Via - Kotaku
Ouch Sony! I can understand the reasoning behind allowing one account per Vita but forcing a complete format and factory reset to use a different one is a bit harsh. Not really an issue for me because I only have one account.
Posts tagged vita
So this fancy PlayStation Vita thing hits UK stores on Wednesday and I have been saving up for the past few months to ensure I have the best launch experience possible.
I will hopefully be grabbing a handful of good games across a variety of genres. It may not be the best line up of games (only a few favourably reviewed ones so far) but it is certainly the strongest launch line up I have ever seen, if you get what I mean. There is something for everybody and in this early stage of the console’s lifecycle it is surprising that there is so much on offer already.
Here’s my final list for Wednesday:
- PS Vita Wi-Fi & 3G (I’m going for the full whack because the Near and on the go stuff interests me greatly)
- 16GB Memory Card (the price may be stupidly expensive but I have no choice! 16GB is better than 4GB and will last me a lot longer)
- Uncharted: Golden Abyss (required purchase for every Vita owner!)
- Escape Plan (I fell in love with this game at the PS Access Event and with the £5 PSN discount I’ve got for preordering it is a must buy)
- Little Deviants (I managed to get it really cheap on Amazon before they increased the price! Whether or not I get it on launch day remains to be seen…)
- Wipeout (depending on the final T&Cs for Vodafone which for now seem good. £5 for a game and 30-days of 3G access an’t a bad deal!)
- MotorStorm RC (depending on how much money I have in my PSN wallet it’s like MicroMachines and is so simple even I can play it!)
- Dungeon Hunter: Alliance (depending on if it is on offer and/or final in store price because I have a hankering for an isometric hack’n’slash game but £39.99 is a bit too much for what it is)
I’m also getting Frobisher Says & the AR Card games for free and a bunch of compatible digital PSP games I never got round to finishing when I had one of those. OOO! I also just remembered I have a load of untouched PSN Minis I’ve gathered as part of my PSN+ Membership that should hopefully work with the Vita. So come Wednesday I should have plenty to be getting on with :)
So on Tuesday I headed off into deepest darkest Manchester to check out the PS Access Vita Rooms. My time there was split into two sessions. A more laid back and casual drop in and play session during the day and a more packed and free booze filled evening VIP session. I say VIP, it was really more of a “you just signed up for it before we ran out of tickets” type deal. Both were good and bad for different reasons but I figured you would want to hear about the main event, the PS Vita and it’s games! All you really need to know is that I spent a good few hours messing around with various units and games. Also the pictures do not do the Vita justice!
PS Vita Hardware:
Being the generally lucky person I am, this isn’t the first time I have had to sample the Vita. I got a quick go on one at Eurogamer way back in September. Like then, the quality of the hardware itself is impressive. It is much lighter than you are expecting even with all the anti-theft cables and stuff bolted onto the demo units. It sits comfortably in your hands and feels solid. It doesn’t bend or warp easily, this console feels like it could go ten rounds with a tiger and still walk away in good condition (not that I’m willing to test that theory). Everything is well positioned and thought has been put into the various buttons placement. From simple things like the PS button being slightly indented so you can’t accidentally press it during play to the overall button and control placement. It all fits. While the right stick can seem a bit close to the square, triangle, X and circle buttons at times you will quickly adjust to it and be off on your way.
The console does suffer from that glossy grease magnet problem common with Fat-PS3’s but often you don’t notice it during play unless the screen is absolutely covered in finger marks. The photos I’ve taken pick up on it a lot more than I did at the time. There is another potential issue we encountered. On the Vita’s absolutely covered in marks (basically the ones that had been used by dozens of people without being wiped down) the touchscreen could loose responsiveness. Overall though it was fine and I would say it attracts the around the same level of grease and marking as an iPad. So that means if you are anything like me, you will want to keep screen cleaning cloth on you at all times! (Must keep gadgets clean! MUST KEEP GADGETS CLEAN!)
The picture quality of the screen itself is as reported, awesome! While not as high a resolution as the iPhone’s the Vita’s OLED screen size and overall quality makes up for it. It handles colours and black levels brilliantly and there is almost no ghosting (I didn’t see any but one of my friends said they did during the Uncharted demo). The touch controls on both sides of the console are responsive and just as good as that of the best smartphones and tablets on the market. The only times it seems sluggish or un-responsive is during certain games and how they implement the touch controls (more on this later).
The UI for the console is also surprisingly good. Once you get your head around moving the pages up and down to go through you apps pages and left to right for the different open apps it all starts flowing. It should also be mentioned that leaving a game and going to the main interface only takes a single and quick button press. No waiting for the game to quit or the UI to load, just press the PS button and your back at the game’s page. From there you can quickly close the game or app by pulling the top corner down. It is quick and refreshing to see when you compare it to stuff like the PSP, PS3 and Xbox all of which have wait times when leaving games or loading the console UI. You can also have multiple apps open at once but it will eventually tell you to close certain ones to perform certain, more taxing, tasks.
The games I played are after the jump!
The next generation of consoles is slowly starting to creep out of the depths of the industry’s consoles manufacturers. The 3DS despite having a slow start is starting to gain ground quickly now that some good games are finally out for it and the PS Vita looks set to take Europe and the States by storm in February. On the home front and plugged into your TV you have the Wii U which still shows promise despite very little of it actually being shown off and the rumoured problems Nintendo are having with it. Then you have the two hidden competitors; the next Xbox and Playstation. So while things are still on the cusp of happening I thought it was a good time for some speculation. A word of warning though, this won’t be a tech specs rumour round up. This will be more of me detailing my opinion on what the consoles and their creators will be doing with them. There is one crazy, what the hell prediction though. So let’s get started!
1. The next Xbox will not be called the GOD DAMN XBOX 720!
I am sick of hearing the name! I hope that the journalist/forum user/idiot/whoever who coined the name has lost their job! This is not going to happen. Microsoft are not this stupid and neither are gamers. The 360 wasn’t called the Xbox 2 for a reason and the next Xbox will not be called the 720 just because it is 360 x 2! The 360 is called the 360 because Microsoft wanted to give the user the impression that it fully encapsulates their entertainment life, all 360 degrees of it. The next Xbox is more likely to be called Xbox Lassie or Xbox AppleSucks than the Xbox 720. So can we please stop calling it the Xbox 720 and just be sensible and call it The Next Xbox for now? Also do not presume that the next Playstation will be called the PS4, Sony might be looking to distance themselves from the PS3 due to the ropey life of the console. A new name might also refresh the Playstation brand in the publics’ eyes.
2. Uncharted 4 will be a launch game for the next Playstation
What started off as a so, so looking Tomb Raider-like game in the early days of the PS3 has quickly grown into Sony’s most important franchise. All three Uncharted games have sold millions and Nathan Drake has become ubiquitous with the Playstation 3. The next Uncharted game will be a launch title for the Vita because as a franchise Sony knows that it will sell Vitas just because of its name and implied level of quality alone. Timescale wise Uncharted for on the next Playstation lines up too. Currently the next Playstation is on track for a 2013/14 launch which is just enough time for Naughty Dog to redefine Uncharted for the next generation of gaming, with better graphics, better gameplay and a more original plot because I can’t be the only one who had Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade flashbacks for the majority of Uncharted 3. Sony has learned a lot from the early days of the PS3, in particular the lack of big well known franchises that were available on the console to begin with, so going out of the gate with their biggest franchise will be a strong move. One, that like the Uncharted Vita game, will shift a lot of consoles just by its name alone.
3. Social Media will be integral to both the next Xbox and Playstation (and the Wii-U if Nintendo get their act together!) wether you like it or not
The rise of social networks over the past seven or so years has been crazy. They have taken over the web, the media, culture and news. When it becomes worldwide news that someone like Alec Baldwin leaves a social network you know they have become important. The current generation of consoles have slowly added low level social media support in the past couple of years. You can integrate your PS3 and 360 with Facebook to show off your trophies and achievements and can Tweet updates of your progress in Uncharted 2. This is just Sony and Microsoft testing the waters really. This are all things that have been added to the consoles mid cycle though and as a result many people just don’t use them. The Vita looks set to continue this same level of interaction with Facebook and Twitter to begin with with the hope that it expands its coverage later. But the next Xbox and Playstation should, hopefully, have full support and integration right out of the box. Encouraging users to share more than just their latest achievements will also be a big thing. Screenshots, videos and challenges will play a big part. The easiest way to make games more social is to give greater options to the user. Performed an amazing kill spree in Halo 4? Tweet the video! Ready and waiting to take on the world in Street Fighter IV On Ice? Send an open challenge to Facebook (this can already be done in a limited capacity with Xbox Live Beacons). Found a funny bug in Fallout 4? Send the picture to both! These are the little things that will make the big difference for consoles. It will also encourage more users to hook them up to the internet too.
4. Both the next Xbox and Playstation will have day and date digital
The PSPGo for a “failed” console was an interesting experiment. It showed three things:
- There is a market for digital only consoles despite low sales
- The prices of digital versions of retail games are currently too high
- While it is the future the public isn’t quite ready yet
The answer? Provide both and a competitive price point. The digital versions for games on the PS Vita are rumoured to be cheaper than their retail brothers. With the cheaper prices being offset by the cost of the Vita’s pricey memory cards. It wouldn’t be surprising at all for the next Xbox and Playstation to take a similar route. With downloadable games being slightly cheaper than retail then having hard drives and extra memory offsetting the discount. The main reason for a steady switch? It gives the publishers, developers and platform holders more control over the products they release. It will work to lower the cost of games, provide simple anti-piracy measures that do not alienate the consumer and make gaming more accessible.
5. The Wii U will need to reinvent Nintendo otherwise it will be the next Gamecube
I liked the Gamecube. It was a good little console that had a fair few strong titles on it, the main one for me being Phantasy Star Online Episode I&II (PSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but it was a huge failure in many people’s eyes. This is simply because Nintendo remained stuck in the past in their approach to it. At the end of the day it was just a more powerful N64. The Wii for all the hate it gets reinvented gaming in the wider public’s eye. It became cool. It finally became acceptable all because Nintendo looked at the traditional controller and thought, “It has to be simpler” and it worked for a little while at least. The Wii quickly turned from a new and exciting way to play games into a bloated shovel-ware gimmick machine that pretty much everyone has given up on including Nintendo themselves at this point. The Wii U while focused around the gimmick of having two screens needs to have more going for it than that because the two screen thing has already been done……by Nintendo…..with a little device called the DS…… What the Wii U really needs is to grow up and Nintendo along with it. There are signs that this might be the case with the importance Nintendo are putting on third party support. But the big pink elephant in the room is online. Online multiplayer and online in general is something Nintendo do very badly. From the Gamecube to the DS to the Wii all these console’s approaches to online are draconian and limiting for the user. Nintendo needs to stop treating online gamers as perverts and pedophiles and ditch the friend code system. The 3DS is a step in the right direction but it is still not good enough. If they don’t get it together no reasonable core gamer will touch the console no matter how many third party titles they release for it. Nintendo’s game development arm also needs to realise that adults buy and play their games too. I’m not talking about making an 18+ Mario game here I’m talking about Nintendo making some new IPs that are tailored to the older audience that will inevitably buy their console. The Wii U also needs Pikmin 3 because I have been waiting for that game for to damn long at this point!
6. Home consoles will do everything they can.
Like the social media prediction this is something that is already here in a limited capacity. The Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 have dabbled in providing users with more robust content outside of gaming. The Wii was the first to include services like BBC iPlayer before everyone gave up on Nintendo’s little waggle box. The PS3 has made a big effort to emphasise that it can do more than just play games with the push for things like Blu-Ray films, TV catch up services and media streaming. My PS3 is my most used console but I hardly play games on it which is not a bad thing at all. I use it for iPlayer, 4oD, movie streaming and as a freeview box to watch TV. Microsoft have very recently made a big push with streaming TV services with the new dashboard update and the slew of TV services it is launching around the world in the coming months. Even agreeing with the BBC and making iPlayer available to all Xbox users wether they are behind the Gold wall or not. Again like the social media prediction all of these services will be available out of the box for the next wave of consoles in a more robust and expanded way. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the next generation consoles comes with an aerial port and a deal with a satellite/cable provider to be used as a next gen set top box *cough, cough* Sky *cough, cough* Next Xbox *cough*
7. The next Playstation will have a redesigned controller
The Dualshock while a perfectly serviceable controller suffers from three things; poor design choices, being a controller from the 90s and Playstation Fanboys. The Playstation Hardcore and Sony need to get over the Dualshock and let it rest in piece for the sake of the next generation and the Playstation brand. Sony need to have a more ergonomic controller with real triggers and a build quality that makes it feel more like a piece of gaming equipment than a Happy Meal toy. 360 controllers, OnLive controllers, Wiimotes, iPhones and gaming mice all feel like great pieces of gaming equipment because they are designed around the ergonomics of using them. They have weight and shape that makes them sit comfortably in the users hands. The Dualshock 3 suffers because it uses the same shape as the first Playstation controllers before the leaps and strides in controller design were made. It is a design stuck in the past and if it persists in the next Playstation many, me included, will be put off by it.
8. The Next Xbox will have more exclusives
I believe that the criticism that the Xbox has less exclusives that the Playstation is one of the biggest fallacies in modern gaming. If you look at the numbers now you will see that yes, the PS3 has the most exclusives but many franchises that have become very popular this generation started life off as Xbox exclusives before spreading their wings. As for the smaller number of “true” exclusives, I personally believe that the ones available on the 360, while limited in number, are much stronger than the majority of those available on Sony consoles. Fable, Halo and Gears of War are all highly polished franchises and the secondary franchises like the Kinect titles and games like Crackdown are all really good alternatives to well known game types. Microsoft will be wanting to add to their roster of AAA franchises heading into the next generation with at least two to three big brands coming out from Microsoft owned developers. They know they cannot rely on Halo to shift consoles anymore and they also need to keep new ideas coming out to remain relevant. Don’t get me wrong though Sony’s approach to exclusives works too. The just try it and if it works run with it approach seems to work well for them and it shows. All the games I own for the PS3, bar one or two, are exclusives and I have a fair amount of PS3 games! It is just exclusives on the Playstation are an everyday thing while on the Xbox they are a big deal, particularly when Microsoft are behind them.
9. We will start to move away from Shooters
It saddens me greatly that this is the view most gamers are comfortable and well versed in. Looking down the barrel of a gun with a very, very, VERY limited viewing range (viewing ranges could be a whole post in itself!). Identikit FPS games have become commonplace over the past few years as many try to replicate the success of Call of Duty. While there will always be a place for the FPS there are signs that people are starting to want something more, something else. We are starting to reach the point of over saturation and that can only mean one thing, it is time for another genre to take centre stage. While I hope, due to my gaming preferences, that it will be RPGs it could be anything. It will most likely be one that blends the most popular aspects of shooters with another genre which is not a bad thing at all.
10. My stab in the dark crazy prediction: Microsoft will bring out a handheld mid-generation
This is something that has been talked about for a long time and it is something I can really see Microsoft doing for a few reasons:
- To take on the iPod Touch and to try and bring “core” gaming to mobile devices
- To expand the Xbox brand beyond the traditional core gamer
- To piss off Sony
This all hinges on one thing though, the Playstation Vita. If it takes off as Sony hope and ushers in a new age of portable core gaming, Microsoft will want a piece of the pie. While it won’t be a direct competitor for the Vita it will be more of a mix between a Vita and an iPod Touch/iPhone. With Microsoft declaring that you won’t see masses shovel-ware like you see on the App Store. It will also interact a lot with the next Xbox and Windows 8 (or I guess 9) like the Vita with the PS3 allowing you to take some games from your home console with you on the go. Because at the end of the day it is one of the cooler features for the Vita and it sort of defuncts the purpose of the Wii U. This is more of a pipe dream prediction but I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually happened.
At TGS, Sony demonstrated that the PS Vita will be capable of remote play with PS3 Games.
The games shown were Killzone 3, played fully on the Vita (like you can currenly remotely play PS1 Games on the PSP), with the back touch panel used to replace the DualShock 3 buttons that the Vita doesn’t have, and LittleBigPlanet 2, for which the vita actually worked as a Wii U-like controller, addding touchscreeen functionality to the PS3 game played on a normal TV.
Looks like I really don’t need to get a Wii U now that this has been confirmed!
Source vitagaming
Despite the crass language and being a dick for lols, Jim Sterling makes another great point about the games industry that should be taken to heart by any company wanting to bring out a console.
