system, then buy a Vita! Have you seen the sales figures?

[WCP]

If you want a dying system, then buy a Vita! Have you seen the sales figures?

In a way, I totally agree with you, the Vita appears to be on it's deathbed.



However.... Sony seems to want to give the Vita as many chances as possible to get back into the mix. The Vita is going to be a big part of the PS4 push, because of the fact that supposedly, you can play any PS4 on the Vita, being streamed in your house. For example, you can be curled up in bed, with your Vita, playing the latest, greatest PS4 game. I think that's a pretty cool feature (if it's for real, and it actually works as advertised) that could give the Vita a new lease on life.

It doesn't appear that Sony is going to outright pull the plug on the thing. It's selling better in Japan, and there is more support for it in Japan. So, if they killed it in the US, they'd still keep it alive in Japan. I just don't see them doing that, so I think they will keep it on life support in the USA, and just let it ride out it's course. The biggest problem for Sony, is that most of the 3rd party companies aren't going to be interested in making Vita games for such a small user base. Sony is going to have to really plead with companies to give it another chance. Meanwhile, they are going to have to pump some of their own software out, to give it a little hype. Then, they just have to wait for the PS4 to come out, and when people hear about the remote play, that should cause a spike in Vita sales, at least among new PS4 owners.

The Vita doesn't have a bunch of new retail games coming to it, any time soon, but it does have lots of small downloadable games constantly popping up for it.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I think a key to Vita's turnaround is likely going to correlate with the inevitable release of a Monster Hunter game in Japan.

Something like this:

1.) Capcom releases Monster Hunter game for Vita.
2.) Sales spike in Japan.
3.) Japanese developers begin developing more software for Vita.
4.) US publishers cherry pick unique Japanese games to localize, fill out/grow US software lineup.
5.) Profit?

That happened quite a bit with PSP, there's certainly a possibility of it happening again.

[swlovinist]

I think a key to Vita's turnaround is likely going to correlate with the inevitable release of a Monster Hunter game in Japan.

Something like this:

1.) Capcom releases Monster Hunter game for Vita.
2.) Sales spike in Japan.
3.) Japanese developers begin developing more software for Vita.
4.) US publishers cherry pick unique Japanese games to localize, fill out/grow US software lineup.
5.) Profit?

That happened quite a bit with PSP, there's certainly a possibility of it happening again.

I do think that Monster Hunter will help, but I think that the Vita will be significantly less successful than its predecessor. I think that this in general, has people on the fence about getting one. The price drop has not happened in the US yet which is stupid...like the marketing of this system. I personally am going to get a 3DS first before a Vita. Sales speak volumes on the lack of success of this console. People currently do not want to spend hundreds of dollars on a system that many others have avoided. There are some good games for the system, but until I see a more optimistic future for this system, there is no need to go out and buy one...I am just going to wait until Sony released version 2 or 3 with a price drop. It is like sony made a great portable and then rowed it out to the middle of the ocean and took away its oars. I personally dont think anything is going to save this console.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I can't see Sony abandoning the Vita in the immediate future, but they need to all but do a drastic/hard-stop marketing reboot at this point, I would suspect starting with a price cut on both the system hardware and (more importantly) the large proprietary memory.

It's such a spectacular piece of portable gaming hardware, it's a travesty that they've somehow bungled this thing in the marketing.