Games

Revisiting the PS Vita: Classic gaming in the age of the App Store

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Gizmag takes a second look at the PS Vita, a top-notch portable gaming machine with a scant library
Gizmag takes a second look at the PS Vita, a top-notch portable gaming machine with a scant library
The PS Vita's homescreen
We think that the flawed Uncharted: Golden Abyss might be better than any iOS or Android game you can buy today
Gameplay from Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the Vita
Ubisoft ported the two most recent Rayman games to the Vita
We still love the Vita's dual analog sticks
The Vita's D-Pad is sufficiently raised, and comfortable to use
The four action buttons should be familiar to anyone who's ever used a PlayStation of any kind
LittleBigPlanet on the Vita
The original Vita includes a proprietary charging port, while the new version (Japan only for now) supports microUSB chargers
Sony has had its share of troubles selling the Vita to a new generation of iPhone, Android, and iPad owners
The Vita's 5-in. screen is a nice size, and still looks pretty good in late 2013
Sony's LiveView for LittleBigPlanet
Old PSP titles like God of War: Chains of Olympus still look decent enough, and are still excellent games
The Vita has a touchpad on its back
The Vita is 18.6 mm thick
The Vita is 182 mm long
You can't use old PSP discs, but Vita games come as both retail cartridges and digital downloads
Back of a Vita game card
Can the Vita platform survive the age of the App Store?
Sony is getting creative, with its PS Vita TV set-top box
Gameplay screenshot from LittleBigPlanet on the Vita
Gameplay screen from Rayman Legends on the Vita
Gameplay footage from Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the Vita
Gameplay footage from PSP classic God of War: Ghost of Sparta
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It's hard to believe that it's been been almost two years since the PlayStation Vita launched. When we reviewed Sony's next-gen portable in 2012, we found it to be just about the ideal portable gaming console. But how does it hold up today? Has competition from smartphones and tablets stuck a knife in the Vita, or does its recent price drop warrant a second look? Read on, as Gizmag revisits an old favorite, the PS Vita.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that Sony recently announced an upgraded Vita that's lighter, thinner, packs different screen technology (it switches to LCD from OLED), and has longer battery life. Like with the PSP, Sony will likely spit out some slightly upgraded models every couple of years (provided the Vita sticks around long enough), and this is the first example of that. The new model, though, is limited to Japan at the moment, and we haven't yet gotten our paws on it. So we're aiming our spotlight back on the O.G. Vita, the one that most of us can walk into a store and buy today.

Hardware recap

The Vita is 18.6 mm thick

The Vita is still a very solid piece of kit. It's comfortable in hand, and gives you everything you could ask for (and perhaps a little more) from a dedicated portable gaming console.

Its 221 pixels per inch (PPI) multitouch display isn't nearly as sharp as the screens on high-end smartphones from the last couple of years. Your eyes may notice some pixelation in Vita games that you wouldn't see on something like a new Nexus 7 or Retina iPad. But we think the Vita's 5-in. OLED screen still looks plenty sharp for most games.

It would it have been nice if Sony had held off another year and given the Vita a 300+ PPI display. Games that look good now would have looked stellar on that parallel universe version of the Vita, and probably would have held up better for the course of the console's lifespan. But let's not get carried away. We think its 960 x 544 screen still looks very good, and there's nothing worth getting your sphincter muscles in a knot over here.

The Vita's D-Pad is sufficiently raised, and comfortable to use

Mobile devices may serve many more purposes than the Vita does, but one area where they can't compete with the Vita is with physical controls. 19 months ago, we were very happy with the Vita's build, comfort, and button layout, and we still feel the same today. Developers have done some creative things with touchscreen-only controls on smartphones and tablets. But when it comes to serious gaming, buttonless screens are really no replacement for traditional physical controls.

The four action buttons should be familiar to anyone who's ever used a PlayStation of any kind

The Vita gives you just that, with a pair of short but responsive analog sticks, snappy shoulder buttons, a nicely elevated D-pad, and the customary four action buttons. Add the touchscreen front display, and you have a toolbox that iOS and Android devices can't hold a candle to.

The only part of the hardware that seems excessive is the back-facing touchpad. It's a nice feature that works well, but too many games have forced it upon us as a showcase for the hardware. If it adds to the game, use it. If it doesn't, we don't need it.

Games

Gameplay footage from Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the Vita

Unfortunately for the PS Vita, mobile devices have all the momentum right now, and their app marketplaces are much more bustling than the portable version of the PlayStation Store. It's a bit of a catch-22 with the Vita: it's hard to wholeheartedly recommend it, because there are so few new Grade A games being released for it. But on the other hand, that will never change if nobody buys it. It sounds like a losing formula.

But maybe all hope isn't lost for Sony's capable little system. Though the App Store and Google Play have the Vita spanked in terms of quantity, it still wins out for serious gaming. When you talk about gaming quality, we think the Vita beats the App Store's multitude of games with just a handful of titles.

Gameplay screen from Rayman Legends on the Vita

This is the mixed bag of gaming on the Vita. Its library is both its biggest weakness and its greatest strength. The selection is scant, but the stand-out titles it does have are some of the best portable games you can buy today.

Sure, mobile app stores may have the occasional Infinity Blade or The Walking Dead (also available on the Vita), but more often you're left with ultra-casual fare like Angry Birds or Candy Crush. There's nothing wrong with those games, and they've definitely captivated a huge audience, but these titles almost always leave us wondering why we can't have something a bit more hardcore on devices like the iPad.

In our estimation, there aren't any iOS or Android platformers that hold a candle to the excellent LittleBigPlanet, Rayman Origins, or Rayman Legends, all available on the Vita. Good luck finding a smartphone or tablet third-person action game that compares even to the imperfect Uncharted: Golden Abyss, the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, or even the two God of War titles from the PSP days (digital versions of which you can buy for the Vita).

LittleBigPlanet on the Vita

Then there's the freemium factor. Mobile app stores are chock full of "free" games that are tailor-made to milk you for maximum dollars via in-app purchases. On the Vita, you can pay your US$30 or so for a full console game, and enjoy it without giving another penny to the developer or Sony. Sure, the PlayStation Store still sells you DLC, but the microtransaction craze that's sweeping the land isn't anywhere near as pervasive there. Call me old school, but I like to know upfront what I'm paying for a game. In that respect, the Vita is a breath of fresh air.

The Vita's backwards compatibility helps too. Your old PSP discs (UMDs) won't get you anywhere on the Vita, but you can buy digital versions of almost a decade's worth of PSP titles – usually for pretty reasonable prices. And though visuals aren't nearly as crisp in the older system's titles, we think they still hold up pretty well. The key is that there are some terrific games there (two great God of War entries, LittleBigPlanet PSP, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep jump out among many others).

Given the choice, we'd take a four-star game with 2008 visuals over a bland freemium title with Retina Display graphics any day.

Gameplay footage from PSP classic God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Another nice bonus in running old PSP games on your Vita is that you can kiss load times goodbye. Games that screeched to a halt at every load screen on a PSP's UMD run blazingly fast on the Vita. If you already own a ton of old UMDs, that's probably little consolation, but at least you have the option of dipping into the PSP's excellent and extensive library, in digital form.

Better value?

You can't use old PSP discs, but Vita games come as both retail cartridges and digital downloads

At launch, the PS Vita cost US$250 for the Wi-Fi only model, and $300 for the Wi-Fi + 3G version. That was a fair chunk o' change, and that didn't even include the mandatory addition of a memory card. Sony's proprietary cards weren't cheap either: they started at $20 for a mere 4 GB (only enough space for one game, if that game is Uncharted), and worked their way up to a whopping $100 for 32 GB.

Recently, though, Sony responded to the Vita's market woes by giving it a healthy price drop. You can now buy a system for $200, with even the 3G version being sold bundled with Telltale's stellar The Walking Dead for that same $200 entry fee. Memory card prices got slashed too, and you can now snag an ample 16 GB card for $40, or 32 GB for $80. This is still much pricier than microSDs, but any movement in that direction is welcome.

Sony is getting creative, with its PS Vita TV set-top box

Sony is also getting a little creative in its attempts to boost the Vita ecosystem. Last month it announced PlayStation Vita TV, a set-top box that couples with a DualShock controller to play Vita games on your television. It's only been announced for Asian markets, but if it eventually expands to other parts of the world and sells enough units, then it could boost the Vita user base, leading to more/better games. Those are all big ifs, so we wouldn't put too many chips in that pot. But at least Sony isn't throwing in the towel.

Another move from Sony to improve the Vita's standing is to amp up the Remote Play capabilities in the upcoming PS4. While the Vita can technically stream games from your PS3, the list of compatible games is so small that it's a non-starter. But with the PS4, Remote Play will supposedly include most games, and you'll be able to leave off on your PS4 and pick up on your Vita without missing a beat. If this works as advertised, it could be another reason to consider Sony's latest portable.

Wrap-up

Can the Vita platform survive the age of the App Store?

So is the PS Vita worth it? Or are you better off with the something like an iPod touch, iPad mini, or the smartphone you already own?

It really depends on what you're looking for. If you've grown impatient with touchscreen-only controls, in-app purchases hiding around every corner, and the glitzed-up-on-the-outside, hollow-on-the-inside freemium drivel that makes up 99 percent of mobile games, then the Vita might remind you what portable gaming can really be.

The Vita's game library isn't nearly stacked enough to make it a must-buy. On the contrary, it's hard to see the Vita's lack of game development as anything but disappointing. We wouldn't blame you for taking the dearth of marquee releases as an impetus to strap on your sneakers and run for the hills.

But at $240 for the system along with a 16 GB memory card, you get some very nice gaming hardware. It's still our favorite portable gaming device, with its raw horsepower, terrific controls, and exclusive Sony franchises. It opens the door to a handful of excellent Vita games, and a bigger supply of excellent PSP games. Most importantly, you can rest easy, knowing that the quality of your portable gaming isn't being compromised. As for quantity ... well, Sony's still working on that.

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3 comments
jordanlund
I'm a Vita owner, it's solid hardware and most of the games I've played have been very good... so what's the problem?
There aren't any games in production.
I bought one, played through Uncharted, Gravity Rush and Wipeout... and waited... and waited... and waited some more. It was MONTHS until the next worthwhile purchase came out.
After LittleBigPlanet and Assassin's Creed came out it was almost a year before the next high quality game came out.
After Tearaway comes out next month there isn't anything on the schedule.
So what happens is people who shop for consoles see a shelf of old games. Nothing new comes out in significant quantities and you get the conventional wisdom that the Vita "has no games."
Now the online store has plenty of digital titles... but the problem with digital games is that they are all but invisible to people who don't already own the device. If you want to convince someone to buy a device to play games you have to show them the games.
If all they see on the shelf are the same stale games that have been sitting there for 2 years (Reality Fighters, Little Deviants, I'm looking at you) then they don't buy.
Psptwo Roundup
While this article is basically accurate, it is strange that it misses out the whole indie scene, that brings a regular stream of smaller, cheaper, but still (mostly) very high quality games to the Vita. It also pays no attention to the rising crowd-funding scene that is thriving as big publishers continue to fail.
As an example, please Try Velocity Ultra, KickBeat, OMG Zombies HD, escapeVektor, Stealth Inc, Guacamelee, RocketBirds, Mutant Blobs, Miami Hotline etc. Sure, not are all Vita exclusives, but they're a still a hell of a lot better than 90% of iOS games and going portable has put these shorter-playing, more-focused titles in their element.
And there are lots more to come with Tempest 2xK, Vektor Wars, Final Horizon, plus a herd of crowd-funded games (Starlight Inception, Light, ARG and others) are picking the Vita as a format where the developers expect to sell in decent numbers.
While there may not be huge numbers of big-name games, Killzone Mercenary recently proved the Vita can pull them off providing a basis for future efforts, and as more large publishers go bust, the smaller off-shoot start-ups won't be able to afford development of AAA games for PS4 and XB1, and will end up looking at the Vita as an alternative.
Tim Chua
the qHD resolution was chosen for the remote play with the PS4 so that it could scale down perfectly from 1080p. And when in motion you don't really need a higher resolution. The only reason why you would see jagged edges is when anti-aliasing is not implemented. At the time of release the CPU/GPU was an absolute beast in its class. Of course, even faster hardware would be even better to increase the performance. Nevertheless, it's pretty impressive that after 2 full years of unchanged hardware the top AAA games (Wipeout 2048, Uncharted GA, Killzone Mercenary) are graphically still far superior to anything on any mobile platform.