PlayStation Vita: The Good, the Bad, and the Costly

After spending some hands on time with the Vita I can say it is a pretty impressive device. The device, which launches in the US on the 22^nd, is easily the most powerful handheld gaming device on the market, but is it really worth it?

The first thing you will notice about the Vita is the screen. It is an extremely fast and responsive 5 inch multitouch screen. It looks great, with a resolution pushing out 960×544. It isn’t as sharp as the retina display you will find on the iPhone 4, but it still looks really good. This is really good since the games also look awesome. I would not say that they are up to the PS3 benchmark, but they seemed well beyond PS2 graphics. The fact that something that fits in your pocket is even being compared to a full on console is pretty impressive.

Well, almost fits in your pocket. The Vita is pretty big, much larger than any cellphone, and just a bit smaller than most tablets. It isn’t unwieldy though. Actually, it is quite the opposite. The device has a nice weight to it that makes it feel more substantial than something that is just plastic, like a kindle, but it is not so heavy that you would have any fatigue playing it. The layout is well thought out, and the placement of the analog nubs couldn’t be better.

As a gaming device it does well. The buttons are responsive, but I wish they were pressure sensitive. They do have a satisfying click though, which is nice. The analog sticks are fantastic. They are super responsive, and have a little weight to them.  The d-pad is not as bad as I had expected it to be. The d-pad is mad of one plastic piece, but it doesn’t seem to effect accuracy any, and it is pretty smooth in its action. Fighting fans should be happy.

The touch controls are quick and responsive, but the touch pad on the back seems superfluous. Maybe I just did not play anything that really showed the potential of the functionality, but it just seems like extra. The trigger buttons feel nice, but do not feel like real triggers, dispite Sony’s best effort.

There are a few gripes with the device though. It only has about a four hour battery, which to me just doesn’t feel like much to me. With a gaming device I need something that can make it through the airport, plane ride, and taxi to a hotel.  Four hours just doesn’t seem to get it done. This isn’t helped by the fact that you cannot replace the battery, in fact as it stands now if your battery goes bad you have to replace the entire device.

Another major issue for me is the complete lack of any built in memory. I just cannot see why they would not provide at least some internal memory. Rather, everything is regulated to a proprietary memory card. The cards are not super expensive, but much more than a standard SD card would run. Speaking or proprietary, the device uses its own cord connection as well. Again, this just seems like a money game because there is no reason that a micro USB, or even standard USB port wouldn’t work.

Really though, for me, it comes down to money. At 249.99 for the standard WIFI model, the Vita is not cheap. In a world full of iPads, smart phones, and laptops I wonder how much market space is really left for the Vita. Gaming has become available on so many different devices, it is not regulated to gadgets made simply for gaming any more. That is not to downplay what the Vita offers; there is no device out there that is going to offer a way to play games as well as it, not to mention the console level graphics. However, at 249.99 you are asking people to place a high value on a gaming specific device, and I wonder how many people feel that they have a void like that which needs filled. I guess time will tell.