Buying a PS Vita? Does it still make sense?

This year 2016, you are going to do something you haven’t considered for some long time. You might buy the Sony ps vita that’s 4 years old now. It’s released in December 2011, could hit the price for those considering a portable console. But…

It’s a Legacy System (OLD MODEL Vita)

Sony called PS vita and Ps vita TV a legacy system. Yes it’s doing alright in Japan. The sales are not high enough to push it further. Once it’s been called a ‘legacy ‘platform, then it means the system is out date. But it’s still in production and getting nominal support due to the obligation. New games are coming out each month too.

Memory Card is Costly

When PS vita released the price of memory card doesn’t do justice consumers. It was very high. Moving forward, the price of the memory card is still high but not high as before. You need plenty of space in order to accommodate new games even that come in physical forms. Moreover, around 50% of all ps vita software sold in digital form. The competitor 3DS memory card is selling double the memory for half price.

Pure PS vita Games

There are hundreds of games available now. But how many of them are like the initial first party title like ‘UC: Golden Abyss’. A purely made for Vita game (experience alike) is may be less than 20. Others are a port or Remake. And the 3rd party developers still pledge support for this handheld but most is port or handheld. I’m not saying these games are terrible.

Smartphone Games

In Android Playstore and Apple Store, there are tons of games that are well built and feels like console games. A few to mention are Injustice: Gods among us, Gods of Rome, Dead Trigger…as well as many others which are free and many requires less amount and feels well worth the money.

Lower Resolution and Graphics

2011 may be great for that resolution but time flies fast. Most smartphones and tablets are 108op resolution and offer great visuals with powerful GPU. 576p vs 1080P? You do the math. Of course, games on vita can access more memory for smoother performance. So the performance is smooth compared to Smartphone. Also, PS3 quality games can be played on Vita but it's limited.

Backward Compatibility and Remote play

PS vita is not backward compatible with PSP games. If it was, it’s great. On the brighter side, PS Vita can be used as a second screen for PS4 using remote play.

Specs and Hardware isn’t matter

The Hardware is same in all PS vita. New models are available. SO games and quality of games counts here. Game support beyond local region (Japan) is poor.

YET,

PS vita is a great piece of hardware which had the potential. So many great games to play on the go. All system will hit a point where you will abandon it and collects dust. But there’s always a reason for to come back after a while. And PS vita doesn’t have a solid reason to come back like PSP did. I hope this makes sense.