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PS Vita

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Pretty sure I've read that it's region free. Is anyone more certain of this than me?

I'm off to Japan very shortly... And will be back before UK launch date. If they are, I reckon there might be an ebay premium for folk who MUST HAVE IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Failing that, might get one for myself, if they are cheap enough. Heard that there are discounts...

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As far as I know it is region free, but what sucks I've heard it's even worse at changing accounts than the PSP. Hopefully the old "let the PS3 change accounts for you" will still work for the Vita?

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Looks like a quality console with quality games, but for me it comes back to the same old problem: I just won't be playing home console-style games on a handheld very often, and will most likely end up playing them sat on my sofa or bed. :fart:

I need to stop falling into this trap!

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It's probably not a good idea to buy one anyway, that is, until the competition releases a cheaper memory card.

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I just think the whole surface-level philosophy for the PSP/PSVita is just kind of faulty, i don't want to play shittier versions of other games i own just because they're now portable.

So after having bought a launch day PSP, i am definitely not buying a launch day PSVita.

Which isn't to say that i think the Vita is going to be a disaster, the launch line-up looks pretty solid actually. (Way better than the 3DS launch, even.) I just don't even want to consider getting one until i see that hardware hopefully growing out of a "It's Uncharted! But slightly shittier!" phase.

I own a PSP, and i've gotten a lot of mileage out of it for what it's worth, i don't regret it. The PSP has a fantastic library of unique and interesting games to play if you're willing to dig for them. It just wasn't so great a system that i'm dying to repeat that purchase, and the Vita seems to be reproducing a lot of the same fundamental errors. (Optical drive aside.)

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My problem is I'm a snob. If I'm going to play something like Metal Gear Solid or Uncharted I want to have the finest sound and picture experience. I think I'd get tired of carrying some nice-ass headphones around so I can hear the thing properly, and I'd still be sat there thinking, "Man this game would be so sweet on my huge plasma at home".

I'll stick to reading on the train. :fart:

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What kind of games are the kind you DON'T want to play on a big screen TV?:erm:

JRPGs seems to be the most portable friendly games, apart from that, I can't think of that many games that are suited for portable systems... retro collections, maybe?

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What kind of games are the kind you DON'T want to play on a big screen TV?:erm:

Two that come immediately to mind are Intelligent System's strategy games, the "Wars" series and the Fire Emblem series. They seem particularly suited to the handhelds in that they're easy to stop and start with, and they have a lot of downtime where you don't need to be immediately focused. They are two really satisfying and complex series of games that i just do not ever want to play on a home console. (I remember playing the GC Fire Emblem game, it was not a great experience, mostly because it's such a visually simplistic game and because of all that aforementioned downtime, a lot of time spent waiting on AI turns.)

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Never had a handheld which is not cool. I've been drinking the Sony marketing Koolaid for Vita, sweet hardware and display at a decent price point but these poor sales figures have me concerned so I'm back to considering a 3DS. Getting a 3DS would also be my first ever Nintendo hardware which would be cool. Help me Thumbs.

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I'd try them both if I were you. Two minutes with a 3DS talked me out of wanting it.

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I think the 3DS is kind of in a good place right now, it's obviously not the complete disaster the last few months led some to believe it would be, and it will have some kind of future ahead of it.

However, as with any Nintendo platform though, it basically comes down to whether or not you like the kinds of games Nintendo makes.

There's always going to be a lot of weird outliers on Nintendo platforms, some rare and really special 3rd party games that you can't find anywhere else, but don't let those be the things you bet your purchase on. The probable majority of what you will do on a Nintendo handheld is play Nintendo games, so do you like Nintendo's games?

Also, if you're buying into the Sony marketing pitch for cinematic and immersive handheld games, it is an experience you're probably not going to find on Nintendo's handhelds. (Though i seriously question the value that experience holds.)

Edited by Sno

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I loves my 3DS right now. Working my way through the last set of Pushmo levels and the Mirror Mode of Mario Kart 7 means that not much else is getting played at all. Mario 3D Land was also great, and Zelda is worth a shot too. If you can do a try before you buy, do so and get a feel for it. It's a really nice system, and now that it's cheaper well worth a recommendation.

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Ha, I see the pro-handheld crew is out in force. My turn to chime in! :)

The lure of Sony's "like real console games, but in your pocket!" is short-lived, as Sno alluded to. Get a handheld console to take a break from these games, and get back to playing, well, proper games.

The DS is my favourite consoles of all time. The games I got on that thing cut away all the fluff, and got to the actual game. I used to compare the DS & PSP by pointing out that I could boot up and play a full games of Meteos (on DS) before a track of Wipeout (on PSP) even loaded.

And that's really what you want a handheld console for: playing games that get to the damn point, and live or die on its mechanics. You really don't want "console quality" fluff: you don't want to wait on 3 company logos, followed by exposition storyline boredom, etc, etc. I found myself playing DS even at home because after a long day at work, I had such little patience for all the bullshit fluff around console games.

Things are a little different now. Indie/downloadable games fill that "no bullshit" niche that handheld games used to own exclusively. (I play Joe Danger compulsively) Smartphone games have put Nintendo on the defensive, so instead of putting out cheap/fun/silly/quirky games, Nintendo (and the industry as a whole) are putting out bigger released on the 3DS. Which is great, but man, I'd kill for another Brain Age-esque surprise.

I still think the 3DS does a great job of putting out no-bullshit games. Big releases like Super Mario 3D Land offer a rewarding experience if you play for 5 minutes/hours.

The PS Vita looks cool, but I'm holding out. The current releases are still too "like a real console game! " for my tastes. (also that thing is massive, and the battery life is even worse than the 3DS, which is already pretty shameful) My hope is that indie games will make the Vita a must-buy system for me. Sound Shapes already looks like it'll do it for me.

Sorry for the long rant of questionable relevance. :P

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Come to think of it, the reason I loved and still love my PSP is because I bought it later and had a backlog of games to get into...

That and it had a metric ton of retro collections, I'd say the retro collection is dead with the release of digital distribution, but Japan did release SNK Classsics Volume 0 this year, but it was in Japan only, in the rest of the world you had to buy the games individually, but at least we seem to be getting them?

Anyway, I think I'll wait and see, it's not like I could afford one anyway! :mock:

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Just as an aside, Sin, everywhere seems to say Vita has better battery than 3DS.

Otherwise, I think you've nailed it - instant gaming is catered for on my iphone/ipad amply. The game quality is rising all the time and is staggering. The DSlite came at a time when these were not around, and did it well: instant boot & load near enough. Also, I was a little disappointed to see the price point of Vita games - 25-40 GBP.

In addition, I've moved towards only carrying 1 device: At one point I had my T39, my iriver H320 and my PSP to lug about. Now it is merely my phone, and I'm unwilling to go back!

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Having never had any Nintendo hardware I can't say really whether I'd like the games but I'm interested at least in them.

As for the Vita I'd be happy with getting access to a giant backlog of PSP, PS1 and PS2 games, not necessarily looking for the HD console experience. Maybe I should just get a PSP.

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From what I've heard the PSVita doesn't do PSOne games, but it should be fixed in an update?

From what I've heard they expect you to re-purchase PSOne games rather than just re-download them from your PlayStation Store download list, but that's an unfounded rumor. We'll have to wait and see.

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How would that even work? The games you purchase count for your PSP and PS3, charging for them again would be insane!

I know they will charge for the download of UMD games for your PSP so you can play them on the VITA, but that's about it.

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That was a really interesting read, SiN :tup:

Thanks! :)

Just as an aside, Sin, everywhere seems to say Vita has better battery than 3DS.

Ah, interesting. The review on The Verge said it was variable depending on the game, going as low as 3 hours, but as high as 5. I mostly have 3D mode off on the 3DS, so I think I get close to 5 hours out of it. Which is still bloody shameful, but I suspect for my usage the Vita would last less. But yeah, valid point.

Otherwise, I think you've nailed it - instant gaming is catered for on my iphone/ipad amply.

I actually wanted to get into this a little more. I (mostly) agree ... the iPhone/iPod/iPad are great little gaming device. Similar to my analogy above, I reckon I could launch and play a full iOS game before a DS game has loaded... technology is incredible when you put it into perspective, eh? :tup:

But ... something was lost there. I've been playing iOS games since the AppStore launched. I've played all the best games out there. And yet, none have kept me occupied anywhere close to as long as my favourite DS games. The longevity and depth just isn't there.

I used to think it was a price thing, but it's becoming obvious that the volume of iOS devices vs. DS/PSP more than make up for it. Look at the escalating production values of iOS games for proof of that.

Now I think it has more to do with the throwaway perception of smartphone games. There's a difference between instant and throwaway. Just because DS games boot fast and are no-bullshit, doesn't mean they aren't lengthy, deep games. Throwaway means something entirely different... it treats games like a disposable item not meant to be used for a long period of time. As a result, iOS games tend to be flashy but ultimately not designed for long-term engagement. That's why you see the production values, not game mechanics, escalating.

This isn't a bad thing per se, a choice of throwaway games is a good thing. But when it's the only choice, that's a bad thing. There are few games doing it differently... Sword & Sworcery is one that proved that lengthy games designed for deep engagement can be successful on iOS. After I hit "Submit Reply" I'm back to working on a game which will (hopefully) continue this trend. :)

In addition, I've moved towards only carrying 1 device: At one point I had my T39, my iriver H320 and my PSP to lug about. Now it is merely my phone, and I'm unwilling to go back!

Yeah, I don't think Nintendo and Sony understand this well enough and/or they're in denial. Sorry for doing another shameless link, but I've written quite a bit on this subject. Specifically, in the "On Being Second Potato" section:

Now that a smartphone does everything, the handheld console is left behind at home, or worse still, to languish on store shelves.

With no chance of usurping the smartphone, Nintendo’s only hope is to make a device so effortless to use and carry around that people will carry it along with their smartphone.

I think that handheld consoles can still be relevant, even if not to same level of success the DS enjoyed. Just like ebook readers still thrive, and MP3 players continue to sell, there's value in having a device that does one thing really well. I just don't think Nintendo and Sony have figured out how to do that quite correctly as yet.

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Things are a little different now. Indie/downloadable games fill that "no bullshit" niche that handheld games used to own exclusively. (I play Joe Danger compulsively) Smartphone games have put Nintendo on the defensive, so instead of putting out cheap/fun/silly/quirky games, Nintendo (and the industry as a whole) are putting out bigger released on the 3DS. Which is great, but man, I'd kill for another Brain Age-esque surprise.

I can't help but feel like Nintendo has sort of been digging their own grave, the way they put all this work into kind of pioneering the touchscreen as a valuable games interface.

So now the handhelds are kind of pushed back into the past where it's old-fashioned game controls that keep them relevant. (The real innovation of the current handhelds? Now they have proper analog sticks, dual analog present on the Vita and incoming for the 3DS.)

Apple could probably obliterate the handhelds if they really, really took gaming seriously, push some kind of standardized controller dock for the iPhone/iPod Touch or something. Apple has never taken gaming seriously though, they've ended up in their position with the iPod/iPhone/iPad purely by accident.

For now, i'm content with their obliviousness, i still want to play games on Nintendo handhelds.

I still think the 3DS does a great job of putting out no-bullshit games. Big releases like Super Mario 3D Land offer a rewarding experience if you play for 5 minutes/hours.

Is the emphasis on 3D going to mean the death of sprite art though? The modern handhelds were always kind of one of the last bastions for really detailed, old-school sprite art in games.

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They said 2D would die back in the PSOne era and it's still here.

How would a controller work for the iOS games? You'd have to update the compatibility with each game separately, like with that arcade cabinet they made of the iPad.

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How would a controller work for the iOS games? You'd have to update the compatibility with each game separately, like with that arcade cabinet they made of the iPad.

Well that's the thing, games would have to support it, which is why only something officially backed by Apple would ever get any mileage.

There are already controller options for iOS, but the support for them is next to zero.

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