PSVita: So that's why they don't call it the PSP2...
(Note: this is the first time we've ever bought a system anytime near launch in its first gen, let alone /at/ launch. The closest was the Wii during the Christmas season. Usually we get a system like 2-5 years after...)
It's really not much like it except in outside looks. The button logic is different (touch screen for everything -- no button alternates), the feel is... mushy, and the file transfer interface is painful (and slow). Oh, and there's no onboard memory besides what the OS reserves for itself, so even downloading apps requires a card... and the card becomes dedicated to that device. Every store I've seen so far is sold out on any card above 8GB.
And my brother's froze on the update (which fucks the system over), so we had to trade it in for a new one. We probably broke the record for fastest exchange.
As far as I know, it suspends the game, rather than hibernates it like the PSPGo. Can probably simply just hibernate the system itself anyway. Setting up the menu screen is... amusing. And it runs pretty much as fast as one would expect a tablet to... which is really fast. Not all PSP downloadable games are compatible with the Vita. Probably due to screen stretching, task icons, and I have no idea what else.
I haven't messed with the Welcome Park yet, which is supposed to be the tutorial/game section. Friends shows what everyone is playing (although not as in detail as on the PS3), doesn't show you as logged in (so you can be on the PS3 and Vita at the same time), and isn't clear about who is online and who is not (except that those online will be at the top of the list). Messaging works like offline messaging on the PS3 (although it tells the recipient that the sender is on the Vita). I haven't figured out how to put a subject in yet.
The PSN store is the cheapest place to buy the games, but considering how much trouble it is to get a card and that it has a dedicated card reader for games, it makes sense that people are buying the cards instead of downloading. However, considering how much of a pain it is just to get pictures and stuff on this system, I'm not likely to run out of space anytime soon.
Positive for me: I can change keyboards whenever I want to, instead of being forced to change the system language (like the PSP and PS3 requires). So I can type whatever I want whenever I want. Although the screen isn't that large for typing... it's accurate and I guess I can get used to it.
Future OS Update Wishlist:
- Supplemental button commands so I don't have fiddle to get the touch menu to appear.
- File manager app. (why didn't they do this like the bookmarks screen? 60gb of songs is impossible to search through, let alone 5 digits of pictures)
- A way to turn of power save (or make it longer than 5min).
- A LocoRoco game.
Not getting any games yet, but the only two I'm currently looking at are the Lumines and the Katamari. Buried in games as it is, so...
Other fun stuff: It's not compatible with M2 cards (not that you can find one except at Don Quijote), even though I can stick it in the slot because it's the same exact size. (This sucks because I wanted a 32g for my Go so I could fill the whole thing up with only music because I hate iTunes.) The main section of the AC adapter is compatible with the Go. The USB section, however, is not (duh -- the plug size is different).
Screen size for the Vita is 960x544. Considering that the pixel size is smaller too, the Go is probably a good comparison as to how much larger the Vita's screen is. PSP games look terrible on it, unless you look at it from a distance.
Overall, the system hasn't been beyond my worst expectations, but not my best ones either.
I've been debating which account to use on it, but considering that I might actually be dealing with my friends (on and offline) with it, I'm stuck with my US account.
It's really not much like it except in outside looks. The button logic is different (touch screen for everything -- no button alternates), the feel is... mushy, and the file transfer interface is painful (and slow). Oh, and there's no onboard memory besides what the OS reserves for itself, so even downloading apps requires a card... and the card becomes dedicated to that device. Every store I've seen so far is sold out on any card above 8GB.
And my brother's froze on the update (which fucks the system over), so we had to trade it in for a new one. We probably broke the record for fastest exchange.
As far as I know, it suspends the game, rather than hibernates it like the PSPGo. Can probably simply just hibernate the system itself anyway. Setting up the menu screen is... amusing. And it runs pretty much as fast as one would expect a tablet to... which is really fast. Not all PSP downloadable games are compatible with the Vita. Probably due to screen stretching, task icons, and I have no idea what else.
I haven't messed with the Welcome Park yet, which is supposed to be the tutorial/game section. Friends shows what everyone is playing (although not as in detail as on the PS3), doesn't show you as logged in (so you can be on the PS3 and Vita at the same time), and isn't clear about who is online and who is not (except that those online will be at the top of the list). Messaging works like offline messaging on the PS3 (although it tells the recipient that the sender is on the Vita). I haven't figured out how to put a subject in yet.
The PSN store is the cheapest place to buy the games, but considering how much trouble it is to get a card and that it has a dedicated card reader for games, it makes sense that people are buying the cards instead of downloading. However, considering how much of a pain it is just to get pictures and stuff on this system, I'm not likely to run out of space anytime soon.
Positive for me: I can change keyboards whenever I want to, instead of being forced to change the system language (like the PSP and PS3 requires). So I can type whatever I want whenever I want. Although the screen isn't that large for typing... it's accurate and I guess I can get used to it.
Future OS Update Wishlist:
- Supplemental button commands so I don't have fiddle to get the touch menu to appear.
- File manager app. (why didn't they do this like the bookmarks screen? 60gb of songs is impossible to search through, let alone 5 digits of pictures)
- A way to turn of power save (or make it longer than 5min).
- A LocoRoco game.
Not getting any games yet, but the only two I'm currently looking at are the Lumines and the Katamari. Buried in games as it is, so...
Other fun stuff: It's not compatible with M2 cards (not that you can find one except at Don Quijote), even though I can stick it in the slot because it's the same exact size. (This sucks because I wanted a 32g for my Go so I could fill the whole thing up with only music because I hate iTunes.) The main section of the AC adapter is compatible with the Go. The USB section, however, is not (duh -- the plug size is different).
Screen size for the Vita is 960x544. Considering that the pixel size is smaller too, the Go is probably a good comparison as to how much larger the Vita's screen is. PSP games look terrible on it, unless you look at it from a distance.
Overall, the system hasn't been beyond my worst expectations, but not my best ones either.
I've been debating which account to use on it, but considering that I might actually be dealing with my friends (on and offline) with it, I'm stuck with my US account.