PlayStation Vita Review

PlayStation Vita Review

·         http://us.playstation.com/psvita/systems/ps-vita-wifi.html

·         http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/02/13/sony-playstation-vita-review

·         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Vita

·         http://thekingofhate.com/forums/Thread-Sony-Announces-PlayStation-Vita-Sales

·              The PlayStation Vita was released in Japan on December 17^th, 2011.  The system was then released in Europe, Singapore, South America, and North America on February 22^nd, 2012 and in Australia on February 23^rd, 2012.  The specs of the Vita are quite impressive.  It has an ARM Cortex – A9 (4 core) CPU and a SGX543MP4+ GPU so you do not need to worry about the Vita running smoothly or not because it runs as smooth as butter.  The Vita also has a 5 inch multi-touch OLED screen.  On the back of the handheld is a rear,  multi-touch pad and on the front, the screen is also multi-touch.  The only downside to having a touch screen on any device is fingerprints!  So when you buy a Vita, make sure you invest in a screen cleaner or a screen protector. 

     The handheld also has a front and rear camera and can-obviously- take pictures, but also record video in a resolution of about 360p.  The Vita also a built in GPS system, WI-FI, and Bluetooth, too!  The GPS does not guide you anywhere like an actual GPS.  But, it does show people who are playing their Vita’s within a certain radius and what games they are playing when you have your WI-FI and GPS services turned on.  This is a promising feature, but falters when not everyone around you has a PlayStation Vita.  The Vita also has 3G mobile network connectivity, but on a separate model.  There are two basic models, the WI-FI only and the WIFI/3G model.  The WI-FI only model will cost you about $249.99, while the WI-FI/3G model will only cost you $50 bucks more.

     Another nice feature is that the Vita has a built in microphone and the addition of parties where you can chat live like on the Xbox 360.  However, you should not get your hopes up for video chat because the Vita does not have that ability.  But, it really is not necessary anyway because of all this handheld’s great features.  The Vita also has a six-axis motion sensing system for any time you may need to rotate the handheld to play a game.  But, the main reason anyone would buy a Vita is because of the games.  The Vita’s PlayStation store has digital titles available the same as the PS3.  It even has titles from PS1, PS2, and the PSP which is a great addition to say the least.  Also, “handheld” is an appropriate title for this type of console.  Imagine Games Network said, “The design is sleek and well constructed, I’ll be it larger and heftier than both its predecessor and the 3DS” (IGN).  But, they also said that, “But even with the added size, the Vita is still pocketable” (IGN). 

     But, enough about the size of the handheld.  Let’s talk about the games for the Vita.  Some titles available for the Vita now are Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, and Wipeout 2048.  These three titles look absolutely gorgeous on the Vita’s 5 inch OLED screen even with your brightness turned down.  Uncharted looks almost very similar to Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, the first game.  Gravity Rush also looks beautiful on the Vita and let’s you use the handheld’s six-axis motion system.  For anyone who feels that this may be a total “pain in the @**”, you can, luckily, turn it off.

     The PlayStation Vita had sold over 1.2 million units since its release in the U.S. and is continuing to do quite decent with its sales.  Andrew House, the President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, had this to say about the sales, “PS Vita was designed to deliver the ultimate portable entertainment experience, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the reaction we’re seeing from consumers and the pace at which PS Vita is selling” (House).  This amazing handheld is just rocking it in every way.  Hopefully, there will be many other awesome things to come for the Vita.  The PS Vita has revolutionized handheld/portable gaming in a whole new way and there is probably more to come to make it even better! I rate the console an 8.8 out of 10.