Sony PlayStation Vita user reviews

Genome_UK 31 January 2012

Good: Great graphics, great control options.

Bad: big for a portable device, expensive when factoring in memory cards and game prices.

Comment: When I first saw this (last year some point) I was actually quite excited about it. A hand held that FINALY stuck a second thumb stick on there..... how did it take this long to appear. I saw the graphics it had and the screen size and I was impressed.

However when I sat down and thought about it I couldn't really see me using it very often. I bought a DS years ago and all that has really ever done is stopped what ever was under it getting dusty. It was at that point I looked at my next phone upgrade and saw what smart phones can really do these days and realised that the iPhone 4S suited my needs more. Its not like I would carry a Vita about with me to work or anything where as my phone would be on me all the time so could just play something on that.

We have all heard the supporters of 3DS, Vita and smartphones argue to death over whats better but there is one simple thing that is causing a shift in the portable gaming market.

Most people are quite happy using there smartphones and tablets for gaming on the go.

Does that mean a PS Vita is not as good as an iPhone for gaming? no... of course not. But that doesn't matter does it. Its what the masses will buy and want and will put up with.

A lot of people will say that this wipes the floor with the competition but you people who see the device in this way are actually a niche group of people. When most people will just say "my phone is good enough I wont bother forking out for one of those" then the Vita will suffer. Less people than they hoped will buy it and they will make less money. Less money means less interest from developers and less interest from developers means less games.

If you try and look at it from a non biased view point of what is actually happening in the tech world its pretty easy to see that smartphone gaming is stunting hand held console sales.

So while the PS Vita is technically a very cool device on a purely gaming perspective there are some glaring issues that will cause it problems:
• Its not a phone
• its not really pocketable in the same way as a smartphone is
• the battery life really isn't great for the times you might REALLY want one (such as long flights).

I really hope it does well but in this current climate I cant see it being a huge success. I hope it does at least have a decent enough fan base to keep it alive because its a great device. If this had been released 2 years ago it might have made a bigger impact but the speed smartphones and tablets are advancing are going to cause devices like this huge problems. They will be just as powerful by the end of the year meaning its only real advantage will be its controls when MOST people (not you "hardcore gamers") are perfectly happy with touch screen controls on phones. Then there is the problem of if apple and Samsung etc etc get there buts in gear and make a standard controller system attachment for smartphones..... then that could basically be the nail in the coffin.

I know a lot of you guys who are fans will disagree, and you are welcome to, but this is the way the market looks if you put your own opinion aside and look at what's happening.

I have my fingers crossed for you Vita but I wont hold my breath.

P.S. a small side note on controls. I know a lot of people complain that touch screens are "terrible" for gaming but its really a case of just getting used to them and then they are at the very least good enough (some game types are actually better, mainly strategy ones). I had a similar issue when I went from playing FPS's games on my PC to playing them on my Xbox. Mouse and keyboard was just way way way superior to my Xbox controller. However I stuck with it and while it is not better than my mouse and keyboard, its decent enough. The exact same thing happened with playing an fps on my iPhone. At first it really annoyed me but after a bit of practise it was fine and I wasn't getting annoyed with it, especially when done well like in dead space.

Keep an open mind people. None of us know what is definitely going to happen.

Vlad Solovov Awesomoff 31 January 2012

Good: It's almost a portable PS3!

Bad: Battery life and too expensive at the moment...

Comment: Big and bulky?
Okay we'll see you talk once the Wii U comes out.
Then suddenly the word "bulky" will f*cking dissapear from your review!
The PSP was sometimes a bit on the small side in the hand, adding a couple of "bulkiness" is what Vita did and that's the right thing!

zettaflare 31 January 2012

Comment: To CNET:

Decent hardware review mixed with an inappropriate analysis of Vita vs iPads/Smart devices I'd say. Completely ignoring the correct demographic view and that aspect of their review is useless to a truly interested buyer.

The 3DS has sold terrifically since the right games arrived - games I don't think you'd be playing on iPad or smartphones and the same will hold true for the Vita.

I get where you were coming from but it was inappropriate for the device. Instead of giving a proper evaluation of the Vita for its designed purpose you got sidetracked into something analogous with reviewing a DVD player but wondering if you wouldn't be better with Netflix.

Bens 31 January 2012

Comment: CNET how can you can you compare this product to an iPod touch? A device that is digital download only when you admit that the PSN store was not even open for you to compare pricing and quality of software available! I believe they start from £1.59 for a mini and £3.59 for PS one classic, prices I believe will drop as the adoption rate for the Vita increases. This is not even mentioning the pricing of any Vita (touch screen) specific downloads as Sony have not shown us yet.
You complain the machine is to big but the screen size is fantastic??  How does that work! You compare it to a 3DS in size, but if you get the new analogue attachment for the 3DS it’s as big if not bigger!!
You say it’s expensive but the typical price for an IPOD touch is £169 and the battery life if you play games or films on the IPOD can be equally unimpressive!
Does Apple fund this website as you seem to promote their devices a number of times throughout your review?  Just to be clear I am not a Sony fanboy either, I have not used a Vita so I could not tell you if it’s any good, but I can see that this review is contrived nonsense.

Wootus 31 January 2012

Good: It plays games better than the competition.

Bad: It won't do much else, but that's not why you'd buy one now is it? ;P

Comment: The Vita is an amazing piece of hardware. It has dual thumbsticks, a front touch screen, rear touchpad and sixaxis control. The graphics are comparative to current-gen home consoles and the battery lasts as long as other portable gaming devices available in the market. The library of games that it has and will soon have are right up there with the best of the best.

If you want to play games and play them well when not at home, this is a must-buy. Sure it's pricey, but it's worth it.

However, If you never leave your house, you'd be better off sticking with your PC or home console. (But again, if you never leave your house, why are you even considering a portable console?)

Next-gen 30 January 2012

Good: Everything, the screen is better than HD, graphics are like Ps3 if not better and much more

Bad: Nothing, miles better than a psp

Comment: I have it imported and it is totally worth it. Cnet uk are suck idiots they comparing this to an ipod touch! They are two completely different devices aimed at different audiences so how do cnet not realise this!

Naryan 30 January 2012

Comment: This review is *totally* biased, as expected from CNET UK.

The battery life is fair enough but...

ONE. The screen being "garish" is such a stupid and unfounded comment.
TWO. It's incredibly stupid to praise the big screen then criticise the size of the device.
THREE. The device is NOT expensive CNET so save your BS.
FOUR. Internal storage is incredibly cheap and even being given away for free in current official bundles, so do your homework.

I'm constantly amazed by the Apple peddling BS this joke of a review site constantly pushes to it's readers. Such an absolute farce. The Fox News of the tech review world. Incredible, right from the first caption, right in the face.

Ross SuBo Coulter 30 January 2012

Good: Appears to push handheld gaming technology

Bad: quite a few things

Comment: No mention of the limited 1 user profiler per Vita?
Unless of course Sony has dropped that. For those that don't know if you ever want to change your user/agmer profile on the Vita it requires a complete factory reset.
Sony again attempting their own memory cards, instead of going for industry standard. Haven't they tried this before but ended up dropping them due to nobody buying them and then drop of sales with newer tech only using them? Here Sony seems to force you into buying their custom memory cards and will no doubt keep prices very over inflated and stupidly expensive.

cq842000 30 January 2012

Good: OLED Screen, quad core CPU, powerful GPU, multiple multi-touch

Bad: importers like me have to wait for the PSN

Comment: This handheld is the most awesome and by far the most powerful gaming handheld ever produced. the idevices wish they could compete at this level, but they will eventually. It goes without saying that for specs this things is powerful, it has addressed the complaint of millions with dual analogue joysticks, and to top it off it has something that no idevice has....dedicated tactile controls which win out against touch screens in every area of response every time.

Jayman1297 25 January 2012

Good: EVERYTHING!

Bad: The battery life will probably be pretty bad.

Comment: I Cant Wait For It To Come Out In The UK!!!