Category Archives: View

A Vita Owner’s struggle …

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I’ve been a Playstation Vita owner since launch and have been very happy with my 3G unit since the day it arrived

I’ll go so far as to say that it’s become my default gaming device of choice.
Yes I’ve got a PS4, PS3, Xbox 360 and a 3DS XL, but thanks to the arrival of my son 7 months ago and a wife who also likes to use the television in the lounge so time to use those TV tied consoles is slim and precious.
Portable suits me more and more these days, I can fit in a cheeky slice during my lunch break at work or even on my commute, fantastic stuff.

With a more “mature” selection of games and the ever growing collection from Playstation Plus, my Vita gets an almost daily outing

However lately a couple of things have been bothering me.

Firstly, although the indie gaming community is alive and well on the Vita and chucking out quality titles. The big banner blockbuster releases though have seemingly dropped off the face of the planet.
Over at Nintendo you see the likes of Pokemon and all sorts regularly making waves on their handhelds, not so from Sony. This worries me.

Secondly, memory cards … or rather lack of them.
The largest card we’ve been deemed worthy to have in the EU is 32Gb, whilst other markets are treated to a 64Gb variant.
Try to get one of these at a reasonable price and you’ll be in for a shock, that’s if you can find one that’s not being sold by a third party (yes they’re in stock on Amazon for £53, but that’s not coming from Amazon)
Game, the only bricks and mortar retailer in the UK, haven’t had any stock of these on their website for ages and using the stock tracker there’s been none in any of my local stores for the past 5 months.
Given that this is a critical accessory what’s happening ?
The size of game downloads is increasing, and some titles are only getting a digital release in the EU. So on a 16Gb card when a title requires a 3Gb download that’s a heftly chunk of your space swallowed right there.

What we need is memory, lots of it, at a reasonable price.
We need this now
Sony has a prime opportunity to steal a significant chunk of the portable market from Nintendo, but at the moment they’re wasting this and leaving those of us who’ve already signed up flapping in the wind.

So come on Sony, show us Playstation Vita owners some love.
Release those bigger memory cards and get those releases out there.
We love our pocket gaming powerhouse, it’s time you proved that you do too.

To XL or not to XL … that is the question …

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Portable gaming appears to be my main source these days, mainly sneeking in a quick session of whatever’s the flavour of the day during a lunch break.

The Playstation Vita‘s been doing a very good job recently of relegating my 3DS (which I’ve had since launch) from it’s spot inside my bag to the one next to the TV unit at home.

The main reason for this is the size, I know I know, the Vita’s got better graphics etc. but I’m focusing on this. The size of the Vita fits better for me and provides a more comfortable gaming experience so I’ve found myself using it more as a result. The 3DS is great for small bursts but for me the compact nature of it’s form results in what can only be described as “gamer’s claw” if played for an extended period of time.

Now Nintendo have gone and issued a revision to this, the 3DS XL

Basically they’ve increased the size of the thing, that’s it. No other extra features, just a good ol’ fashioned increase in form factor and screen size. This pleases me, finally I’ll be able to put in some serious time on Dragon Quest without crippling myself in the process. Also thanks to the screen size it should be a more comfortable viewing experience too

The only complaint I have about the XL or rather puzzling question is why have Nintendo chosen not to include a charger in the box ? I mean really …. it’s not like it’s an optional extra is it ?

Weird move Nintendo … Weird move but it’s not stopping me from “going large” I’ll be picking up my XL soon so I can enjoy the likes of New Super Mario Bros 2 in a more comfortable fashion.