Seriously, I’ll elaborate later but they’re one of the greatest bands to see live. The energy they get out of the crowd is otherworldly.

Whelp I caved and got Persona 4 Golden.
Maybe I’ll actually finish all of these Persona games one of these days.

My thoughts on the handheld thus far:

• Firstly, the memory cards are far too expensive but this is something that people have known for a while now. I got my memory card refurbished from Gamestop and it cost even less because I had a coupon, so it wasn’t too much of a hassle but the amount of money I paid for 16 GB is still robbery.
• The system itself is very sleek and pretty but it suffers from the normal handheld trap of having a screen that’s too reflective for its own good. It’s really stupid hard to see this thing in bright sunlight, even with the brightness cranked all the way up.
• The rear touch screen is surprisingly fun to play with for the games that use it, and most other games implement it in fun little ways, usually. (To the point where PS1 Classics use the four corners of it for L2/R2/L3/R3)
• The graphics are pretty much on par with the PS3, or at least slightly less. Uncharted is clearly the graphical showcase for this system but Wipeout looks amazing too. I’m anxious to see how the cel shading looks in Gravity Rush. Overall it’s very impressive in this aspect and the screen is huge and makes it all pop.
• Multitasking on this handheld is pretty well-handled. Downloads keep downloading even when using apps like YouTube, and having multiple games or apps open is a breeze thanks to this new LiveArea system.
• While I don’t think the aesthetic of the menu is very good, it is simple to use and anyone with an iPhone or smartphone should get the gist of it rather quickly. Hold to edit icon placement, drag and drop into different pages, folders, etc. You can also choose a different color for each of your home screen pages so I made mine correspond with what’s on each page (black and blue for Vita games, light gray for PS1 Classics, dark purple for PlayStation minis, etc).
• While the list of PS1 Classics that the system can play is relatively small, there’s still some good ones to be had in case you’ve already downloaded them on your PS3. Um Jammer Lammy, Klonoa, and most of the Final Fantasy games for instance. I have Final Fantasy IX on there and I’m actually excited to play that on the road. Though the only PS1 Classic I’ve played so far, Klonoa, seems to have had a few hiccups, but not during gameplay (only during cut-scenes.)
• While I have yet to use it, evidently the YouTube app for Vita is far superior to the PS3 version, which is crash-prone and loads terribly. Hopefully this is the truth because the PS3 YouTube app makes me want to tear my hair out.
• Other cool apps are available. Foursquare and Facebook are clearly meant more for the 3G version but they’re there if you want ‘em. Wake Up Club is a fun little clock/alarm application that allows you to send friend requests to people waking up at the same time as you (or so I think).
• I haven’t had a ton of extended gameplay with the system yet but the battery seems to be decent, at least if you’re good at turning off little battery sucking things like Bluetooth or the background music on the home screen. Once I dive into Uncharted I’ll see how the battery holds up. One complaint is that the system doesn’t charge when plugged into a PS3 or PC; only when using the AC adapter. And it’s hard to beat the 3DS’ awesome little charging cradle.
• The system feels good to hold in your hands but being so flat it takes some getting used to. But it’s really nice to hold a handheld system with two analog sticks. I was able to play the first level of Uncharted with relative ease.
• Far as I can tell the system has the same media capabilities as the PS3, minus Blu-Ray for obvious reasons. Movies can be put on the memory card or bought off the PlayStation Store, as well as music, and there’s a photo option. The system also has Trophy support, though I haven’t checked if these trophies show up on the PS3 once you’ve synced with the server (though I imagine they do, since PS3 trophies show up on the Vita).
• Cross Buy is also a neat addition in the instances I’ve bought one of the games or gotten them from PS Plus. It’s as easy as going to your download list on the PS Store and downloading the Vita version. I got a few games from PS+ that let me do this (Zombie Tycoon 2, Retro City Rampage), and stuff like PlayStation All-Stars works as well (grab that game while it’s still on sale! $20 is a good price for a decent Smash Bros clone!)
• Oh and the game seems to handle PSP emulation pretty well, too. Now I can finally play Dissidia and Patapon.

Overall the system is very very cool-looking and sleek, and I love the integration it already has with the PS3, let alone what the future holds with PS4. The big sticking point is the memory card size and price but that’s just something we have to deal with since Sony’s cards are the only ones that work for the thing. Just grab a pre-owned card for cheap and be careful about how much you load it up with games and movies.

I’d really only recommend the system if you have or plan on getting PlayStation Plus since you get a good 6 free games for the thing, including (as of this writing) Uncharted, Gravity Rush, Disgaea 3, and Wipeout, but the system has a few solid games despite that including Persona 4 Golden and Soul Sacrifice.

I really want to get a PlayStation Vita because I’ve been sitting on free games for the thing (thanks to PS Plus) and it honestly seems like a nice, sleek system. The only problem is the memory card situation. Evidently Sony’s memory sticks are the only ones compatible with the thing and they’re ludicrously priced for the small sizes they offer. Far as I can tell, the biggest is the 32GB memory stick, which costs a whopping $100. The 16GB one is evidently $50 or $60 depending on where you look around.

I mean I did the math and the 6 or so free games I already have for the thing thanks to Plus are 8GB in total, so even if I went cheap and got an 8GB stick I wouldn’t be able to store all of that. It just seems like a really shitty business tactic is all, but I guess that’s the point of a monopoly.

I dunno, now I’m kind of second-guessing my desire to get one of these things. If the sticks didn’t cost as much I’d definitely go for it but now I’m very reluctant.