We got our hands on a Vita running the newly announced manga/comic reading Reader software today at TGS.
The first thing I noticed is how great manga looks on the Vita’s OLED screen. Colors seem to pop right off the screen and into your eyeballs, and black lines are sharp and defined. Color manga in particular is a treat. Every volume I flipped through was really easy on the eyes, and I had no problem seeing even the smallest detail.
Flipping through the pages can be done with the d-pad or the L and R buttons, but swiping the touchscreen feels more natural, and the accompanying page turn visual effect looks pretty slick. Hitting the circle button zooms the view in to the individual cell level, and continued presses step through remaining cells in order. Turning the Vita to a portrait view lets you use the L button to turn the pages.
Finally, the library gives you a visual representation of all the manga purchased from the store. Again, navigation happens through either buttons or swipes, and content can be moved and grouped as you please. As one that tends to over-organize, I liked that manga volumes could be placed in stacks.
The Reader app is a no-frills affair as far as function goes, but the content looks so good that no extras are needed.
The Reader Store for Vita launches in Japan next month.
Published: Sep 20, 2012 07:00 am