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As we settle into 2019 like a new pair of shoes, Vita life seems remarkably good for a dead console. New developers like kFunction are delivering great games with Scintillatron, and Sony is still providing dev kits to coders (probably grudgingly by now).
Also, random trophy listings continue to pop up out of nowhere, and there's still plenty of activity from physical publishers even as the cut off for physical cart production in the west looms.
As a day-one Vita owner three things still worry me, what happens when Sony stops making the memory cards - and why hasn't it cut the prices to encourage people to stock up? Also, shouldn't there be a mandatory notification period before any game (cough, LEGO!) vanishes from PSN? Finally, what happens when all the Vita hardware is gone?
Those concerns aside, here we are and there's still a decent list of games on the way, even if a few drop off the radar due to developers not having the bandwidth or struggling to port titles to an ancient bit of silicon. But what a piece of hardware, iPhone has moved on six or seven generations since the Vita launched, yet Sony's portable continues to deliver games that shame or on a par with most mobile fodder.
Even as the games drop off, more people seem to be finding the Vita as their favourite way to play visual novels, the Tomb Raider archive, JRPGs, other PS One classics (especially after the PlayStation Classic Mini farcical launch) and indies-on-the-go.
Remote Players are also getting on-board, perhaps spurred, ironically, by the success of the Switch. And, as Microsoft looks to some sort of hybrid future, there's still a good chance that Sony will respond with a PS5 Remote Play unit - HD, many triggers and a good WiFi stack. Maybe there is a Sony portable future of some kind - which we'll need as Vita prices continue to rise, and old hardware inevitably begins to fail - how do we pass preserve these valuable single-format game collections or pass them on to others?
I can understand attention-deficit types getting fed up of their old hardware and moving on, but anyone who has invested time and money in a decent Vita collection, why sell it? If you have eight years of games to play, with many that aren't on any other system, why give them up.
I've forgotten most of the finer details in Uncharted, Assassin's Creed Liberation, Killzone many of the other major league efforts - and with fewer new games there's more time for a replay, with most collectors having a healthy rotation of old and new to keep us happy. Even with a Switch, PS4 and Xbox One in the house, I could play any game on anything, but the Vita is still my perfectly-formed OLED play-anywhere box.
Yes, the store app is poorly updated, with Sony's crack-addled trainee failing to add new games on a regular basis. Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight still isn't on the front of UK store (perhaps two similar games confused the poor fool).
All these features need is the tiniest bit of Sony love and Vita could easily be fit for some purpose in 2020 and beyond, but hey - we can't have everything right?
But will Sony bother? No, because generating any news about Vita goes against its forward-looking philosophy, which is just damn weird. I still kinda hope another company buys the Vita designs and IP, and launches a vanilla non-PS console just to keep the life flowing. Perhaps that a question someone can ask a Sony boss next time they see them.
But, all the biz lunacy aside, let's get gaming into 2019, the rest of the world might not care, but this is my gaming life, and Vita is still great fun!
Looks like I now have access to a #PSVita dev kit and a solid idea for the Tate mode. Just waiting for approval from SONY and should be good to go :)— FlumpStudios (@FlumpStudios) January 8, 2019
Also, random trophy listings continue to pop up out of nowhere, and there's still plenty of activity from physical publishers even as the cut off for physical cart production in the west looms.
As a day-one Vita owner three things still worry me, what happens when Sony stops making the memory cards - and why hasn't it cut the prices to encourage people to stock up? Also, shouldn't there be a mandatory notification period before any game (cough, LEGO!) vanishes from PSN? Finally, what happens when all the Vita hardware is gone?
Those concerns aside, here we are and there's still a decent list of games on the way, even if a few drop off the radar due to developers not having the bandwidth or struggling to port titles to an ancient bit of silicon. But what a piece of hardware, iPhone has moved on six or seven generations since the Vita launched, yet Sony's portable continues to deliver games that shame or on a par with most mobile fodder.
Even as the games drop off, more people seem to be finding the Vita as their favourite way to play visual novels, the Tomb Raider archive, JRPGs, other PS One classics (especially after the PlayStation Classic Mini farcical launch) and indies-on-the-go.
Remote Players are also getting on-board, perhaps spurred, ironically, by the success of the Switch. And, as Microsoft looks to some sort of hybrid future, there's still a good chance that Sony will respond with a PS5 Remote Play unit - HD, many triggers and a good WiFi stack. Maybe there is a Sony portable future of some kind - which we'll need as Vita prices continue to rise, and old hardware inevitably begins to fail - how do we pass preserve these valuable single-format game collections or pass them on to others?
Game On in 2019
Back to the good stuff, and a few hundred thousand (at a guess) western Vita enthusiasts are still loving handheld life. And why not, with a device that still looks this good, that happily plays many recent pixel games and whose launch titles still look better than most of the Switch's output (while laughing at Nintendo's idea of battery life), what's not to like? Gamers are snapping them up from Japan and second hand stores, getting on board and finding what makes Vita so special.I can understand attention-deficit types getting fed up of their old hardware and moving on, but anyone who has invested time and money in a decent Vita collection, why sell it? If you have eight years of games to play, with many that aren't on any other system, why give them up.
I've forgotten most of the finer details in Uncharted, Assassin's Creed Liberation, Killzone many of the other major league efforts - and with fewer new games there's more time for a replay, with most collectors having a healthy rotation of old and new to keep us happy. Even with a Switch, PS4 and Xbox One in the house, I could play any game on anything, but the Vita is still my perfectly-formed OLED play-anywhere box.
About the Apps, Sony
Even the apps still prove useful, getting #PSVitaShare images up via the old Twitter that's still limited to 140 characters and loads the browser to show tweet links. Until recently, YouTube worked fine and I've found plenty of lite or text-only sites that provide news and information far faster than the modern mobile sites can manage.Yes, the store app is poorly updated, with Sony's crack-addled trainee failing to add new games on a regular basis. Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight still isn't on the front of UK store (perhaps two similar games confused the poor fool).
All these features need is the tiniest bit of Sony love and Vita could easily be fit for some purpose in 2020 and beyond, but hey - we can't have everything right?
A Fond Farewell
What does irritate me most is that Sony has no idea how to do a good sendoff. There must be a number of near complete games or easy updates lurking in the archive and all it takes is a bit of effort to say thanks for sticking around with a Vita version of LocoRoco or something else.But will Sony bother? No, because generating any news about Vita goes against its forward-looking philosophy, which is just damn weird. I still kinda hope another company buys the Vita designs and IP, and launches a vanilla non-PS console just to keep the life flowing. Perhaps that a question someone can ask a Sony boss next time they see them.
But, all the biz lunacy aside, let's get gaming into 2019, the rest of the world might not care, but this is my gaming life, and Vita is still great fun!
Currently playing on my Vita/PS4/PS5
