UncleGramps

My apologies for the brief post earlier. I just wanted to weigh in with the short version of my opinion on the Vita. Here's the long version:

I'm not saying it's bad. I just haven't seen anything about it that makes it appealing to me. I've bought pretty much every console and handheld that's come out in the last 6 or 7 years, but I can't manage to muster any sort of excitement about the Vita. It seems to be a fairly common sentiment amongst "serious gamers", which I find fairly interesting.

I will probably get one down the line, assuming that the software support is there. I am a bit nervous to see what the game prices will be. 3DS games being $40 is ridiculous as it is, and apparently certain Vita games may go up to $50, according to this: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/12/22/pl...ineup-pricing/.

It just seems like Sony is in for a really rough U.S. launch, between the memory card pricing, the game prices, and the underwhelming Japanese launch.

I love video games. I'd like to see the Vita be successful. I just foresee a very rough road ahead for Sony.

Decker

I just begin to wonder what the market is for this system (and for the 3DS as well). Handhelds were always the gaming system of choice for children (they sometimes can't operate a regular system, may not want to sit in front of the TV all day, get bored when out with mom running errands). I'm a pediatrician and therefor get to see what kids do when they're out and expecting a wait. A few years ago, everyone had a DS. I wouldn't go more than a few rooms without seeing a kid playing one. Even in it's "heyday", the PSP was pretty rare with the kids, and those that had one was usually older.
Now the kids are all playing either their iPod touch, their mom's iPhone or a parent's iPad. Occasionally, I'll still see a Dsi or an XL model. That's it. No 3DSs, no PSPs. I think targeting a handheld system to adult gamers is probably a mistake at this point, since those who travel really seem to use tablets so often and those who don't really don't need a dedicated handheld gaming system -- especially one as huge as the Vita.

That said, I look forward to checking out a Vita in person at CES next week (assuming my ticket comes through). If I get a chance to try it, of course I'll post impressions here.

collven

I think one group the Vita will do well with are trophy whores, of which I admittedly belong. Being able to get trophies on the go sounds like a great idea.

Granted, I probably won't get one at launch, but I will definitely get one before the end of the year.

fujishig

That's a lot of money for portable trophies.

I'm also losing interest, I think mainly because I got burned as an early adopter on the 3DS, and I never expected such a drastic price drop on a portable system that early. The fact that it's seemingly failing in Japan, the one place the PSP seemed to continue to do well is not a good sign (what's the last PSP title that made it to retail?). Of course, maybe all they need is another monster hunter.

This thing will play the PS2 downloadable titles (like Grim Grimoire) that are on PSN, right? Also, is this region-locked for the physical software too?

Decker

Don't know about regional locking for games. I hope not.

Apparently BB is giving away Uncharted Golden Abyss with purchase on preorders. If Amazon matches, that might be interesting.

fujishig

Yikes. Target apparently giving a gift card and now BB giving away what is probably the premiere launch game doesn't speak well for their confidence in this system selling well at launch.

Did I miss the announcement about how much the 3g would cost a month and what provider they are using? I mean, I still don't see the point of the 3g but I am curious.

tlwizard

I think that's just Best Buy Canada. Would still be awesome if Amazon matched, however.

AT&T just announced (via a Playstation tweet from CES) the prices apparently. $14.99 for 250mb, $25 for 2GB. No contract. Not sure if that's a monthly price or not.

Decker

That was a big announcement at E3:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9cZ67R5tRfU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

pinata242

and I use AT&T here in the middle of the country and I only have issues in Stillwater on game day or if I make the mistake of going into a concrete building like Target

Buckaroo Banzai

Thanks for the Best Buy Canada Uncharted heads up. I'll be canceling my Ebgames/gamestop pre-order immediately.

Setzer

Yeah, it's monthly. AT&T has that same price rate for their phones too. $15 p/mo for 250mb is ridiculous.

I'll be sticking with the WiFi only version and saving $50.

Ocelot

Man, reading some of the "no interest" posts makes me don't want to read this thread at all... I went to the PS Vita Hill thing in NYC (Stanton Street, downtown Manhattan) and just want to share some info.

The Vita is much lighter than I expected, the screen is simply beautiful (well, it's the selling point of the Vita to most people). The location of the D-Pad, buttons and L/R thumb sticks are about right for me (might be too wide for people with small hands). Physical appearance wise, it's solid, I can see myself playing the Vita for hours and not feel tired (I played 15 minutes of Uncharted and 20 minutes of LBP).

Now, the XMB experience... It's pretty intuitive for me, it has a similar flavor of that of the PS3. The only new thing is the touch interface. You can now open multiple tabs like those smartphones or tablets. You can kill a page by dragging the top right corner down (different from the wriggling X or flicking a booger), which is pretty neat. I'm a trophy addict, so first thing I did was to open the trophy page so I can toggle back and forth between the game and trophies. It's a much neater interface than the PS3 game/trophy method via the PS button. I didn't try the camera, video, music and what not, you need a memory card and the Vita units don't have one in them (duh, people can take those, lol). Overall, navigating the Vita menu is pretty easy. Oh yeah, you can opt to synch the trophies (not like the PS3, which forces you to sync, there's no option there). So, as a trophy addict, I can see myself playing a lot more Vita Did I mention that Uncharted Golden Abyss has a platinum trophy? Yeah... Anyway, there's one thing I don't like though, you can't seem to use the buttons to navigate the menu, you have to use the touchscreen (it's a bit of confusing since you can use X to select).

Now the games... Uncharted GA (will be my first Vita game as well as platinum trophy), a must have (but not $50, that's just plain greedy, I pre-ordered the title at $40 anyway). I unlocked three medals while playing the demo (not actual trophies, it's a demo). The controls are not too bad at all, the second thumb stick actually rotates the screen like the PS3 Uncharted games.

Little Deviant is a fun game, but I don't see this as a killer app for the Vita mainly because it's like any other smartphone games (I didn't play it in depth, just my first impression). By any other smartphone games I mean, you touch or tilt the screen, no buttons required. Virtual Fighter is pretty neat, you can actually select your own fighting background, it's going to generate a lot of interesting Youtube video for sure. Little Big Planet for Vita really put everything into test. You have to touch the screen to unlock doors (like playing the piano), you have to use the back screen to "rub" the blocks from the back into the front, you have the tilt the screen to navigate carts... Definitely a lot of creativity for the LBP Vita community, looking forward to it!

My final thought... I'm keeping my pre-order of the WiFi only model. I hate to buy a memory card for another $20 ($30 in my case, getting the 8gb), but it's not terrible as the price I paid for the PSP memory cards way back.

mattysemo247

I’m totally in for the Vita, just not right now. I bought the PSP at launch and just didn’t feel like I got the most use out of it. And by the time a lot of the better games came out and I started playing it more, it already went through its first price drop. I would hate to buy the Vita at launch and watch the same thing that happed with the 3DS owners. So I’ll pick one up in the future after the first or second price drop and once they start offering some bundles. For the time being, I still have a ton of PSP games I need to finish.

Noonan

I'm in the same boat. I cancelled my preorder but I'm sure I'll pick one up if/when some high quality JRPG's start coming out. Hopefully it'll cost a bit less by then.

Ocelot

OT.. how does one become a Platinum edition, I don't want gold, I want platinum :P I can't believe Sony stole DVDTalk's ranking system...

fujishig

I think the mind control is working, I'm really considering changing to the 3G because of the free memory card... which would still make it 20 bucks more for a feature that I don't think I'd ever use.

Decker

But it also comes with a $15 game, right? That makes it only $5 more (assuming you want the game).

jdpatri

I haven't bought a portable system since the launch DS... and for some reason I am inexplicably tempted by this thing. It also happens to be released before a conference in Chicago which would definitely require a new gadget!

Liver&Onions

So if this is the trend, you'll save about $4 going with the digital download of a title vs the hard copy.

fujishig

I think it's just 10% off...

NiCK Crush

I'm 4 years late to the Uncharted party and just beat 1 and 2... loved them. Now I almost want to get a Vita just to play Golden Abyss.

Decker

I went to Game Stop today and tried the Vita. Yeah, it's damned big. Too big for even a coat pocket, unless you're a fireman. LOVED the screen -- it's really bright. Dug the analog sticks which are small but nifty and have a good feel to them. Played a little of the Uncharted demo and was impressed -- it really felt like I was playing Uncharted. Tried a little of the front touch feature and yeah, that does feel like total cheating. Also tried a little of Little Deviants and that just feels like silly mini-games designed to show off the features of the Vita -- it's the Wii Sports of the Vita, except it's not bundled with all new units. Overall I liked it, but still not sure if I'm keeping my Amazon Pre-order at $240 for the Wifi model; it seems fair, but I just don't know if I'm ready to get one yet.

Gizmo

Most games are apparently $3-$5 off digitally...not very good.

tlwizard

In case anyone is interested, I just changed my order to Butt Plug.com. They're offering 20% off the launch bundle so it's $239.99. The only weird thing about the site is that you have to earn points to earn the discount. You get points by watching videos (ie having them play in the background.) If you sign up, go to entertainment then videos then originals and then watch the "Behind the Seams" videos for 300 points each. I think you need 2100 points roughly to get the 20% off. And then once you buy it (through Paypal) you get awarded around 1200 points. And you need 1501 points to get Uncharted Golden Abyss for 34.99. All free shipping.

There are some people on CAG talking about it. Apparently the site is legit, and $60 off seems like a great deal to me.

edit: huh, for some reason dvdtalk changed the link to butt plug.com. I don't know if we're not allowed to talk about the site or something, maybe because it's a referral site? Nonetheless, I'm not asking for referrals. But the site is lockers with a "z" instead of an "s" dot com.

Liver&Onions

Sorry, I won't be ordering from butt plug.com.