"Wow, this thing's going to absolutely kill the Nintendo DS."
I ate those words in late 2005-ish when the PlayStation Portable -- a sexy piece of technology that a lot of people (myself included) thought would add some real competition to the handheld gaming market -- ultimately didn't measure up to its chief competitor's pedigree. It felt nice, it looked nice... but its library smacked of poor man's ports, with only the rare standout exception here and there (I still call it "my Lumines machine"). Now, in the wake of E3 Expo 2011, I'm (cautiously) thinking similar thoughts about the PSP's up-and-coming successor, the PlayStation Vita.
My unbridled apathy dissipated when I picked up the Vita (pronounced "VEE-tuh," which is Latin for "life") and proceeded to play a demo track from Wipeout 2048, which -- for all intents and purposes -- looked to me like a full-on PlayStation 3 game running on a small screen. At this early stage, I can't be 100% sure Sony's not pulling some careful dazzle-the-press-at-E3 trickery, but to my eyes, the Vita genuinely looks as good as its console counterparts. The touted PS3-interlinking capabilities (pipe the Vita's display to an HD monitor, and utilize cloud storage to keep PS3/Vita game versions in sync) are intriguing as well.
I ate those words in late 2005-ish when the PlayStation Portable -- a sexy piece of technology that a lot of people (myself included) thought would add some real competition to the handheld gaming market -- ultimately didn't measure up to its chief competitor's pedigree. It felt nice, it looked nice... but its library smacked of poor man's ports, with only the rare standout exception here and there (I still call it "my Lumines machine"). Now, in the wake of E3 Expo 2011, I'm (cautiously) thinking similar thoughts about the PSP's up-and-coming successor, the PlayStation Vita.
My unbridled apathy dissipated when I picked up the Vita (pronounced "VEE-tuh," which is Latin for "life") and proceeded to play a demo track from Wipeout 2048, which -- for all intents and purposes -- looked to me like a full-on PlayStation 3 game running on a small screen. At this early stage, I can't be 100% sure Sony's not pulling some careful dazzle-the-press-at-E3 trickery, but to my eyes, the Vita genuinely looks as good as its console counterparts. The touted PS3-interlinking capabilities (pipe the Vita's display to an HD monitor, and utilize cloud storage to keep PS3/Vita game versions in sync) are intriguing as well.
The Vita feels good, too: The face buttons are small and responsive (though the wide-thumbed folks reading this might want to note the fact that I have small hands), and the PSP's awkward analog nub (hands up if you had to replace yours at some point -- I know I did) is gone, replaced with two small-and-sturdy analog sticks on either side of the 5" touchscreen (and yes, this means the Vita is directly horning in on the 3DS' territory). An internal gyroscope and accelerometer afford it some light motion controls; I'm in the I'd-rather-push-the-buttons-thank-you-very-much camp, so your mileage may vary. The Vita also feels lighter than the PSP, and it's certainly much thinner. Note that the work-in-progress developer unit that I played had no battery, so who knows what sort of heft that might add. Speaking of which, the battery life is still a big question mark; even Sony's internal developers aren't quite sure how that's going to pan out. Here's hoping it's a fair sight better than the 3DS' dismal battery.
These early Vita units also lacked a media slot, and no one's quite sure what that's going to look like. Two things are certain: The PSP's awkward UMD format is dead and buried, and Vita games will employ some form of physical media (PSP Go, we hardly knew ya, and we're glad to keep it that way). My gut says it'll employ a high-capacity cartridge format similar to Nintendo's various DS models (thumbs up for portability and light loading times), but right now, that's anyone's guess.
The most interesting bit of information -- which speaks to the Vita's potential leg up on the 3DS -- is the price point. Sony announced a $250 wi-fi model and a $300 AT&T-powered 3G model (the mobile carrier announcement drew loud jeers from Sony's press conference crowd), the former also being the 3DS' suggested retail price. But where I've heard almost-universal complaints about the 3DS' pricing, I heard a lot of people marvel "I can't believe Sony's packing all this stuff in for only $250!" I personally feel like $250's about the upper limit of what a portable system should cost, but if the Vita is a better value-for-cost deal, it could spell more trouble for Nintendo's already-flagging handheld when it hits stores (at the end of 2011, says Sony).
Like its predecessor, the Vita is an impressive little piece of technology. The question is whether it catches on -- and that means unique gaming experiences, and not just watered-down console ports. Nintendo historically understands this very, very well, which is why it has dominated the handheld market for over two decades. Here's hoping Sony's learned some good lessons.
