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[Massa]

The lack of internal storage will kill one of the great things this device had going for it, which was the support of indie games on PSN. They'll sell like shit now.

 

[Princess Skittles]

The lack of internal storage will kill one of the great things this device had going for it, which was the support of indie games on PSN. They'll sell like shit now.

I hadn't thought about that.

And now I'm sad.

 

[phosphor112]

Memory cards? Not SD cards? In 2011?

Hopefully the read times are faster and the power usage on them is even less... otherwise there is no way to justify them other than to make up costs on the main device...

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

I also don't like the battery life. WTF am I supposed to do if the bat is about to die and there's no outlet in sight? At least with the PSP I can pop in my second battery.

sounds like portable electronics aren't really compatible with your lifestyle then. or you could do what everyone else does and turn it off before it dies, then charge it the next time you're able to.

im not trying to be mean, but problems like that are just what comes with the type of device in general. im not going to complain about my phone's GPS chip because it can't detect my location while im indoors, or my desktop PC won't stay on when the power goes out without me buying a UPS backup.

just try and realistically think in your mind how many times in an average day you'll be without any power sources whatsoever, and for how long. how inconvenient is it going to be to charge it when you ARE around power sources. (not sarcasm, serious question) if you're going to be out and away from power sources and charging is hard to come by, then i can see how you're going to want a device that gives you as much battery time as possible. otherwise it's just the nature of owning a portable handheld.

 

[18-Volt]

Memory card isn't packed with the system because Japanese couldn't care less about it. Game saves & updates are done to game card itself and they are pretty much useless if they won't use PSN to buy games.

I expect Vita + Memory card bunlde for EU and NA. 4 GB, to be precise.

 

[Oppo]

That's about what I expected.

The memory card situation, we basically knew most of this already – we just didn't have announced pricing or size offerings. This is basically a repeat of the situation with the PS1 and PS2, but with a very notable difference. This time the memory card is pure convenience fee. Because of the way they have designed the game media.

Remember:

• all games sold on cards have space for their own saves and DLC
• they have announced parity for all releases between physical card and download

And of course, there was a big piracy problem the last time. Proprietary media allows them to have more control. And it gets a little more money potentially. But you don't need it, at all. It's only if you want downloadable games (convenience of not swapping cards) or to keep music and movies on your Vita. That latter point could be argued, that some core functionality is being stripped from the machine without the extra card and attendant cost, but not seriously, and certainly not without precedent. I think they learned from Microsoft, what MS originally learned from Sony: use the add-ons to monetize and allow for aggressive pricing, ala 360 HDD. As much as we hate it, I can't bring myself to be too pissed about it, because it does make a lot of sense... you can buy whichever size suits you, or not at all, etc.

I can see why they'd go back to this style. Plus, isn't the card "expansion" the same format as the game media? That might allow for transfers between systems, it sort of has 2 drive bays, if so.

As for battery: actually a bit better than I had thought; I figured 1800 mAh. Batteries are in a really tough spot, the tech isn't moving nearly as fast as anything else, due to pesky laws of the universe and so forth, so I don't begrudge a sealed battery (every mm counts) and the time stated is in line with smartphones, if a bit on the high side. That energy just can't get any denser at the moment, it's all about how it's managed. That can improve. Besides, fuck, if you want to game for 4+ hours in one day on your Vita, I imagine you are sitting somewhere, sit near a plug. I like my Brunton Restore for anything like a like car trip, and that one thing will work for all my USB-charging devices, so it's better than any extra battery. If you're going to carry a whole other thing, make it count, you know?

So yeah. If anyone, I feel bad for the teenage boys who have to pony up extra scratch to show off their porn on a 5" OLED. Maybe that's where some of the angst is coming from

 

[M3Freak]

sounds like portable electronics aren't really compatible with your lifestyle then. or you could do what everyone else does and turn it off before it dies, then charge it the next time you're able to.

im not trying to be mean, but problems like that are just what comes with the type of device in general. im not going to complain about my phone's GPS chip because it can't detect my location while im indoors, or my desktop PC won't stay on when the power goes out without me buying a UPS backup.

just try and realistically think in your mind how many times in an average day you'll be without any power sources whatsoever, and for how long. how inconvenient is it going to be to charge it when you ARE around power sources. (not sarcasm, serious question) if you're going to be out and away from power sources and charging is hard to come by, then i can see how you're going to want a device that gives you as much battery time as possible. otherwise it's just the nature of owning a portable handheld.

Okay, fair enough. But, I can rage if I want to.

:: shakes fist ::

 

[blackflag]

I knew it was only a matter of time before Vita started getting massive backlash.

Deserved imo. I'm getting one. I will love it, but a lot of this recent news is making me much much less excited. Sony just seems to be making bad decisions. The device itself seems great but many of the decisions they've made around that are horrible. Memory sticks, battery, MH debacle, etc.

 

[dallow_bg]

I knew it was only a matter of time before Vita started getting massive backlash.

Seems to be only about cost though.
Eh.

 

[Clunker]

To score one up for consistency: I crap on the 3DS for its poor stock battery life, and I will also poop on the Vita for the same reason. At least with the 3DS and PSP, however, I could buy an extended battery. :/ (Though I'm also irritated because I'm assuming the second analog Frankenpan cradle will not be compatible with the Nyko battery.)

All of the local wireless and location-based Vita stuff actually really interests me, but the flimsy battery life means that I'm likely going to do the same thing I currently do with my 3DS: Leave the wifi off by default.

Edit: I should look into one of those all-in-one USB portable battery packs, something for my 3DS, iPhone, and (maybe sometime in 2013) Vita. Irony of ironies: given the stamina battery, the portable device with the longest battery life I own is now the PSP.

 

[Emitan]

That's about what I expected.

The memory card situation, we basically knew most of this already – we just didn't have announced pricing or size offerings. This is basically a repeat of the situation with the PS1 and PS2, but with a very notable difference. This time the memory card is pure convenience fee. Because of the way they have designed the game media.

Remember:

• all games sold on cards have space for their own saves and DLC
• they have announced parity for all releases between physical card and download

And of course, there was a big piracy problem the last time. Proprietary media allows them to have more control. And it gets a little more money potentially. But you don't need it, at all. It's only if you want downloadable games (convenience of not swapping cards) or to keep music and movies on your Vita. That latter point could be argued, that some core functionality is being stripped from the machine without the extra card and attendant cost, but not seriously, and certainly not without precedent. I think they learned from Microsoft, what MS originally learned from Sony: use the add-ons to monetize and allow for aggressive pricing, ala 360 HDD. As much as we hate it, I can't bring myself to be too pissed about it, because it does make a lot of sense... you can buy whichever size suits you, or not at all, etc.

I can see why they'd go back to this style. Plus, isn't the card "expansion" the same format as the game media? That might allow for transfers between systems, it sort of has 2 drive bays, if so.

As for battery: actually a bit better than I had thought; I figured 1800 mAh. Batteries are in a really tough spot, the tech isn't moving nearly as fast as anything else, due to pesky laws of the universe and so forth, so I don't begrudge a sealed battery (every mm counts) and the time stated is in line with smartphones, if a bit on the high side. That energy just can't get any denser at the moment, it's all about how it's managed. That can improve. Besides, fuck, if you want to game for 4+ hours in one day on your Vita, I imagine you are sitting somewhere, sit near a plug. I like my Brunton Restore for anything like a like car trip, and that one thing will work for all my USB-charging devices, so it's better than any extra battery. If you're going to carry a whole other thing, make it count, you know?

So yeah. If anyone, I feel bad for the teenage boys who have to pony up extra scratch to show off their porn on a 5" OLED. Maybe that's where some of the angst is coming from

You're completely ignoring downloadable only titles. That's like saying a hard drive for the 360 is a convenience when someone wants to play Bastion.

 

[KingDizzi]

Since it's about Vita I'll ask it here, should we expect new games announced during the Vita keynote tomorrow or what? Obviously not expecting time travelers to be here but rather has games been announced during past keynotes or what not. :/

Will be interesting to see what kind of space is left in the game cartridges when they ship, as in say will the Wipeout Vita game have enough space in its cartridge to download some new maps or whatever. Recall that being the plan as in DLC and whatever goes to the game cartridge.

I doubt it.

Makes sense actually considering the games for the future like FFX and the Vitas release were announced yesterday.

 

[davepoobond]

Yes, I'm aware. Does it really need all those features when playing back music? Don't give them a free pass for being lazy.

its almost like you think they want to have low battery life. they spent all the money to research and build this great handheld and you think they're being lazy when it comes to battery life?

its almost laughable to think like that. the tech just isn't there. why wouldnt they want to have 100 hours of battery life?

you could always just take a portable generator wherever you go, too, i guess, so you would never have to run out of battery life. i wonder why they havent made portable generators fit in your pocket yet. they must be lazy.

 

[Infinite Justice]

Since it's about Vita I'll ask it here, should we expect new games announced during the Vita keynote tomorrow or what? Obviously not expecting time travelers to be here but rather has games been announced during past keynotes or what not. :/

I doubt it.

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

Okay, fair enough. But, I can rage if I want to.

:: shakes fist ::

hey, there's nothing wrong with that. i guess my long reply was aimed more toward getting people upset about the battery to look at things differently.

i know for a fact that a lot of people have jobs and/or lifestyles where they are on the road or on their feet a lot or aren't around "civilization" (i live in texas) so things like battery life mean a whole lot more to them than someone like me. (i work in I.T.) so basically, some people whine because they want it to be as super convenient as possible, and some complain because it's a huge issue they aren't able to work around.

with the rate at which all of these mobile processors are advancing i think it's safe to say that revisions of the PSV are more likely to be more power efficient than something custom like the PSP was. they're already talking about quad cores in tablets/phones soon so by the time a revision is due a more efficient version of the PSV chip should be possible, not to mention screens, 3G chips, etc.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Because they plan to sell Vita for $250 and need some way to make some money on it. So I hope everyone's happy that it's just $250 now.

Making money, you mean by maybe.... selling games?

 

[Minsc]

You're completely ignoring downloadable only titles. That's like saying a hard drive for the 360 is a convenience when someone wants to play Bastion.

That and he's also wrong about the memory cards being a "pure convenience fee" according to the PDF release linked in the OP:

Some PS Vita software titles may require the use of separately sold memory card for saving game’s saved data while some software titles are capable of saving it on to the PS Vita card itself. Please refer to the PS Vita game packages or game manuals for further details.

That sounds an awful lot like buyer beware, if you don't intend on using additional memory cards.

The playtime for videos and music is a bit low I think. The iPhone 4 gets 10 hours of video playback (versus 5 here) and 40 hours of music playback (versus 9 on the Vita). The 5 hours of video playback makes a little sense I suppose, since Vita has a larger screen, but music playback seems pretty poor especially since the 9 hours are rated with the device on standby.

 

[Xplatformer]

Most people play their DSs and PSPs at home, hooked to power cable. Sony and Nintendo learned that, battery life doesn't make-or-break the handheld anymore.

This is what i'm thinking. No problem with the battery life, but the memory cost rubs me the wrong way. 8gb will be mine. Two games, lots of apps and music.

I cant wait.

 

[Kuran]

Still, Sony is delivering a kind of dream handheld, the specs and features are balls to the wall.

I hope it works out for them, because their vision for this device is grand. They did not cheap out.

I sold my 3DS after being disappointed by the OS and hardware/build quality. I am keeping my hopes up for the 3DS redesign though.

Both systems will have features and games that make them worthwhile, 2012 will be the year of handhelds.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

That's about what I expected.

The memory card situation, we basically knew most of this already – we just didn't have announced pricing or size offerings. This is basically a repeat of the situation with the PS1 and PS2, but with a very notable difference. This time the memory card is pure convenience fee. Because of the way they have designed the game media.

When the PS2 launched in Japan it came packed in with a memory card. And as pointed out, Sony already said that some games will require memory cards. This is Sony's tard pack. People have been bitching about a lack of built in memory since the 360 launched in 2005 and it will only continue. You would think they would at least give the system a tiny bit extra memory so all games could be saved and make the cards a true convenience fee.

 

[Kyoufu]

Still, Sony is delivering a kind of dream handheld, the specs and features are balls to the wall.

I hope it works out for them, because their vision for this device is grand. They did not cheap out.

The fact that this device literally has it's balls on the online world is amazing, considering PSP/DS etc are just so disconnected.

Maybe Monster Hunter wasn't shown because they're not ready to show the online features for that game?

 

[Cartman86]

Seriously Sony go fuck yourselves with those memory card prices. I'm not doing that shit again after PSP. 8 GB's is nothing if you are going digital. 32GB is priced out of range.

 

[Betta Lines]

That and he's also wrong about the memory cards being a "pure convenience fee" according to the PDF release linked in the OP

Yeah it's absolutely not an optional product if you want to get full use out of the Vita. Early adopters are gonna get burned by the prices of these things.

The weight and the memory issue is enough to make me wait for at least the first hardware revision. Hopefully by then the market will have driven the memory card prices down.

 

[Kyoufu]

When the PS2 launched in Japan it came packed in with a memory card. And as pointed out, Sony already said that some games will require memory cards. This is Sony's tard pack. People have been bitching about a lack of built in memory since the 360 launched in 2005 and it will only continue. You would think they would at least give the system a tiny bit extra memory so all games could be saved and make the cards a true convenience fee.

It had to include a memory card because you couldn't play DVDs without installing software to it.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

It had to include a memory card because you couldn't play DVDs without installing software to it.

They have to include a memory card because some games require it.

See?

 

[Xplatformer]

Um, yeah? It's a PORTABLE game device, not a console.

Its fricken portable. Portability isnt based on the length of time a device can go without a recharge. Is an ipod touch not a portable device.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

They have to include a memory card because some games require it.

See?

Games > Movies

 

[Pachterballs]

Seems to be only about cost though.
Eh.

Yeah, but it'd still be cheaper than having to sell your OG 3DS to get a revised model when it hits in march? At least I didnt' pay $250 and end up with a couple of old ass roms and an outdated model of a handheld.

It all works out in the end.

There are a lot of great games coming at launch. Per LoudNinja's original list: I counted 8-9 games I really want.

Be happy just with wipeout/uncharted/ridgeracer to start.

Gonna be amazing. And I'm hoping for pixeljunk games on vita too. I will buy them dylan cuthbert.

 

[thuway]

Has the Yoshida keynote already happened?

 

[DaSorcerer7]

The fact that this device literally has it's balls on the online world is amazing, considering PSP/DS etc are just so disconnected.

Maybe Monster Hunter wasn't shown because they're not ready to show the online features for that game?

lol...keep hope alive.

 

[manueldelalas]

Maybe Monster Hunter wasn't shown because they're not ready to show the online features for that game?

Seeing they showed literally ANYTHING 3rd party, and the games "shown" were just title screens (if there was a title screen at all), I would say that online features is not the reason MH wasn't shown.

 

[Smirk]

Super Robot Taisen

 

[StevieP]

Yeah, it's specifically Mario Galaxy that makes me doubt Revelation. Nintendo might be a hardware generation behind as a company right now, but they generally do a good job getting the most out of their box. That's why I can't believe Capcom is so far ahead of everyone, including Nintendo. And it's not just art style. There's no similar example of dynamic lighting on 3DS. Nothing comes close.

Resident Evil 4 looked better than Mario Sunshine.

Yeah, but it'd still be cheaper than having to sell your OG 3DS to get a revised model when it hits in march?

Iwata, is that you?

i know for a fact that a lot of people have jobs and/or lifestyles where they are on the road or on their feet a lot or aren't around "civilization" (i live in texas) so things like battery life mean a whole lot more to them than someone like me. (i work in I.T.) so basically, some people whine because they want it to be as super convenient as possible, and some complain because it's a huge issue they aren't able to work around.

After going through the Gameboy and the DS (both OG and Lite) the battery life on the 3DS (and the Vita) is awful. As Amir0x has said, it's something that's necessary coming with the amount of juice these devices are draining in respect to the tech/size of the batteries. But it still sucks. I guess it's just more acceptable now that the 3DS isn't the only 8th generation handheld with shit battery life - the trolling has come to a halt in other words.

What do we know about this storage format, anyway? any chance of a stupid-proprietary-bullshit <to> microSD adapter?

Look at the size of it... I'd say no.

 

[Four_Chamber]

Get the hell out of here with that price for those memory cards

I got robbed already having to do this with the PSP.

 

[theBishop]

What do we know about this storage format, anyway? any chance of a stupid-proprietary-bullshit <to> microSD adapter?

 

[Infinite Justice]

Seeing they showed literally ANYTHING 3rd party, and the games "shown" were just title screens (if there was a title screen at all), I would say that online features is not the reason MH wasn't shown.

Plus it was shown anyways, we just have no idea what version (Vita? or Emulated PSP?)

 

[InsaneZero]

What do we know about this storage format, anyway? any chance of a stupid-proprietary-bullshit <to> microSD adapter?

You probably meant the other way around. Anyway, no chance of it happening anyhow, what with these cards being the size of microSDs to begin with.

 

[neptunes]

They'll bundle a 4GB card within 3 months of release

Fuck I think retailers will take it upon themselves to bundle the memory cards at launch, retailers usually reap a bigger margin on accessories right?

 

[Fernando Rocker]

Also... if I recally correctly, you can't play most games online via 3G, right?

Only turn based games like the golf game.

The 3G is used mostly for the social features.

 

[StuBurns]

Also... if I recally correctly, you can't play most games online via 3G, right?

Only turn based games like the golf game.

The 3G is used mostly for the social features.

Yeah, that's my understanding. Only asynchronous stuff.

 

[Man]

3G and 4G have too much latency. Download speed is ok but the latency is a killer so not suitable for non-turned-based gaming.

3G is for Community and Near functionality really.

 

[Cow Mengde]

Also... if I recally correctly, you can't play most games online via 3G, right?

Only turn based games like the golf game.

The 3G is used mostly for the social features.

Wait what? Are you serious?

 

[friskykillface]

Also... if I recally correctly, you can't play most games online via 3G, right?

Only turn based games like the golf game.

The 3G is used mostly for the social features.

0_o whoa wtf lol , that's terrible

wifi only for me then

 

[Truth101]

Wait what? Are you serious?

Its been known for a while hasn't it?

 

[theBishop]

You probably meant the other way around. Anyway, no chance of it happening anyhow, what with these cards being the size of microSDs to begin with.

Are they? Looks more like SD-size in pictures.

 

[Fernando Rocker]

Its been known for a while hasn't it?

Yes, but some people are still uninformed.

I just made a thread about this:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=444920

 

[theBishop]

Wait what? Are you serious?

You wouldn't want to play Call of Duty over 3g even if it let you.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

What do we know about this storage format, anyway? any chance of a stupid-proprietary-bullshit <to> microSD adapter?

Odds are it will work like the 360 does. Where as there is a chip on the system and a chip on the memory card. If the chips don't do a handshake then they don't work. If any third party company tries to reverse engineer it, Sony can sue them and lock them out via firmware.

 

[FoxSpirit]

That sounds an awful lot like buyer beware, if you don't intend on using additional memory cards.

Well, since the gamecarts have onboard savegame memory, I suspect games like "Little Big PLanet" will use it for downloaded levels. Maybe you'll get a little bit for that on the gamecart since they said the carts will also be used to store DLC but the space will certainly be limited for such endeavours. Same with Mod Nation racers, no clue how big tracks can be.

 

[thuway]

One more time:

Has the Yoshida keynote happened yet? Are we expecting any announcements around it?