In the world of handheld gaming, it could be argued that Nintendo has the market cornered. However, an opponent stepped up in the spring of 2005 and started pressuring said market. The PlayStation Portable (home o♐f lots of fantastic, uꦚnder-appreciated titles as well as heavy hitters) camℱe to life that fall and allowed gamers to play some of their ♌favorite PS2 era games on the go.
Six years later, the PlayStation Vita arrived. The Vita boasted graphical upgrades over the previous portable and appeared to be a handheld version of the PS3 (and even PS4 to some extent). While far from perfect, the Vita showed serious promise but was shortly disregarded by Sony. With that said, as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sony's new box of tricks, PS5, ushers in a new era of gaming, the Vita begins its final swansong♛ into the realm of no-longer-supported consoles. There was as much to love about this mighty handheld as there was to hate.
10 𒁏 We'll Misꦬs: The Mobility
The Vita accomplished the feat of letting the gamer take their PlayStation favorites with them on the go. The ability to sneak around as Sly Coope🦋r in 𝕴some of the greatest platformers to hit Sony's systems while commuting to work is what made the Vita so great. The fact that the likes of The Sly Trilogy didn't get downgraded in graphical quality 𒀰seconds this notion.
Another plus is that the machine was light while not feeling fliꦐmsy, making it a perfect pocket companion during downtime and monotony.
9 We Won't Miss: Memory Cash Grab 😼
Arguably the bigges🌠t issue with the fabled Vita was the expensive Sony SD cards. The Vita without an SD card can still play physical games, of course. However, the owner is completely incapable of downloading any games from the online store without some sort of removable memory. Sony decided to make the Vita incompatible with normal SD cards, requiring their special PlayStation Vita memory cards instead.
The kicker? These memory cards are up to three times more expensive than a normal SD card of similar storage space. This was such an issue that it caused many to use adapters that made the latter usable, sucꦺh as the one pictured above (available via )💝.
8 We'ไll Miss: Control Upgrades 🦋
One of the big complaints during the PSP's run was the system's control scheme. Games that were basically ported to the PSP from the PS2, for instance, required certain button commands that weren't compatible with the PSP. This was seen in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Tony Hawk's Underground 2: Remix. The original game required clicking on the analog stick, a feat♏ not really possible on the PSP.
Other issues included the fact that the two back trigger buttons are missing on the PSP, causing issues with ports as well. The Vita mitigated this issue by ma⛄king the control scheme more akin to a PlayStation controller. The addition of a second analog stick, as well as the ability to format your controls, was a huge game changer.
7 We Won't Miss: Needless Back Touch Screen Capability 💝
This was most likely an effort to jump on the Nintendo DS and 3DS'༒ trains. However, electing to make the back of the console a usable touchscreen was rather odd.
While the standard touchscreen was a great idea and should have been implemented more, the𝐆 back-facing touch pad was slightly perplexing. For one, it wasn't conducive to the 🎃control scheme, and two, it was poorly implemented, rarely utilized in any meaningful way in games.
6 We'll Miss: Remote Play ꧑
Similarly to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:𒉰the Nintendo WiiU(whic꧑h boasted some great games despite its unfortunate reputation), the Vita carri🌳ed the ability of being able to m𓆉irror the PS3 and PS4 on its screen using the Remote Play feature. Intentions aside, it was a smart move. Stuck in a situation where the only uඣsable TV is occupied? The Vita's got it covered.
Want to play PS4 games in the bathtu❀b? You probably shouldn't, but the Vita's got it covered nonetheless. By simply connecting the WiFi to the Pla🎉yStation console and the Vita itself, you could play any PS4 title you wanted, whenever you wanted.
5 We Won't Miss: PlayStation TV ꦯ
While this was more of an odd side project during the Vita's lifespan, it was still marketed as a way to play Vita games. The PlayStation TV hooked into the gamer's television and could be used as either a1ꦐ68澳洲幸运5开奖网: Remote Play beacon for other TVs in the house, or a standalone Vita machine.
The PlayStation TV was substantially cheaper than the Vita, which sounds nice up front. The issue? Half of the games were blocked from working on the machine. This included games such as Wipeout 2048, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and The Sly Collection. The stated reason for blocking these gꦅames was because some Vita games required the gyroscope and microphone to work properly.
4 We'll Miss: Retro PlayStation Paradise ꦗ 𒊎
While the PlayStation Vita had fairly little support in terms of new or exclusive content, it was a successful testing ground for older era PS1 and PS2 games. The Vita hosted a wide array of PS1 classics that could be downloaded such as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Silent Hill, various 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy classics, as well as some of the strangeཧst titles ever to hit PlayStation systems, such as Cho Aniki.
Finally, 90s kids could rejoi🌺ce that their dreams of taking their gray PS1 on the go were answered by Sony. Ah, the 𝔍nostalgia.
3 We Won't Miss: The Base Price 𝐆
As of today, the PlayStation Vita is still r🗹etailing around $200 USD if new. Given the fact that the launch price was $249.99 USD, this would appear to be yet another factor as to why the Vita had a relatively silent decade of existence. Granted, Sony did release an updated version of the Vita about halfway through the console's life. However, the fact that the base price is still this high (not including the memory card or other necessities) makes🍌 its accessibility that much more limited.
How can someone justify spending this much on a console that they'll only play a handful of games on? How can someone justify purchasing a Vita that would cut into their PS5 savings by half? It certainly isn𒉰't easy.
2 We'll Miss: The Battery ꦑ
The PlayStation Vita's battery life could be equated to tജhat of a Nokia brick phone. The thing refused to power down. This is paired with the fact that the Vita's charging port was compatible with a micro USB charger. So, unless the owner of th♓e Vita only had friends and family that used Apple phones, they could charge their Vita easier than any other handheld.
Lastly, and arguably the most important feature of the Vita's battery: if the Vita did power down mid-game, it kept the game in a sleep/hibernation mode, allowing the owner to pick up where they left off upon 👍plugging in a charger. Game progress saved. Hope in the world at large, slightly restored.
1 We Won't Miss:🍌 Lack of Support
Vita lacked real support from the get-go. The PlayStation Vita initially presented itself as a golden opportunity to release a new and exclusive game, such as a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Crash Bandicoot or Spyro title along the same lines as the originals. What was delivered instead was an admittedly really well put together Killzone game (Killzone: Mercenary), Persona 4, a warranted rehash of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Jet Set Radio, and that's about it.
There were 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:some fascinating Japan-exclusive 🔴PS Vita titles, but just not enough worldwide. Most of the games ported onto it were just that, ports. The occasional masterpiece, s�﷽�uch as macabre action RPG Soul Sacrifice, were just too few and far between. The Vita felt almost doomed from the start.