Hey everyone!

I love handheld gaming, but the 3DS has gotten to the point where there isn't much out that interests me at the moment (with, really, not a whole lot that's for me in sight). I was looking into the Vita, but I've never had a Sony handheld product. I've been doing some research, but I wanted to hear opinions from other people, and I don't have any friends who are really into handheld gaming. I compiled a list of about ten games that I'm actively interested in, so I definitely have something I would want to play(Tearaway, Grim Fandango, Road Not Taken to name a few). The question is, is the $199 worth the investment? I have to actively save up because I live pretty close to paycheck-to-paycheck.

Thanks for your input!

Probably? Depends how much you like niche Japanese games, because that's what the Vita has more than anything else.

If you have no other way of playing the great indie games coming out constantly on the PS4, Vita and PC, then sure. Also, if you for whatever reason missed out on the PS1, it's great for that too. And also, since you never had a PSP, you get to play those games, some of which are awesome.

Do you necessarily want one of the newest handhelds? Maybe look into a PSP? Way cheaper and I know I would definitely prefer having a psp over a psvita just looking at the games that are out.

I recently got one as a birthday present. Been loving it so far. I don't have a PS3, missed out on most of the PS2, so for me the Vita has a MASSIVE amount of games to play. PS1 classics I loved (Crash Bandicoot, Spyro etc), PS3 cross buys (like the new Sly Cooper) and HD re-releases of PS2 classics.

My original intention was to just use it as a Persona machine. That alone would've made it worthwhile to me. I would say shop around for a better price though, you're bound to find somewhere offering it cheaper than $199. Also be aware that if you are looking to making a lot of purchases of PSN you'll need to grab a Vita memory card. They're horribly overpriced, so eBay would be your best bet there.

I'd say yes but you have to be interested either indie games,PSP games, PS1 games, or japanese games. And also have PS+, since free games every month really adds a lot to the system.

As someone who bought one about a year ago: No. I've enjoyed it a bit as a Persona/Final Fantasy machine but it probably wasn't worth it now that I think about it. And I don't see that changing any time soon.

Thanks for the insight! I wasn't aware of the port overs of PS1 games and such. The PS4 is my very first Playstation product so I missed out on anything before this. Knowing that there's more options than what I was looking at makes it more tempting for me. And thank you for the advice on the memory cards. About how big is the average download? Obviously depends on the game, but I was just curious as to how big of a memory card I should look into. I prefer the digital downloads.

no. system's dead...just gets ports of year old+ indie games now.

if you want to play vita games, consider a vita tv, which has dropped to $50 already on sales.

I love my vita but it isn't for everyone. Personally having it to play P4G, MGS 1-3, indie games (vita version is the best version of Hotline Miami and Spelunky IMO) makes the purchase worth it.

@ohlookatwinkly Most of the games I've downloaded tend to be between 1 - 4GB. There are some rare exceptions, like the God of War collection that takes up 21GB(!!!), but I think if I was going to pick that up I'd buy retail to avoid the hassle. Personally I bought a 32GB card, because I like having a wide variety of games ready to go at any time. You can redownload titles whenever you want so if you think you'll be fine with just 3 or 4 titles, or if you tend to stick with one game until you've completed it, you could get by with an 8GB one.

And as others have said, if you can afford it, PS+ is pretty good. Every month you get 2 new vita, PS3, and PS4 games for as long as your subscription is active. I like the idea that if I pick up a PS3 or PS4 in the future I'll have a little library of games ready to go.

Do you like Japanese anime bullshit? Then yes. If you don't then consider how much a port and indie machine is worth to you.

I think the Vita is way stronger than the PSP ever was. It is getting a lot of great new downloadable games on its market and it has the ability to download playstation classics as well. But if you aren't happy with the 3DS library which is pretty stellar right now then you may just not be interested in handheld gaming that much.

Depends a bit on where you live I think. Seems like the US gets a decent chunk of the Japanese releases, as well as a sizeable chunk of the PS1 and PSP libraries. The situation is much more dire on the European PSN, most of the PS1 classics on PSN EU are not Vita compatible (and there are only a handful available at all for the other platforms), only a small selection of PSP games are available (though I guess, most of the real PSP classics are available, but if you're interested in digging into the lesser known PSP titles you're out of luck). You can of course create alternate accounts, but since the Vita memory card is locked to one account, you'll have to buy multiple of those incredibly expensive cards if you want to go the multiple accounts route.

At this point, I've had my Vita for three years, and I use it less and less since it seems like SCEE have pretty much given up on the machine, very few of the non-indie multiplatform titles make their way to PSN EU, and it's really frustrating that so much of the PS1 library is unavailable. Last year for a couple of days, some PSN issue actually made it possible to purchase and download all the PS1 classics to the Vita, and most of them actually run fine on the machine despite being labelled incompatible, but then they locked it up again, and even games that you bought can no longer be transferred to the Vita if they aren't listed as compatible (I still managed to install Future Cop L.A.P.D. and Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Retaliation before they were locked up again).

So, yeah, I don't think I'd recommend the Vita to anyone. I would never sell mine, but it's disappointing to see SCEE seemingly actively working against making it a decent handheld.

I would say that if you have ten games you're genuinely interested in playing on a Vita, then you have your answer already. Though if you're paycheck-to-paycheck, wait for a sale or look at if your list is Vita TV compatible (not out of disrespect for the Vita, because I absolutely love it, but just out of financial sense).

I definitely recommend the Vita to people who like Japanese games and/or like indies and/or still need to experience the PS1 and PSP back catalogs. It's a lock for that. Otherwise, ehn? The PS4 Remote Play is neat too I guess.

I got mine solely for the FFX remaster package and it was worth it for me.

If the only Sony system you have owned is the PS4, then yes, you should be more than happy with purchase of a Vita. As mentioned you can play many games from other Sony systems. You will have a very large library to choose to play games from. So for you I think it is well worth. Heck, I still play older PSP games on mine. I didn't get a PSP until the end of its life cycle. And I missed many PSP games. But I am going back and playing them now. Its also great for playing all the PS1 classics. As they look better on the smaller screen than they would on a PS3 hooked up to a large TV.

And if you are an RPG fan, this is the system you want. And if you already know of 10 vita games alone, I think you honestly already made your choice. I'd say go for it.

I enjoy my Vita quite a bit.

PLAY GRAVITY RUSH! It's the best Vita exclusive. Tearaway was super boring to me.

If you have a Playstation Plus subscription then my Recommendation goes from "Yes" to "Definitely"

Its easily worth $200 IMO and everyone should get one. Mind you I paid less than $110 for mine. I buy things used because I'm poor.

But whatever you do, don't get the slim model no matter how cheap it is. You will regret it.

Don't bend over backwards trying to get an OLED model, the screen difference isn't as big as people make it out to be unless you're holding the two right up to each other. Get whichever you can find and afford.

I'm thinking of getting it to play FFX and some old PS1 games at work, but I feel like 200 dollars for portable ports is a little steep.

@hunter5024: Danganronpa and Gravity Rush are fantastic games that aren't ports (okay technically Danganronpa is, but not here).

Well you didn't mention any Japanese games (other then Teraway, I guess) on your list and that is mostly what you are going to be getting on the Vita. Teraway is going to be ported and Grim Fandango is on the PC as well as the PS4.

It's a great piece of technology though, really a shame that it didn't really take off in the west.

Since PS4 can't play any PSX games, it's become my de-facto Final Fantasy/Persona machine.

Having Spelunky and Rogue Legacy doesn't hurt either. Not to mention the Hotline Miami's...

@bsstephan: I had a slim model and it was my only vita. You dont need an oled vita to notice that there is something wrong with it. If you have a TV, monitor, laptop, tablet, phone, or gaming handheld other than the vita, that is enough to notice that the slim vita doesn't display colors properly.

honestly if the slim model was the only model of vita, I might still have sold it and simply decide the vita wasn't worth it. It totally killes any enthusiasm I have for any system if I have to see everything through a filter. Imagine if Playstation 5 was revealed and its the most advanced hardware ever even blowing PC out of the water, but all the games had this effect: https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2731/4505911148_ee0bd1504a.jpg That's pretty much what slim vita feels like. If you see a human character in a game in the slim vita, their skin tone is actually yellow. What the hell.

@egg: I got the slim model (BL2 w/ 8gb memory card) a few weeks ago and haven't noticed any issues with it displaying things wrong, everything looks perfectly fine to me. Is it possible that it's either your system is defective and/or the games that are doing it themselves? It could also be that my eyes don't seem to notice much (30 and 60 fps look the same unless it's that side by side ball bouncing thing, and AC Unity was fine with the few times I did notice a drop in FPS it fixed itself very quickly).

@ohlookatwinkly: I think it is worth it. There are quite a few cross buy games out there and remote play works ok for me. I can play Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn on the toilet its great.

@egg: yeah, your Slim sounds jacked. Its color space is a bit different than the OLED's, but not to that degree. It doesn't look different than any other IPS display.

Besides a copy of Hot Shots Golf, MLB The Show 14, and a few PS1 Classics, everything I have for the vita has come from PS Plus. I use it solely when traveling or being out of town.

Overall, if you travel a bit then I'd say it's worth it, especially with a ps plus subscription.

Here's my experience, as someone who does not own a PS4 but does own a Vita:

The Vita is something I feel is hugely underutilized. It can (and does in some respects) offer a wealth of gaming options that might very well be unrivaled by any current-generation gaming device, PC and 3DS excluded. Out of the gate, Vita owners have access to a large-but-not-complete PS1 library. If there are any classics you might've missed or want to revisit, the Vita is arguably the best way to do so. And, generally speaking, you're looking at reasonably-priced games on that front.

Apart from its sprawling PS1 collection, the Vita is home to some of the best indie games of the past three years. Keep in mind, most of these games are titles you might have--or could otherwise--play elsewhere. Fez, Resogun, Rogue Legacy, Luftrausers. But the Vita's portability gives these games license to exist in flashes, typically where they are at their best. Want to get in a quick round on the go? Have a sudden itch to try and beat your high score? Suddenly these games get extra face time because of their compactness. And most feature cross-save options, so if you do own them on another Sony platform, you can hop back and forth on a connected ligament of progress.

Here's the rub. The Vita doesn't have a ton of options you can't experience elsewhere, or that you can't experience better elsewhere. It's worth mentioning Tearaway, which is getting its own PS4 port. It's worth mentioning OlliOlli (also has ports available elsewhere). It's worth mentioning Gravity Rush. It's worth mentioning Freedom Wars, but more seriously, it's important to underline that a prominent majority of Vita exclusives are not major first-party releases, not AAA experiences (you're probably thinking, "Well, obviously!"), and don't have an immediate widespread appeal. Vita exclusives, especially recent exclusives, are typically of Japanese origin, and wear that influence across their sleeves. If you are instantly turned away by anime or manga or anything that looks remotely like "Japanimation," the storefront is pretty regularly going to look like a derelict wasteland.

The Vita, right now, is a back-catalog machine. If you missed the PS1 or the PSP and want to jump into those libraries with some high-definition PS2 remasters sprinkled in here and there, the Vita is a fantastic standalone device. There are enough excellent indie games and quality current-generation ports/off-shoot titles to supplement the handheld for that use. And, down the road, if you invest in the Playstation 4 (provided you haven't already), Remote Play suddenly becomes a significant and practical selling point.

That's without referring at all to the Playstation Now service. Your temperature on that could be hotter or colder. But it is a service available to the Vita.

If you don't have any interest in returning to older Playstation titles, or already have a means to do that, and don't really game on the go, I think the Vita is a much tougher sell. Though, the potential of Remote Play gives the Vita some nice usefulness regardless.

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Personally, I love my Vita. I don't use it every day. I don't use it as much as my other gaming platforms. But I'm glad I have the Vita.

As a few others have already mentioned, the Vita memory cards are disgustingly overpriced (3x the price of similar capacity SD cards). So if you want to download vita games (non-indies), or final fantasy games, you're going to need at least 16gb, but preferably 32gb. However, you're better off just importing a 64gb card, which you can usually get for around $85, as that has the best cost per gb ratio. The other sizes you will always feel like you're deleting things to make room.

In the end, figure about a $350 initial investment if you want to do things right, which I honestly think is fairly expensive if you can't find at least 12 games you definitely want to play soon. I've had my Vita for almost 2 years and don't regret it, but I also have a large catalog of psone/psp titles, I'm a fan of the Japanese games that are released for it (rhythm games/visual novels), and I also prefer playing Indies on it instead of PC. If you had/have a PS+ sub and have been actively adding Vita titles to your collection, you're that much better off. If not, I would save up money, but just keep an eye out on prices for now.

Btw, Tearaway is an excellent game, but also very short (6 hours if you just want to beat it), so if money is tight, I would opt for something like Persona 4 Golden if you like JRPGs. That will last you at least 60 hours, and give you time to save up for other titles. Lastly, the PSN store runs some nice deals and flash sales, so I would strongly advise to NEVER pay full price for a game. It will always be on sales or a PS+ title at some point.

Bought one yesterday that came with 6 games(one of which being P4G) for $180. Don't care if I'm late to the party, being able to play 3D JRPG's is still a novelty to me and I'm pretty excited!

I came really close to getting one because I like Spelunky. I think I am probably going to get a PS4 at some point and the game streaming looks like something I would use a lot, but I have a Sony Phone and Tablet and they added that function to that to let you use proper controllers too, so I really don't think I need one any more.

Maybe I would get one if it was less than £100, because I would play that much to Spelunky on planes.

I love the Vita to death, but I can't seem to hold on to one for more than a year.

P4 Golden, MGS Collection, Gravity Rush, P4 GOLDEN.

It's a really cool system.

The list of available titles is small enough that you can look through the entire list of Vita games and make a list of games you want from that. I did this when I bought a Vita a couple months ago.

Wikipedia link to list of Vita games: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_Vita_games