The PlayStation Vita recently passed the third anniversary of its launch in North America. While the successor to the PSP may not have been as successful as Sony has hoped, it is still a great system that became even better as the years went on. If you haven’t already, right now is better than ever to purchase the handheld. If you still need some convincing, you can find our list below detailing the reasons as to why the PlayStation Vita is worth buying three years after its launch.
Cheaper Vita Memory Cards
Sony actually launched the PlayStation Vita at a pretty reasonable price. The main issue, however, was the overpriced memory cards, which are required to save data for some games in addition to downloading software from the Sony Entertainment Network Store. With a lot of games (including PSP and PS1 Classics) being digital exclusives, you will be missing out on a lot of great titles without a card.
Sony resolved this saving issue by adding 1 GB of internal storage with the 2000 model of the Vita. With that said, you will still need to purchase a sizeable memory card (at least 16 GB is preferable) to download multiple games.
Fortunately, the price has really come down for Vita memory cards over the past three years, making them cheaper than ever before. You can find the prices for the bigger sizes with these next links: 16 GB and 32 GB. Sony also released a 64 GB version (currently only available in Japan but can be imported as it is region free), which offers a better gigabyte per dollar value than the others. You can find the 64 GB card here.
Remote Play with PlayStation 4
While Sony introduced remote play with the PSP and PlayStation 3, the feature wasn’t fully realized until the release of the Vita in early 2012 and the launch of the PlayStation 4 in late 2014. The more powerful systems, along with the dedicated hardware, made streaming home console games on handhelds much better before. Sony also mandated support for the vast majority of PS4 games for remote play.
As a result, you will have access to almost all of your PlayStation 4 software library using the feature with the Vita.
PlayStation Now
Another streaming feature that was added to the Vita via a post-launch firmware update is the PlayStation Now. The service allows you to stream select PlayStation 3 games at a monthly fee. Unlike the PS4, only an extremely small portion of PS3 titles support remote play. So the only way to play PlayStation 3 games on the Vita is through PlayStation Vita.
Digital Backwards Compatibility
As we mentioned above, the Vita has the ability to play classic digital PSP and PSOne games that can be downloaded from the Sony Entertainment Store. While there are some key titles missing, there are still more than enough compatible videogames to keep you satisfied for a long time if you ever felt the nostalgia itch.
The notable PSP compatible games are Corpse Party, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, Daxter, Dissidia 012 [Duodecim]: Final Fantasy, God of War: Chains of Olympus, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, Jeanne D’Arc, Resistance: Retribution, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable and more.
On the PSOne side, the handheld can play Chrono Cross, Dino Crisis, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Suikoden 2, Wild Arms, Xenogears and a lot more.
Stellar Software Lineup
Even without the abilities to stream games and download ports of retro releases, the PlayStation Vita has a stellar software lineup of games that accumulated over the past few years. The list of must-play titles is headlined by Persona 4: Golden, a enhanced version with many new content to one of the best JRPG ever created.
Other titles, such as Gravity Rush and Tearaway, take advantage of the system’s unique features in some creative ways. There are also games like Killzone Mercenary and Uncharted: Golden Abyss that push the graphical capabilities of the system. While Monster Hunter has jumped ship to the competition, the Vita has some great clones with Freedom Wars and Soul Sacrifice Delta in addition to the upcoming God Eater 2: Rage Burst and Toukiden Kiwami. We also recommend trying the Danganronpa series if you are looking for something completely unique and/or a fan of the visual novel genre.
While the Vita may be lacking in high-profile exclusives, there are certainly some hidden gems that are worth buying the system to play.
Recap
While the Vita may not have been a great value at launch and during its early years, the handheld really came into its own three years into its lifespan. Along with the great software lineup, you can also use it to play retro PSP and PSOne games in addition to streaming PS3 and PS4 titles. So, if you haven’t already, make sure to purchase the Vita system (you can do so with this page on Amazon), especially if you are a PlayStation fan.