Playstation Vita

[BigMak]

I have not seen much buzz on these boards about it. I bought one a few weeks ago and although the game line up at launch didn't get my interest at launch I have got a few games for it. The first game I got was Uncharted, and I think it's great although not being a PS3 gamer I think I am missing some of the backstory to this Drake character. I guess the game is like Tomb Raider but with a dude. Last week I picked up MVC3, I was overall pleased with the game - what I am most wanting to get my hands on is however is Mortal Kombat Vita, since I have the console game and do like it alot.

Back to the console however I do see much growth for it, but I also feel that mobile consoles are slowly being replaced by mobile phones and pads. I am impressed by the smooth framerate on the games, I wish the PSN store was a bit more fluid and that signing into the network was faster and every app didn't have to connect - but I guess thats a battery saving feature so it's not online when not needed draining the wifi. There is not much else to say but I do like it for what I intended it for, not for things like on the bus but for airplanes and especially in my workshop since my gaming PC and console is in the house I can play a little Final Fantasy 2 (4US) while I wait for the downloads/updates/whatever I have to wait for to complete.

[kitch9]

Playing games on Pads and Phones as usually the gaming equivalent of sticking pins in your nuts due to the awful touch screen controls.

Vita is the first handheld to provide full console like controls and gaming on it is a breeze.... Hopefully it will do well.

[russ18uk]

It probably won't be long before companies realise that phones like the Xperia Play are brilliant for playing games on. Manufacturers of top-end phones should provide an addon that gives the same sort of functionality - D-pad and/or analogue stick and several buttons and triggers. It really would kill the Vita, not so much the DS, though.

[mutelight]

The Vita is the first handheld that has interested me and I have bought since the original Game Boy.

I did own a 3DS for two days before my interest level took a nose dive.

One of my buddies knows someone at Sony and managed to get one early and let me borrow it for a week to see if I would actually use it since I have a smartphone and tablet.

The Vita far exceeds my phone and tablet for true console gaming. I have now completed Uncharted twice and am now going through again on crushing difficulty.

Pricing on the Vita is very competitive for the hardware that you get with it. The build quality is fantastic and I was just watching a video the other day where some guys dropped it from four feet numerous times on all sides and it was still fully functional.

Overall it is a highly polished device and I can't wait to see where they go with it.

I still have a fair amount of games that I play on my iPad and look and play great but for games like Uncharted and FIFA, the Vita is king.

[Ninja7]

The Vita is an awesome machine. I mean you have PS3 quality visuals in something that fits in your hand, its got a screen that is viewable from any angle. And it has dual analog controls...on a handlheld.

If youre one of those comparing the Vita to something like an iPad or phone and saying its pointless, then youre no gamer nor can you probably understand what a dedicated gaming system should do. Ipad doesnt hold a candle to the Vita, not just in power but critically with controls as well.

The only area really were the Vita suffers is ergomics...which its unfortunately inherited from its just as bad PSP ancestor, though id still take it any day over gaming on an Ipad, which any true gamer would tell you is aweful beyond explaining.

[mutelight]

The new iPad uses the exact same GPU as the Vita so they are absolutely comparable in power.

[Guilty Bystander]

The new iPad uses the exact same GPU as the Vita so they are absolutely comparable in power.

In raw power sure but the Vita only has to render 960x544p wheras the Ipad 3 has to render 2048x1536p. The Vita has 128MB dedicated VRAM and 2 extra ARM Cortex A9 cores with full Neon SIMD extentions.

[reactivator11]

In raw power sure but the Vita only has to render 960x544p wheras the Ipad 3 has to render 2048x1536p. The Vita has 128MB dedicated VRAM and 2 extra ARM Cortex A9 cores with full Neon SIMD extentions.

IIRC the cores in the Vita are higher clocked as well.

[mutelight]

In raw power sure but the Vita only has to render 960x544p wheras the Ipad 3 has to render 2048x1536p. The Vita has 128MB dedicated VRAM and 2 extra ARM Cortex A9 cores with full Neon SIMD extentions.

Right, which was my point.

For a dedicated gaming machine if you are a hardcore gamer, the Vita is undoubtedly one of the best out there, just don't expect it to do anything else well. The apps are very slow and clunky and the browser is almost unusable.

As long as you are looking for nothing more than a gaming machine it is the best but if you want more than that, best to look at a smartphone or tablet as they run circles around it for everything else.

[Link316]

but who buys a handheld device for gaming like the Vita or 3DS and actually expects it to do all of those things a phone can do? I don't, I look at Vita and 3DS and think of all the games i could be playing I could care less if it can do email and browse the web i got plenty of other devices to do that with, I don't need my battery for game time being wasted, and along with control this is why phones cant do games like a dedicated gaming machine.