PlayStation Vita is a masterpiece from the technological point of view. Direct competitors from Nintendo lose significantly in many aspects (I mean Nintendo 2/3DS consoles). Even the latest sensation, Nintendo Switch, doesn’t go too far from Vita.
The size of Vita’s game library is impressive! So why the device turned to be unsuccessful? And in which cases it is really worth to buy PlayStation Vita?
The moment of the obsession by smartphones
PlayStation Vita is an example of an excellent product that appeared in a wrong time. In 2011, the world was totally obsessed with the revolutionary technology of touch screens on mobile devices. Almost everyone wanted to have iPhone or an Android device. Many people considered tablets as the best possible things for most of the virtual activities, including gaming.
Who will care about that PS Vita in such situation? Gamers were fascinated by countless mobile games, and many still are… Handheld consoles seemed to be a thing of the past. Not so many were buying PS Vita itself and games for it. Since the gaming industry is not only a culture and an art, but also a market, the rules of profit are significant here. If a project gives no revenue, it will be abandoned, regardless of its technological and artistic qualities.
This is how PS Vita has become a victim of technology.
Still, an excellent console
In most of its specifications, PlayStation Vita is one of the best handheld consoles, made so far. Everything is thought-out here! Sony proves itself as manufacturer of a noble gaming hardware. The author of this article and the blog “Very Good Games” ownsa PS Vita console for almost six months - at the moment of writing this text. And what can I say? I’m totally happy with its technology! Because:
- a nice bright screen of 5-inches;
- a light weight to hold the device comfortable;
- a reasonable size to take the Vita with me;
- enough time of working from the battery;
- convenience of pressing buttons and using sticks…
Sony has released two models of PlayStation Vita – the original PCH-1000 and the Slim PCH-2000. Their characteristics are a bit different. I chose PCH-1000 for its slightly better OLED display.
Also, there is the PlayStation TV game console – this device copies hardware of PS Vita but has no screen and need to be connected to a TV or a monitor. For controlling games, gamepads DualShock 3 and DualShock 4 can be used (from PS3 and PS4).
A huge library of games, lots of PlayStation classics
When I was making the decision about which handheld console to buy, I looked on Nintendo 2DS XL https://very-good-games.blogspot.com/2017/04/nintendo-2dsxl-announced.html and PlayStation Vita. Technically both were perfectly good for me. But PS Vita won because of its game library – there are so many great titles in PS Store, which are available for this device, that it would be possible to spend months on playing them without a break (of course, I'm not going to spoil my health with such continuous gaming, but if you want, I wrote a special article about it, by the way). And first of all, there are so many classic PlayStation games, that I wanted to try! From the era of PS One, and PS2, and remastered games for PSP!
Here is my list of top PS Vita games:
- “Stardew Valley”;
- “Persona 4”;
- “Minecraft”;
- “Injustice: Gods among us”;
- “Uncharted: Golden Abyss”;
- “Rayman Origins” and “Rayman Legends;
- “Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation”;
- “Lumines: Electronic Symphony”;
- “Little Big Planet”;
- “Gravity Rush”;
- “FIFA 15”;
- “Need for Speed: Most Wanted”;
- “F1 2011”;
- “Fez”.
And here is my list of top games, made for the previous generations of PlayStation consoles, which are available for PS Vita
- “Ratchet & Clank Collection”;
- “God of War Collection” ;
- “Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back” and “Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped”;
- “Patapon”;
- “Final Fantasy” series;
- “Persona” series;
- “Gran Turismo PSP”;
- “GTA Liberty City”.
Games for PS Vita have a different atmosphere, they propose different experience than games for Nintendo 2/3DS, which are more bright and colourful, children-like. Choose one you like more or have both to get access to different layers of the gaming culture.
Many nice indie games are available for PS Vita, and developers continue releasing them. Many games of unique Japanese Role-Playing genre (JRPG) are available for PlayStation Vita, they have even become a key feature of the console.
A ticket to old-school gaming
Modern gaming culture experience a popularity boom of multiplayer. Game stories and rather relaxed adventures of single-player modes are replaced with quick and tense missions of multiplayer shooters, by complicated strategies of MOBAs, by multiplayer games that involve real time into the virtual processes even if you aren’t playing at the moment.
PS Vita is not a device for such modern gaming, and it is a good, really good aspect of having it, of playing on it. This console gives a ticket to the old-school gaming but with many advantages of modern technology. It is classic gaming in its best!
See also:
Classic hero Rayman is available in a free game for mobile devices “Rayman Adventures”:
“Doom II” is a classic shooter for computers:
There are lots of funny and colourful free online arcade games on the gaming blog “Very Good Games”. They are made in a style of classic gaming:
