Vita Week: The game deals

According to the adscan for the 2/19 Target ad, they'll buy 2 get 1 free on all PS Vita games. From 2/19-2/25, the lowest priced game rings up free when you buy 3!

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=315488

This is perfect timing for the retail release of the Vita, time to stock up adopters!

Vita Week: PlayStation Vita - Unboxing pics

PlayStation Vita First Edition Bundle (Front)

Figure since I didn't go a proper video, that I'd at least post up some pics of the unboxing. I present for your viewing pleasure the Vita First Edition Bundle unboxing, in all it's glory.

Side

Side

Back

Bowser was astonished at the size of the box, it really knocked him back.

Bowser figures that he'll try to be helpful with this unboxing

Inside the box, is the actual Vita in it's retail packaging

Underneath the Vita box is the 4GB memory card, a package of AR Cards, and the Lil Deviants game.

Vita box opened, sparse contents within, mainly a welcome paper, the USB and Power cord, as well as the AC adapter where they plug into.

 Sexy untouched PlayStation Vita

 Closeup of the analog and dpad

Closeup of the second analog and buttons

Vita Week: PlayStation Vita First Edition Bundle

Finally here, after almost a year of waiting. The PlayStation Vita: First Edition Bundle. What's in the box you ask? It's the 3G/WiFi Vita Model with an exclusive carrying case, Lil Deviants game, and a 4GB memory card, plus the ultimate in early adopter bonus, getting the system a whole week ahead of the general public. I must say, that's a mighty nice bonus.

The first thing you'll notice about this little beauty is the size of the screen, a full 5" OLED screen, its a massive and beautiful sight to behold. Next, once you've got your hands on it, is the weight, not too light, not too heavy, but somehow right in the middle, it feels substantial while not being too overwhelming as to tire your hands.

The dual analog sticks feel like real, albeit small joysticks, not a sliding little nub like the PSP or Nintendo 3DS, feels great, and well overdue on a portable console.  The shoulder buttons feel good, with enough give to let you know it is registering your presses. The D-pad is a little spongy, but I think I live that, as it feels as if it will be perfect for fighting games, not too stiff.

The buttons are a tad small, smaller than the PSP, but I gladly give that up to make way for the size of the screen. Only the PlayStation button, Select and Start feel a little hard to press, as they are recessed into the system itself and makes it so that you have to press 'into' the button to let it register.

The touch screen interface is very responsive, think iPhone, as there is no lag as some other devices have shown. All in all, this is a very sexy piece of hardware, the only fault I can give it, is that it is a lint, and fingerprint magnet, I can barely touched it, and boom, fingerprints.

So far, I've only played Wipeout, but wow, those graphics are awesome, you will not be disappointed when you turn it on. A serious step up in graphics from the PSP, and these are just the launch games, can't wait to see what the next year or two have in store.

Speaking of the PSP, I've been successful in transferring my savegames I backed up onto my PC to the Vita, a very easy process once you've downloaded the Content Management software.
I was very afraid that I'd lose my saves from my old PSP-3000 once I moved onto the Vita.


You can find those instructions over here at PlayStation's manual site for the system.
So those are just my initial impressions, I'll be sure to put up some more stuff soon.

Vita Week: The Games

For those that don't know, Sony has unvieled a brand new and exciting portable game console; The PlayStation Vita. Featuring dual analog sticks, 5" OLED touchscreen, as well as an industry first Rear Touchscreen. Very exciting stuff for a geek like me. The official release date for the system is February 22nd, but if you are an early adopter, you can opt to purchase the First Edition Bundle of the system, which nets you a 4GB memory card, an exclusive carrying case, and most importantly, early release of the system on February 15th.

So the PlayStation Vita First Edition Bundle comes out tomorrow Feb. 15th, and I am very excited to get my hands on my system tomorrow. Amazon was nice enough to ship me the games, memory card, and screen protectors I'd preordered a little early, so I figured I'd through up some quick picks of the goods.

What we've got here is Wipeout 2048, HotShots Golf: World Invitational, a 16GB Memory card, and the Sony Screen Protectors. 

So, first off the boxes on the games look like some sort of mini Bluray box, skinny and tiny enough to fit more or less in the palm of your hand and inside a little sparse, having only the game and a slip of paper with an activation code.

 

Honestly, I must admit, that I miss having a physical instruction manual in my games, as it seems that all the Vita games will now have solely in-game manuals. The games are now cartridge type games, instead of the UMD disc based games of the Sony PSP. This move will probably give the system a little bit better battery life than its predecessor.

The other striking move by Sony, is the use of a new proprietary memory card type designed solely for the Vita. Opting not to use Sony Memory Sticks, or even the ubiquitous SD cards. This is probably designed to combat the rampant pirating that afflicted the Sony PSP. These memory cards are mighty tiny, and seem like they could be easy to lose, if you have a few of them knocking about.

So, I've got my games, and memory card ready to go, I am eagerly awaiting tomorrow to get my system, I've never held the actual unit yet, as I like to save the surprise and not try any of the demo units, so as to experience all to myself.

So stay tuned, the update will be up tomorrow!