Scrobbs

PS Vita

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Apple has never taken gaming seriously though, they've ended up in their position with the iPod/iPhone/iPad purely by accident.

You're only half right though. Apple never expected the iPhone to be a gaming device. But the initial iPhone SDK had OpenGL capabilities that were pretty good. Developers did great things with it. Accidental success on Apple's part here.

But here's the thing: when it became obvious that the iPod touch (moreso than the iPhone) was a hit gaming device, Apple ran with it! I think it took less than a year for Apple to push gaming in their advertising ("the funnest iPod ever" :shifty:), the graphics hardware got dramatically faster, and an iOS Games division was formed within Apple to push the software side of things, resulting in *much* better development tools for OpenGL, and stuff like Game Center. What was even crazier is that Apple promoted the best games with ads on TV and front-page AppStore spots, at no charge, with no strings attached. This idea (along with the 70/30 split) was unthinkable "back in the day".

And remember, *anyone* could have beaten Apple to the punch. Microsoft had a game SDK for the Zune before Apple did ... I have TWO Zunes for game development purposes, and nothing came of it. XBIG is another disappointment. I bought a DSi basically for DSiWare, and again, nothing.

So sure, Apple stumbled upon gaming unwittingly. But once they saw the opportunity, they moved quickly and turned it into a massive success.

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.

But that would be counter-intuitive to their success. Their success has come from designing a sleek convergence device. An add-on controller would be the opposite of that.

And moreover, for what? To (potentially) lure 3DS users away? All 4 million of them? Why should Apple care about such a small market when they've sold 250 million iOS devices? Even the 120 million DS users is beginning to look a kinda small...

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.)

I think Nintendo has been digging their own grave by not moving fast enough. In my example above, Apple pivoted on the primary usage of their flagship device in under a year. Nintendo has sparks of inspiration every couple of years, but then ... stops. It's a Japanese thing (I've worked for a Japanese company years ago) ... they're very resistant to change.

To reinvent the handheld console, I think they need to go back to the "first principals". Like I said, ebook readers continue to thrive in an iPad world. Why? By being a device that does just one thing, they're able to provide a better reading experience. Similarly, Nintendo & Sony have to go back to the drawing board and ask, "what makes handheld video games great?" and moreover, "what can we do that would be impractical in a smartphone?" work from there.

I'm not sure what the answer is, tbh. But I have some initial guesses:

- no bullshit games, as I've talked about at length.

- physical controls.

- long, deep games made by "real" game developers.

- dramatically better battery life than smartphones (no cellular radio)

- ... and so on.

Again, these are just guesses. I'm not saying I have all the answers, but I think my approach is the correct one, and it seems like Nintendo & Sony just aren't thinking like this.

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I think you deserve a gold star, those are excellent points you've made.

Certainly a lot to mull over, a few things i hadn't really ever considered.

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I think you deserve a gold star, those are excellent points you've made.

Certainly a lot to mull over, a few things i hadn't really ever considered.

Thanks! Yeah, can you tell I've been thinking about this for a really long time? :) Basically, I've been writing homebrew on any embedded device I could get my hands on (Palm, GBA, DS, PSP, J2ME phones, and finally, iPhone & iPad), and I've been playing handheld games obsessively since the early DS days.

I think the next step is to takes my walls-o-text and turn them into a blog post (or three!)

The discussion definitely helped me get my thoughts straight, so thanks for that guys. :)

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So... The Vita seems ok. Very light, screen is very sharp. Only got to play tue capcom fighting game as a demo... Was good fun. The twin joysticks have a very very nice feel to them - far nicer than I thought they might.

Wifi only seemed to be equivalent of about 214 quid. Ish. I had to leave the dept. store after about half an hour as I was getting a headache from the lights, colours and sheer sensory overload. Fabulous shop though. Massive. Nearly got lost trying to find the exit.

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I got my Vita 3 weeks ago for $240 on ebay with a 32gb card, and already feel like I got my money's worth out of it. The OLED screen is a thing of beauty. Mutant Blobs Attack is amazing. I'm weirdly interested in collecting trophies now, when I couldn't be bothered on the 360 and PS3. Mortal Kombat is solid, and Shinobido 2 is the sequel to Tenchu I've always wanted. The minis store is really exciting. I've purchased six of them, and they're all brilliant. I've barely scratched the surface of the PSP store, but The 3rd Birthday is weird and awesome. Can't wait for AC: Liberation.

Anyone else own a Vita? What are you looking forward to?

PS: I will say that the back touch panel thing is a little ridiculous. Sony probably thought they had to one-up the DS in some weird way.

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I want one, especially as they carry over your PSP library, but they are expensive and well... lets face it, nobody gives a shit about it. Sony really needs to wake up and make a proper PSP-Phone hybrid with their physical controls and game library.

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Is it just me, or has Sony's marketing of the Vita been almost non-sexistant in the UK?

No one I know knew it even existed, it took mee pointing it out in. Shop window for them to believe exissted.

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Holy shit, this looks ingenious!

Passing Time

http://vimeo.com/47591747

As lazy description would be "Sensi Soccer is back", but I feel that sells it short. Yes it's a soccer game, but mechanically, it looks like a strategy game mixed in with NBA Jam-esque arcade silliness.

Secretly hoping an iPhone release happens, but between this and Tearaway a PS Vita is looking mighty tempting.

Also worth noting that this "PS Mobile" stuff is pretty close to the "no bullshit gaming" stuff I was rambling on about earlier. So kudos to Sony on the software side of things. If only we could get smaller hardware with double-digit battery life (or at least something approaching that!) it'd be perfect.

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Also exciting!

http://www.joystiq.c...playstation-mo/

We knew about Vlambeer (Super Crate Box), but we didn't know about the 38 other international companies, and 46 Japanese companies, that have expressed interest in the service. Among them are Action Button Entertainment, who made the excellent Ziggurat for iOS; Necrosoft, Team 17, THQ, and more.

Boldness added to express further excitement.

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I'm super pumped for Ratchet & Clank and Sly Cooper on the Vita. Also Soul Sacrifice and Ragnarok Odyssey, but those are probably kind of niche.

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I'm looking fowardt to the updated version of Persona 4 for the vita. I think i might just get the system when it comes out. Also the Final Fantasy 10 remake. I feel bad for making half way through on the PS2. I have been itching to give it another shot for a couple of years. But I have not had a PS2 in like six years.

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So it seems like nobody gives a shit about the Vita anymore, but due to having PSN+ (and thus like 5 free Vita games), a Shopper's Drug Mart black Friday sale (knocking $50 off the price), having $60 in Shopper's Drug Mart points, and having a girlfriend who is baffled by what to do for gifts when my birthday and Christmas are 6 days apart (meaning she kicked $100 towards the thing, covering half of the budget we agree upon to not over-spend on each other), I just got a Vita for like $30. It'll be wrapped and saved for my birthday, which has the added benefit that I won't be distracted by shiny new tech while I'm still in practicum, but it is currently in my house. I'm quite excited to start messing with the thing, and the PSN+ deal means I already have things like Uncharted, Wipeout, Mutant Blobs Attack, and Jet Set Radio free and tied to my PSN account, so now I'm wondering what else the Thumbs may recommend. Does anyone have one now? Do you actually play it? I'm considering AC Liberation (I actually enjoyed Bloodlines on PSP...) and Persona 4 Golden. Is there anything else I should have my eye on right now? Let's re-ignite this Vita thread, folks!

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Yeah I've enjoyed my Vita. Was really jonesing for a new handheld and I think I picked it up day one, if memory serves. I started with Wipeout and Uncharted, neither of which I've finished yet but both of which I've played and enjoyed, especially Wipeout. Then I stocked up on some more titles, from Gravity Rush to Rayman Origins to Dungeon Hunter and Metal Gear HD Collection, as well as some of the smaller titles like Sound Shapes and Mutant Blobs. Most recently, Ive loaded Sine Mora and Battle Royale All Stars onto the system. I'm certainly not of a mind to agree that there are no games or support for the unit, but can understand the frustration orf people with a lack of big name titles. I mean between the games I already have, the available PSP ones (regional frustrations here, I live in NZ and can't for example get any of the Castlevania games, or Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins), the PSOne classics (I have Final Fantasy 9 only so far), and the existing Vita and downloadable stuff, there's plenty to keep me going for awhile. For some reason though I'm just not as compelled towards the Vita experiences as I am towards console or PC games, even though I have plenty of opportunity to play on the system (work usually at least two months of usually quiet night shifts a year, for example). For that reason I haven't even finished a game all the way through yet, though a few I'm a good ways towards doing it. I feel like pretty soon, one of the games I have will grab me and ill finish it up. On the whole I dig the hardware, the screen really pops with colour. Can give or take the touch stuff. Hand does get sore especially with the fighting games (MK, Ultimate Marvel/Capcom). Somewhere, I can't remember, I think a podcast, someone mentioned the potential for the Vita to interface with the next PS console, and obviously that's gonna give it even more tangible value if incoporated well into the existing systems. Can't think of a game I have that has flat out disappointed me so far. Am pretty picky though and am careful enough to stick to games that speak to me on some level. Am glad I have a vita, and am more and more compelled to use the system as time goes on. (unecessarily long post there probably, sorry)

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I've been playing a lot of Vita over the last while, completing Touch My Katamari, Mutant Blobs Attack, Soundshapes and LittleBigPlanet Vita. Hey guys, this thing is pretty good. In particular, everyone should definitely play LittleBigPlanet Vita. It actually finds a good use for the rear touch! It also shows where you're touching really clearly, which is an issue that a lot of things have when they use it (I'm looking at you, Soundshapes level editor). The credits on LBPV are running right now (and have been for almost 20 minutes. What the hell, guys?) and I wanted to post while it's still fresh in my mind. It's not a reason to buy a Vita, but between this and all the other stuff I've been playing (ported over my save from Persona 3 as well. Only two months left to go in the story!) I already feel like I got my money's worth. I'm really impressed with this little system. One caution, if you don't have a PS3 there are some really frustrating decisions made with the PSN store. I have Um Jammer Lammy, MGS1, and MGS Peace Walker on my account, and they work fine on my PS3 and PSP, but I can't access them through the PSN store on my Vita. I have to load up the store on PS3, download them to the hard drive there, and transfer them over to the Vita using the data utility. Once there, they work great, and even have extra options like FSAA and assigning PSP button presses to the right stick, but for whatever reason you can't get them on the system without moving them from a PS3 first. Really odd choice, and I'm pretty curious why that is.

That said, assigning PSP buttons to the right stick is bloody great, and you can fully customize the controls on any PS1 game. First thing I did when I loaded up Persona 3 Portable was to assign the L and R buttons to left and right on the stick, giving me camera control in dungeons on the right stick. Same with Peace Walker, although there you set the right stick to be the face buttons instead. Works great, highly customizable. Good stuff, Sony. Very good indeed.

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I'm still strongly considering getting a Vita, but it almost feels like a waste considering that I largely just want to play Persona 4 and Muramasa, games that I already own.

There's always Gravity Rush and Tearaway, I guess.

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I am so, SO excited for Tearaway. I got Gravity Rush free on PSN+. but am holding off on starting something new until I finish AC:Liberation. Liberation is actually really good. First off, game with a female black protagonist, awesome. Second, the adoption of various personas feels more assassin-y than anything else I've seen the series do. If you're dressed as an upper-class lady, guards will leave you alone and you can charm people, but roof-running is out. If you're dressed as a slave, you're pretty much invisible to white people unless and until you do something unusual, at which point they freak the fuck out. If you're dressed as an assassin, you can't get notoriety under level 1 due to people being aware of what the clothes mean, but you're much better equipped for fighting and can actually use a sword and gun instead of hidden blades and a blowpipe. It's really cool. Also, New Orleans and the Bayou are great places to have an AC game set. If it weren't for the fact that the framerate really chugs, this would be a fantastic experience (playing all the other AC games on PC has spoiled me, I think, as the series on console is not exactly known for smooth framerate either). As it is, it definitely feel like it's trying to do more that is interesting than other games in the series. It's actually mixing up the mechanics in meaningful ways, and while not everything is successful, I respect that.

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OK, PSN just keeps giving me so many games that I kinda have to buy a Vita now, the just gave me another free game because they delayed the Vita version of Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault which I got since it's a cross buy game.

 

I assume the 4G won't last much and that I'll need a bigger one, the only game retail chain around here has an offer where you get a game with the card, one of them happens to be the game I got for free (RC Motorstorm and the other options are Little Deviants and Everybody's Golf.

 

I think they have Vita with Assassin's Creed III Liberation bundle, which Miffy is making sound awesome.

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Assassins Creed III sounds pretty good. I also bought Dokuro recently, which is a fab little game with really discreet puzzles and instant restart.

 

Thinking about Marvel Vs. Capcom too.

 

Currently holding my attention is Super Stardust Delta and Wipeout. (& Dokuro obvs.)

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I don't know if I reported on Liberation after I finished it or not, but I don't want to play it up too much. I like what it's doing, but if you're not in the mood for more AC already, it doesn't do anything super groundbreaking either. Holy shit framerate though. That is damn rough. Still, I liked it, and with all the other free stuff you're getting for being a PSN+ member, go for it.

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I haven't played any AC games since II, but I'm hoping that since it's a portable version it won't be 90% fluff like I hear the AC III version is? 

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I bought one of these at the end of January mainly due to having a PS+ sub already as it seemed like a pretty sweet deal and - it is! I also still play PS1 games and never had a PSP so there's plenty I'm looking forward to even with the barren Vita release schedule.

 

Little Big Planet Vita is my favourite game in the series somehow and the only one I've bothered to complete, the two PS3 games were charming for a while but didn't hold my attention for long. Everybody's Golf is Everybody's Golf and worth the £7 or so it cost, Motorstorm RC was a ludicrous bargain at about £2 the other week (includes the PS3 version and has automatically synced saves) and Virtue's Last Reward is probably my game of 2012 that I've only just played. Just bought Persona 4 last week and Europe is getting Metal Gear HD Collection with PS+ in March and that's pretty welcome too.

 

I really don't have a bad thing to say about it other than the ludicrous cost of the proprietary memory cards but if you can stomach that then it's a worthwhile purchase for those with PS+ subs at the moment, and the amount of well-regarded indie titles that Sony seem determined to bring to the platform in the near future give me some hope it might not be dead before year end after all.

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I wonder how many PS+ subscribers have purchased a Vita largely because of the linking to their account? I know it's why I did it. I'm curious how much of an impact on the Vita that may have had...

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