The good: The
PlayStation Vita
delivers amazing visuals on its 5-inch OLED touch screen that look
almost as good as PS3 graphics. The system’s launch lineup is very
impressive and allows for downloading of some games (including all
first-party titles) over the PlayStation Network. The Vita’s operating
system is smartly designed, easy to use, and ultraresponsive. The unit
feels great to hold and has excellent standby battery life.
The bad: The Vita uses proprietary media and
connections across the board, and even requires the purchase of a
separate memory card to play most games and use most apps, which results
in a hidden cost. Battery life could be better, and there’s no way it
can be replaced by the user. There’s also no video out. Also, some
antipiracy implementations are a bit cumbersome to deal with (for
example, mounting the Vita to a PC/Mac for file transfer). It’s also
unclear how much storage the Vita has onboard, and it’ll cost you more
money for larger Vita Memory Cards.
The bottom line: Overall, the PlayStation Vita is
the most advanced portable gaming system ever made. While the price is
deceiving because of a hidden cost, gamers are getting an impressively
complete package right out of the gate. A healthy launch lineup is sure
to provide something for every kind of gamer, and a large selection of
digital downloads is available right now.
