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VITA Newb/N00b Q&A

Dorfdad

Gold Member
I am creating this thread to hopefully clean out the basic Q&A questions being asked in every VITA thread that ends up derailing the conversations in those threads. The intent is to bring all the Newbs and N00b's into one thread and get everyone up to speed on the best Handheld in existence!

When I find a good Q&A I will hotlink those in this original post at the bottom for quick access for those looking for answers as well.

Contrary to the belief of many, a noob/n00b and a newbie/newb are not the same thing. Newbs are those who are new to some task and are very beginner at it, possibly a little overconfident about it, but they are willing to learn and fix their errors to move out of that stage.

n00bs, on the other hand, know little and have no will to learn any more. They expect people to do the work for them and then expect to get praised about it, and make up a unique species of their own. It is the latter we will study in this guide so that the reader is prepared to encounter them in the wild if needed.

So Newb or N00b go ahead and ask your vita questions in here please!

(I will be editing the thread with some blanket Q&A's shortly)


TIPS AND TRICKS ESSENTIAL READING! 9 TRICKS

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/02/24/ps-vita-our-9-favorite-tips/


HARDWARE QUESTIONS


Q. How long is the Battery Life compared to the 3DS? http://www.computerandvideogames.com/330448/battery-life-test-vita-vs-3ds-who-wins/

According to Digital Foundry

Life: Four hours, 10 minutes (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth enabled, brightness and sound at 50 per cent, several games tested)
Worst Case Scenario: Three hours, 40 minutes (all wireless functions active, brightness and audio at max, playing Uncharted: Golden Abyss)
Best Case Scenario: Four hours, 50 minutes (wireless off, brightness and audio at minimum, several games tested)

Does the Vita allow TV and Audio Out?

The Vita does support audio out with and without a Dock, However the Vita does not support video out currently.

ACCOUNT/REGIONAL QUESTIONS

Can I use multiple PSN Profiles or Different regional Accounts on 1 (One) Vita?

Yes you can but it will require separate Memory Cards. The Vita's accounts are tied to the Memory Stick and not the Physical Vita as opposed to how the PS3 handles accounts. Here is a Video from IGN explaining the whole process. http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/01/04/how-to-switch-psn-accounts-on-playstation-vita

consoul found a workaround for enabling Multiple accounts/stores on one memory card. Try this at your own risk however: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=35455903&postcount=209


Vita FEATURE QUESTIONS

What is NEAR and How Do I use it Properly?

There are two decent tutorials I found for this so Im linking them if you have/find a better one PM me the link please!
The first is from IGN with a video turotial: http://www.ign.com/wikis/ps-vita/near
The Second is from IGN's forum with some basic overviews and screenshots on how to use it: http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/i-need-a-near-tutorial.250061121/#post-250963300





PSP QUESTIONS

Q. How Do I access Filter and color settings for PSP games? and Is there a way to Unshrink the Screen?

Press down on the VITA screen while in a PSP game you will see the menu for PSP settings. You can not un-stretch or change the resolution of PSP games on the the screen, however you can play with filters and colors which may or may not help depending on the game.

Can I play all PSP games available on PSN on the Vita? and Does the Vita make them truly look better? Also Can I play all my PSone classics from PSN on the Vita?

Not all games are compatible with the Vita at this time, however the ones listed in the Vita store are not the only games that actually work. There is no "complete list" of working titles though one is being worked on here at Neogaf and will be included here once we get the link for it. You can however install most PSP titles by downloading them to your PS3 and using the Content Manager on the VITA and copying from the PS3 to Vita. Little Big Planet, Killzone, Pursuit Force, Tactics Orge, Final Fantasy Tactics, Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker and more are not listed, but work fine so try copying from PS3. As for PS1 titles None will play at this time.

As for if they look better for the most part yes, However that is somewhat subjective. They don't look any worse though as the Vita does an excellent job of scaling to fill the screen properly

TROUBLESHOOTING QUESTIONS

My Vita seems to be frozen, when I turn it off it doesn't turn back on or the PS logo flashes blue What Do I Do??

First off, obviously make sure your Vita hasn’t just run out of power, or hasn’t overheated in sunlight (in which case, simply leave it somewhere shady to fully cool).

Then, hold down your power button from about 30 seconds until you see the repair menu. Try restarting the system first. If that works, great! It was just a little glitch, everything is ok. If the problem keeps reoccurring when you play a certain digital game, delete it and re-download. Still not working? Follow this guide.

Alot of people are having this when they try the Unit 13 demo (where I first experienced it as well)
 

Ken

Member
1. How to take in game screen captures.
2. OLED blotches
3. How do I get my free month of 3G and SSD?
4. Blue PS button but black screen.
5. Can't update firmware at start up with PSN account.
6. Screen protector application.
7. Can near be used without activating a 3G plan?
8. My near is broken, what can I do?
9. How do I get and play another region's game demos?
10. Is VITA an acronym? :p
11. When does Gravity Rush come out?
12. How do I delete unwanted bubbles and game demos?
13. How big is the Vita? Can it fit in my Club Nintendo DS pouch?
14. Are screen protectors really needed?
15. Transferring files and games between PS3, Vita, and PC?
 

Dorfdad

Gold Member
Is Vita an Acronym? Why do so many people type "VITA"?

Hmm I didn't type it in Caps but it somehow ended up that way! I tried to edit the topic but it seems to be fixed VITA maybe a MOD can fix it!??

Also I will try to answer some of those questions as well, or if someone here with more experience would care to help I would appreciate it!
 

idwl

Member
I'm just curious as to how big it is? Could someone post a side by side comparison with the 3ds?
 

chiablo

Member
How's the battery life?

How durable is the touchscreen? Will it be ok without a case or is it going to be like the PSP where it's a haven for scratches?
 

Salaadin

Member
Any way to get the Vita to priortize game updates over anything else being downloaded?

How do I access the radar map within Near?
 

grendelrt

Member
I just put my Hori protector on and followed advice of people on here, things I would suggest for "how do i put a screen protector on".
1. Steam the room slightly (not a fog) to keep dust away
2. wipe down with microfiber and a lintless alcohol wipe (i used a glasses cleaner wipe)
3. inspect for lint/dust, repeat 2 until completely dust/lint free
4. apply protector
 

LiK

Member
I'm just curious as to how big it is? Could someone post a side by side comparison with the 3ds?

I took a pic last night for compaison. Here ya go.

3DSvVita.jpg
 
it's confirmed by Sony that screen is plastic. Not glass sadly. It's light tho.

How bizarre that they wouldn't adjust that in the documentation that came with it. Then again, some of the digital documentation refers to the XMB. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
 
How's the battery life?
According to Digital Foundry's tests:

Average Battery Life: Four hours, 10 minutes (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth enabled, brightness and sound at 50 per cent, several games tested)
Worst Case Scenario: Three hours, 40 minutes (all wireless functions active, brightness and audio at max, playing Uncharted: Golden Abyss)
Best Case Scenario: Four hours, 50 minutes (wireless off, brightness and audio at minimum, several games tested)
 

jorgeton

Member
1. Can I play all PSP games available on PSN on the Vita? Does the Vita make them truly look better?
2. Can I play all my PSone classics from PSN on the Vita?

I am unclear as to what works and doesn't. I'm apprehensive to sink $300 on a system and not be able to play the PSN games I already own.
 

zroid

Banned
Okay, can someone explain to me what the hell "Near" is, how it works, and what you can do with it (in detail). At first I thought it was basically just StreetPass, but apparently this is not really the case? I'm guessing they share similarities, however.
 

darkwing

Member
1. Can I play all PSP games available on PSN on the Vita? Does the Vita make them truly look better?
2. Can I play all my PSone classics from PSN on the Vita?

I am unclear as to what works and doesn't. I'm apprehensive to sink $300 on a system and not be able to play the PSN games I already own.

1. not all PSP games but PSP compatibility list is growing longer as time goes by, everything looks better in OLED, some games you can map the camera control view thingy to the right stick

2. PS1 support is coming soon, Sony said shortly after launch whatever that means
 

TheExodu5

Banned
1. Can I play all PSP games available on PSN on the Vita? Does the Vita make them truly look better?

Everything looks better on the Vita. The resolution is exactly 2x2 times the PSP's resolution, which means games are scaled perfectly. On top of that, you can apply bilinear filtering which makes certain games look better (Disgaea Infinite definitely looks better with it on). Since it has perfect scaling, and the screen blows away the PSP screens, the Vita is easily the best way to play PSP games.
 
Good thread. Launch thread goes fast like Sonic!

One of the questions i never got to see answered.:

What should i do if i upgrade memory from say a 4GB to a 32GB?
 

amrod

Member
To charge via PC USB you have to completely power your system off (hold power button until a screen appears with a shutdown button you can tap) ... It will not charge in standby mode
 

Lime

Member
is it possible to transfer data onto the game directory of the Vita? I want to transfer my ripped UMDs to it and play them on a vita.

Also, how much "better" are PSP games on the vita?
 

kinggroin

Banned
Can I get notifications while in a game? I'm not talking about sign-in stuff, but presents received or messages or game invites or friend requests.
 

pelicansurf

Needs a Holiday on Gallifrey
Q: How do you backup your Vita data and transfer it when you want to switch over to a bigger sized memory card?
 

androvsky

Member
For what purpose is the port next to the game card of the vita?

Is for the psp camera?

I was going to ask the same thing. It's not the same shape port as the PSP one, and the spacing for the screws is different. Guess it has its own add-on port... :)


I have my own question, I heard the Vita supports custom soundtracks in all Vita games, but I can't get that to work in demos. Is it a feature limited to full games?
 

LiK

Member
I don't see the bubble while in a game...

Am I missing something here?

i've only played Lumines and there's a square face in the upper right that does a similar function. maybe it's game to game. i saw GiantBomb's Vita episode and when he was playing a wide variety of different games, he would constantly get notifications.
 

blackflag

Member
So what is the final word on how you switch back and forth between different accounts like the US and JPN store? Do you need 2 memory cards?

Kind of want that Ragnarok game but I don't know what I need to do.
 
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