So I'm thinking about finally picking up a vita, and it has been extremely hard to find any new units at local stores ahead of the new bundle release in early May (even vendors on amazon seem to have them at higher prices). I found one 1001 model randomly at a local Target (same price as upcoming bundle) but could not pick it up today due to the holiday.

Assuming it is still in stock tomorrow - for those of you with vita experience, as far as the OLED vs the LCD and other improvements on the slim - Is it worth the cost difference of a 8GB memory card and Borderlands 2? Obviously I would need some memory but as far as the game goes it's whatever for me. I'll play it if I get it but it's not something I would have purchased for vita otherwise (but ofcourse I can't help but feel a sense of entitlement to a discount for the lack of pack ins haha).

I know some friends who claim that the OLED is the best feature of the Vita. I personally think that is an exaggeration, but OLED is still really nice. LCD isn't bad, but it's not the best.

Also, memory on Vita is fucking nuts when it comes to price, so that and a game is a pretty good deal for a 200 dollar LCD bundle.

I think it's best to go with the OLED and then buy either a 32 or 64gb memory card, to be honest. You're going to want a bunch of storage space on your Vita, the PSN store and digital games really make the Vita awesome.

I agree with this. A 32/64 GB card and PS+ will go a long, long way. I haven't seen the LCD screen in action, and while I'm sure it looks great, you might as well have the best (OLED).

Either way, the Vita is awesome and I don't think you can go wrong here.

I took the battery life over the OLED. I'm just waiting until the slim ships now.

get both and make'em kiss

I got the OLED with a pack-in Madden game which I ignored. The OLED looks fantastic for being sort of low resolution, compared to modern smartphone screens.

An 8GB card will not be big enough. Borderlands 2 is very cheap on Steam, and can probably be found cheaply on PS3/360 if you really want it.

Unless your heart's set on a portable Borderlands game, i'd go with the OLED.

this is a great screen but i really have no frame of reference having not seen the LCD in action.

the system really isn't that huge in its original form too. like a slightly chunkier PSP-2000.

at what point in persona 4 do i stop just hitting X to proceed? (i'm sorta kidding, i do like the game...)

You're disregarding the fact that the slim Vita has greatly improved battery life. To me that matters a lot more than a slightly better screen.

I still need to buy a much larger memory card (been using a 4GB one that a friend gave me for free, after he upgraded his and I had just ordered mine from Amazon, and I don't see an 8GB one being much better) but I really love the OLED screen. Games look pretty damn good.

Might just spend the extra money on a 64GB card, but damn, those fuckers are expensive. Costs just slightly under what my 2.5TB external drive did.

As long as you end up with a Vita, you're doing it right. Loving mine. Using it daily.

I wanted to also buy the OLED Vita but since everyone either doesn't have one to sell or are selling it at a higher price, I'm just gonna get the Borderlands 2 bundle and save some dinero. I have so many games because of PS+ that I could probably use that extra money and get a bigger memory card.

@snail: not disregarding it, but my understanding was that your statement is reversed - they slightly improved battery life at the cost of a greatly superior screen. I'm not saying you are wrong, (since I don't have either system) this is just my perception from comments around the web.

On another note, I knew a common complaint was the price of the proprietary memory, but I had not looked it up until now....yikes, $80 for 32gb?! Maybe I'll fight by desire to go portable and get a ps3 instead. J/k...?

I've heard everything is better about the slim besides the screen. People say it is more comfortable to hold and the battery life boost is pretty big in a handheld for me. Also that gameplay is better because of what they did to the back touch pad. Dead spots in a more natural place. So you don't trigger the back pad on accident as much etc.

Helps that I have never seen the OLED in action so I have the benefit of not knowing what I'm missing. Battery life is big though I hate that my 3DS lasts like 3-4 hours before I need to charge it.

I found one at my local Wal-Mart the other week for $200 with an 8gb card and an offer for a game if i singed up for an AT&T data plan, but screw AT&T. And as others have said an 8gb card probably wont be enough unless you plan to keep deleting and installing games fairly regularly, the big games are about 1gb-1.5gb and i filled the 32gb up the day i got it with the PS+ games alone. As far as which one is better, i have not personally seen the LCD screen other then pics posted online, but to me it was worth it for the OLED since im going to be looking at it all the time, the size is already very small so that didn't matter, and i don't plan on being away from an outlet for more then 3 hours so battery life wasn't a big concern.

It's not like the battery life on the original Vita was bad either way. I've only ever run out of battery on mine once, and that was after a pretty damn long Killzone multiplayer session, probably lasting around 4-5 hours or so (it being online also means it wasn't as power efficient as it could be if you turn off wi-fi/3G and stuff like that).

But, yes, the memory prices are ridiculous, and 8 GB won't last long at all. Personally I don't even think 32 GB is enough for what you'll regularly get through PS+, get on sales or just by installing your retail games, some of the patches can get pretty big - Killzone had a patch over 1 GB on it's own, and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Collection has X-2 as a 3 GB download even if you buy the tape version, but 32 GB is the largest that is available around here, unless I want to pay even more of a premium to import a 64 GB card from Japan.

I've used a Vita almost every day since it's launch. Recently got to try the new version and...I couldn't tell the difference between the screens unless I wanted to. If you held them up side by side and played the exact same content, yeah you could probably spot some differences. But honestly it doesn't really matter, they're both great.

The biggest thing (IMO & as others have said) is the memory card. They're overpriced, but I highly recommend biting the bullet and going as big as you can. It's just so nice having every game, song, video and picture all right there. Pocket it and go!

Ok so please excuse my stupidity when it comes to PSN/PS+ as this would be my first Sony console since the PS2. For the free games, am I correct that I can get a membership and start adding the free games to my account history and have them for as long as I have PS+? (i.e., to download and reinstall at will?). But I only have access to them as long as my plus membership is active or they are already downloaded right?

Also, If the above is correct, can I start adding PS3/PS4 titles to my history, or am I limited to whatever system I have registered? I don't know when I'd get a PS4 if ever, but I think I'd get a PS3 eventually for Persona 5 and the couple of exclusives I've always wanted but were not enough to justify the price (someday I will play you, MGS4!)

@thiago123: Yes, you can add games to your free list by "purchasing" them in the store. That way, even if they fall off the free list, you can still redownload them at a later date. Once your time runs out, you lose access to all of them, even the ones you already have downloaded.

As for games on systems you don't own, you can go to the Playstation Store site on PC to add games from other systems. Just "purchase" them and they will remain tied to your PS+ account forever.

The screen difference is noticeable but won't impact your experience greatly, while the battery life has been increased by 2-3 hours. Considering the Vita Slim is also lighter and has a better design, it makes this decision a no-brainer for me.

The OLED is really nice. I find that in certain games, like P4G for example, you don't really notice it because that game has a somewhat jaggy look to it, but when you play something like Tearaway or Dragon's Crown... the difference is REALLY noticeable.

And honestly, I don't know what is all the rage about having a slimmer system. wouldn't that cramp your hands? I prefer the size of the thicker Vita.

I just bought an OLED Vita last night (while somewhat intoxicated) because of the original display's vibrant colors and deep black levels. I often end up playing portable systems in darker places where an LCD's "black" looks like dark gray. People say it gets washed out in direct sunlight, but I rarely want to play games when I'm outside.

The one change I would care about in the newer model is the increase in battery life. If I eventually notice that the battery life is a problem, there are ways to fix that. I've been looking into getting a portable charger to use with my other devices anyway.

EDIT: Also, an 8GB card can be found for $20 at Best Buy right now... or 16GB for $35 on Amazon.