So, at least for us in America its tax season which means a good few of us are going to get sizable checks back from the government. I've been eyeballing up the vita again but dammit it seems all everywhere I've checked is selling is the Borderlands 2 bundle with the new version of the vita with an LCD screen. I want neither Boringlands 2 or the LCD screen so without paying way over retail price is there any reputable places selling the original OLED version?

Newegg seems to have the original model for the same price as the new Borderlands pack. Amazon has them too, but they are a little more.

Amazon has you covered. *not them directly, a seller has one at regular price*

I tend to get the best luck finding old model electronics from rural Wal-Marts. I live in a rural area and have a place in the city 3 hours away. I travel through a town of 7000 that has a Wal-Mart. They probably still have a 3GVita if I wanted one. When I bought my 60Gb PS3 they were so desperate to get rid of them that they had bundled in a Blu-Ray, along with the 5 Blu-Ray mail in rebate that Sony was offering at the time.

@mechanical_ape: Hmm well that Newegg listing seems promising.

Your best bet for that kind of stuff is going to local stores not in major cities. They always have way old stock.

I just had the same problem when buying mine Monday, would rather have the nice screen so i had to pick it up soon, as far as i could see Newegg was the only site that had them in stock and amazon had other sellers for a few bucks more then retail. I just ended up going to a local Wal-Mart and they had one left in stock that came with a 8gb card for $200. And if you have PS+ or plan on keeping a lot of games on the memory card i recommend the 32gb card or importing the 64gb, i filled up the 32 gb almost all the way and still have some PSP and PSone games i haven't downloaded from PS+.

I tell you what still my biggest issue with buying a Vita is how goddamn expensive the memory is. After I buy the system plus a memory card and the two games I'm thinking of buying (Conception 2 and Project Diva F) I'm going to be like $450 in the hole once you add tax and all that.

Memory is also holding me back as well. Probably won't get one until I can find a nice deal on a 16gb or 32gb.

I've been looking into getting a Vita also but I want the new slim model but can't find anywhere selling one without Borderlands 2. I've already played BL2 and rather have a 16gb card bundled with it in place of BL2. Or at the very least they should offer a model that doesn't come bundled with BL2.

I can't imagine playing a vita without a persona 4 skin, you'll need to get one of those too.

I got the original for $199 (CAN) in a Madden 13 bundle. I promptly threw out Madden 13.

@toowalrus: I'd rather have a Hatsune Miku Skin. >_>

Yeah well you don't get a skin. You get a Project Diva branded Vita instead.

@toowalrus: So I've seen. They also go for like $1000 now since they are all sold out everywhere and very limited. I would REALLY love one though.

I got mine 2 weeks ago from Amazon for $213. Its was a WiFi and 3G one.

@toowalrus: Oh my stars. That's wonderful!

@somberowl: I'm in the same boat as you, but I might just bite on the Borderlands 2 bundle. I'd rather have a memory card bundle to save some on the storage, but that bundle comes with an 8GB stick and it doesn't seem like the system has any Borderlands marking on it, so I'm thinking it might be the easiest get-it-and-go solution available.

But yeah, a memory card bundle would be lovely.

hmmmm how about the bundles? Like the Walking Dead bundle still have the OLED screens in those bundle packaging, according to amazon I mean.

On Amazon, I got an original 3GS vita in a walking dead bundle for less than the price of a wifi Vita and for some reason there was no tax. So that was a pretty good deal.

Yeah I'll probably just end up getting this bundle unless they announce another one. I'm probably going to get a bigger memory card anyway. It would be awesome to see a bundle with a 32gb card for maybe like 20 dollars more. That would be ideal. Or at least a bundle with some other game with it. I mean they have to offer some sort of variety. It's like they're shoving BL2 down everyone's throat lol.

You might need to look into get a used one. Maybe look into a place like CowBoom.com, supposedly they sell near new condition Vitas at very nice prices.

@somberowl: They pretty much are. During the holidays the only thing you could find was the Walking Dead Bundle. They really really like to sell their bundles.

Yeah but I mean when it launches. Of course there will be more option down the road but a few different launch bundles would be nice.

@somberowl: I don't really think they are treating this as a launch this has just been their strategy with the vita overall for awhile at retail.

There is a pretty meaty Conception II demo on the Vita store. You should give that a play before you drop the full forty bucks.

Not sure you are even looking...

http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-Vita-3G-Wi-Fi-Bundle/dp/B0071NH8B8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398017679&sr=8-1&keywords=PS+Vita

$216.49

@franknelson: And you didn't read my first post either. That is over retail price currently. I'm not going to pay over retail for something.

@demoskinos: Technically the 3G version is still listed at $299.99 in retail stores

that's the most salty thing i've ever experienced, and i once ate a big heaping bowl of salt.

edit: serious answer http://www.frys.com/product/8022284?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG if you're willing to go refurbished. i got one of these and it's only been a few days but so far so good.

@ripelivejam: I know. I'm highly original.

@bocam: That is only because "$300 NOW ONLY $200" looks better then just $200, which is what Sony dropped the MSRP for all versions of the Vita to some time ago.

Actually upon further review... I think I may just get that borderlands bundle. As @snail pointed out in another thread the battery life is significantly extended on the new system and that could prove to be a bigger deal in the long run. Still, if anyone wants to barter for my copy of Borderlands 2 when I get it I'll take some offers. ;)

Another factor to consider is how often you plan on playing it outside your home. I know that it's a portable console but I know a lot of people (myself included) who spend most of their time playing portable consoles at home. If that's the case then some of the improvements of the slim may not matter as much. Either way, as others have said, you should probably pick up a larger sized memory card at some point.