PS Vita Impressions! Vita Digital Purchases Beating PS3 - no NA price cuts

[Misguided]

Heh, iPad...damned autocorrect. That was "footage".

[CeeKay]

Apparently Sony is saying it is definite that tgere will be no Vita release in at least the US and Europe this year.  Japan is still up in the air.

[edit] linkage: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44016333/ns/technology_and_science-games/

[EngineNo9]

Bummer, I was looking forward to checking this out later this year.

[farley2k]

That is a bit disappointing but hopefully that will make a stronger launch.

[Turtle]

Eh, it will give more time for developers to make games. Consider the stuff Sony is doing to try to ensure a good launch lineup for this, it might all be for the better.

Heck, they're even loaning out dev kits for free to smaller developers.

[CeeKay]

some more details: 512 mb or RAM plus cross-game voice chat via Vita's Party system.

[EngineNo9]

That's a significant amount of RAM for a handheld system, especially when it also has 128 MB of dedicated V-RAM. 

[Turtle]

And with their earlier confirmation that the PSV can be used as a PS3 controller, makes me think that this is how they finally get cross game chat into the PS3.

[Teggy]

some more details: 512 mb or RAM plus cross-game voice chat via Vita's Party system.

So the Vita will have party chat before the PS3?

[corruptrelic]

Doesn't sound like the PS3 will ever get cross-game chat..

http://www.psu.com/PS3-cant-do-cross-game-chat-due-to-memory-restrictions,-says-Sony--a012605-p0.php

[leo8877]

Sad news: short battery life, proprietary memory cards

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/sony-saddles-vita-with-expensive-proprietary-memory-and-short-battery-life.ars

[Roman]

Sad news: short battery life, proprietary memory cards

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/sony-saddles-vita-with-expensive-proprietary-memory-and-short-battery-life.ars

Last line of the article sums it all up:
None of this is exactly surprising, but it remains disappointing.

[Destructor]

Sad news: short battery life, proprietary memory cards

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/sony-saddles-vita-with-expensive-proprietary-memory-and-short-battery-life.ars

So what memory cards are they using? I expected Sony to use their own uh...format (the ones they used in the PSP among most of their products), but apparently not? That's really weird.

[CeeKay]

Sad news: short battery life, proprietary memory cards

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/sony-saddles-vita-with-expensive-proprietary-memory-and-short-battery-life.ars

Last line of the article sums it all up:
None of this is exactly surprising, but it remains disappointing.

yeah, the more powerful the handhelds get the less time a battery will last.  I am kinda surprised at the memory card though since the PSP let you use non-sony cards.

[Bullwinkle]

Sad news: short battery life, proprietary memory cards

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/sony-saddles-vita-with-expensive-proprietary-memory-and-short-battery-life.ars

Last line of the article sums it all up:
None of this is exactly surprising, but it remains disappointing.

yeah, the more powerful the handhelds get the less time a battery will last.  I am kinda surprised at the memory card though since the PSP let you use non-sony cards.

If these 10 second charging batteries work out, people aren't going to care as much.

[Jarrodhk]

Really interested in the Vita. Not sure I'll have the money to pick one up at launch however. How disappointed I'll be by that will depend on what games are out.

If they announce Disgaea 3 or 4, or even a separate version, I'll find a way to get one.

[Dreamshadow]

How much of my PSP collection is gonna be invalid for the Vita? I know my discs may not work...but will I be able to use my PSN purchases?

[The Grue]

How much of my PSP collection is gonna be invalid for the Vita? I know my discs may not work...but will I be able to use my PSN purchases?

Discs definitely won't work.  Supposedly, all PSN stuff will.

[EddieA]

If they announce Disgaea 3 or 4, or even a separate version, I'll find a way to get one.

Disgaea 3 is coming in spring 2012.

[Jarrodhk]

Well, time to put that into the budget then.

[Scraper]

If they announce Disgaea 3 or 4, or even a separate version, I'll find a way to get one.

Disgaea 3 is coming in spring 2012.

Yeah it's coming to Android too

[leo8877]

[CeeKay]

I just got an email from Amazon:

The release date for the video game listed below has been changed by the publisher, and we want to provide you with a new delivery estimate based on the new release date:
"PlayStation Vita - 3G/WiFi"
Release date: March 31 2012
Estimated arrival date: April 04 2012

new placeholder or actual release date?  only the Japanese release date has been confirmed as far as I know.

[hepcat]

Considering the pricing of the memory and the rather short battery life, methinks I'll hold off and wait for the inevitable Vita 2.0.

[Bullwinkle]

UMD Transfer Service incoming?

While I find it irritating that I'd have to pay anything to play my old games on the new system, this is still better than not being able to play them or having to pay full price, which amounts to the same thing.

My only hope is that I can transfer my saves and not lose any progress.

[Turtle]

The save files should be on your PSP memory card, there should be some way to bring them over.

If they do this, it could be just what they need to bring over as many PSP users over to the Vita, and that means a larger starting market.

[Bullwinkle]

The save files should be on your PSP memory card, there should be some way to bring them over.

If they do this, it could be just what they need to bring over as many PSP users over to the Vita, and that means a larger starting market.

Yeah, but save files from disc games don't always work with digital games.

[Turtle]

Either way, this is not quite enough to get over competition from the smartphone and tablet competition, but if they could tap into that mindset it might work. We'll have to see what they plan with this whole Playstation Suite thing they're doing, there's hints that the SDK for it also allows you to publish your game on Android systems as well as the PS3 and Vita.

[Teggy]

2/22/2012

EDIT: captured a runaway "2"

[CeeKay]

2/22/2012

FTFY

[Teggy]

Sheesh, the other 2 was implied.

[CeeKay]

Amazon just sent me a new email with an estimated delivery date of February 27th, so I went into my account and changed the shipping speed to release date shipping, and it adjusted it to the 22nd.  not sure why it ddin't do that automatically since I have Prime.

[Teggy]

I am definitely on the verge of preordering specifically because Uncharted and Hot Shots will be available at launch. Ruin looks cool too and if Resistance was also going to be a launch title I would have already put my money down.

[CeeKay]

now there is a rumor that Vita games of of PSN will be 40% cheaper than retail.

At a recent Sony Vita event, a spokesperson for Sony claimed Vita PSN games would be around 40% cheaper than their retail counterparts.  According to the rep, the lack of hardware and packaging can be thanked for the price drop.

I was told that games would be capped at $39.99 retail. While the same game would go for around $23 if you downloaded it. A price drop for downloadable games was already confirmed for the Japanese market, but it’s not as significant as the US. In Japan, retail titles are reported to go for as high as $50 with a PSN equivalent of $40. This is only a 20% drop where the US would be 40%.

If this is true, it makes the ridiculous prices for Vita memory cards a little more tolerable. (4GB: $30, 8GB: $45, 16GB: $70, 32GB: $120) If you’re saving around $15 a game, you only need to buy 8 games from the PSN to have that 32GB card paid for.

Take all this with a grain of salt though, as this has not been confirmed by Sony corporate. Also, with a price drop this significant, I can foresee retailers having an issue with this as it gives consumers a reason not to buy from the store. We’ll find out more as we get closer to launch. If this does hold up, I will definitely be picking a larger than anticipated memory card.

I seriously hope they got the pricing for the memory cards wrong, cause that's insane.

[Teggy]

Are these proprietary memory cards? You can't just buy something third party?

[Bullwinkle]

Are these proprietary memory cards? You can't just buy something third party?

Proprietary.

Also, the prices are correct.

[Laner]

Sony be crazy.

[leo8877]

Are these proprietary memory cards? You can't just buy something third party?

Proprietary.

Also, the prices are correct.

Why do companies do this to customers?  We know memory doesn't cost that much.

[Destructor]

Are these proprietary memory cards? You can't just buy something third party?

Proprietary.

Also, the prices are correct.

Why do companies do this to customers?  We know memory doesn't cost that much.

Because it's uber-super-awesome-amazing memory from the depths of the Sony's own braintrust?

That looks like Sony's memory (whatever their 'standard' is called) but smaller. So it's either use that or lose out on all the awesome profits that come from using their own brand (instead of the MicroSD standard).

[Canuck]

It's bullshit but what do you expect? Perhaps we'll get no-name versions of the memory cards.  What bothers me more is that you can only have one user account with the Vita without formatting it first to change to another one.