Let's Get This Straight: Vita's Battery Life and Memory Cards

GP Editor, Marcus Estrada writes, "In case the news hasn't gotten around to you yet, the PS Vita is touting a lifespan of approximately 3 to 5 hours. That is, of course, if players remember to turn off wi-fi and bluetooth functions throughout their play time. Watching a movie fares a little better with 5 hours of battery life and up to 9 if all you're doing is listening to music with headphones on.

But since I assume most people have already found their standard device for music playing the biggest numbers to focus on are 3-5 hours. When the 3DS was found out to have similar gameplay hours it was a big deal-breaker for many. I have a feeling these estimates will also lose the Vita some potential customers."

[NukaCola]

This is a very powerful handheld that does more than any other portable piece of tech does. It's only $250-300. The battery life is expected and not a deal breaker at all. I do think the memory sticks are too pricey, but that isnt a deal breaker at all. I will store most of my stuff on Ps3 unless I want to use it, the firmware is saved on an internal memeory slot, game saves are now on the gamecard itself and wont have installs at all. This is still a day one for me. This is a bump in the road of a perfect handheld, but I am way to impressed to stress over these things. I expect another company will make cheaper memeory sticks anyway.

[smashcrashbash]

Actually we don't know the actual price of the memory card yet. The Japanese yen was translated directly to US so we are not sure about the price. That is with the knowledge that Japanese prices are usually very expensive.

@ -Alpha. I don't see why this should turn people away. Many devices including phones and laptops have this type of battery life and it doesn't stop their sales.Also don't forget that the VITA does a lot more then the 3DS does on the same battery.Also you will not need as much space if you are buying VITA games instead of downloading them. If you prefer to download then you can think about buying more expensive cards

@ coryok I wonder if they added a battery with longer life if it would have made the unit too expensive or if it would have interfered with the design of it. Of course everyone is ready to say its because they are cheap but I wonder if its really is just that easy to jam a high powered battery in there.

[ExplosionSauce]

So 9 hours of music and 3 to 5 hours of gameplay depending on what and how you play.

Not that bad considering what it has and does. I doubt people will stop buying it just because of battery life.

[-Alpha]

If it loses customers, it may be just those who want to wait off for a remodel with better battery life/cheaper prices/more games

Not like a gamer who wants a handheld hasthe option to turn away to a 3DS based on battery life alone. These devices do a helluva lot more than they used to back in the day.

The battery life is definitely disappointing by yesterday's standard, but I personally am never gone for 3+ hours where I feel like playing my handheld for that long. When I get a handheld, I'll be doing most my gaming at home on a couch. For me, it's all about playing exclusive games. Experiences that I cannot get on a console today, especially JRPGs that seem to do much more better on handhelds than consoles are what I will base my major decision on.

[coryok]

with a quad core processor we all knew that the battery life wasnt going to be fantastic. 5 hours is a surprise for me, they must pack a pretty nice battery in these suckers. does anyone have any stats on the battery theyre shipping in it?

[erivera1994]

They make the Vita cost affordable but make the memory cards expensive. $132 for 32GB... get the fuck outta here. Even $40 is expensive for the 4gb. WTF sony. your making me think twice on whether or not im going to buy the VITA.

[rezzah]

NOthing is official yet, from what i`ve seen those prices are only based on the US value of the Yen.

It could be cheaper. Got to wait until the officially announce it though.

[smashcrashbash]

Yeah those are directly translated from Yen prices which are way more expensive. Its probably not even that high.

[Shackdaddy836]

It's not like it's going to be THAT much less. I mean, if you even divide that price in half(which wont even happen), it will still be pretty pricey for a SD card...

[SH0CKW4VE]

3 - 5 hours?

Thats more than the average travel time for me which is the main time I would be using it.

[rezzah]

Travel or not, I still play my portable games more often at home. I also keep it plugs in like 95% of the time so battery time doesn`t really matter.

[Legion]

So what you are saying is that because you don't use it as a portable device that it doesn't matter. I am assuming that "...battery time doesn`t really matter." is for you and not the rest of the gaming community. Some of us want to be able to get a bit more then 3 - 5 hours out of a single charge.

People complain if cordless controllers don't have a battery life over 24 hours. We know we can just plug them back in after awhile but that doesn't seem to make it an issue with people.

Battery life is just something people expect in a portable device. Saying that you don't game that long anyway and can recharge it is a cop out. People travel, people don't remember to charge their cellphones or cameras so why would it be different with a PSP or Vita? Just make a device that is truly portable and gives us the ability to take it with us without having to drag the charger with us and hoping we can find an outlet.

[rezzah]

Your right Legion but I'm not speaking on the behalf of the gaming community. I'm just speaking about myself and how much the battery power will affect me.

[Shackdaddy836]

It's 1-3 hours more than my laptop battery life so that's good :)

[kurochi]

I'm ok with the battery life as it'll be charging in the car if I'm out and about. I knew the battery life isn't going to be amazing with the power the Vita has. However, the memory cards are a little pricey. Here's to hoping that the cards won't be that expensive when this thing drops.

[kcuthbertson]

I want this SOOOO bad..but I bought a 3ds recently (ya I know, make fun of me). I just really wish the battery was user replaceable...I can deal with everything else. I might wait for the inevitable redesign...but since I'm a techwhore...I probably won't lol.

[Ddouble]

The External battery is available and has double the capacity of vita's battery so no need to replace vita's battery on long trips and of course plenty more hours of play time.

[kcuthbertson]

It's not how long the battery will last, it's how long the batteries life span will be. I want to be able to replace it when the battery won't hold a charge anymore after a year or two.

[HelghastKid]

People are comparing it to the devices of yesteryear not realizing how far technology has come. Its like people who have old school flip phones and complain how smart phones dont last nearly as long. These devices do alot more than they could 10 years ago.

[MasterCornholio]

I am impressed that the device is a lot more powerful than the 3DS and it still manages to match its battery life. It shows how inefficient the 3DS really is with the battery due to the double parallax screen and the flicker function. Without the screen the 3DS could probably manage 7-8 hours.

Very interesting indeed hopefully when Sony and Nintendo come up with remodels they will have better battery life.

[videoxgamexfanboy]

My problem isnt with the battery life but with the battery its self. If its true that the battery cant be removed that cqn be a deal breaker for me. I dont wanna send my iphone...opps i mean vita away to sony just to replace it should it not charge properly. Gotta wait and see attitude about this vita...

[kingPoS]

I'll probably wind up price like this,
32g $100 16g $75 8g $55 4g $35

And when was last time a high powered laptop lasted more than 2 hours without batteries that stick out like a badonkadonk. LOL