Let me get this straight, in order to play/save my games I have to spend 30 dollars minimum on a memory card on top of a $250 console. Its like they don't want any early adopters. I'm waiting until the psp vita go or what ever they release that has internal memory.

Worked for PS1.

@Gabriel: that was 2 generations ago.

@Gabriel said:

Worked for PS1.

I would have said this too, and the PS2, Gamecube etc BUT the problem is this is not 1995 or even the begining of 2000. Standards change and built in memory should be one of those standards by this time. Did PSP have packed in memory?

Buying it regardless!

Seems insane, people are still expected to use memory cards?

@Gabriel said:

Worked for PS1.

And PS2. And almost every digital camera in production.

I believe you can have game saves on the actual game cards but I'm not sure about that. But my problem is that I would like to have a few games on a single memory card and even a movie or two but at these prices there is no way I am going to be picking up one. I will still eventually get one but I am going to wait a while now, maybe by next Christmas they will have the price and systems worked out.

Uh... I'm pretty sure you'll be able to save right on the game cartridge/card/whatever the hell Sony is using.  The memory cards will probably be completely optional.

The era for hand held systems is past.

I assume that Sony would have to include some type of memory card with the Vita, otherwise, it would be a very bad move since selling a gaming device that requires you to go out and buy an accessory just to save your games seems like a poor business decision.

@sins_of_mosin said:

The era for hand held systems is past.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-11-28-super-mario-3d-land-is-fastest-selling-portable-mario-ever

@sopranosfan said:

I believe you can have game saves on the actual game cards but I'm not sure about that. But my problem is that I would like to have a few games on a single memory card and even a movie or two but at these prices there is no way I am going to be picking up one. I will still eventually get one but I am going to wait a while now, maybe by next Christmas they will have the price and systems worked out.

You'd think but some games, notably uncharted, require it

@spazmaster666 said:

I assume that Sony would have to include some type of memory card with the Vita, otherwise, it would be a very bad move since selling a gaming device that requires you to go out and buy an accessory just to save your games seems like a poor business decision.

only with a bundle

@Cloudenvy said:

Buying it regardless!

Yeah with Persona 4 the Golden and all the SMT games that were on the PSP I really want to, but my wallet won't bear it out :(

The PSP used a SD card, why can't this? This is stupid.

@kashif1: from wikipedia:Software for the PlayStation Vita will be distributed on NVG cards, a new proprietary flash card format similar to the Nintendo 3DS Game Cards, rather than on Universal Media Discs (UMDs) used by the original PlayStation Portable.NVG game cards will be available in size from 2 GB to 16 GB, with 2 GB and 4 GB versions available at launch. 5-10% of the writeable space will be reserved for save data, patches, etc

Nintendo made several mistakes with the 3DS launch but this holiday it has done extremely well, moms were going nuts for it at my local Toysrus and Super Mario Land 3D sales are quite impressive. Is the Vita launch going to be perfect? Nope. These prices are ridiculous for memory cards but it isn't going to lead to the Vita's death, in my opinion. I just can't wait for both the Vita and 3DS to establish themselves so I can stop hearing people saying iPhone games are the future.

I kind of miss memory cards, just wish they weren't so damn expensive.

I approve of anything happening in this thread due to the awesome title. Yeah. It's rather confusing really. Let it also be noted that the meteor didn't kill the dinosaurs.

Failure to adapt to changing conditions

Lloyd et al. (2008) noted that, in the Mid Cretaceous, the flowering, angiosperm plants became a major part of terrestrial ecosystems, which had previously been dominated by gymnosperms such as conifers. Dinosaur coprolite–fossilized dung–indicate that, while some ate angiosperms, most herbivorous dinosaurs ate mainly gymnosperms. Statistical analysis by Lloyd et al. concluded that, contrary to earlier studies, dinosaurs did not diversify very much in the Late Cretaceous. Lloyd et al. suggested that dinosaurs' failure to diversify as ecosystems were changing doomed them to extinction.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur]

@kashif1 said:

Let me get this straight, in order to play/save my games I have to spend 30 dollars minimum on a memory card on top of a $250 console. Its like they don't want any early adopters. I'm waiting until the psp vita go or what ever they release that has internal memory.

Nope... it's optional. A nice-to-have. And really, they're looking at the Innovators and Early Adopters to pay big $$ for this, which are really a small minority. If one does not like this or feels strongly that this will dissuade them from a purchase, they're more an Early Majority type. Crossing the Chasm does a great job describing all of this, worth a read.

@Spoonman671 said:

Uh... I'm pretty sure you'll be able to save right on the game cartridge/card/whatever the hell Sony is using. The memory cards will probably be completely optional.

I am pretty sure Sony said you need a memory card to play some games, and I remember reading that Uncharted was one of those games.

Honestly, I never planned on picking up a Vita, but I dont know why anyone who was on the fence would pick one up after seeing the prices for memory sticks. There is going to be some memory room on the game cards for saves and updates and stuff, but it sucks that to play some of the games that will be released, consumers are going to have to spend $30 more at launch.

@Dogma said:

@Gabriel said:

Worked for PS1.

I would have said this too, and the PS2, Gamecube etc BUT the problem is this is not 1995 or even the begining of 2000. Standards change and built in memory should be one of those standards by this time. Did PSP have packed in memory?

Worked for the 360 as well for a while. Electronic companies will always rip people off with this shit. It's nothing new and it wont change anytime soon. That said I'm sure cheap sticks will appear by 3rd parties or on amazon sales.

Also yes the PSP when it launched had 32mb cards in it. I think that may have only been for first run units though. I know my launch PSP had it.

RAGE! OMG I WONT BUY ONE!

No just kidding, its not a big deal.

It's Japan dude, if it was a problem 5 years ago they ain't gonna fix it.

you dont technically need one.  you can just save on to the cart.

@captain_clayman said:

you dont technically need one. you can just save on to the cart.

I would have been totally okay with that if it was true. Unfortunately it is not, Uncharted for example requires a memory card to play

So it doesn't come with one and I can't use the one I currently use on my PSP.

Well fuck...

I was under the impression that it had 16gb of memory to store games you download and there was a slot to expand that with a memory card. Though I haven't been paying that much attention to the Vita to be honest.

I feel like when it was announced they said part of the game cartridge had a part separate to have saves and dlc. The memory card is only for downloading games.

@Gabriel said:

Worked for PS1.

Yea, well, I was wanting to forego physical media on the Vita, for the most part. Doing so will put the price of the Vita at 400 bucks for me. If these cards arent cheaper by the time Im ready to buy, then Sony can kiss it. I do not want to lug around a game system and a dozen little cards, again. Been there, done that, bought an ipod and saw how glorious going fully digital can be.

@iAmJohn said:

@Gabriel said:

Worked for PS1.

And PS2. And almost every digital camera in production.

Don't forget cell phones.

@Gabriel said:

Worked for PS1.

Probably only because the circumstances were different. Back then, the standard method of saving was saving to the game itself, so saving to an outside unit seemed innovative and convenient (at least compared to the alternative). Today, not so much, mainly because the standard has changed. Also, the Playstation had strong third party support, was the easiest and most profitable to program for (the N64 used bulky, expensive cartridges, and the Saturn was a pain in the ass for the budding field of 3D), tapped into a growing market of gamers hungry for more adult themes, and many other reasons that I doubt the Vita has.

Yep, those cards are sure expensive. I'll be waiting on them to drop in price before I buy a Vita. I'm waiting for them to sort out the PS1 classic on Vita situation anyhow.

Don't care, I still want one.

Wait? It doesn't have internal memory? That is fucked up.

Wait so it is just like the PSP was when I bought it? Oh well.

This just furthers my disinterest in a dedicated gaming handheld.

Wait, portables are still a thing? I thought naysayers were saying that smart phones were destroying that market. Either way, I haven't used a handheld since the original Nintendo DS.

@Prodstep said:

Seems insane, people are still expected to use memory cards?

Yeah, aren't our saves supposed to be in the cloud, in a digital locker?

It worked pretty well for the Xbox 360.

$30 for a 4gb card is immensely retarded.

@sins_of_mosin said:

The era for hand held systems is past.

It was never really a thing....... i don't know why they keep trying, they can't compete with cellphone games and prices.

I may consider the Vita after the price drop and re-design.

@Dany said:

Wait? It doesn't have internal memory? That is fucked up.

My thoughts exactly. I didn't expect a ton of on-board memory since I know they want to push these memory cards, but I figured we'd be getting a few gigs for save files/DLC at least. I was really excited about this system until I realized the game/memory card prices...Can't afford to support both this and my 3DS anymore.

@jakob187 said:

@iAmJohn said:

@Gabriel said:

Worked for PS1.

And PS2. And almost every digital camera in production.

Don't forget cell phones.

name a cell phone with no internal storage.

It is entirely up to the publisher whether the game card will allow players to save. I suppose Sony's own games will not support it, because obviously they want to sell memory cards.

@CH3BURASHKA said:

Yeah, aren't our saves supposed to be in the cloud, in a digital locker?

They want you to shell out for a PSN Plus subscription farther down the road, once you've bought a memory card.

@sins_of_mosin said:

The era for hand held systems is past.

I believe you can have game saves on the actual game cards but I'm not sure about that. But my problem is that I would like to have a few games on a single memory card and even a movie or two but at these prices there is no way I am going to be picking up one. I will still eventually get one but I am going to wait a while now, maybe by next Christmas they will have the price and systems worked out.

@wewantsthering said:

@sins_of_mosin said:

The era for hand held systems is past.

The memory prices are fucking insane. I wanted to go fully digital with Vita, but Sony are making it way too hard. I'll just have to stick to retail games that can save on cart until the memory prices drop. As long as Gravity Daze can save on cart it probably won't matter for a while.