By EJ Afzelius
With everything I’ve heard about the system, good and bad, I have to say I am extremely digging the Vita. The price tag has turned off some of my peers but in all honesty? It is worth it. All 250 to 300 dollars depending on the level of connectivity that you desire, worth it. But how can that be? 
Sony can’t have wised up can they? After years of a system difficult to develop for, the useless PSP Go, non cooperation with third party developers when creating systems, the equally useless Playstation phone, and their lousy no touch gaming stance, Playstation fans are being rewarded with the best handheld gaming device out there.
Right off the bat, Sony worked closely with several game devs to optimize the capabilities of the Vita and push the boundaries of a handheld. This also ensures developers have intimate knowledge of how to make games for the system. This was a real b!$(# of a problem with the PS3 with several game makers complaining about the difficult of game development on the device. This is still evident to this day as shown by that awful Skyrim lag. But now, with games like Gravity Rush and Uncharted: Golden Abyss, all the capabilities of the system are being utilized seamlessly (somewhat). From the accelerometer, the touchscreen, the awesome OLED display, to yes, a second analog stick, every aspect has been fine tuned to near perfection. Of course, the games aren’t perfect, not yet anyway. I 
believe however, that given time and constant communication with Sony, game devs will push the Vita to its limits.
We’ve also got some cross compatibility with PS3, which is one of the most awesome things we’ve heard yet. Certain games that are cross compatible can be played on both systems. If you already own it on the PS3, you can also just download it on the Vita without having to pay for a second copy. One such game is Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Hopefully some PS3 RPGs will have this ability as you can save your game on one device and continue in another. Who needs food right?! Who needs a life?! Well, everybody. Battery life of the Vita isn’t the greatest. I expected it since practically lugging the power of a current gen home console in your pocket. Still, three to five hours is downright short. Hopefully, all my dreams of improved handheld batteries become a reality within the next two years.
Then there’s 3g. Sure, $300 is a lot of scratch but if you’ve already got an iPad with 3g, there are videos out there that show how you can share your 3g plan between the two devices. For dedicated gamers, this might be worth a try. The Vita is after all capable of browsing the internet and online 
play. Access to the PSN store is also a great feature. As I mentioned cross compatible games merely need to be downloaded, and that’s were the Network comes in. I also believe we’ll see the PSN turn into something of an Android Market, and the Vita will be a few updates and apps away from being the perfect mix of casual and hardcore gaming.
Sure, multimedia usage is s#!% for now and the system isn’t compatible with Flash. But many think these are temporary problems and within the year we’ll see improvements on that end. If not, so what? You’ve still get a perfectly engineered handheld gaming device, and on that standpoint the Vita holds its own in a fortress with archers, sorcerers, and cauldrons of scalding lava. I say good luck to the competition, ‘cause this is one tough handheld gaming wall, and scaling it is going to be a b!(#$.
[Tukkolabs]
PS Vita Ready for Launch
By EJ Afzelius
With everything I’ve heard about the system, good and bad, I have to say I am extremely digging the Vita. The price tag has turned off some of my peers but in all honesty? It is worth it. All 250 to 300 dollars depending on the level of connectivity that you desire, worth it. But how can that be?
Sony can’t have wised up can they? After years of a system difficult to develop for, the useless PSP Go, non cooperation with third party developers when creating systems, the equally useless Playstation phone, and their lousy no touch gaming stance, Playstation fans are being rewarded with the best handheld gaming device out there.
Right off the bat, Sony worked closely with several game devs to optimize the capabilities of the Vita and push the boundaries of a handheld. This also ensures developers have intimate knowledge of how to make games for the system. This was a real b!$(# of a problem with the PS3 with several game makers complaining about the difficult of game development on the device. This is still evident to this day as shown by that awful Skyrim lag. But now, with games like Gravity Rush and Uncharted: Golden Abyss, all the capabilities of the system are being utilized seamlessly (somewhat). From the accelerometer, the touchscreen, the awesome OLED display, to yes, a second analog stick, every aspect has been fine tuned to near perfection. Of course, the games aren’t perfect, not yet anyway. I
believe however, that given time and constant communication with Sony, game devs will push the Vita to its limits.
We’ve also got some cross compatibility with PS3, which is one of the most awesome things we’ve heard yet. Certain games that are cross compatible can be played on both systems. If you already own it on the PS3, you can also just download it on the Vita without having to pay for a second copy. One such game is Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Hopefully some PS3 RPGs will have this ability as you can save your game on one device and continue in another. Who needs food right?! Who needs a life?! Well, everybody. Battery life of the Vita isn’t the greatest. I expected it since practically lugging the power of a current gen home console in your pocket. Still, three to five hours is downright short. Hopefully, all my dreams of improved handheld batteries become a reality within the next two years.
Then there’s 3g. Sure, $300 is a lot of scratch but if you’ve already got an iPad with 3g, there are videos out there that show how you can share your 3g plan between the two devices. For dedicated gamers, this might be worth a try. The Vita is after all capable of browsing the internet and online
play. Access to the PSN store is also a great feature. As I mentioned cross compatible games merely need to be downloaded, and that’s were the Network comes in. I also believe we’ll see the PSN turn into something of an Android Market, and the Vita will be a few updates and apps away from being the perfect mix of casual and hardcore gaming.
Sure, multimedia usage is s#!% for now and the system isn’t compatible with Flash. But many think these are temporary problems and within the year we’ll see improvements on that end. If not, so what? You’ve still get a perfectly engineered handheld gaming device, and on that standpoint the Vita holds its own in a fortress with archers, sorcerers, and cauldrons of scalding lava. I say good luck to the competition, ‘cause this is one tough handheld gaming wall, and scaling it is going to be a b!(#$.
[Tukkolabs]