The Sony news and discussion thread

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MAp

The Sony news and discussion thread

Post by MAp »

I thought a discussion about the highs and lows of the PS Vita may be worthwhile. How people are using it, what games are standing out, does the PS Vita future look bright for you personally?

I got hold of mine on release day and it's been exactly what I wanted, a portable gaming system that has all the control methods I want along with some nice little bells and whistles. My only problem is the lack of smaller sized games like the great Mutant Blob attack or Motorstorm RC. I've got my eye on Drinkbox next game Guacamelee as another tight little gaming package but I can't see many others in the distance, I don't want the Vita turning into the app store but maybe letting through a handful of smaller bite size games would be a good idea?
Also this stands for the PSP, PS3 and the Vita especially, if you haven't got it Where is my Hear is a must play!

And I know some of the PS1 games are now go on the Vita so are any of them worth playing on there, especially with the lack of an L2 and R2?
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ratsoalbion
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by ratsoalbion »

I liked my PSP quite a bit but sold it in 2007 and never replaced it.
I know that I want a Vita very much for a heady combo of PSN stuff, PSone games, PSP classics and Vita originals, but I can't afford it at the moment.
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Re: Playstation Vita

Post by Sean »

I absolutely love the Vita.

The screen is gorgeous, I have a solid amount of games on it, a lot of which I very much enjoyed. I'm looking forward to it's future. LBP Vita looks incredible, Killzone and Tearaway look great. Cross-buy is a great initiative, and cross-controller seems interesting (I probably won't use it much, though).

Sony really bungled a couple of things, though. Memory card business being the obvious one. It was marketed poorly at launch. It's also hard to argue a $40 ($50 in rare instances) price point, in a market where everyone wants $1 experiences.

But, other than those points, I love this thing, and use it pretty much every night.

All of this said, it blows my mind at how obsessively some people want this device to die.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by ratsoalbion »

That's weird. People are stupid & annoying.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Sean »

MAp wrote: And I know some of the PS1 games are now go on the Vita so are any of them worth playing on there, especially with the lack of an L2 and R2?
They map L2 and R2 to specific areas on the back touch, and, while it works, it can be frustrating.

I'm currently playing through SotN, which looks fantastic on Vita, but, inevitably, I always manage to hit the back touch by accident, and turn into a wolf, often in the middle of a fight.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by MAp »

Ah that makes sense, I may grab a few PS1 games then, or see what I have in my PS+ backlog :)

Between Wipeout, Everybody's golf, Motorstorm RC, Unit 13 and more recently Zen Pinball I find myself popping it on for a few minutes quite often. I played the LBP Beta and can see that joining the pop on and play list :)

Yeah the memory cards are the worst, I only have the 8GB card that came with my Vita and can't bring myself to upgrade with the terrible prices.

I also see you've played Gravity rush Sean, worth getting now or maybe wait a while?
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by ratsoalbion »

One of the reasons I'm happy to wait is remembering the way that the Pro Duo mem sticks that the PSP took plummeted in price from launch in 2005 over the next three years.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Sean »

MAp wrote: Yeah the memory cards are the worst, I only have the 8GB card that came with my Vita and can't bring myself to upgrade with the terrible prices.
Yep, same here. 8GB is pretty manageable. I have Sound Shapes, Gravity Rush, Super Stardust Delta, 6 minis, FFIX, Castlevania SotN, and Silent Hill all on there, plus all of the apps. I feel like the price of the higher cards is too much, when you're just paying for convenience, really.

I'm loving Gravity Rush, but, I'm taking it really slow. Like, playing a chapter or two every now and then. I can see the mechanics becoming frustrating in long stretches, so, I'm just trying to pace that game a little slower. I'd recommend James' review for a more in depth recommendation! http://caneandrinse.com/gravity-rush/
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Donk »

I love mine. It's probably has to do with never having had a handheld before. There are a lot of PSX, PSP titles I've missed out on so I'm playing older classics at the moment, currently playing Persona 1. And Lumines, a new version of Lumines is always an excuse to buy a new platform.

Looking forward to playing Gravity Rush later too. Demo is really promising.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by AndyKurosaki »

Personally I love my Vita, got it on launch day and it's had a fair bit of use. It was an absolute god-send when my brother wanted to watch the World Cup as it meant I could stay out his way and get some quality gaming done.
It can be argued "it's full of ports LOL". To which I'd say "what's bad about having Wipeout, Uncharted etc in the palm of your hands?".
Naysayers claim "there's no place for a handheld when there's the App store". My comment to that would be "what a load of bollocks". Sure, there's some fun games on the App Store, it's true. Show me a 99p App with the same content as Uncharted or Wipeout though, and I'd be very surprised indeed.

Gravity Rush is an absolute must-play. Virtua Tennis World Tour is brilliant. Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3, Rayman Origins and Mortal Kombat are excellent ports.
Metal Gear Solid Collection certainly looks spot-on, but I couldn't quite get into the controls to be honest.

It's an expensive handheld, and the memory cards are equally pricey. But it's a brilliant handheld, and I hope Sony can convince 3rd party support it's worth it.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Alex79 »

I had a quick play in the shop and really found the new analogue sticks barely any more usable than the old nubbin on the PSP. Over priced, over sized, and absolutely disgracefully priced memory cards. How the hell Sony can get away with charging the price they do for flash memory is obscene. I'd be tempted for around £100 once the console is hacked, but until then, couldn't be less interested.

Also, the fact that owners and magazines were creaming themselves over the fact PS1 classic are finally available on Vita is an absolute joke. That should have been a basic day one feature. It's almost as if Sony did it on purpose because they knew how shit the launch line up was and wanted to hold something back, and make games fans feel grateful to be able to play 15 year old games on the thing!
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by MAp »

I'm not going near the hacked debate it your post Wizard Of Odd as that's a long messy road, but I can honestly say the tech and general feel of the Vita was worth the £200 I spent, compared to most comparable products I think it looks like a bargain.

And are people going crazy over the PS1 patch? I thought it was more of a nice bonus for people that already had a vita, it's not really a system selling feature.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Xantiriad »

Hmm interesting comments.

The games media are particularly keen to write off handheld gaming devices for some reason, despite all the evidence showing they are selling just as well as they've always done (see 3DS). I think there is also a general schism in the video game enthusiast realm between those that enjoy playing the variety of games on handheld consoles vs those who are looking for something more akin to the full console experience.

The issue of the memory card pricing is consumer unfriendly, but it has always been thus. I remember buying a Memory Card for the PS2 on launch day (required for most games) and it was nearly £40 for just 8MB. Nintendo have been the exception really in supporting an open standard [SD Card] for their consoles. I was surprised they didn't go for the existing Memory Stick M2 format, which is already established and around the same form factor as the Vita memory cards but there you go. It's worth remembering too that the smaller chip/die flash memory is a lot more expensive to produce - that's not an excuse but it is part of the higher cost.

As for the Vita itself, it is everything the PSP Go should have been and more. I already have over 40 games on my Vita, many of which I could re-download from prior PS3 & PSP digital purchases. Despite some annoying UI features and early instability; I find the hardware and software to be excellent, comfortable and able to deliver a wide variety of gaming experiences with aplomb. It's one of the best designed consoles for many years and doesn't deserve half the ill-informed criticism it gets. Sony's focus on cross-play and cross-buy (see Wipeout and Zen Pinball for good examples) is the right direction to go, creating a true mobile experience that shares leader-boards, content and save-data across the home and handheld machines.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by SqueezyCheesyPeas »

I got a Vita a few weeks back thanks to a tax rebate and finding an incredible offer for what turned out to be a brand new system in a Cash Converters.

So far I am loving it and I have sunk more time into it than I thought I would and the time I have spent on it hasn't been on the games I thought it would be either. I pictured myself playing a lot of Metal Gear Collection and Uncharted but I've sunk the majority of my time into Motorstorm RC and Escape Plan (both fantastic games).

I can see myself playing the Vita as much as my 360 and I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens with it in the future.

I don't understand the seeming desire by some to see it fail, it is bizarre and utterly stupid.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Buckled Kipper »

I'm ridiculously in love with my Vita. For me it shows that handheld tech has finally got to a point of giving you a full console experience and I love it for that. I have a wife and kid so my gaming time on the telly is extremely limited, so to have things like Rayman and FIFA to play without hogging the TV is a godsend and has massively increased my gaming hours. I've owned most of the handhelds over the years but none of them have even come close to the amount of hours I've put into this.

I've enjoyed plenty of games on the Vita so far, but stand outs for me would be the amazing Gravity Rush, Sound Shapes and everybody's Golf (wich I've put stupid hours into). Plenty good games on the horizon especially Tearaway and Jet Set Radio.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Buckled Kipper »

Wizard Of Odd wrote:I had a quick play in the shop and really found the new analogue sticks barely any more usable than the old nubbin on the PSP. Over priced, over sized, and absolutely disgracefully priced memory cards. How the hell Sony can get away with charging the price they do for flash memory is obscene. I'd be tempted for around £100 once the console is hacked, but until then, couldn't be less interested.

Also, the fact that owners and magazines were creaming themselves over the fact PS1 classic are finally available on Vita is an absolute joke. That should have been a basic day one feature. It's almost as if Sony did it on purpose because they knew how shit the launch line up was and wanted to hold something back, and make games fans feel grateful to be able to play 15 year old games on the thing!
I would suggest to anyone that try's one not to get to put off by the analogue sticks. I found them very fiddly at first but the more you play the more you get used to them. Now they feel like second nature and I find them very accurate.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by Sean »

Xantiriad wrote:I was surprised they didn't go for the existing Memory Stick M2 format, which is already established and around the same form factor as the Vita memory cards but there you go.
A lot of the PSP hacking that went on was due to hacking save files, so, that's probably the biggest reason why they went with a brand new proprietary format. If you notice, you can't even view save files on Vita, like you could on PSP. Vita save files are in the game bubble, much they are on iPhone / iPad.

Though, recent news shows that hasn't really done enough to stop hackers from finding a way around it.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by PlexShaw »

SqueezyCheesyPeas wrote:I pictured myself playing a lot of Metal Gear Collection and Uncharted but I've sunk the majority of my time into Motorstorm RC and Escape Plan (both fantastic games).
Wow, it's nice to hear someone praising Escape Plan for a change. I love that game (I even have all the trophies, including the DLC ones) but I constantly see and hear it get criticised, which saddens me.

Vita owners would be well advised to check out Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, which is easily one of the best games on the system.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by SnakeyDave »

I love my Vita. The left and right triggers aren't perfect, but they still work. Screen is gorgeous, controls are responsive. Menu system perfectly fine. Just needs more games.

So far, I've really enjoyed motorstorm, uncharted, rayman, sound shapes- personally think it works better as a quick pick up and play than on console- they all look great on the screen and play fantastically.

I've had a lot of fun playing old ps1 and psp games on it, the small screen keeps those games from looking too awful. Great chance to play all those games I never did - psp god of wars, ff7, as well as replay some of my favourites. Currently about half way through the original tomb raider, still brilliant.

Don't regret the purchase at all, and eagerly looking forward to seeing more on it.
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Re: PlayStation Vita

Post by SqueezyCheesyPeas »

PlexShaw wrote:Wow, it's nice to hear someone praising Escape Plan for a change. I love that game (I even have all the trophies, including the DLC ones) but I constantly see and hear it get criticised, which saddens me.

Vita owners would be well advised to check out Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, which is easily one of the best games on the system.
In a few games I've played on the Vita, the touch controls feels a little awkward (FIFA sprigs to mind), in Escape Plan they feel completely intuitive and are implemented very well. It feels like a highly addictive iOS game but done on a larger scale. It's great for quick bursts and longer gaming sessions.

Along with this I found the visuals and the characters to be very charming. All in all it's a fantastic experience, and would come highly recommended from me.

I shall endeavour to check out check out Tales from Space, it looks like it might be right up my street.
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