Banxiee Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 So I just bought a secondhand PS Vita, got myself the 3G/Wifi version. This is my first ever handheld gaming system. I bought it because I wanted something I can do while taking public transport to uni, and because I love the challenge of getting trophies (I don't like playing games where I don't have a tangible goal to work towards, e.g. a platinum trophy). Cost me a little bit, so for a while I'm going to stick to free PS+ games and stuff I have because of crossbuy. I have one serious question, since I'm looking forward to playing Minecraft crossbuy when I get it - am I going to need a memory stick to play Minecraft, assuming it's the only game I'll add on there? And in general, what are the basics that I need to know? I've dealt with Sony all my life, but assume I'm a complete idiot when it comes to handhelds. Can I play while it's charging? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killua-ID Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Yes, you can play while charging. The Vita can handle only one account. A 8-16GB memory card should be enough. You can´t play online on the go with the 3G model, only with a WiFi connection. The battery life lasts fully charged for 5 hours. Gravity Rush, Uncharted, Soul Sacrifice, Rogue Legecy, Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed, Persona 4, Y´s, The Walking Dead, Virtues Last Reward, Danganronpa, Freedom Wars, Killzone, Velocity 2X, The Binding of Isaac and some other indies are the best titles on the Vita. If you like handhelds, you should definetely check out a 3DS or New 3DS! Nintendos handheld might not be as powerfull as Sonys, but it´s definetely worth it. The 3DS has a great, great and consistently increasing library of awesome and games like 3 The Legend of Zelda games and 2 Monster Hunter games. If I had to choose which of my handhelds I can keep, I would definetely choose the 3DS over the Vita even though I love and use my Vita a lot more, but the 3DS has simply the better games to me Edited January 26, 2015 by Killua-ID 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killivincent Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Yes you can play while charging. And yes you need the memory card to save your progress and download games into. I suggest a 8gb-32gb one. Also buy a protective film for the screen so it won't get dirty.Also a protective case is good invest. I usually keep my Vita in the charger over night so I can play it on go while on bus or something during the day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banxiee Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 Yes, you can play while charging. The Vita can handle only one account. 8-16GB memory card should be enough. Gravity Rush, Uncharted, Soul Sacrifice, Rogue Legecy, Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed, Persona 4, Y´s, The Walking Dead, Virtues Last Reward, Danganronpa, Freedom Wars, Killzone, Velocity 2X and some indies are the best titles for the Vita. Thanks for the answers! So happy about the charging thing, that was a concern of mine. I didn't really know about the 1 account thing though, but that's not really a problem I haven't heard of a few of those, but I'm keen on the ones I have heard of. Are controls easy considering the layout of the Vita? Yes you can play while charging. And yes you need the memory card to save your progress and download games into. I suggest a 8gb-32gb one. Also buy a protective film for the screen so it won't get dirty.Also a protective case is good invest. I usually keep my Vita in the charger over night so I can play it on go while on bus or something during the day. I think I have a few screen protectors lying around from my tablet that I could cut into shape until I pick up a proper protective screen. I think it comes with a case, so I'm pretty happy about that I just picked up an 8gb card for $15, which is pretty good value imo. Cheapest new was $26, and I figure I can get a larger one later if/when it becomes necessary. Would I be able to switch my saves/games between memory cards, or would I have to transfer it from a cloud save/re-download the game? Also, how are download speeds on the Vita? My internet speed is pretty good, but my PS3 is quite slow. Is the Vita around the same download speed as PS3/faster/slower? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killua-ID Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) You can back up everything on the Vita on your PC and PS3 and transfer the back up later on a different device and or memory card. Actually you could back up the whole 8gb memory card with all its safe games and downloads to your on your PS3 and transfer the whole 8gb to a larger memory card. Download speed is okay, I have no issues with that. Edited January 26, 2015 by Killua-ID 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtskyKG Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Welcome to the club! The Vita is an awesome device! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoIidWoIf Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) This post has been deleted because of complaints. Edited January 26, 2015 by SoIidWoIf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixones Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Get the biggest memory card you can afford, the 64GB one is worth the extra cost, they quickly get filled up. Though you can switch memory cards easily, as long as the memory card is linked to your account. Disable mobile support, will make your battery last much longer - the 3G support is next to useless anyway, so you won't miss anything. Disable "Use Wi-Fi in Power Save Mode" in the Power Save Settings to speed up your Wifi abit. Downloading / backing up via Wifi is much quicker than transferring from a PS3 / PC via USB, the USB speed on the Vita is really really bad. Whilst the screen on the Vita is active, the WiFi download speeds are pretty good - worth setting the auto-standby time to a high value whilst your downloading a bunch of games. Enjoy your Vita, its an awesome device! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satoshi Ookami Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Also, how are download speeds on the Vita? My internet speed is pretty good, but my PS3 is quite slow. Is the Vita around the same download speed as PS3/faster/slower? Speed is good but Vita unfortunately doesn't have opinion to turn off the sleep mode so you should set it to 30 minutes (that's maximum) right now, because sleep mode pauses downloading (of course, you can continue but it is a bit annoying thing). If I had to choose which of my handhelds I can keep, I would definetely choose the 3DS over the Vita even though I love and use my Vita a lot more, but the 3DS has simply the better games to me Pokemon, Zelda, Mario and...? definetely definately Wow, I found new 2 ways how to misspell definitely =D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killua-ID Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Speed is good but Vita unfortunately doesn't have opinion to turn off the sleep mode so you should set it to 30 minutes (that's maximum) right now, because sleep mode pauses downloading (of course, you can continue but it is a bit annoying thing). Pokemon, Zelda, Mario and...? Wow, I found new 2 ways how to misspell definitely =D Actually it´s 4 Pokemon games, 3 Zelda, a bunch of Mario, 2 Monster Hunter, 4 Professor Layton, Super Smash Brothers, Fire Emblem, the upcomming Xenoblade, Luigis Mansion 2, Bravely Default, Donkey Kong, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Tales of the Abyss, Project X Zone, Etrian Odysse, Kingdom Hearts and so on. As mentioned above, Vita has some great games, but it "definaeitely" lacks new IPs and more games of the already existing IPs. Vita becomes more and more a sidekick of the PS4 on which you are able to play the same indie games and thats not the reason I had bought a Vita for. I would love to play a new Uncharted game on the Vita, or a brand new Infamous, Final Fantasy and God of War Vita exclusive. The PSP has such a great library of many games and it´s still surpassing the Vita. Edited January 26, 2015 by Killua-ID Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixones Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Speed is good but Vita unfortunately doesn't have opinion to turn off the sleep mode so you should set it to 30 minutes (that's maximum) right now, because sleep mode pauses downloading (of course, you can continue but it is a bit annoying thing). If you disable "WiFi Power-Saving Mode" then your Vita will still stay connected to the WiFi when its in sleep mode and its downloading. The speed does seem to be slightly reduced compared to when the screen is active and unlocked, but it does allow downloads whilst in sleep mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon-Archon Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 So I just bought a secondhand PS Vita, got myself the 3G/Wifi version. This is my first ever handheld gaming system. I bought it because I wanted something I can do while taking public transport to uni, and because I love the challenge of getting trophies (I don't like playing games where I don't have a tangible goal to work towards, e.g. a platinum trophy). Cost me a little bit, so for a while I'm going to stick to free PS+ games and stuff I have because of crossbuy. I have one serious question, since I'm looking forward to playing Minecraft crossbuy when I get it - am I going to need a memory stick to play Minecraft, assuming it's the only game I'll add on there? And in general, what are the basics that I need to know? I've dealt with Sony all my life, but assume I'm a complete idiot when it comes to handhelds. Can I play while it's charging? Everyone already answered your questions so I'm going to list a few games that are must-haves for the Vita: Persona 4 Golden Ys Memories of Celceta Gravity Rush Uncharted Golden Abyss Danganronpa Virtue's Last Reward Dragon's Crown (it's so much easier to play on the Vita because of the touchscreen) You can back up everything on the Vita on your PC and PS3 and transfer the back up later on a different device and or memory card. Actually you could back up the whole 8gb memory card with all its safe games and downloads to your on your PS3 and transfer the whole 8gb to a larger memory card. I didn't know that, now I feel stupid for deleting Sly Cooper Thieves in Time and The Walking Dead S1 + 2 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NekoSama87 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I also suggest you to always give a try to the things avaiable for PS Plus subscribers on Vita. Usually they are indie titles but they can be really fun to play while riding to the Uni or taking small pauses from study. Also during poop sessions! Horaaay! Oh, i almost forgot. If you have big hands like me consider spending 7 dollars in a grip. Totally saved me, and now my gaming experience is 10 times better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FleaSixty Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Another thing is you can charge your Vita via USB if you turn it off, so always make sure you put your usb part of the charge cable with you just in case you forgot to charge it the night before. Then you can just plug it into your computer at work and charge if for the bus ride home. Check out some of the cheaper Vita games on the PSN store as well, as quite a few are worth playing and are more friendly on the pocket just before payday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apostolis-t-94gr Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 My opinion is that the games from the last 2+ years of PS+ are enough. The only games i would like to buy but i cannot afford are Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, Killzone Mercenary, and Assassin's Creed: Liberation. A very important thing is to always keep backups. I keep backups both on my pc and PS+. I oce had a corruption while deleting a game, so i lost some of my progression. Another thing is you can charge your Vita via USB if you turn it off, so always make sure you put your usb part of the charge cable with you just in case you forgot to charge it the night before. Then you can just plug it into your computer at work and charge if for the bus ride home. Check out some of the cheaper Vita games on the PSN store as well, as quite a few are worth playing and are more friendly on the pocket just before payday. I think you're mistaken though I'm not really sure about this, can anyone confirm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vivinho333 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I can't charge my Vita via USB :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujmint Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 the battery life was an issue for me during marathon/online sessions did not want to camp near the power plug or book the extension cord so i gots me the Vita Portable Charger *haaaaallelujah* http://www.loot.co.za/product/sony-playstation-vita-portable-charger/vkgl-1909-g620?referrer=0bc5655f0f23d3eb84fad6aecf989ea1d (local online shop in south africa, i know its on amazon so should be available near you too?) so i charge the portable while playing VITA until empty and then charge the VITA with the portable, rinse repeat, voila endless gaming i thought it should be made known unless i am late in preaching VITA 101 to the choir? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luiskeleton Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Awesome! Well you can play on the go! no only indie and the Vita but the PSone or PSP games Just one thing you really should save money to buy a bigger memory, cause when you don't expect you don't have memory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satoshi Ookami Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I think you're mistaken though I'm not really sure about this, can anyone confirm? It's pretty random from what I've experienced. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I wouldn't recommend counting on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixones Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 You can charge the Vita via USB with it turned on, you need to enable "USB Power Supply" in the settings. It is a bit random though, it won't charge via my powered USB 3.0 hub, or the USB 2.0 ports on my machine, but it charges quickly with the USB 3.0 ports on the machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antithesis Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 You can only play digitally downloaded Vita games on the account that purchased the game. So if you use alt PSN accounts for gaming or for buying games, you won't be able to play them on those accounts. For example, I buy half of my PS3 & PS4 games on my US PSN account and they work fine on my AU account. However, I can't play any Vita game from the US account on my AU account. That's also important when it comes to things like PS+, which has been a goldmine for free Vita games. Retail Vita games however are not a problem - they'll work with any PSN account. Another consideration is you can only have one PSN account per Vita. So there's no easy way to share the same device among multiple PSN accounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormRacer872 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Well a couple of basic things which I didn't know until just recently are: - If you hold down the PS button, you bring up a quick options menu with brightness control, bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode enabling/disabling, and other useful stuff. - The Vita can take screenshots by pressing the PS button and the start button at the same time I don't know if most people knew these things already and I was just out of the loop, but I just figured that I'd mention them incase you also didn't know about them Also, downloads aren't the fastest for me. I actually find it faster to download large Vita games on my PS3 and then data transfer it to my Vita, but I've never actually timed the two so I have no clue which is realistically faster But the Vita just seems slow in comparison to the PS3 whenever I download something, so yeah. Lately though I'll just let a game download on my Vita while I do other things. As a side note, I'd say it's a good idea to turn on automatic updates and once in a while leave your Vita on to do its thing. I have mine set for sometime early in the morning I believe (2AM or something), so I often leave it on overnight to update whatever may need updating. Oh, and invest in a large memory card. Like, the largest you can find. I have a 32GB and I can't hold all of my Vita games O_o PS+ games... THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM. Edited January 26, 2015 by StormRacer872 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonzi Buddy Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Make sure you don't join parties where you get kicked randomly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guenter_G Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 (edited) I don't understand why Sony ditched the Vita. I think it is a far better console than the PSP. Sure, it didn't sell as they hoped, but it's not like it completely sucked. Far from it. They should give it some time and still push it to establish it firmly. Hell, they did it with PSP despite the tech and outlook didn't look so solid. I thought it would fade away after a few years. But they sticked with it and kept pushing it, and slowly it gained solid ground. The Vita is one of the best gaming machines ever made. And they didn't even give it 2 years! By "changing strategy" like this, they are effectively killing it. I'm very happy with it and the games though, I will likely not have time to play through everything I've bought so far for the coming 2-3 years. Some more technical heads-up about the Vita: Do not download anything in standby mode. Both me and a friend of mine have had severe problems with several games getting corrupt because of this. I thought I could drop a list of Vita exclusives I think are worthy to check out Surge deluxe - original puzzle game, highly addictive, super-cool aesthetics and music, but maybe a bit thin TxK - looks really cool, sounds really cool, IS really cool! Old style vector graphics. Pure awesomeness if you were born in the 80's. Hard as hell trophies though. Smart as - Sonys answer to Brain training. Never played those, but my impression is that Smart as puts more weight on gaming and less on science. Underrated gem, really enjoyable. Uses all of Vitas features. Opt for the PSN version because it's a game you want to pick up quick, play a little and then go on with something else Wake-up club - somewhat fun alarm app with trophies Treasure park - uses near. Light entertainment. Neat. Paint park (plus) - draw stuff with your Vita. Do it with friends for some giggling moments like when you chatted with your friends in the same room in the 90's. Get trophies. Win. Skype Youtube - really good app, highly recommended. Facebook Ecolibrium - Like a mini version of Spore. Or a fusion SimEarth and Eve online, gone light. I like it very much. Free to play. Crazy market - This is not really a Vita exclusive, came to iOS first, but it is slightly enhanced and adapted to the Vita. I like it. Free to play. Frobisher says - not tried yet, but looks funny. Free to play. Destiny of spirits - nice free to play strategy Reality fighters - another tech game. Uses a lot of augmented reality I think. Haven't tried it yet. Reviews were mixed, but I think it can be fun. Tearaway - well, it's great. Uses many features on Vita. Unit 13 - heeia how, pow! Third person shooter where you sync to your surroundings and get new missions every day and stuff. Nice multiplayer. Coconut dodge revitalised - From FuturLabs, same as Surge and Velocity. Again not a true Vita exclusive, but at least a Playstation exclusive. It came as a mini first.Still like a mini, but with trophies and adapted for the Vita screen. Very cheap and fun imo. And some... funz Lumines: electronic symphony Super monkey ball: banana splitz - good as the old Monkey ball games. Touch my Katamari - In case you haven't aquinted yourself with Katamari damacy already, this is a very good opportunity to do so. Well a couple of basic things which I didn't know until just recently are: - If you hold down the PS button, you bring up a quick options menu with brightness control, bluetooth, wifi, and airplane mode enabling/disabling, and other useful stuff. - The Vita can take screenshots by pressing the PS button and the start button at the same time I don't know if most people knew these things already and I was just out of the loop, but I just figured that I'd mention them incase you also didn't know about them ... This was news to me two weeks ago and just moments ago respectively, and I've had my Vita for a year So good mentions. Edited January 28, 2015 by Guenter_G 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mody94_Station Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 (edited) Welcome to the club, I got my vita 2 weeks ago and I've been enjoying it so far. As others suggested, get a memory card 8GB or 16GB should be fine. I have the 16GB one. Game recommendations: Uncharted Golden Abyss Freedom Wars Soul Sacrifice\Delta Toukiden Age of Demons (or wait till the new updated version to come out soon) Gravity Rush Persona 4 Golden (this is coming from a guy who never played any persona game before) Tearaway Killzone: Mercenray (I played it on my friend's vita, great game) I actually haven't played some of the games I bought yet, will update the list once I get through them... Update: oh try God Eater Burst, it is a psp title playable on the vita. You can get it from ps store. Great game... Edited January 28, 2015 by Waffle Pillow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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