PSVita State of the Onion thread

[gizmopop]

So the Vita has been out for about half a year already. This the state of the onion thread is to chronicle where the console is at so far.

E3 2011: lots of games shown/promised, many features shown/promised and pricing released.

Dec. 2011: Launches in Japan, sales are a bit underwhelming... lots of complaining about lack of games, priced too high..

Feb. 2012 : Launches in U.S./ROW, 25 games are available at launch, spread over retail and digital distribution.

Highlights being:
Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack
Rayman Origins
Super Stardust Delta
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Wipeout 2048
Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition
Escape Plan
FIFA Football/Soccer
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Touch My Katamari
Dynasty Warriors Next
F1 2011
ModNation Racers: Road Trip
Little Deviants

Since then they've added
Unit 13
Gravity Rush
Various Lego titles
Resistance Burning Skies
Mortal Kombat

E3 2012: Announced AC Liberation, CoD: Blops Declassified, Playstation All stars...

Gamescom showed a bunch of new games updates on coming properties:


This looks either early (although its around the corner)or subpar... unless it improves over the next couple of months I don't see it as a must have/system seller...


From the makers of LBP, this looks amazing


Showed very little gameplay, but looks like its PS3 counterparts qualitywise...due in 2013


Already coming out for PS3, Vita gets its version


Need for Speed:Most Wanted, open world racing game (by Criterion of Burnout fame) is coming to Vita as well and Criterion is handling the conversion themselves

They've also set a date (9-25-2012) for LBP Vita, announced CrossBuy for certain Sony games ( buy the game for PS3 and get it free for Vita Playstation Superstar Battle Royale, Sly Cooper Collection and Ratchet and Clank Qforce first announced titles for Cross Buy )


There is a lot out so far if you include PSone (coming with 1.80 update) PSP/PS mini games, there is alot coming soon, and alot not soon enough.

Missing in Action so far...














Thoughts?

[Vision33r]

As some developers have said, the console market is on a downward spiral. I don't think many casuals would spend $250 to buy a console to play games they have on the home console and pay almost full price for a portable game.

I understand that it's not cheap to produce a console game but something has to change to entice casuals back from smartphone games.

Or what's gonna happen is that consoles and games will go back to premium prices and gear towards the core players.

Almost all the games on the PSVita are ports of home consoles, I like to see more mobile time waste games like puzzle, JRPG, and strategy type games that the NDS and 3DS has more of.

[gizmopop]

Almost all the games on the PSVita are ports of home consoles, I like to see more mobile time waste games like puzzle, JRPG, and strategy type games that the NDS and 3DS has more of.

That's not exactly true, there are plenty of games that are time wasters, its just we don't hear about them as often.

I find myself playing these alot:


This is a free download with buyable unlockables..


This was $3.99 with a free demo version.

along with Super Stardust Delta (yes, this is a port, but it is quick mindless fun)



There are other quick play games available too


Puddle


Mutant Blobs Attack


Sound Shapes


Plants vs Zombies...

As well as some RPG/strategy

[Juiced6]

i picked up my psv for the trips we will be making this year

i have mlb 12 (ok - just not that into baseball anymore) and mvc3 (i love this game)

id be tempted to pick up the cod for this to check it out but really it just collects dust when im not on the road

i put the youtube app on it and let my toddler watch some sesame street videos at times


if i had to do it over i probably would have passed on this and just stuck with my emulators on my xperia play

[Vision33r]

I see the Vita cater more to core gamers and there's nothing wrong with that. The problem is that Sony expect the Vita to mirror the PS3 in sales figures and that just ain't gonna happen.

By next year this time, the Galaxy Note 3 with 5.3" will probably feature a quad-core with a GPU faster than the Vita and there will be many Android games that rival PSV games. I'm sure PSV games will still be better but most folks are ok with paying $1-6 on Google Play store.

[Juiced6]

give me a slight bigger screen on the xperia play with the fastest stuff available and 4G - ill buy and i will be happy


i love it now but it gets bogged down quickly even playing the original super mario bros

[PDong]

I've been quite happy with mine, as I've been a longtime Hot Shots Golf fan. I travel a lot and it's been a fun diversion.

Hot Shots Golf, Motorstorm RC, and the Fifa Demo take care of me quite well. I'll be happy to add LittleBigPlanet.

[gizmopop]

I think the system had a good launch as far as game availability, If you look at other Sony console launches, It was almost a year before PS2 had a meaningful amount of good games to play on it, and my PS3 had a larger collection of Bluray content (still does) than game content for it. Both systems bounced back though.

There are several things I think Sony should address with the Vita though.

Cross play: start a game on your home console, continue it on the go... a few games support it now, some require purchasing 2 separate copies of the game for PS3 and Vita ( WipeOut, MLB: The Show ) others include both (Foosball, Soundshapes..)..,Now that they announced the Crossbuy program, will more games support Cross play? How many 3rd parties will support this?

Remote Play: promised at e3 2011 it hasn't really been used to potential thus far.

What can be done with standard Remote play

and soon you won't even need remote play to play PS1 games (support is coming in a new firmware update)

What hackers have done with remote play( using a hacked PS3)



What programmers have done using Sony's SDK kit with a PC




I understand why 3rd parties wouldn't be too keen on having this feature completely unhindered (2 purchases of the same game are better than 1 in their eyes).

PSN store: the vita version needs a serious update, the only visual representation of the games on there is their logo, no screenshots, no videos. compare this to the android market, where you have screenshots for most games, and even video for a bunch of them...aside from free/demo versions of the game: It is hard for me to spend $$ on a PSmini without knowing what the game looks like (i shouldn't have to go finding this on my own)

Browser: It needs to be better, if it isn't easy to use or useful I will be less inclined to use it. Bring it up to at least smart phone browser standards.

[gizmopop]

Firmware V1.80 is out, bringing with it PSone game compatibility , button/joypad control for the interface, as well as locking your memory card to a specific region (the Vita is region free, so you can DL games from any region you have an account for...on the Vita it now requires a separate memory card for each region, and formatting the memory card every time you switch)



SCEA has released about 9-12 PSone games so far... SCEE (Europe) released 129+ while SCEJ(Japan) released 200+ in their respective Vita stores.


There is a workaround to download more PSone games that do not show up in the Vita marketplace (yet are PS3/PSP compatible). Download the games to your PS3 without installing them and then transfer them to your connected PSVita.

[sca2511]

It gets some bad press, but I love mine

[gizmopop]

Little Big Planet Vita was released in stores early, (official date was 9-25 in the U.S.) I picked it up and played through the first world area a little of the second as well as playing some online games and doing some of the tutorials.

If you've played LBP2 you know what to expect, all of the upgrades LBP2 got over LBP1 are there. The analog stick/button controls are still there they just added a layer of touch controls as well (ie the pinch to scale and 2 finger rotate you are used to on phones/tablets is present here you can access pop it controls by touching the screen as well).

Multiplayer was pretty much the same as in the console version, people ask to join your game and drop out whenever they wanted to(you can boot them too). You could communicate either with texts or voice (have to find out if that can be shut off).

Any costumes packs you have downloaded for previous versions (LBP, LBP2) should work for this one as well.

There is also an Arcade that is unlocked upon completing the first world area...(didn't play it though)

Despite being very similar to LBP2, at the moment there isn't that much user created content, around 500 or so "games" so far( not all of them are games) I don't when/if they'll open up the PS3s library of LBP games (over 6 million entries as of Jan 2012). I imagine that those games would have to be tweaked to deal with the lack of L2/R2 and L3/R3 (analog stick depress) buttons.

[gizmopop]

OboroMuramasa (Vanillawares Wii game) is getting a Vita release, new characters to be added.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/26/mu...-original-dlc/

Phantasy Star Online 2 is coming as well

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/26/ph...-play-on-vita/


hopefully they will make U.S. versions of these games.

[gizmopop]

Retro City Rampage comes out Oct 9. $15 gets you Ps3 and Vita version.

[gizmopop]

Some of the big games are starting to show up for the Vita.

I've picked up Need for Speed:Most Wanted (Criterion edition) and Assassin's Creed: Liberation as well as Little Big Planet. Still on the fence with CoDeclassified.

NFS:MW plays just like the console version. There is a slight drop in detail and there is less traffic rolling around, but it is otherwise identical, even down to the location of some of the rides. As a portable racer it works better than Wipeout 2048 and ModNation Racers as those 2 have notorious load times, while NFS has practically none, only a few seconds as you switch cars or start an event.



Assassins Creed:Liberation has been good if a little slow so far, the first couple of missions a set up as tutorials (ie teaching you the basics). It is the best portable AC with towns that seem well populated and pretty expansive areas...(I played AC on the PSP, and that had few people in an area, and the levels were chopped up; going from the town to the castle? wait we have to load the castle... oh I have to go back to the town I forgot the random item? wait we have to load the town again) . The game controls great, touch controls are kept to a minimum ( rear touch used for pickpocketing, front is used for cinematic kills), and you get the same free running feel previous AC games have.

Your character juggles 3 personas; full blown assassin, prim and proper lady and slave, each having their own abilities, notoriety(or lack of), for example the lady can charm guards, bribe people but can't climb, the slave is often ignored but doesn't have access to many weapons, the assassin has the highest notoriety. The game so far has introduced missions where you play as each of them. Worth it to me so far.

LBPVita takes LBP2 and fits it on the portable. It is an all new story with the introduction of touch controls. The creation side is as robust as LBP2 adding the touch mechanics into the process. There isn't access to the games created for LBP or LBP2 by users (subtle differences between systems(extra buttons on the PS3, touch screens on the Vita) would have to be worked out, but the underlying engine is capable of playing LBP2 level games.


CoDeclassified... the game launched yesterday, and yet the media sights haven't reviewed it yet...(they say they haven't received their review copies, oddly enough Blops 2 has been reviewed by everyone... Activision should have packed the Blops 2 copies with Vita versions...). There is no demo of the game available either and it costs $49 for retail and digital versions (digital versions of Vita games are usually $5 less)

That being said, several brave souls have posted gameplay footage and it looks better than what they initially showed during the summer conventions...







I will patiently wait for reviews to turn up (or a demo) to see if I bite the bullet or not.

[gizmopop]

Black Friday is bringing several deals for the Vita.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/10/ta...-vita-and-3ds/

Target has a Wifi Vita with game for $200

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/07/be...ck-friday-dea/

Best Buy has a Wifi Vita Black Ops Declassified bundle for $200

PS Plus launches on Vita Nov 19.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/13/ps...n-november-19/

To celebrate an Instant Game collection will be available on the 20th. Plus members get the following games for free*(you obviously pay for plus so free is relative)

Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Jet Set Radio
Wipeout 2048
Gravity Rush
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!
and PSP's Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions

PS Plus is $18 for 3 months/$50 for a year and you can use your existing PS plus account on the Vita.

There is also a firmware update on the 19th

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/13/vi...-content-tran/

Email support, connect wirelessly to a PC for Vita content, 1080 vid support, improved browser, etc...

[gizmopop]

New gameplay/in game footage if Killzone Mercenary...



Release date of sep 17th (still a ways off, and the same date for GTA V on the consoles)

also Ninja Gaiden Sigma is currently a PS + free download

Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma plus coming Feb 26...

[quinntendopower1]

i think i have over 300 hours between ninja gaiden 1 and 2 and all the extra versions... i think i'm good!

BUT, i'll get them. AGAIN. sigh

i'm almost depressed thinking about master ninja'ing the entire first game again. jesus christ the trophy sets for these games are so top tier lol

[BRealistic]

the killzone mercenary game looks good.

[gizmopop]

Select Sony stores are now selling the 3G Vita bundle (3G Vita 8 GB memory card + free(with 3g activation) network game) for $200

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/11/se...ta-3g-for-200/

List of stores participating...

California

Costa Mesa, South Coast Plaza (YES)
Glendale, The Americana at Brand (YES)
Los Angeles, Beverly Center (YES)
Los Angeles, Century City (YES)
Palo Alto, Stanford Shopping Center (NO)
San Diego, Fashion Valley (NOT IN STOCK, REMODELING LOCATION)
Santa Clara, Valley Fair (YES)

Colorado

Denver, Cherry Creek Shopping Center (YES)

Florida

Boca Raton, Town Center at Boca Raton (NO)
Miami, Aventura Mall (NO)
Orlando, The Mall at Millenia (YES)
Tampa, International Plaza & Bay Street (YES)

Nevada

Las Vegas, The Forum Shops at Caesars (YES)

New Jersey

Edison, Menlo Park Mall (YES)

New York

Garden City, Roosevelt Field (YES)
New York, Sony Plaza (CLOSES AT 7PM ET)

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, The Market at Comcast Center (CLOSES AT 7PM ET)

Texas

Dallas, Galleria Dallas (NO)
Houston, Houston Galleria (YES)

Virginia

Arlington, The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City (NO)
McLean, Tysons Corner Center (YES)

Washington

Seattle, University Village (YES)

[gizmopop]

Guacamelee was released yesterday. Very cool charming platformer with new abilities helping you get to previously unreachable areas...