Vita owners! Is the $300 model worth it?

OK, so!

I'm finally in the market to buy a Vita. Enough games have come out that I want to play, and I'm about ready to dive in. But I have one question for the Vita owners out there. Is the $300 model worth it, or should I go with the less expensive Wi-Fi only option? GIVE ME YOUR OPINIONS, PEOPLE.

Persona 4 is always worth $300.

@video_game_king: That's not what I'm asking, though. I have Persona 4 Golden already. What I'm asking is which model of Vita is more worth getting.

I got the wi-fi version at launch and couldn't be happier. I can't even think of a situation in which I'm with my Vita and I so desperately need to connect I would use a 3G plan I had to sub to.

If you look around you could probably still find white Assassin's Creed Liberation bundles for the same price as a stand alone wi-fi Vita.

I got the 3G version on sale after Christmas for less than the Wifi version. I think they were trying to get rid of them. How useful the 3G version is probably depends on where you live. Here in Canada it's locked to a specific carrier, so I'd have to get an extra data plan to use it, which would be dumb. If it's unlocked where you live and the plans are dirt cheap, then it might be a useful feature. I'd say go with the Wifi only version unless you have some use case for the 3G. You could always tether the Wifi only version to a smartphone (if you have one) as well if you really needed data on the go.

My friend and I just asked this question when we bought our Vita's a couple of weeks ago. The answer: This $300 bundle is worth it Instant Game Collection Bundle.

Looking around, all the "good as new" or "referbushed" models wifi or 3g ran around $200-$250. And that was for just the game system. With the bundle you get a memory card (which Sony did wrong there, those cards are way to expensive) and a year of PS+ - something that anyone that has a PS3/Vita should just have at this point.

I don't, any will most likely never use the 3g, but when was looking around this bundle seemed to get the most bang for the buck. And if say you want to trade the system in down the line, say towards a newer model Vita or whatever, having one with all the bells and whistles will net you more to that future purchase.

I suppose it depends on your lifestyle. Personally, I'm rarely away from Wifi, so I decided against the 3G model. Are you in a situation where you can play Phantasy Star Online 2 on a train for an hour a day? You may want to go with the 3G model. That's what I would do, anyway.

Unless you plan on using it for the mobile web browser/email the 3G doesn't really offer much. You can't play most multiplayer over the 3G and the download has a 20MB per file size limit though I think it lets you do system updates.

No, its not. That's the Vita I have and I have never used the 3G capabilities. The wifi on the device isn't very good (maybe I'm just used to using the ipad but it seems slower.) I still end up connecting to a PS3 most of the time to download games and manage my data. That said I got my bundle with a 4GB card for $199. These deals are definitely out there. If you live by a Sony store swing in I got mine there. I know they often sell the same bundle not on sale for $249.

Don't be silly, get the wifi one.

Only if you want shitty wifi (it has a really low data cap, from what I remember)

Unless you want to play online on the go (there arent many games for that anyway), just get the wifi model.

Save the money and get a bigger memory card instead.

I have the 3G version because it was on sale for $200 several months back and I'd say go for the Wi-Fi version. You can't use the 3G for playing games online so there's really no point to it.

Don't do anything stupid.

Don't get the 3G, what are doing? The wifi version is completely sufficient.

Go with the cheaper wifi model because you still need to buy an expensive ass memory card.

Wow. That sounds fucking terrible.

Wi-fi, it's cheaper and more reliable than the 3g model, are you going to be gaming on the go? Most places already have Wi-fi spots, and unless you are going to be downloading on the go, or playing multiplayer matches, there's really no need to be connected to the internet all the time.

@hailinel: I have to 3G version, i do not think its worth it. Very few games work with it, and you do not need it for NEAR to work. I used the 3G for 3 months. Its not worth it. Save the $50 and get another game or two. I would also suggest getting Playstation Plus, as the free vita games alone are with it.

I mean u could just buy a used 3G vita for the same price as the wifi one, or u could buy the wifi one for like $170 used on amazon.

300 Ameribucks? That's more than I paid here in Norway. Now that is a reason to abandon ship. Buy the cheaper wi-fi version. They're shelving the 3G version.

Do some searching on eBay, people are very willing to part with their vita :p

Saw a bundle where a dude was selling the vita and a 16gb card and 24 games for like $250

Best advice on here. Bigger memory card. Fuck 3G.

Im FUCKING Amazed i got a VITA for $150

3G/Wifi w/ memory card w/ hard case, no scratches on screen

Troll Ebay if you want a good deal

Just go Wifi

When reviewing the Vita at launch for my newspaper, Sony sent me a 3G model with a free month of the 3G service.

I used the 3G a couple of times during that month for Near. When the subscription was up, I did not miss the feature even a tiny bit.

So yeah, just go WiFi. Don't buy the $300 model.

I'm in the exact same situation as @hailinel; I've got P4G but no Vita. I've also got PS+, so what size card should I be looking at getting? I saw 4GB cards for $10 and 8GB cards for $20. Is a couple of 8GB cards going to be enough or are there Vita games that are more than 8GB?

@hailinel: @mosespippy: gonna leave these here for you folks. read the descriptions and see if the conditions of the vitas are good enough for you all

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003O6EATE/ref=sr_tr_sr_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1373142175&sr=8-1&keywords=ps+vita&condition=used

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0071NH8B8/ref=sr_1_3_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1373142175&sr=8-3&keywords=ps+vita&condition=used

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002I0JZOC/ref=sr_1_4_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1373142175&sr=8-4&keywords=ps+vita&condition=used

Erm... I think the 3G model flopped so hard, it's cheaper than the Wi-Fi bundles. I for one got a brandnew 3G model with 4 GB memory and Motorstorm RC for 200$. If you have to pay premium for 3G however, it's not worth it. I think I've heard online functionality is limited (no online play via 3G). I for one don't intend to use 3G ever.

Go for the best deal. 3G ain't worth it, but if it happens to be cheaper - why the 'eff not.

P.S. The Vita is awesome!

Yeah, this. I think a bigger memory card is way more useful than 3G.

Well, the answer was pretty clear.

I bought the Wi-Fi only model and a 16GB memory card. I've only tinkered around with it enough to complete the basic set-up and do the tutorial "games," and currently have it charging. Thanks for all the input!

That 3G+Wifi model is so pointless, 3G is ass for gaming and you could just tether from your phone anyway. Unless you don't have a smartphone in which case get one of those first.

Vita is a great little system, pretty decent library of games already too and at this point it isn't even lagging behind the 3DS much, and Persona 4 Golden is better than any 3DS game anyways. (until Pokemon, can't wait!)

I got the Wifi model. I've never needed to be attached to a 3G account as I just tether off of my iPhone if I really need to download something... I can see use for it in the future, but with memory cards the price they are currently, I've no need of it.

The only thing the 3G version has, that the wifi version doesn't (other than 3G), is GPS.

I can't think of anything that uses the GPS other than Google Maps, either.

Get the cheap one mate seriously the 3G is shit and not worth the $15 a month.

I got the 3g model and have it on my at&t plan for an extra 10$ a month. It's cool, and comes in handy sometimes, but I'd say no, if you're asking the question of value, it's not worth it.

I got the 3G version cheaper than the Wi-fi version, and it runs without a SIM card in it (then it's just the Wi-fi version with the capability to have 3G if you get a clone SIM or something). I've kinda considered asking my carrier for a clone SIM, as I have unlimited 3G Internet, but I haven't bothered with that yet, as I mostly play at home anyway, and thus do fine without 3G.

I'd say that you should just go with the cheaper option, sounds like they're phasing out the 3G versions anyway, so I doubt any games will actually require it, and even if you get the 3G version, that part is entirely optional if you don't want to pay for any data plans.

And keep in mind that you'll still have to buy one of the proprietary memory cards to store your stuff on, and they can be pretty expensive. Get the largest one you can afford, I have a 32GB one, and as a PS+ subscriber you'll get more games than you can fit on that card.

If the rumored Phantasy Star Online 2 ever gets released in the west I'd think it may use more than 8 GB (PC MMO's have often been in the 20-30GB range in the past 7 or 8 years, and the PS3 MMO's that I know of are at least around 12-15 GB, even if they Vita versions will have lower texture resolutions or stuff like that, I'd wager 8GB would be the bare minimum). I've got a 32GB card and I'm already running out of space on the thing, after having owned the system for about 4 months. If you're planning on buying games from the PS store, you'll need as much space as you can afford. Seems like the 64GB and 128GB variants, if they even exist, aren't easy to find, but if you have the options, you should go for one of those if you're a PS+ subscriber.