PlayStation Vita (non Hands-On) Recommendation

Let me first be completely clear if the title wasn’t clear enough, I do not have, nor have I played, used, or experienced the PlayStation Vita hands on.  The review is based entirely upon impressions that I have gotten from reading reviews, and my own personal feelings and insights.  As always I encourage anyone reading this to come up with their own opinion and to at least try the system before coming up with a final decision on purchasing the system.
 

The reviews I’ve read are from Kotaku, Gizmodo, Engadget, and Joystiq.  I admit that that the last two (Engadget and Joystiq) I didn’t fully read but skimmed over reviewing the information available.  Overall however the reviews seem to indicate the4 same thing when you take into account that Kotaku is a gaming site (as is Joystiq).  Ultimately the conclusion isn’t that surprising to me.

The reviews basically agree that the system is a good gaming console, and that’s about it.  The cameras are merely okay, the sound is acceptable, and while the screen pops both for games and shows, there’s nothing overly special about it.  As the Gizmodo review says:

But there's just no good reason to once you dispense with the games. You're not paying only for a portable PlayStation—you're playing for smartphone that unfortunately lacks both the phone and the smarts.

With the removal of the PlayStation Passport, which I mentioned in a previous blog post  and confirmed with G4.com (including a quote from Sony) the system is regulated to retail games and as well as games purchased from their online store.  The PlayStation Blog has listed PSP compatible  and PS Mini games from its web site.  An impressive list, and the games are free… provided you already purchased them from the PS Store.  However the fact that Sony is going to be making online games cheaper (by some amount) then their retail counter parts, clearly points that Sony is counting on selling its expensive proprietary memory cards.

In short unless the Vita sells well I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Vita follow the way of the 3DS from Nintendo.  6 months to a year from now I would expect to see a price cut, possibly a longer free trial (for people getting the 3G you-must-pay-for-this-feature version) of the cellular services, and possibly or even probably packed with more/better games.  The fact that the system does approach PS3 visuals gives me some hope that it could be a good system, however unless you are a dyed in the wool  PlayStation fan or a must have early adopter, this only reinforces my previous verdict:  Don’t Purchase.