The Playstation Vita Catch-All

Braehole wrote:

Anyone excited for the launch? Which games are you guys going to get? I'm only going to pick up Uncharted and wait for Unit 13 on March 6th.

Glad to see I'm not the only one excited for the Vita launch.

In a strange way, I'm more excited to use it to play the PSP back catalog (which I missed entirely) than I am for the launch games. Speaking of which, can anyone recommend some good PSP games available on PSN (or point me to a good thread on the subject)? I was thinking of getting Tactics Ogre and MGS Peace Walker.

As for Vita-specific games, I'll probably get Escape Plan. Uncharted is tempting too as a graphical showcase, but I played the PS3 demos for both Uncharted 1 and 2 and didn't like them so I never picked up the PS3 versions. I know, I know, they are supposed to be great. I'm just much more of an RPG and fighting game guy.

If you want to play Peace Walker, you're better off getting the MGS Collection. The controls are updated to support 2 analog sticks, and it really makes a world of difference.

An absolute yes to Tactics Ogre.

MourningCoffee wrote:

In a strange way, I'm more excited to use it to play the PSP back catalog (which I missed entirely) than I am for the launch games. Speaking of which, can anyone recommend some good PSP games available on PSN (or point me to a good thread on the subject)? I was thinking of getting Tactics Ogre and MGS Peace Walker.

You ALMOST got me to buy Tactics Ogre because it is only $20. Back to Xenogears! (I've been using my PSP more as a portable PS1 than anything else the last year or so)

I'm not really stoked for the Vita launch, because I'm playing wait-and-see on this one. I got burned expecting 3DS shortages and buying on launch, gonna see how things shake out for the first year or so of the Vita before shelling out. If I had a PS3 I'd probably be more interested for the connectivity possibilities.

I think the Vita will drop in price. Absolutely. Sony has had such a checkered recently history with late price drops that they have to be seeing what happened to Nintendo and understanding that by Christmas it needs to be at least $170, maybe $150 to move software.

Yeah, there are a lot of great strategy RPGs on PSP:
- Disgaea 1 and 2 (look great on the PSP screen, and play on the go)
- Jeanne D'Arc
- Tactics Ogre

RPGs:
- Persona 3: Portable
- Ys: 1 and 2, 7, Oath in Felghana
- Lunar Remake
- FF: Crisis Core (not on PSN still?)
- ClanDunx2
- Half Minute Hero

Peacewalker is great. Silent Hill: Origins is a good spin-off if you like the series.

Other stuff I haven't played but I'm curious about:
- Corpse Party
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
- Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
- Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground
- Wild ARMs XF

Well now there's two games that hit home for me and make me wonder if I can hold out on a Vita purchase.

First it was Mortal Kombat 2011 (with new content) launching this spring.

Now I hear that MLB: The Show will be coming to Vita in March.

If these two games can come close to their PS3 versions I might cave.

DSGamer wrote:

I think the Vita will drop in price. Absolutely. Sony has had such a checkered recently history with late price drops that they have to be seeing what happened to Nintendo and understanding that by Christmas it needs to be at least $170, maybe $150 to move software.

Yes but I think the 3DS was way overpriced to begin with and wasn't worth 250 or even 200 dollars, if they wouldn't have priced it at 170 than it wouldn't have moved half the units it would have even with Mario Kart and Mario 3D land, It all depends on the games Vita gets but if launch is any indication I have high hopes for it, they still might need to drop price but I wouldn't see anything more than to 200 dollars.

DSGamer wrote:

it needs to be at least $170, maybe $150 to move software.

That's a huge stretch of logic. Of late, the big three just do their own thing. Even if the 2nd gen 3DS comes out later this year, making its current hardware $150, Sony need not follow. They, or their retailer partners, will just do what they do every holiday regardless of a brand. Bundle it up for a greater value, or slash its price. Anything near half is out there, imo (Sony-wise anyway). Course, the Vita could always fail and your predictions will come true. At best, Sony sells bundles for their current price, and retailers cut that down during demand or overstock.

ahrezmendi wrote:

If you want to play Peace Walker, you're better off getting the MGS Collection. The controls are updated to support 2 analog sticks, and it really makes a world of difference.

Thanks for the tip. I forgot they were making a Vita version of this. I guess I've waited this long, so I can wait a while longer.

Blind_Evil wrote:

You ALMOST got me to buy Tactics Ogre because it is only $20. Back to Xenogears! (I've been using my PSP more as a portable PS1 than anything else the last year or so)

My scheme has been foiled! I was hoping to use the Vita to play PS1 games too, but Sony has been strangely non-committal regarding whether they will support the PS1 classics on Vita. I hope this feature sees the light of day.

garion333 wrote:

An absolute yes to Tactics Ogre.

Good to hear good feedback on this. I was on the fence regarding this or FF Tactics, which I also never played.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

Yeah, there are a lot of great strategy RPGs on PSP...

Thanks for the detailed list. Looks like I have a lot of options to consider before my Vita arrives!

I think a sharp price cut is more realistic than you think. The Vita has been outsold for a solid month in Japan by...the PSP.

Lothar wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

I think the Vita will drop in price. Absolutely. Sony has had such a checkered recently history with late price drops that they have to be seeing what happened to Nintendo and understanding that by Christmas it needs to be at least $170, maybe $150 to move software.

Yes but I think the 3DS was way overpriced to begin with and wasn't worth 250 or even 200 dollars, if they wouldn't have priced it at 170 than it wouldn't have moved half the units it would have even with Mario Kart and Mario 3D land, It all depends on the games Vita gets but if launch is any indication I have high hopes for it, they still might need to drop price but I wouldn't see anything more than to 200 dollars.

$200 seems a fair price to me. I doubt they'll sell what they want to at $250 and $300.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I think a sharp price cut is more realistic than you think. The Vita has been outsold for a solid month in Japan by...the PSP.

Lothar wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

I think the Vita will drop in price. Absolutely. Sony has had such a checkered recently history with late price drops that they have to be seeing what happened to Nintendo and understanding that by Christmas it needs to be at least $170, maybe $150 to move software.

Yes but I think the 3DS was way overpriced to begin with and wasn't worth 250 or even 200 dollars, if they wouldn't have priced it at 170 than it wouldn't have moved half the units it would have even with Mario Kart and Mario 3D land, It all depends on the games Vita gets but if launch is any indication I have high hopes for it, they still might need to drop price but I wouldn't see anything more than to 200 dollars.

$200 seems a fair price to me. I doubt they'll sell what they want to at $250 and $300.

I think 250 is a fair price for launch and I think it's going to do better than anyone suspects either way it's going to be interesting what happens in the next 6 months or so.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I think a sharp price cut is more realistic than you think. The Vita has been outsold for a solid month in Japan by...the PSP.

Yeah, and there are many factors in play that Sony doesn't have control over, mainly the latest Monster Hunter releasing on 3DS around Vita's Japanese launch. Besides, you might as well say that Vita hasn't had success on Mars yet, relating to how success in Japan doesn't mean much for the rest of the world.

If Sony's best sales region is luke-warm on a product, I don't expect the other two to be way hotter on it. Call me crazy.

cyrax wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

I think a sharp price cut is more realistic than you think. The Vita has been outsold for a solid month in Japan by...the PSP.

Yeah, and there are many factors in play that Sony doesn't have control over, mainly the latest Monster Hunter releasing on 3DS around Vita's Japanese launch. Besides, you might as well say that Vita hasn't had success on Mars yet, relating to how success in Japan doesn't mean much for the rest of the world.

It's funny how both this thread and the 3DS thread are completely impervious to the possibility that there might be danger ahead for their handheld of choice. Weird.

I think your last comment, while cute and flip, couldn't be more wrong. Japan isn't Mars, Japan is one of their best markets (can't remember if Europe is better). It's home field or at least neutral field.

DSGamer wrote:
cyrax wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

I think a sharp price cut is more realistic than you think. The Vita has been outsold for a solid month in Japan by...the PSP.

Yeah, and there are many factors in play that Sony doesn't have control over, mainly the latest Monster Hunter releasing on 3DS around Vita's Japanese launch. Besides, you might as well say that Vita hasn't had success on Mars yet, relating to how success in Japan doesn't mean much for the rest of the world.

It's funny how both this thread and the 3DS thread are completely impervious to the possibility that there might be danger ahead for their handheld of choice. Weird.

I think your last comment, while cute and flip, couldn't be more wrong. Japan isn't Mars, Japan is one of their best markets (can't remember if Europe is better). It's home field or at least neutral field.

Sure, but don't disregard the first sentence. I know things aren't going good, which may or may not be concerning in its first month, but it is just one month. That's it from my end.

Note that I'm not saying the Vita is doomed or even in real trouble. I just wouldn't be shocked to see a price drop.

DSGamer wrote:
cyrax wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

I think a sharp price cut is more realistic than you think. The Vita has been outsold for a solid month in Japan by...the PSP.

Yeah, and there are many factors in play that Sony doesn't have control over, mainly the latest Monster Hunter releasing on 3DS around Vita's Japanese launch. Besides, you might as well say that Vita hasn't had success on Mars yet, relating to how success in Japan doesn't mean much for the rest of the world.

It's funny how both this thread and the 3DS thread are completely impervious to the possibility that there might be danger ahead for their handheld of choice. Weird.

I was was pretty adamant that I didn't believe that iOS and smartphones would really hurt handhelds. But my anecdotal evidence says I'm way wrong. My daughter still has no interest in a 3DS, and her DS use has dropped to the occasional nostalgic weekend.

But her iPod Touch and Android phone is with her 24/7. The Vita is not even an afterthought, as our PSP doesn't need a friend to hand out with in whatever drawer it is holed up in. I imagine she will get an urge for a 3DS once Nintendo drops a proper Pokemon game. But even then it will be a tough call. I think it is literally the only game she might play on it.

It's not that iOS and Android is better. It's that handhelds no longer seem worth the price, and now not even worth the extra baggage. She has two thin pieces of tech she can slip in any pocket that can ease any boredom she might encounter.

Heard an interesting quote on some podcast or another recently - "Mobile gaming is for people who want to kill time with games, dedicated handhelds are for those that make time for games." There's room for both, unless (until?) mobile gaming also handles the needs of a core gamer like myself.

My 8, 10, and 11 year old 2nd cousins were all carrying around their Ipod Touch, Android Tablet, and iPads at family Christmas this year. The last 2-3 years they have all had DS Lites with them, and I've enjoyed being the only adult that will play Mario Kart with them. Times seem to be changing a bit. Not sure a new handheld will bring them back in. Honestly was pretty surprised, but none of them got 3DS this year for birthday or Christmas. Apparently the tablets and other gaming devices were what they wanted.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Heard an interesting quote on some podcast or another recently - "Mobile gaming is for people who want to kill time with games, dedicated handhelds are for those that make time for games." There's room for both, unless (until?) mobile gaming also handles the needs of a core gamer like myself.

That absolutely reflects my perspective on the situation. I've bought dozens of games for my iPhone and iPad, and not a single one has been a satisfying "deep" game experience (e.g. Persona 3 Portable or Disgaea). All the mobile games I've picked up are either fun, but very limited in scope (e.g. Jetpack Joyride or Infinite Blade) or because of awful-by-their-nature touchscreen-joypad controls (insert name of any game with touchscreen joypad here). I also travel a lot for work, and as a result I actually want a portable console. If my phone could be that, it'd be great... but it's simply not.

doogiemac wrote:

I've bought dozens of games for my iPhone and iPad, and not a single one has been a satisfying "deep" game experience (e.g. Persona 3 Portable or Disgaea).

My experience has been similar. I've had my iPhone for two years and all I use it for now is email, my calendar, paying my bills, and surfing the web. I used to buy games for it, but now I even see most 99 cent games as a waste because I never play any of them. When I have time to play a game, I'm usually at home and I either play a home console or my 3DS because the games are much, much better.

I used to read every article that provided a list of "must play" iPhone games and almost all of the ones I bought I lost interest in during the first play session. The only exception was Peggle, which I still find satisfying every time I play it.

Hm Taco Bell is giving away free Vitas apparently.

Aaron D. wrote:

Well now there's two games that hit home for me and make me wonder if I can hold out on a Vita purchase.

First it was Mortal Kombat 2011 (with new content) launching this spring.

Now I hear that MLB: The Show will be coming to Vita in March.

If these two games can come close to their PS3 versions I might cave.

You might ask Slumberland about this. I think he was playing the Show on PSP at one point.

What do you guys think of the rumoured 10% discount for digital versions of Vita games?

I was originally planning to go all digital, but if this is the extent of the discount, it doesn't seem like enough for me to give up the option to sell my games to fund new game purchases. It will be interesting to see if this is actually the final discount rate. Maybe PS Plus members will get a deeper discount? One can hope.

garion333 wrote:
Aaron D. wrote:

Well now there's two games that hit home for me and make me wonder if I can hold out on a Vita purchase.

First it was Mortal Kombat 2011 (with new content) launching this spring.

Now I hear that MLB: The Show will be coming to Vita in March.

If these two games can come close to their PS3 versions I might cave.

You might ask Slumberland about this. I think he was playing the Show on PSP at one point.

You can ask me. I still play The Show on PSP. Love it. Not sure it would be much better on Vita, honestly.

MourningCoffee wrote:

What do you guys think of the rumoured 10% discount for digital versions of Vita games?

I was originally planning to go all digital, but if this is the extent of the discount, it doesn't seem like enough for me to give up the option to sell my games to fund new game purchases. It will be interesting to see if this is actually the final discount rate. Maybe PS Plus members will get a deeper discount? One can hope.

I would do it. I had a real love/hate relationship with the PSP due to the loading times and the unwieldiness of the handheld combined with the UMDs. I really fell in love with the PSP when I put a giant memory stick in it and purchased all of my games off of PSN. At that point it became pretty special because I could carry just the system and know that I had dozens of games at my fingertips at any time.

DSGamer wrote:

You can ask me. I still play The Show on PSP. Love it. Not sure it would be much better on Vita, honestly.

Unless they actually implement all that jazz about being able to advance your PS3 progress (Franchises, Road to the Show, etc.) through the Vita game. That all sounded like pipe dreams though, not likely a feature for a couple months after launch.

Blind_Evil wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

You can ask me. I still play The Show on PSP. Love it. Not sure it would be much better on Vita, honestly.

Unless they actually implement all that jazz about being able to advance your PS3 progress (Franchises, Road to the Show, etc.) through the Vita game. That all sounded like pipe dreams though, not likely a feature for a couple months after launch.

Not sure sure what "all that jazz" means. If you're referring to specific features or whatnot. Because Road to the Show is most definitely in the PSP version. I have a player who got drafted and started in AAA, got demoted to AA and now I'm working my way back. I've had a position change in there and have slowly worked my way into the starting lineup and I think soon AAA. So it's definitely there and feels very robust. It's more robust than any of the NBA2k MyPlayer stuff.

During E3 last year there was a lot of noise made about being able to upload your game data from the PS3 version of a game to the Vita version and continue the same files on the go. Like, if you're on a trip and can't play your PS3 for a week, you can make progress in Road To The Show and transfer it back to your PS3 when you get home. It was talked about for some hack-and-slash game or another, and people speculated about the possibilities for Call of Duty games as well.

That's the jazz I speak of. I've played quite a bit of RTTS myself. I just prefer MLB 2K's batting and pitching interfaces to The Show's.

Blind_Evil wrote:

During E3 last year there was a lot of noise made about being able to upload your game data from the PS3 version of a game to the Vita version and continue the same files on the go. Like, if you're on a trip and can't play your PS3 for a week, you can make progress in Road To The Show and transfer it back to your PS3 when you get home. It was talked about for some hack-and-slash game or another, and people speculated about the possibilities for Call of Duty games as well.

Ah, yes. Well that would indeed be a huge step forward. That's why I asked if I was missing something. That's a good point. That's potentially the most interesting feature of the Vita and it should be supported across the board. If I could play virtually the same game of NCAA football, Madden, NBA2k, FIFA, MLB, etc. at home and on the go I'd definitely try playing those games on PS3.

It would work really well to finish a game you started on the PS3 or progress a season of something while on vacation. In my ultimate dreams you could do that with Dark Souls...