The Problems I Have With The PS Vita

CGUK Writes:

"As time has shown, games consoles can be quite amazing pieces of technology; however, the systems' flaws are generally covered-up by the media and in their place is praise towards the positives of the console in question. With regard to Sony's 2012-born portable gaming device, the Playstation Vita, the system has received a crossfire of praise and criticism from critics and gamers alike. With this in mind I decided to share my honest opinion of what I dislike about this console, 1 year after I bought my own."

[bothebo]

I don't think it has enough software to get people to buy and stay on the system. In the end, this indie crap needs to go away because it provides little to no content to the system.

[Cam977]

Although I didn't state this in the article I have to agree with you. The reason for its absense is due to it being a heavily opinion-based "flaw" - larger than any of the issues addressed in the article - so I left it out. Some may like this but I, for one, didnt buy the Vita for games I can play on my phone. There are good games coming to the Vita but there aren't enough. All I can think of that appeals to me is Killzone, if I didn't have an incredible PS1 backlog I'd be hugely disappointed.

The Vita needs a system-seller. GRAND THEFT AUTO would do it, much like the 'Stories' games which sold the PSP to some people back in '05; it's exactly what the Vita needs. I've 100% complete the PSP GTA games and really want more!

Come on Rockstar, maybe after V?

[LOGICWINS]

I think Sony's banking on Gaikai to sell the Vita. It could effectively be a mini PS3 if what Sony says about being able to play PS3 games via Wi-fi is true.

[TheFirstClassic]

Regarding the deadzone, i think that might be a problem exclusive to that game, not the vita itself. I just tested it on unit 13, and both the aiming and movement quickly responded to the lightest touch on the analog sticks.

[Salooh]

Imagine Ps4 with only 2 exclusives per year with no multiplatforms and all it release are mobile and indies. That's how i see the vita right now.

[TwilightSparkle]

Thats exactly how I see the vita you can tell by the lack of news these past few weeks, everytime I look at the vita blog its indies.

[badz149]

let me just reply you on your issues down there here:

1. limitation. isn't that exactly the sane with EVERY other devices out there? you learn something new with every new device you buy and I'm pretty sure there are more hidden features/functions/gestures in Galaxy S4 than the Vita as a whole!

2. 1 account thing is kinda annoying, I know but what other handheld allow more than 1 account? NONE...as far as I know. so...singling out the Vita on this is kinda unfair, no? at least the PS4 will still be multi-account.

3. can't say much about your language as mine is not supported either but you seem fluent enough in English, are you not?

4. Browsers and such are getting updates from time to time just like any other app on iPhones and Androids, so...it's just natural.

5. Remote Play (RP) works just fine! as long as your PS3's main account is the same as your Vita's, you can access your PS3 from anywhere with wifi and RP. Sure, not all games are supported but some games do work via RP and Sony promised that ALL PS4 games will work through RP which is something MANY are looking forward to!

6. you want the Vita be like Android or iPhone? what other console does THAT? to make it open for just ANYONE to program on it will make the ecosystem as a whole, vulnerable to attack and you don't want your gaming experience compromised, do you?

7. CoD Declassified is the WORST example you can bring up if you wanna talk value. you can pick up any other bad games on any platform and say they are not worth their price, right? how many games are there on PS3 and 360 that are way too short and bad but still cost $60? A LOT! why not look at Uncharted GA or Gravity Rush or those games available via Cross-buy like PSABR, Sly4, Motorstorm RC and R&C QF? 2 games for the price of 1, still not worth it?

8. can't comment for R3/L3

9. Online Passes are only for online games. you can still get trophies using used games just fine! the 1st time you insert the card, the Vita will install the game but it will tell you you can't earn trophies, right? take out the game card, and uninstall the game and then install it again and now you can earn trophies like how it should. try it if you haven't.

there. oh...and the software sucks? that's not fact, it's called opinion! I myself can't get enough of Uncharted, Gravity Rush, LBP and yet to get Soul Sacrifice, AC Liberation etc. see? that's MY OPINION!

[abc1233]

What? Uncharted Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, Persona 4 Golden and AC:Liberation are all awesome games and reason enough to get the system on their own. Then you've got the games that Sony has given away on PS+ and the upcoming Tearaway, Killzone, plus whatever games Sony is planning to announce at Gamescon. I'm already amassing a backlog on the system.

I find most of the reasons in the article pretty stupid. Who cares about the camera? I'm not buying a handheld console to take photos, I'm buying it to play console quality games on the move. Screen brightness hasn't been much of an issue for me and the reason about being unable to change folder backgrounds is laughable. Fair enough with the data management point but I haven't had much trouble with that since I have PS+ which is something that most Vita/PS3 owners should have anyway. The other points aren't really core problems with the Vita but they're more to do with extra features that could be improved.

[Salooh]

I can mention at least 5 negatives to you but it will waste time , you already know them if you have the vita..

[abc1233]

Well then go right ahead, the ones I can think of are more nuisances rather than core problems with the exception of memory card prices which was a downright stupid decision by Sony (though even that is partly made up for by PS+ savings)

[Salooh]

¬ Limitations give new users a headache , You have to understand how the vita works , what's ok and what's not.

¬ You only can use one account which is annoying as hell because most of us have more then account for different stores which waste time to format and reorganised your stuff . Plus, if someone else want to play he can't play in his account. What's worst is when your main account don't have a store which makes the vita literally useless T_T

¬ No support for my language which makes most of the programs useless such as twitter / Netflix / facebook and sometimes even youtube..

¬ There were many problems with the programs such as the Browser but at least they fixed most of them..

¬ Remote play was locked which was advertised like hell but we still can't use it. At least we will get it on the ps4 ..

¬ Limited number of programs which is not suited for the vita. It should be more like the iphone to make it useful .

¬ Games are too expensive for their level and developers are not serious about it , for example cod declassified . Same with the memories and there is nothing to encourage me to buy one..

¬ Really few exclusives. No support from multiplatforms.

¬ Thumb sticks should have L3/R3 buttons because it feels weird and unpractical for some type of games like shooters..

¬ Online passes lower the cost of selling and no trophies to the one who buy it from me which makes us unhappy .

I bet i forgot some. I don't hate the vita , i love the hardware but software sucks and it's a fact. All i'm asking for is to make the serious games the main focus. I can wait for the other stuff that if they are planning to fix them. Looks at this more of a feedback nothing more , because i really see potential in vita but we don't get it..

[rpd123]

Yeah they are great games. But most of them offer no replay value. Uncharted and AC don't have proper multiplayer and I feel no reason to play Gravity Rush again other than it's free and I sold my copy a few months ago. Once you're done, you're done.

I do agree most of the reasons in the article seem like minor or pretty subjective issues. I don't have a problem with the brightness or dead zone. I don't use my camera for anything and rarely take screen shots. The game support is the only gripe I have with the Vita. It's a fantastic system, but it needs more support if it's going to survive.

[abc1233]

Persona 4 Golden offers plenty of replay value. UC and AC have plenty of collectibles you can occupy yourself with post-game and harder difficulty settings. At E3 there were around 30 games to play on the show floor. Obviously more AAA support would be appreciated but the system isn't going through this massive games drought like some people are making out.

@14Feb-R: As I said, most of those reasons are just nuisances. Sure, it would be great if I could use my other PSN accounts, but I'm not particularly fussed if I just have to use my main one. Again, I didn't buy the Vita to go on Facebook or Twitter or browse the internet or download other apps, I have my phone and laptop for that which perform those functions better than any handheld console ever will, I bought it to play console quality games and that is what the focus should be on.

Why are the games too expensive? They're priced lower than console games when they offer near enough the same quality generally. Obviously you'll get games which developers haven't put much effort into being sold at the same price as quality games but that's the case with any system.

L3/R3 would have been nice but it's hardly unpractical for shooters, if you want to run use the back touchpad and I'm sure melee can have a similar work around. Don't really understand the whole online pass argument, surely that applies to all systems?

[TheFirstClassic]

Last year saw plenty of big releases for vita, but this year the only real big releases are soul sacrifice, killzone, and tearaway. Just three big games, this isn't a great year for support, last year was much better.

[bothebo]

I agree with you about the article. However, your standpoint on software is completely off. When did those games you mentioned come out? Over 6 months ago....... That is more than enough time to beat every AAA game in the Vita's catalog. I own around 10 vita games and more if you count indies, but the fact of the matter is, most of those games came out last year: LAST YEAR. There has only been two compelling pieces of software this year, Sly 4 and Soul Sacrifice. That is it. For the remainder of this year, we only have three really compelling pieces of software: Tearaway, Killzone Mercenary, and FFX/2 remake which will hopefully be better than the piece of crap Jak and Daxter remake which I regret buying.

Don't even try to lecture me on Vita games.

[abc1233]

@bothebo: The point was about Vita not having games in general, so the time of release was irrelevant. But if we're talking about games coming out this year then it seems you do need a lecture. 30 games playable at E3. 85 new Vita games by the end of 2013 and that's not taking into account possible reveals at Gamescon/TGS. If you've only got 10 vita games then I'd question whether you have played all of the compelling games on the system.

[BuffMordecai]

The only problem is that since third party support is so weak, if there weren't any indies there would be next to nothing to tide someone over until the bigger releases.

[bothebo]

Lol that still doesn't justify a lack of AAA games, indies need to make way for AAA games.

[Xof]

The "indie crap" shouldn't go away, it's a very good thing the for the system.

But it DOES need more retail software.

And, see, this is why it's so difficult to have a rational, mature discussion about the state of the Vita: the few times you see someone make a legitimate criticism, they follow it up with something bat**** retarded, making that one legitimate criticism all the easier for fanboys to dismiss.

Goddammit.

[bothebo]

How are indie games good for the system? All it does is boost software sales for the system and promote a "dev" friendly environment, which is ironic given that little to no developers are making games for it.

The gist is that it needs more AAA games PERIOD.

[PopRocks359]

While the author does cite some interesting issues he/she had with it, I personally don't have a lot to complain about as far as Vita hardware goes. I took a look at my friends' Vita and it was a lot better than I initially expected it to be, both feel and OS-wise. For what it does as a stand alone platform, it does them well.

Right now the only thing holding back the Vita is its library. It needs more exclusive games more than ever. More amazing and unique games like Tearaway. Hit that nail in the coffin and it can become a much stronger competitor for the 3DS.

[Cam977]

Indeed. The Vita's biggest problem is the poor data management and even that isn't too big of an issue.

[hkgamer]

Library is definitely lacking. It does have great indie support that s amazing to play but it still needs great gaems like the 3DS does.

The author mentioned alot of issues he has with the vita and if you don't really own a vita then you wouldn't notice alot of the things he has mentioned. If the vita had a better library then most people wont even bother complaining about these issues.

[rpd123]

Honestly if there were just some exclusive spin offs of all the PS3's popular franchises, they'd have some great games on there that people would want to buy because they know the franchise. inFAMOUS, God of War, Last of Us (especially this one with all the hype and praise it's getting), Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, etc. They already have LBP, Uncharted, and Resistance (that didn't go as they'd hoped). They'd have to be made well though to avoid Resistance type shenanigans. But all of those games would sell systems. People are comfortable with those franchises and they know the game will most likely be good.

[chestnut1122]

Just Need to be patient and We talk all about these after 5 years. PSP and PS3 suffered lack of games during it's 1st year. Gamescon and TGS is coming.

[hkgamer]

PSP had decent games in the first year, but it still had momentum, so did the PS3.

Vita is lacking any momentum and e3 barely showed the vita at all. Also Vita is in its 2nd year, approaching its 3rd year very soon.

[matgrowcott]

There were a stupid amount of Vita games at E3. I want to say 50+.

And the Vita came out November 2011(?) in Japan. February/March 2012 in EU.

EDIT: 37. https://twitter.com/shahidk...

[hkgamer]

@matgrowcott

well as i said, its more than half way through its second year so its been a while since the vita has been released.

However, i didn't notice any vita games announced at E3, but I guess they just showed those games on the showfloor. indie games are cool, but Vita will need bigger retail games to attract vita buyers. Need games like Mario Land 3D or Luigi's mansion.

[sherimae2413]

the vita is only 1 year and half it came out only last year february 2012 so in next year it will be only to years, get your facts straight ok

so that 3 yrs you are saying would be february 2015

[hkgamer]

@sherimae

it came out december 2011.

so lets count. 5 more months to december 2013 from now, which means it is on its 2nd year, approaching the 3rd year.

get your facts straight ok.

now lets give you a maths lesson. if you counting vita release date as feb 2012 then feb 2015 would be vitas 4th year.
2012 -> year 1
2013 -> year 2
2014 -> year 3
2015 -> year 4

[sherimae2413]

you dont know how to count do you?

how can you say 2012 its release is also one year of vita's lifespan lol
a year must have past before you count it as first year not its first release on market lol

its like this feb 2012 - feb 2013 is 1 year
feb 2013 - feb 2014 is vita's 2nd year of its lifespan do you get even sony give a 1st year birthday sale for vita this february

sheeesh its just simple math

dont tell me if 1:00 - 2:00 is already 2hr passed lol

[Salooh]

Actually you are wrong , Ps3 had great exclusives in the first 2 years , plus multiplatforms plus indies . Vita focus on indies/psp/ps1 and only have few exclusives.

[chestnut1122]

That's why We should wait and talk about these after a few years.And No, There is a lot of Wonderful Vita Games Out there. And There is a Lot of Games Announced for it. Just Wait and See ;)

[TongkatAli]

Dude, you're a hater. The software is amazing for a 2 year old system. I'm at work now someone post all the Vita titles you can buy and let's see him spin spin like a laundry machine.

[demonsoul]

@TongkatAli Let us give them the taste of Vita's Amazing Library.

"Current" (These Games I mentioned Were all Decent games, All are pretty much Great games). If You Don't Agree, I Don't Care.

Persona 4: Golden

Gravity Rush

Assassins Creed 3 : Liberation

Uncharted : Golden Abyss

Zero Escape : Virtues Last Reward

Mortal Kombat

Soul Sacrifice

Disgaea 3

Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus

Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3

Street Fighter X Tekken

Little Big Planet

Dead Or Alive 5 +

Oboro Muramasa

Unit 13

Need For Speed

Metal Gear Solid Hd Collection

Ragnarok Odyssey

And So on etc.
If You would sum up all the games of Vita, There is an average of 2 to 3 games per month for its Library which is not bad as people would want it to be. Developing Games for Vita is Much harder and longer than the 3ds.

"Upcoming Confirmed"

Killzone: Mercenary - September 9 2013/West

Tear Away - October 22,2013/West

Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD - 4th Quarter/West

Dragons Crown - August 6, 2013/ West

Toukiden - 4th quarter 2013/ West

God Eater 2

The Walking Dead Season 1 and 2/400 days

YS: Memories of Celceta

Atelier Meruru Plus: The Apprentice of Arland

Valhalla Knights 3

And So on etc.

+ Indies, PS1, PSP Library of Games.
+ Not Yet Localized Games from Japan.

WTF! These People are talking about that Vita Has no games? LOL! No game Your Asses. You just need to Work to earn Money for you to purchase these games.

As What Sony Have said,
"We will talk about Vita later these Year"

"Gamescon is all about Vita"

Satisfied Haters and Trolls?? if Not,. Just LOL!

[tubers]

That's what I heard pre-E3: "Wait for E3.."

Well, it's not like people have much choices.

The PSP was released at Dec 2004. FF:CC was announced at May 2005. The VITA has no such *equivalent of a game in that calibre even after 18+ months since release.

*big budget, exclusive, core, SE title that topped charts for several months.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

I hope they announce something truly huge at Gamescom even if it's already a much slower system than the PSP.

[sherimae2413]

and crisis core came out in 2008
and kh bbs came out in 2011
and 3rd birthday came out in 2011
gow chain of olympus in 2008
god eater in 2010

see the the pattern there all the good games of psp came out nearly at its end of its lifespan

[strigoi814]

The problem with vita: people who dont own it complains too much, but the people who has one is just chilling out and enjoying what the hardware has to offer..

Seriously i think 5 out of 10 people are just waiting for price drop not actually games...and some are just fanboys who hates anything with sony brand on it

[jensen86]

iv got love for my vita n there is a lot of potential there but as a day one buyer i did feel a little screwed over but im glad i bought it cos it looks like fings are just starting to warm up with a very bright future ahead n thats y i always buy sony products day 1

[Locksus]

I'd really like to get a Vita at some point, but there just aren't enough interesting Vita-only titles for me on the system. Actually, Gravity Rush is the only exclusive game that I'd like to get but that game alone hardly justifies the purchase.
The other good games the system has are already on some other system. The hardware is great, but to me the software side of the system is lacking.

[Salooh]

Exactly what i'm saying. If i were you i would wait until the ps4 released for remote play or the next E3 to see what sony plan for it. But judging from this E3 i don't see any improvements in software. They are depending on the remote play feature which in my point of view is great feature but not good enough for the vita..

[Locksus]

I seriously don't hope the remote-play feature is the only thing that Sony is hoping to drive the Vita forward.
I mean, "You have to own our home console system to fully enjoy our portable machine" doesn't sound good to me. Playing PS4 game on the go is a good idea, though.
I'm not planning to buy a PS4 until at least 2015, anyway.

[Hicken]

I measure the "already have" argument up against the "only in the house" argument.

That is to say: I have Persona 4 on PS2, but I can't take my PS2 to work with me to play on my breaks. I won't even get into the added content that makes it almost a new game, entirely. The same goes for most of the games so frequently dismissed for being on other platforms: the other platforms aren't portable, and many don't come with the same level of content.

If it was worth buying on PS3, it's probably worth buying on Vita.

[Locksus]

Maybe so, but I wouldn't want to spend hundreds of euros on a system just because I could play the game on the go I played years ago.
It's cool to have, sure, but not worth the money.

[Hicken]

Here's the problem with that, though: there isn't a game out there that's sold to even a majority of any console's install base. Not even 30%.

There will ALWAYS be people who missed out.

That aside, that's only for a game or two, namely Persona and Muramasa. Any of the other "ports" being dismissed are of games that released simultaneously, or are in the same franchise, but aren't the same game. Or, as mentioned before, they come with so much more content they're worth a second look.

LBP, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed: three games, among others, that are treated as ports, yet what you're playing on Vita can't be played elsewhere.

The primary problem I see with people when it comes to the Vita is that they dissect it, looking for that ONE feature or game that'll justify the purchase. And because they're doing that- disregarding console-quality games, PS1 classics, its own pretty good library(subjective, I know), PS Plus, web browsing, Skype, GPS, camera, media player; never all at once, but individually- they don't really the damn thing actually IS worth the money.

I didn't buy my Vita for just one game. I don't think anybody should buy a console for just one game. There can be one game you're primarily looking forward to, the game you MOST want to play on a device. But if there's only one game- only one feature- you want, it's not worth it.

Mine was primarily for Gravity Rush. But also BlazBlue, Uncharted, Wipeout, Super Stardust and The Show. For Sound Shapes and LBP and the internet and its cameras. For Skype and remote play and my PS1 library.

If NOTHING else the Vita does appeals to you, that ONE game will probably never appear.

[bjmartynhak]

I don't think that there is a large dead zone in the analogue sticks. They are just too small and they could really well have the L3 and R3 buttons.

[r21]

I understand that this is his personal view on the vita but i cant help but feel this is flamebait.

Regarding the content manager, sure its a hassle to transfer via an app but its there to, I assume, prevent piracy of any sort. IMO, i like the CM app. Having to transfer data via wi fi is a very neat feature to have.

I gotta say, I dislike this blog of his.

[Heisenburger]

" I understand that this is his personal view on the vita but i cant help but feel this is flamebait."

So do you or don't you understand? I'm not trying to be rude or anything but you completely contradicted yourself.

It seems like, to me at least, that you disallow opposing opinions, even if they are just a person trying to speak their minds.

That doesn't make sense to me personally.

[r21]

Im not disallowing his opinion. Im just saying it feels flamebait or he just want hits. That my opinion, are you gonna disallow me from having it?

Did i ever say, hey this dude is having a different opinion from me, lets ban him! I just disagree with his personal view on the vita. Do you understand?

[dcj0524]

Killzone mercanary, Malicous Rebirth, Tear Away, God Eater 2, Dragon's Crown and some one manRPG.Freedom Wars looks cool but I need gameplay to warrant a WANT. Theres more but I don't really care about the rest of the line-up. Thats 6 good looking games coming in the near future. So yeah the VITA has games, sony is just SHIT at marketing it. I haven't seen a VITA ad since freaking DECEMBER! lower memory cards and vita price to $215 and vita will be much better than. Just look at japan /:.

[kewlkat007]

I sold my vita a while back, I was sick of waiting for the games I wanted to come out. I wish it had the game sit has now plus some of the stuff the NDS gets..

[Hicken]

So now you'll have to buy another Vita when the games DO get to it.

... does that make any sense?

[kewlkat007]

I bought that thing over $500 with that ridiculous prepriotory 32gig card, I'll save some money this time around and check craiglist.

[biglittlesps]

Vita is great portable HD console for the price it provides, only problem is memory card prices and lacking few big system sellers otherwise its a great piece of hardware. I bet from next year vita gonna rock with many title announcements of games com coming in next month and remote play of PS4.

[remanutd55]

I totally agree with your comment, i'd add that sony needs to introduce a 64gb memory card for $59.99-$79.99.

[tubers]

I'd buy a 64GB mmc for $ 59.99 in a heartbeat.

[hkgamer]

i need atleast a 128/256.

64 would be pointless to me, well not pointless but I would prefer something bigger.

[PrimeGrime]

Most of your problems are to do with old games which I don't get. If you are going to write an entire article about Vita problems you would think it would have to do more with Vita related things.

Not PS1 games basically. Another thing you can use the back touch pad for missing L and R buttons, no idea why you would use the front touch screen for L2 and R2.

Please don't even get me started on the software bit, you people hating on indies are the type of close minded people who don't have a broad interest in different games anyway. So where do you people get off complaining about software when you can't even welcome indie titles.

Completely ignorant, narrow minded and selfish is all that is.

Literally most the problems you have are not that important at all. You are expecting the device to work perfectly for old games when PC's can't even emulate extremely old games perfectly. On top of that you expect Sony to implement features for these old ass games when they work perfectly fine for PS Vita games.

Man I seriously don't get you people, spoiled I guess? I mean seriously that is all I can think of, people have become so spoiled and expect so much from something it is never perfect.

There are a lot of games on the Vita atm. So sick of hearing that already, just use Google and Wikipedia will give you this huge ass list of PS Vita games.

I get so tired of posting the same stuff so someone else can do it. Which they already have but of course it is never enough and people will disagree anyway.

[sherimae2413]

this, perfectly this!

im tired of this opinion based articles who is full of complaints it shouldnt be posted here the author should have send it to sony instead if he/she have some complaints

but for me, im satisfied with what the vita has to offer of all the games it has now i can say i only played a fraction of it and need to buy more and also those still upcoming games ^_^

like chestnut says, well talk again after a few years once the vita has established its library to peoples expectations ^_^

[rpd123]

Go to the list of Vita games and take out all the ports and shitty games nobody wants. The few good games left are why people complain. What's the point of having a Vita if all you can play on it is bad ports and low quality games with a few actually good games here and there? Indie games are great, but it needs good AAA support and exclusives in addition to the indie games (which I could also just play on my PS3 btw). One of the top games on Vita right now is Farming Simulator. Let that sink in a bit- the top game...is a farming simulator. It needs more support. Saying it gets a lot of indie support means nothing. Nobody buys a console to play indie games.

[boybato]

"The Dead-Zone is Too Large"

WTF does he mean by this?

and seriously... "The Screen Is Too Bright"

[remanutd55]

yea some complaints seem weird to me also.