Gallery: a visual tour of the PlayStation Vita
We're counting down the days until the PS Vita launches — Dec. 17 in Japan and Feb. 22 in North America and Europe — and we can't help but feel that Sony's polished the device off a bit since we last played it the summer.
With the launch inching closer and closer, we can finally show you some close-ups of the PS Vita (Sony's been stingy about photo shoots with it). And in typical DVICE fashion, we toted a bunch of other gadgets including a Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Portable (original model) BlackBerry PlayBook and LG Nitro HD to size the PS Vita up against. Get ready for a visual tour!
I've had the honor of playing the PS Vita on several occasions and each time I wrap my small-ish hands around the device, I walk away craving the device even more. As a person who picked up the PSP when it first launched (yes, I have Riddddgeee Raaaacerrr), I was floored by its multifunctions. The PSP brought near-PlayStation 2 quality games (at least graphically), a huge 4.3-inch display (higher than any portable device in 2005) and real online multiplayer gaming.
As a daily commuter, I loved the little PSP, and despite its huge success in Asia (hello Monster Hunter!), it dried up pretty quickly here in the States, especially after that horrible PSPgo redesign (later scrapped in favor of the PSP-3000).
The PS Vita is going to launch (at least in North America) with a huge bang, with tons of games — with the largest collection of games available either on launch day or in its launch window. Sure, it's an uber powerful machine with quad-cores and dual cameras, but let's be real — we care about the games.
I can't show you just how impressive these games look, or how great they feel — you'll have to trust me on this one — but let's just say I had so much fun playing during my two-hour hands-on that I deleted almost all the games on my iPhone 4 to make way for them.
Of the dozen or so games I tested, I enjoyed these the most: Resistance: Burning Skies (secondary weapon fire with touchscreen!), Escape Plan (a funny little black and white puzzle-solving game that uses the touchscreen to guide a solemn dude from one end to the other — with obstacles of course), Lumines (it's back!), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (button mashing with touchscreen taps for instant specials!) and Unit 13 (third-person shooter made by Zipper Interactive (a.k.a. Socom 4 guys).
Impressive as all the games are, I was saddened to hear that developers aren't embracing PS3-PS Vita cross-platform functionality as the WipeOut 2048 dudes are doing. Most games allow you to save your game on either system and load up the game save on any system from the cloud, but that's about it. It's still the beginning days, so we'll see how things shake out with time.
For now, enjoy the close-ups with the PS Vita below. It won't be for another three months until most people will get to buy a one.
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Here it is: Sony's next-gen handheld capable of near-PlayStation 3 quality games. It's a huge device, but it's very light. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
The PS Vita (top) compared with the old original PlayStation Portable (bottom). It doesn't look like much, but the screen on the PS Vita is a 5-inch OLED touchscreen with a stunning 960x544 resolution, whereas the old PSP only had a 4.3-inch LCD with a 480x272 resolution. The PS Vita also has two small, but usable analog sticks as well. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
You'll notice that the back doesn't have any hatches for a removable battery (it's sealed in), but the PlayStation button array on the back isn't just for show — it's actually a touchpad and works just like a touchscreen. There are also two oval-shaped grips on the back. As I've said before. The PS Vita is super light, but the grip certainly helps when you're in a heated gaming session. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
A view of the PS Vita (top) and PSP (bottom) from above. Memory card compartments have moved from the side of the device to the top. On the Vita, we've got a power button and two slots for a PS Vita game cartridge and yet another new proprietary Sony memory card (ugh). (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
The view from below. Here, the PSP is on top and the PS Vita is on the bottom. The PS Vita is actually much slimmer than my original PSP, which is great! (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
It's hard to tell in this shot and the others, but the shoulder buttons are NOT black. They're actually clear, like on the PSP. I saw a few development kits that had some nice matte black plastic triggers, and I have to say, I really liked the feel of them, but all final units will be clear. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
Not a deal breaker, but the dual analogs stick up slightly. The new mini analogs are still way better than the infamous PSP "nub," but time will tell how durable the analogs really are. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
Another view of the dual-analogs that protrude ever so slightly. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
To give you a visualization of how large the PS Vita is, here it is sized up with a 7-inch BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
I had a Nintendo 3DS handy as well. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
Another view of the Nintendo 3DS stacked on the PS Vita. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
Of course no PS Vita guide is complete without a comparison with a smartphone. Here we have the recently released LG Nitro HD and its massive 4.5-inch screen with a whopping 1280x720 resolution. I'll be honest, the PS Vita's screen is so awesome, but it doesn't compare to any smartphone with a 720p display. (Photo credit: Raymond Wong/DVICE)
