Sony PlayStation Vita user reviews (Wi-Fi)

Pros visuals, and these are the first batch of games!
the whole system is amazing.

Cons price of games.....have an ipad and the best games are sometimes max $10!! dont know how sony will compete.
also, have to use sony products all the time: hidden cost

Summary worth it if u like buying gadgets!!
but the competition is just too much from apple in that the games are much cheaper. but i know a few friends would like to play games old school ; with joysticks!!

Pros Amazing launch titles. Light but solid feeling, really the right weight for what it does. You feel like you are playing a mobile PS3 from everything to performance/processing power to the controls/design. Great form/feature/performance balance.

Cons Battery life is disappointing. The overall OS is pretty confusing/big learning curve/lots of clutter. Many hidden costs for memory. Screen seems a lower resolution than what many users will be used to. Overly complex connectivity issues.

Summary Amazing system for what it does (a PS3 in your pocket). The launch titles are so strong (smart to have an early launch with its strongest titles on Feb 15th to generate buzz and credibility and then a main launch on Feb 22...great way to hit the ground running). I can still see some of that traditional Sony "lifestyle" insular proprietary rubbish that costs more and is not terribly realistic for most users... I feel the system has delivered on so many levels that if it had just gotten rid of the typical Sony crap, it would have really been absolutely perfect, but instead it is absolutely fantastic. I think with all that said this has the potential for being Sony's comeback/flagship system, a remarkable new niche they have carved out for themselves. They were smart NOT to compete with the iPad and casual touch screen gamers and instead are working to taking the cash cow gamer target audience to the next level, rather than abandoning them for a larger but more fickle market. I am hoping they really dive into it full force because I believe consumers will bite.

Updated on Feb 18, 2012

it is really buggy but worthwhile, i think some good updates should fix many of the Cons though

Pros - OLED screen comparable to SGS2 (which means great!)
- Feels comfortable in hand
- Touch screen very responsive
- Thumbsticks feel sturdy and precise
- Amazing graphics!
- Battery life good for "realistic" on-the-go gaming

Cons - PSone games "currently" not compatible
- My US PSN PSP games not showing up either (Maybe because it's not out in US? IDK)
- Remote play look like it's still coded for PSP (grainy look, can't play PS3 games), so no real Vita specific compatibility

Summary All in all, a very good start for the life of the Vita. I would have wanted full backwards compatibility from the start but such is the life of an early adopter. I am very sure that Sony will address the issues I stated in my cons list before the end of 2012 Q1, so I'll change my score to 5 stars then.

Pros Great screen, dual sticks and multiple control schemes, surprisingly slick OS, and a great game lineup (including backwards compatibility)

Cons Back touchscreen can be awkward; many launch games illogically shovel in touch controls; middling battery life; 3G functionality is limited

Summary I picked up a 3G model last week, and have been having a great time with it. This is what the PSP should've been; with the control set you can finally replicate PS2/3 games without sacrificing features and functionality.

I was expecting all of this, simply by virtue of the dual sticks. What surprised me was the OS; it is surprisingly good. It's very fast and the touch sensitivity is top notch, rivaling Apple's products. While it's very game-focused and limited, it's fast, responsive and multi-tasks without a hitch. The XMB was no slouch, the new OS and interface is fast and responsive, and well laid out for a touch interface.

The slick OS translates into very responsive games, and the PS Vita is all about precision control. The thumbsticks are smaller than a Dualshock, but once you get used to it they're just as accurate. Throw in touch and motion controls on top of that, and you have a level of control that is superior to a console. Combine the thumbsticks with the motion control to aim in Uncharted, and you'll be headshotting every villain that comes your way.

That said, there is a lot of touch/motion gimmickry in the launch games. Uncharted replaces standard controls with motion controls too many times, and throws in a number of mini-games that are essentially just reminders of the tech. Look, rub charcoal on this engraving and be reminded of the touch screen! Balance Drake on a log and experience the gyroscope! And so on. That said, the games still control well, and once the devs get over the novelty I think we'll see some innovative touch/motion controls implemented.

On the downside, where the back touch screen is active, it can be hard to hold the Vita without accidentally touching. It just takes some getting used to. The battery is pretty much as advertised, and a little on the low side. That is enough for me, but if you use it on long trips you'll need to charge it.

One of the great things, which isn't mentioned much, is the backward compatibility with many PSP games and PS Minis. There are a lot of great PSP games you can play on the Vita, with slightly improved graphics, so if you haven't experienced those yet you have a large library to look at. The Minis are smartphone style minigames with similar pricing. Between all of that, there are a lot of games to play at all price points. You can pretty much get a game anywhere from a few bucks to $50, so if you have money, Sony has something to sell you.

My one piece of advice to prospective buyers is to buy the wifi version. The 3G version has GPS and 3G, but they're not used for much. Maybe this will change later, but you can't play online with 3G; it's basically for accessing PSN, leaderboards, and the social apps (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). If you've got a smartphone, you won't miss it. So unless you're dying to compete on leaderboards or if you don't have a smartphone, use that $50 to buy a game or something.