With the Vita looming on the horizon, it seems like it's all anybody is talking about right now. That includes the intrepid writing staff at Destructoid, as conversation about the handheld was so dominant in our virtual office that we just gave up and made this entire episode consist of Vita talk. Join Jim Sterling, Conrad Zimmerman and Brett Zeidler as they talk about the lessons Sony seems to have taken from its past disappointments and a hopeful future of variable pricing for games.
Conrad Zimmerman is Destructoid's News Editor and home to the busiest mustache in the gaming press. An amateur historian and pop culture fanatic, Conrad possesses a nearly limitless wealth of videogame factoids and a passion for the power of games to teach, inspire and entertain. He enjoys reading, writing and turning things which should be fun into work.
Likes
Mega Man 2, Arcade Games, Books about games, Board games, Having cultural interests that aren't games
Meet the rest of the team
In my opinion it is good that there are games that are more expensive, because in most cases they are better. I really hope that the psn wont be flooded with crappy but cheap titles. I want qulitative good games and I am willing to pay more to get them, if they are worth it. With the 2 analog sticks the vita has the potential to be a good platform for gaming on the road. I dont want an effin angry birds or such crap.
In reference to Conrads statement about the PSPgo and thanking Sony for failing on that front. I'd like to thank Sony, I loved my pspgo, and I also now have a solid backlog of PSP games ready to transfer over to my Vita next week without having to cry about no UMD importing.
I generally agree with Conrad's stance on this. I got some hands-on time with one at a recent event, and while it's cool and has all the neat little gimmicky stuff - it doesn't really yet feel 'necessary' as part of my gaming collection.
Of course, the price as it stands now is a barrier to entry. I do hope the games have a flexible price model in the future.
I'm waiting to see how it's supported in the coming months and praying for a price drop before the holidays 2012. I really want one but my wallet can't take that kinda hit right now.
I am REALLY excited for the Vita. I really hope Sony keeps to this level of intelligence with how they handle it. If they do, I think the Vita will be THE handheld to have. Only real gripes I have with it right now is the price of the memory sticks and the whole not being able to transfer my UMD games over. Which isn't a HUGE issue for me anyways as I plan to keep my PSP....hell I'll likely grab a new one to replace my 2000. :D
The memory stick price sucks big time, especially for me since I want to go digital only (plan on using US PSN store for US prices instead of gouged NZ retail prices, also download a fuck ton of PSP games). However you can store all the games on PC and swap them in and out, so I think I'm just going to take the plunge for the 32gb. It should fit several games and I only play 2-3 games at once anyway. Overall I expect it to be a pretty good system for what I want in a device.
Tiered pricing began on the 3DS around 3 months ago. 3DS games now range from $40-$30-$20 new. I do like the variable system, but it really just annoys me that the $20 games are usually near iOS grade quality (crap). The only $20 game that is any good is Nano Assault and is only that cheap because of its short playtime (amazing game though). My only concern for the Vita is that Sony seems to think that flooding the library with multiplats and ports will carry the system. They've already burned through the majority of their relevant first party titles (some almost to the point of ports) and the only games I can see them bringing to the platform are updates of those titles in the next 2-3 years. The chance that western developers jump on the Vita is pretty slim (we'll see if what has been announced so far materializes in the form of exclusive titles and don;t end up being multiplats) and their Japanese support is abysmal at this point. The launch will be glorious, but I don't think the following months will be incredibly different from the PSP unless you really want to play (and buy twice) the games you can buy on your PS3.
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Contest:
4:00 PM on 02.14.2012 | 
Thanks again Sony!
Of course, the price as it stands now is a barrier to entry. I do hope the games have a flexible price model in the future.
All that unnecessary space! All for that tiny little cart!