They say people draft an early opinion of objects within the first few seconds of seeing it, so I figured 30 minutes on the PlayStation Vita would tell me a lot. Remember, this is not a review and that the findings noted below are highly subject to change when the vita comes out later this month.
AppearanceI approached the Vita demo pod and found it under heavy surveillance by a Sony specialist. I figured Sony is a tremendous company and probably have trained their personnel for countless days just to sell the vita to whoever happens to pay a visit. The salesperson waved and at that exact moment I painted a picture of his past. He is probably a tech fanatic but judging by his young age, is only a temp. Short blonde hair that could do with more care, his legs emerged in sweat pants. I felt triggered to call him bud.Picking up the device I noticed it to be much bigger than the iPhone I'm used to. The big 5 inch OLED screen is a great attention getter for all the right reasons. Then I started to reminisce about the past and the first PSP launch, a device that too stole the show by flashing its big screen and PlayStation 2 visuals. Sony presented the PSP to be "like a PlayStation 2 in your pocket", now Sony touts the Vita to be "like a PlayStation 3 for a small purse". Begs the question whether the vita is different enough to build on the remote success of its original counterpart.My eyes glanced each corner of the Vita and I noticed that the iconic PlayStation buttons are rather small, that the volume buttons borrow design elements from the iPhone, and finally 2 analog sticks. I touched them with by thumb and that exact moment I pictured myself paying a shooter in the sun, peeking nervously just to see a thing in direct sunlight, but not worrying because at least my energetic fingers were fooled into thinking this is a PlayStation 3 without the annoying HDD spinning sound. Then, as only people that care a little too much about style do, I tilted the device and twisted it in my hands, struggling to get a feel due to the street worker's cable pulling the device back into its socket. I noticed the plastic border is a nice contrast to the piano black front and back, but also felt annoyed by the awkward "cut" in the plastic near one of the be nds. From the side the PlayStation Vita looks fat, like the contestants from Obese, despite the rounded edges. Despite everything, the portable workhorse does feel good in the hands.After 3 minute of getting feely, touchy, the blonde bud started glancing with wandering eyes, he goes audible: "so did you come here especially for the vita?"I looked him directly in the eyes and said: "yeah", followed by a train of thought. What is the most striking feature of the new PlayStation vita? I asked myself that very question and couldn't help spotting the little cameras sitting peacefully behind the glass. The positioning is odd to say the least, not below or above the screen, but beside the 4 PlayStation buttons. Or is the most striking part of the vita perhaps the back touch pad? I admit feeling it wasn't a practical idea and only invented by overweight bloggers to get traffic from island apple rumors, yet the vita incorporates it quite nicely. But unlike the camera, it's not implem ented so subtly, the back is covered by little triangles that scream: "look!" We all know car salesmen tactics don't work no more.
GamesThe bud looks at me: "there's a FIFA demo on there you know." I nodded and touched the small drop with the FIFA icon printed on top. A notification flashes telling me that some other kiddy game will quit if I continue, so far for the multitasking capabilities I figured. The game loads and I rave being able to touch the menu items as I went. It didn't took long to conclude that the touch screen is excellent to use and nears iPhone quality, the screen was able to recognize swipes and touches to pinpoint accuracy every single time. As the game loaded up, I shot on goal a few times, at which the back touch panel introduced itself for the first time. In FIFA, gamers will be able to aim using the back panel, practically putting you in the shoes of Messi as he goes for goal and has to decide between 4 corners in mere split seconds.The graphics are better than the iPhone version and even nears the mature version we've all drenched in nachos while footing it out with mates. An ti aliasing did a solid job eliminating rigid lines, something that isn't as critical in high PPI screens such as these. Lightning wise I spotted some blooming and the player's kits eyed a little too "drawn" on. In terms of speed and frames, zero complaints to be made.The bud informed me: "sir, the Wi-Fi only version sets you back 250, while the 3G equipped version costs 300. But for the extra 50 you do get GPS and 3G added in." I smiled and remembered the many moments my iPhone has zero 3G signal. I said: "bud, where we live at this very moment, I wouldn't go 3G." later I learned that the GPS is also present in the Wi-Fi model, making the more complete version even more obsolete.The second game I played was some darts game. The arrows fly by simple flick motions using the touchscreen controls. I flicked and... Miss! Flicked again and... Miss! At that moment I figured it was time to quit the game.Going in I felt very two sided about the controls of the vita. My weekly tech c olumn would've gone on and on about Sony not knowing what direction to pursue, so they just covered everything with the hope one of them sticks. Now however, I realize that the many inputs compliment each other. For instance in uncharted you can rub a map to make the signs appear, while in wipeout, suddenly, the camera showed my face in 5" asking me to memorize the moment. I said no thanks.
SoftwareThe bud with the short blonde hair twirled a bit. I felt we were getting acquainted very nicely. Gadgets bringing people closer together, so I dared to go casual. "So what did Sony say you had to tell me?"He smiled and painted a nervous smile. "I actually only saw the device this morning. They gave me this book." he showed it to me, then read about the games in tunnel vision. "This one looks kinda nice, love the graphics." suddenly he turned to the 32" Bravia set up. "I've been eying the PS3 and actually I think the vita may be more pretty. Is this Bravia full HD?"Amazed by the lack of training from Sony I replied, turns out the PS3 can't always render 1080p. A big part is due to the system's lack of ram, just 256mb dedicated for system and 256 for video. The vita has 512 for system and 256 for video - that's puny x 2.I played with the vita software and immediately fell in love with the touchscreen and zippy performance. Like smartphones, every task is an app, but vita can run a lot of apps simultaneously. It feels good flicking through screens and apps with lightning speed on a 5" screen. The only thing it can't do well is browsing (no support for html5) and vita won't multitask two or more games, which is fine.I tried trophies, camera and the content manager app. Trophies works just as they do on the PS3, the main screen offers a broad overview of the games you own and the progress you're making. Camera application is fine for taking photos and videos. However, in the bright lid room I was in, the picture appeared grainy. It's also pretty slow, so for seasick gamers, don't use the camera!The content window opens up all your music and videos in a similar fashion to the old XMB. I thought about it and almost instantly realized there's one major concern with watching media on the vita.
Availability and memoryI tell the Sony representative that I like the vita but am questioning some odd decisions by the Japanese based tech team. "I don't get why they aren't adding built in storage like all other companies do."He nodded and agreed. Quite quickly the salesman and I concluded that the memory cards are very expensive and a factor that will keep kids and wallet eying gamers away. Furthermore your PlayStation entertainment account will be connected to the system so changing cards halfway in will prove a hassle. He looks at his Sony sales folder and looks me in the eye, the 32GB card isn't available in Europe but these are the options:
4Gb Memory Card - 19.99/17.998Gb Memory Card - 34.99/31.9916Gb Memory Card - 49.99/44.99
If you order now then you're guaranteed of a vita on the 22nd of February, furthermore you will receive the pre order pack with characteristic blue ear buds and digital items as found here. For the last time I shook hands with the salesman and told him: "thanks, let me think about it."
Source: PlayStation Vita hands-on
Media designer & author - I'm currently writing for racedepartment and playdepartment as their senior reviewer.
Robin Chung
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