Last week we asked you both on the front page and the forums what you thought of the Playstation Vita. Throughout the weekend, we had a variety of different posts from just about everyone -- prospective buyers who tested it at Gamestop, joyful owners, and skeptical roommates who tried their friend's portable.
Because of how much thought you put into your posts, we've assembled a collection of thoughts on the Vita, both from front page and forum posts alike. If there's anything else you'd like to say, feel free to sound off in the comments.
First off, the overwhelming majority of owners seem to love it (myself included!). Initially, you'd think this would be due to the justification of such an expensive purchase, but the community is extremely sound in their reasoning.
For example, DakJaxter explains in detail how he was swayed as someone who wasn't even planning on buying the thing:
First, as of a couple weeks ago i wasn't even really sure if i was going to get a Vita.. A couple months ago, wasn't even in my mind. I had recently got a 3DS and love it entirely.
Tuesday, i was walking by a Gamestop and asked how much i could get for my 360 and MW3.. He said $135 towards a Vita pre order. I said I'll be right back.
I honestly have to say that this thing is the most impressive piece of hardware i've ever seen. It's just an unbelievable little machine. I started Uncharted Wednesday and haven't really stopped thinking about it since. The graphics, the screen, the gameplay, and even the damn touch controls(which when i heard how they were implemented, was pretty pissed) are all fantastic, beyond so.
I just can't believe we've made this much progress in our 'little' gaming world. What once was a weird, misunderstood, niche waste of time... has led to the creation of something i never would've thought was really possible, except in my childhood fantasies, but even then i wasn't aware how amazing it could really be.
PappaDukes was also extremely happy with his new device:
I fucking LOVE, love, LOVE my Vita. I bought Uncharted (amazing!) and Hot Shots. Very pleased with both titles. I only owned a PSP for a short while and sold it for trade-in to get my PS3, so I didn't have any games to transfer. Needless to say, I love my Vita, and I look forward to all the forthcoming titles. Also, boner.
Forum-goer Esoom also has high hopes for the Vita:
I REALLY hope word gets around, but I'm afraid the majority are too caught up with their smart phones to take the time and give the Vita a chance though. On the bright side, everywhere I've visited is completely sold out of the Vita, so unless Sony is purposely shipping small amounts, the demand is definitely there.
However, not everyone was as excited as the above three c-members. We noticed that a lot of the community did not enjoy their initial experience, whether it was a kiosk at Gamestop or a test of a friend's machine due to a number of reasons, but mostly due to their disapproval of the interface.
Tristrix is quick to point out that once you actually own the thing, it is more customizable than meets the eye.
"I can kinda sorta understand where he's coming from if he's only ever seen the Vita at an in-store display. The background is boring and the music is irritating as fuck. Fortunately the backgrounds can be replaced with any jpg you put on your memory card and the music can be turned off. The UI is really quite freakin excellent once you take those steps."
However, nothing can be done about those bubbles, which Smo5000 comically points out.
Dont like the UI, it looks like it was made by a Chili's manager. The buttons remind me of flair a la Office Space.
But despite all the positive impressions, like any device, not everyone is completely sold. A few users are going to wait until either the next Vita iteration, or a firmware update with hefty additions before they purchase. Godstar had this to say about his prospective purchase:
Not buying one till they add the features I want. Same with the 3DS. Till then I shall wait. I'm hoping for video out on the Vita to be added back in. May or may not happen, but I can wait till then. I'm also hoping after a version or two they put it back in. Also I'm hoping they change the small nubs and make them larger as I have huge hands and don't like how small they are.
FriedZombie also had some issues with the PSP transfer situation, and noted some completely valid shortcomings:
I can not stand the content manager system! I know through some friends and Master Google that only PSP games transfer on CMA right now, but I have games like Brave Story: New Traveler that won't appear, in fact not one piece of my downloaded content registered with CMA.
The fragmenting of the market does get sometimes annoying having to open an app for everything and the browser is honestly a terrible piece of crap that only takes forever to load and zoom commands breaks it even more by showing this weird white color box around the content you just zoomed to, similar to how buffering works when you zoom in google maps (there's also an API for Google Maps that is pure shit too)
Gongon 11 wasn't a fan of the system's rear touchpad:
for me personally its too big and the rear touchpad is ALWAYS getting in the way because the thing is so bloody big, other than it being too big and the rear touchpad being too big too its ok.
flintmech also isn't a fan of being forced to use the touchscreen to do anything UI related:
I have one gripe so far, and it's that I'm forced to use the touch screen when using the on-screen keyboard. I think it's rubbish (big fingers, and it seems super sensitive) and it's especially frustrating because my PSN password (which is requested for EVERY Store purchase) is deliberately complex. I wish I could use the D-pad/Left stick and the face buttons - the keyboard interface inside the Netflix app, which is different from the Vita's native keyboard interface, allows this. So what gives?
If you happened to miss the discussion, feel free to voice your thoughts and concerns below!
Contest:
12:45 PM on 02.27.2012 | 
I'm very fascinated by it, but I won't love it until the advertised Remote Play abilities with ths PS3 become a reality. This should be doing what the Wii-U is trying to capitalize on, and it sucks that hackers are the only ones able to take advantage of this feature!!
So, I got lucky and was then able to experience this thing and I haven't put it down since I got it (except to charge it for a couple hours, the majority of the concert I went to and going to the store).
I think it's only fair to say within 3-4 days of having my 3DS at launch, I had a serious case of buyer's remorse. And there wasn't a single game I'd keep the thing for. I only kept it for the eventual Super Mario 3D Land, Ocarina and it being compatible with my old DS games.
But, around 5 days into my Vita, like I said, it's hard to put down. Already, at launch, I own more for this than I do for my 3DS.
Not only because it's had the far better launch line-up, but because I love the tech far more. With all the fancy touch controls they've implemented, they can get even far more creative with this than the DS (no 3D is a minor disadvantage), obvious bump in graphics and having only a single screen helps it feel more natural (also see: less gimmicky) than the DS/3DS's daunting double screen.
Another great achievement is that the Vita store is already packing one hell of a punch with Super Stardust Delta, Mutant Blobs Attack, the free AR games, Plants Vs. Zombies Vita and Hustle Kings Vita (pardon me for forgetting anything). Not to mention all the great PSP games you can download (I'm catching up on a lot of these), all those demos to try out, it's really something else to have something so fully featured at launch.
If you want this thing, have no hesitation and get it. I want this Vita train to keep rolling.
Only gripes so far are with the less essential features like the web browser and camera. The browser makes a hiccup here and there, but the really jarring thing is the camera. I was recording a concert I was at 2 nights ago and when I was done, I tried saving it... but it wouldn't stop saving it. 3 more songs go by and I say fuck it, hope nothing too bad happens and turn it off. The video I recorded was gone, but at least nothing else was harmed.
Ideally, both the Vita and X Play should qsupport PSN minis and classic titles, while the Vita gets a dedicated software lineup and the X Play has Android apps (and emulators) with gamepad support.
Also anyone that has a Vita, how do games such as Patapon and Valkyria Chronicles 2 run on it? My dad bought the VC2 bundle for his PSPgo on the weekend(it's still $23 as opposed to $40 for just the standalone version which surprised me) and I really need to get my hands on that game myself.
My biggest concern is how the UI does force you to use the touch interface. Even on game menus. My thought process is "My fingers are primed and ready at the buttons, why should I have to move my hand all the way over to select a menu item only to just go all the way back to where they were before"
Very satisfied in my purchase
Its all about the niche games, for me. I don't play on the go at all because A)I'm skinny, and while I most often rock a pair of Levi's 559s (relaxed straight leg), anything too big in the pockets tends to swing around a bit, and B)if I'm out, I'm doing something. In the end, I'm gonna be using it at home where I can much more conveniently get my fill of console like experiences... on my consoles.
If the PSV ends up the niche haven that the PSP was, I'm on it like vomit. If not, then I'll wait till it is. That new trailer for Bravely Default has all but cemented a 3DS purchase for me, so I suppose I'll have to weigh that in when the time comes.
Here's to hoping, yo. In the meantime, I plan on greasing myself up and sticking bits of newspaper to myself for no apparent reason.
I'm interested in a Vita, but there needs to be a SERIOUS firmware update before I spend $250 on it.
I'm loving the Vita. Hard to put it down. In fact, I NEED to put it down but I can't. It's getting in the way of all the stuff I need to do. =P
So far, I've only gotta few games for it (UMvC3, BlazBlue, Rayman, and PSP Neo Geo Heroes) but I'm already impressed. Already more games than I played consistently on the DS (all I really played there were the Jump Stars games).
I do wish that the UI could be replaced with the XMB, and I wish that the UI could be controlled without the use of touch screen. I was not of a fan of the d-pad being so close to the right analog stick at first, but now I'm used to it.