Is the PS Vita A Device Ahead of Its Time or Behind It?

With its big, bright screen, ability to sense touch and motion, and controls that mimic a home game console's, Sony's Playstation Vita delivers the sort of gaming that approaches what you might expect to experience in your den. But is that what gamers still want?

[GribbleGrunger]

not a bad little article actually. it makes some salient points as far as i'm concerned.

[NukaCola]

The price was not an issue until the 3DS drops it's price. The Vita will drop eventually but Sony is delivering about $1000 or more worth of technology for a price half that of any good current phone/tablet. I think that the Vita is doing it all right. The 3G model hasn't overly blown me away. It's great but things like Data plans with AT&T are a put off. The interface on the other hand is flawless, the graphics, sounds, games, apps, features, and the more are just about as perfection could be. I think the Vita will be fine in the end.

[Solid_Snake37]

exactly, the stuff that Sony offers is always ahead of its time. Most of the features though are not used (Sixaxis), which is a damn shame.

[dark-hollow]

$1000 worth of technology?

$100-$200 is more realistic numbers.
hell, $400 is the maximum for it spec.

[coryok]

@dark-hallow and if you include the intellectual property?

[dark-hollow]

do you how cheap the actual manufacturing costs let alone the intellectual property costs?

here, let me explain more to give you a closer image of how much the vita could cost:

till now we dont know the actual cost so lets draw a comparison with other devices manufacturing costs.

display:the vita display is an 5 inch OLED display at res of 960x544.the iphone 4s display which is a ips 3.5 inch display at the res of 960x640 which cost $31 only!some may say "but hey! the vita is oled display and it is bigger than the i4 display so it cost more" fair enough!

the ipad 2 display cost around $127 and of course an oled display is more expensive than an ips display of the same size and resolution, but the ipad 2 is way bigger and have more pixels so of course it would cost more than a 5 inch 960x544 oled display.

so, the estimated price for the vita display should fall within $31-$127

now lets move to the gpu/cpu the vita have a  PowerVR SGX543MP4+ chip which is a quad-core variant of the dual core chip of the iphone 4s/ipad 2 the A5 (the chip that on iphone4s/ipad2) cost $26 but the vita chip is quad-core so of course it will cost more.

lets see.. the cost of the dual core chip of the 4s cost 75% more than the single core iphone 4 chip 

lets say that the jump to quad-core variant will cost 100% more than the dual core variant.
so that will make the estimated cost of vita chip around $52-$60 

moving to the camera.the vita resolution of the camera is 640x480 and shoots at 60 frame per second. If your not quite familiar with the technical jargon, its basically a 1.3 Megapixel camera with 480p video recording ability.
the iphone 4s on the other hand is an 8 megapixel camera that shoots full HD videos.

right now there is no denying that the iphone 4s camera is way way more advanced than the vitas camera.and the iphone 4s camera cost $18 only!
so the estimated cost of the vita cameras should fall within $1-$5 price range

moving to the memory.the vita have no internal memory and a ram of 512M only.the iphone 4s 32G NAND memory+ the 512M RAM cost $38 and we know that solid state memory are NOT cheap.

so the estimated price of the ram of the vita should be anything between $5-$20

so. now that we compared all the unique specs of both devices now lets compare the similar components and estimate of both the iphone 4s and the vita.
the baseband and the cellular radios of the iphone 4s cost $24 so the vita should be around that price point.

the battery of the iphone 4s cost $5 and the ipad 2 cost $25 (mind you that the ipad 2 battery is very big! almost as big as the vita itself!)so the vita battery should cost $5-$20

the connectivity costs (bluetooth/wifi etc.) of the iphone 4s cost $5 so the vita should be around that price.

the other things (materials and stuff) of the iphone 4s cost $56 and the ipad 2 cost $84 so the vita will be between those price points.

now. lets recap, shall we?
the vita:display $37-$127the gpu/cpu $52-$60camera $1-$5the ram $5-$20the baseband/cellular radios $23battery $5-$20wifi/bluetooth etc. $5material and stuff $56-$84

now lets add all those together with the highest possible price it will be:
$344 dollars the estimated costs of a 3G vita.

it could be way less or more but there is "no way" to be something around 1 grand!!

all the sources of the ipad2/iphone4s costs i took it from iSUPPLY and UBM TECHINSIGHT reports.it is no fact by any means and it all are estimates but at least it is better than throwing numbers around without a little bit research (:

[badz149]

Sixaxis is still used in some games. Starhawk will most probably have it too. on the Vita, sixaxis is used for a lot of things in games like Uncharted GA for aiming and a bit balancing. so yeah...it's not totally unused, just not as much!

[NukaCola]

@Dark_Hollow

I appreciate your need to contribute, but regardless of price at the making, it's at the market it matters the most.

You can get deals here and there, but an iPhone 4 is more than a Vita and so is any tablet as well. You pay $1000 for something that cost $100 to make. The Vita sells something taht costs $100 for $250-300. You are getting more for your money. I personally think the costs for Vita are at a loss and the only major prift will be software and accessories. Sony is going out on a limb to deliver something they should sell for more to be honest. The Vita is so much in one, the value by the quality and quantity alone is astounding.

[dedicatedtogamers]

Honestly, I'm getting sick of gaming sites being so apologetic about smartphone gaming. It seems that every single freakin' time I read ANYthing about the 3DS or the Vita, the author always inserts some snarky "oh but I was able to play Bejeweled and Angry Birds on my iPhone for only .99 each, hurr hurr".

The Vita is a dedicated handheld. Yes, it is designed to mainly do one thing. It's not a phone. But it will have dozens - no, hundreds - of games on it that will never, ever, ever be available (let alone playable) on smartphones. So, while this article does have a "point" in that the Vita is more bulky to carry around than a phone, I feel that a true gamer has the balls to simply bring the real gaming system along even if that means putting it into a bag.

[smashcrashbash]

I agree. I don't run up to someone eating steak and tell them 'I could get mincemeat and eat a burger for much less'. Some people want steak. They want to spend the money to get a nice juicy savory steak. You can eat your cheap, stringy, chewy ground beef if you want but don't tell me not to buy my steak and enjoy it.

Sure you can buy a game for 99 cents but with the same satisfaction, depth and replay value as a more expensive game? I would rather pay good money for a nice long satisfying game then to play Cut the Rope and Angry Birds for ten minutes before I get bored because it's 99 cents.Just let me play my handheld in peace and stop with the 'phone games are great too'. If they cost ten dollars each NO ONE would buy them because that is all they are worth, 99 cents.

[Blaine]

I actually laughed out loud at "bejeweled and angry birds"!

Funny because it's true... sadly.

[mcstorm]

i agree with you. I have a WP7 and it has some really fun games on it and so dose my Moto Xoom tablet but they are pick-up and play games apart from the emulators but they are old games I play every now and then.

Where as my 3DS is used more or less the same way as my 360 or PS3 I spend an hour or more playing on a game on it at a time where I will pay a game on my phone when on the bus or train to work as it is only a 20 min at max ride.

As for the PSV being ahead of its time im not sure about that mybe because of its size if Sony left it anther 12 months or so maybe it would be smaller and thinner but that is technology for you. My only problem with Sony consoles at the moment is to me they are just throwing power at it and not looking at the price. This hurt the PS3 at the start and the same will happen with the PSV its price is way to high compared to the 3DS.

Sony's biggest problem is they still see them serfs as a quality name and can at extra £ onto what they bring out because of the Sony name but this is not true any more Samsung Toshiba ect have now caught up with the quality Sony make and this puts alot of people off.

I am a big Sony fan I love there tv's and Hifi stuff but like I said you do pay extra for the Sony badge.

I think Sony need to try and lower the cost of there consoles if it means not having the most powerful console so be it it will not hurt them look at the last 3 home console gens PSX, PS2, and Wii all the lest powerful console yet the most successful of there gen. Even the hand held market from the GameBoy, GBA and DS all best selling in there gen and all the lest powerful of there gen.

[badz149]

we should just stop pointing out "it's bulky" nowadays as so many people are walking around with their iPads or Galaxy Tabs, which are significantly bigger nowadays with no problem!

[VINNIEPAZ]

Only things I would change about the Vita is make it HDMI out, no priority memory sticks and (especially at the price) at least put in 4G speed instead of 3G for for web browsing ect. But my Galaxy Nexus should do for now =)

But still a solid machine and getting 2 at launch, one for me and the ole lady.

EDIT - Blaine please, its called HACKING for a reason. You think this is some kinda "magic" memory stick Sony made that has "magic hack proof technology" in it? Please don't feed into everything every company tells you. Bottom line, they are trying to milk money from these.

[Blaine]

I'll assume you meant "proprietary"... I think it's a piracy issue. They want to avoid the situation they had with the PSP. And I say: absolutely for the best. A lot of devs backed out of developing for the PSP for fear of losing so many sales to downloads. If having proprietary memory sticks on the Vita is the price to pay to avoid hacking and keep developer support, which means MORE GREAT GAMES, then I pay it GLADLY.

As for HDMI and 4G... There will be hardware revisions to come. Those features may come, in time.

[Hicken]

The point isn't to make it "hack-proof" Vinnie, but rather "hack-resistant." That shouldn't be too hard for you to believe, especially after what we all know happened with the PSP.

As for the money, I think Sony's already admitted it's a least a partial attempt to recoup some losses from the Vita itself being sold at such a low price point. The price IS higher than I'd like to pay for a memory card, but I think I'll be able to cope, if it means I'll be getting more games in the long run.

[FACTUAL evidence]

I think it's good for the current times. IMP it's catching up on what the ps3 lacked if you asked me, a non fanboyish person.

One of my gripes about the party system the vita has is that it's kinda slow sending invites, so you have to watch the 12 second sending process, not only that but the lackluster-ness of the party system.

I'm happy there's finally a party system but i knew they would do it wrong. It sucks that you still have to send invites via game instead of being able to send universal invites to your party members. I hope they work on that for the ps4, or in a later FW update for vita.

[Thatguy-310]

I'll say ahead of its time. Like the eyetoy for example, many didn't know about it and once Microsoft released kinect they saw it as if it was something taken out of a sci-fi movie. IMO Sony just needs a better way to market there products and putting it out to the mainstream. My question is will it have access to the Android market?

[Krew_92]

I wouldn't say It's ahead or behind. I say It's at the right time, that's all.

[tubers]

All it really needs is time.

It has the best feature set in its class for sure.

Just need more software (games, apps, browser optimizations) and it'll be the handheld to own (pun).

I promise you Sony.. I'll get the 2nd gen VITA (because the economy now is so lame and I need more killer titles for it).

[HelghastDrake]

Ok.. For those that say they rather game on a iphone instead of a Vita, do me a favor.. Go download Street Fighter 4 on the iphone, play it and then ask yourself if you still consider an iphone a true portable gaming system.

[Neko_Mega]

Touch screen only is lame, trying playing a COD game only using touch screen Vs players using Xperia Play.

You will lose badly.

[LettingGo]

THANK YOU! I have an Xperia Play. It's an entirely different experience for the owners of the XP. We can play full PC games via OnLive with our phones. Emulators are fantastic too!

[dedicatedtogamers]

Better yet, download SF4 on iPhone and then go try it on the 3DS. I mean, that's what we're comparing, right? A smartphone and a dedicated handheld?

Guess what: you get what you pay for.

[LettingGo]

You do realize you can use a Dualshock 3 or Wiimote via bluetooth on an iPhone...and literally get the SAME experience you would on the 3DS...especially with a 3D-enabled phone...

...right?

[Blaine]

@LettingGo

lol you carry a DS3 with you wherever you go with your phone, for those times you want to play SF4?

[kerrak]

@LettingGo
Please post a video of you playing your ssf4 iphone version with a ds3.
I can't wait to look at the overall ergonomy of your setup.

[bobrea]

It certainly isn't behind in terms of hardware

[moparful99]

I'm so sick of this "lack of included memory stick, and cost of memory stick" complaint.. Nobody seemed to mind paying outrageous prices for a wifi adaptor for the 360 or the cost of that retarded add on analog stick for the 3ds but people want to cry about having to buy memory sticks for the vita?? REally? I'm sooo sick of this "we hate everything sony does" mentality.....

[Bundi]

Really?? NOBODY seemed to mind 360 wifi not being included?? Are you seriously demented or have you chosen to block all those complaints and comparisons people made about the subject? Don't be a tool just because you're trying to defend your precious SONY.

[Wintersun616]

I don't recall seeing "Xbox 360 is DOOMED!!1" article after article after article when it had proprietary hard drives and a 70€ wifi adaptor. All I remember was that when someone brought it up all we got was excuses and "bububut, those things are not needed, because PS3 has no games hurrdurr".

Don't get me wrong I don't like the proprietary cards either but having them doesn't mean that Vita is doomed.

[tarbis]

I don't see any of them complain about the ridiculous price of xbox's add-on hard drive either. Biased is biased and that's a fact.

[moparful99]

As the two above me stated there hasn't been any doom and gloom articles stating that the 360 was dead in the water because people didnt like the fact that you had to buy expensive proprietary accessories like the hard drives and wifi adaptors... There is a huge double standard in this industry and microsoft gets away with alot of "stupid"