Consoles have been on my mind for most of this year with the announcement and then release of the PS4 and Xbox One. Initially, I pre-ordered the Xbox One, but then wanted more time to think about it, so I canceled. For me, the lack of games, lack of backward compatibility, and the steep price tag continue to make both systems unappealing to me. My reasons for holding off sound good, but the real reason is I have, very unexpectedly, found the handheld Playstation Vita to be my current favorite console. Maybe my favorite console of all the ones I have owned/played on.
I started gaming with the Atari, and then later with NES and in arcades. I sort of lost interest in gaming for awhile, and then got back into it about six years ago with the Xbox 360. Originally, I just got the Xbox 360 as a media player to stream Netflix to my PC, but I quickly fell in love with Dead Rising, and thus returned to the gaming world. I loved the Xbox 360 so much; I could play all of the games I loved, like Dead Rising and Alan Wake. I never saw myself having a need (or want, I guess) for a PS3, at least until I discovered Heavy Rain. I had to play it, so I ended up with both consoles.
At first, I was still extremely loyal to the Xbox 360. It was my first choice, and I would only turn to the PS3 if the game was an exclusive. In the years since, I have been introduced to other consoles/gaming experiences along the way. I owned a Wii for a while, but hated it. I began playing more and more games on the PC through Steam. And, my loyalty to the Xbox 360 ended. In general, I had become more about the game and the price of the game. I would play whatever game on whatever console, price became the biggest deciding factor for me.
This changed when I discovered the Playstation Vita. I bought the PS Vita over the summer because it was on sale and because I was studying for my preliminary exams and needed a treat. The bundle I purchased came with LEGO Batman 2, which I was certain I would hate; I was wrong, I LOVED LEGO Batman 2, and from there I fell in love with the PS Vita. I found the PS Vita to be the perfect gaming experience for a time when I really needed to be studying all the time. The PS Vita lets me easily play for very short periods of time. I could take a quick break and pause the game whenever. Playing on the PS Vita doesn’t require turning on the TV and navigating through a bunch of menus and then waiting for long load times. On the PS Vita, the game was always ready, and I didn’t have to invest tons of time in any one sitting. I moved from LEGO Batman 2 to Rayman Origins and then Rayman Legends, all beautifully designed and fun to play. I was hooked. I never wanted to play on another console again.
Unfortunately, developers and Sony do not seem to share my love for this handheld console. Many game ports do not take advantage of all the PS Vita has to offer. Because I want to play everything on the PS Vita, I have been delaying purchasing games, hoping they will be released on the PS Vita. An example of this is season two of the Walking Dead. I’m still waiting (and, playing it on the Xbox 360). And often the games are terrible, like LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. On the PS Vita, the game is a joke. The game mechanics are weird, for instance you can’t jump, and the levels are ridiculous and way too short. I don’t know if I have ever hated a game that much. I know I had such a strong reaction, in part, because I know the PS Vita can handle the full game. And, that’s what I wanted. (Yes, I read the reviews and knew that’s not what I was getting, but I was still surprised by just how bad the game is.) Games like Sly Cooper: Thieves in the Time do a much better job at showcasing the capabilities of the PS Vita and make poorly designed PS Vita games seem much, much worse. I didn’t make the same mistake with LEGO Movie; I purchased it on the Xbox 360. There is only one Amazon review for LEGO Movie’s Vita version, and the reviewer states the game is “dumbed down,” So, I guess I made the right decision. But, it’s still a disappointment because firing up a game on the Xbox 360 seems like so much more work than picking up the PS Vita, and the result is that I’m not playing LEGO Movie as much as I want to.
To that end, I am cynically hopeful (more cynical than hopeful) that interest in the PS Vita will start to grow. I’m hopeful because of some of the integration with PS4, such as Remote Play. But, I’m cynical because even as the PS Vita is gaining more features, Playstation is “dumbing down” (if you will) the system itself. The new PS Vita will be slimmer, but with an LCD screen instead of the beautiful OLED screen on the current version. This change won’t be a problem for me, unless mine breaks, but it could make the new PS Vita less desirable, a problem I’ve seen debated in forums. But, maybe it’ll lower the price point and draw more developers. We’ll see.
