Reasons why the iPhone has become so ubiquitious? Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Foursquare, four of the biggest social networks available just a tap of the finger away on a device that you carry everywhere anyway.
Reasons why PS Vita just got a whole lot more relevant? Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Foursquare, four of the biggest social networks that will be there, on your Vita, whenever you want them, according to Sony’s recent announcement at their Gamescom press conference.
Of course, there’s other smartphones available but there’s not another dedicated console that’s so determined to try to offer everything that Apple’s device does – barring, of course, the fact that Vita’s not a phone.
Sony can’t overcome that, of course, Vita’s a gaming device, and rightly so. But at least now it’ll be possible to do all the things you’d normally do on your phone on your minature console – and this is big. Very big.
Near and Party are fine – Near’s ability to show you who’s around and what they’re playing is cool, and Party allows for voice and text chat the likes of the Xbox 360 excel at, but the promise of apps for Vita push it closer towards being an all-in-one platform that I at least am now looking for.
All that needs fixing now is the price.
beeje13
Not for me but for Joe Public its almost essential these days I think.
Death_In_Flamez
It’s a step in the right direction, but they need to get it down to under 200 bucks…
Armonster9000
People need to stop complaining about the price all the time. $250 gets you insane mobile gaming with Facebook, Skype, Twitter and much more. Not only does this device let you play AAA games like Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet on the go, it also lets you listen to your favorite music and watch your favorite movies. There are even cameras and touch screens on this thing. There is no reason to complain about the price of this device. This thing is basically a portable PS3. What more could you want? What would you add to this to make $250 worth the entry cost? You can still play all your downloaded PSP games on this at no extra cost. There are trophies for the trophy hunters, there are mini games for app store lovers, and at&t is actually very good for mobile gaming. It’s 3G network is the fastest of all the large American networks. Sure their coverage is bad in suburban areas but who really needs to play video games all the time online? No one. Anyway, that’s just my opinion on the price. I’d like to hear why you think they should get it down to $200. From what I see, they are doing us a favor.
beeje13
I think he might mean £’s, I don’t see it going under 200 dollars within 3 years at least.
colmshan1990
It’ll be under £200 anyway.
If the PS3 is €249 and £199, that must mean the €249 wi-fi Vita is £199.
So please, quit whining about the price.
A portable PS3. For under £200. Think about it.
Armonster9000
@beeje13, If that is what he meant…Then I agree 100%. The people of Europe get ripped off a lot compared to those of us in the U.S. I feel bad for you guys. But I always wonder..Why not just import it? It would still cost less than going into your local GAME or whatever.
The one thing that Europe has that the U.S does not though, are constant price wars. Here in the U.S, there are little to no price wars. If you want a new game, you WILL pay $60 for it. If it is a new release but you want it used, you WILL pay $54.99. It’s stupid but I guess that’s how it is.
cam the man
We might pay more for the hardware but we have some of the best prices for software, so in the (not so) long run we get the better deal.
xdarkmagician
@Armonster9000 The thing is though, you still need a phone. So in essence everything that you can do with a vita that you can also do with an ios phone becomes moot. You’re paying extra to access features that you can already access with your phone. So at the end of the day your still paying 300 (whatever moneys) just to play uncharted. If you think about it, all they’re selling is the convenience of not having to grab your phone to check facebook, your basically paying to link your ‘free’ accounts to each other. The vita (currently) doesn’t have any features other then playing games that justifies the purchase- if you also have an ios phone. It doesn’t even have 4G. To prove my point how well would the vita sell if it couldn’t play games… would you spend 300$€£ for an I-phone clone with two analogs and no phone? Also Lets not forget about the monthly cost from AT&T for 3g service. In total your first year of vita ownership with 5 games will probably cost you a 1,000 when you add everything up.
Deathbrin
It’s not a portable PS3. Gosh. Would you stop calling it that?
kivi95
Sony are already losing money on the price it will be now!! Think they are losing about £35 per psv.
Death_In_Flamez
Clearing this up yes I did mean 200 british sterling pounds. I’m not complaining about it, I’m merely saying not many will buy it until it comes under that price. More analytical than anything else ^^
colmshan1990
But it IS under £200.
david24
it’ll probably even get to 175 at one of the major supermarkets.
GTRsannin
Well i don’t think it’s that expensive since the “good” phones here cost around 500€ so 250-300€ is pretty cheap
Murdo
Are Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Foursquare independent apps or are they simply the Android versions? I caught a quick glance at what I think is the Facebook one but I’m unsure.
yogdog
Just made itself a little more attractive for me….
The Lone Steven
Unless Twitter can be displayed in the top right or left corner whilst playing a game. I have no positive things for this idea.
yogdog
I do, I quite like keeping in touch with my friends over Facebook. I use a lot of social networking sites, not ashamed of it. Hell, I’ve met several of my best friends over Facebook, so I don’t know why you have nothing positive to say about this news?
Dan Lee
I wonder what price the 3G data plans will be.
yogdog
Expensive? :P
iBirch
Yeah will be interesting I have 500mb for my smartphone and I at least use half of that so I’d need a gig at least I reckon.
MrTwP
Following the iPad it’s about 1gb for £10
MrTwP
I so badly want Sky Go for PSV
TSBonyman
I hope that, like with PS3, it’s easily turn on and off-able.
The potential for Apps sounds promising though and hopefully it won’t be confined to just a handful of apps but also that there will be quality over quantity.
TSBonyman
I meant i hope the Facebook etc can be turned off easily – not the power button btw.. :D
Crocadillian
Dude, the price does not need fixing. There is plenty to justify the price, and i will be definitely be buying this.
This feels like the Dreamcast of the decade, for some odd reason, which is very awesome. Unlike the 3DS, it’s got plenty of support with GOOD, original and reliable games and features youd expect from a device in 2011. An iPhone is £450 and has tons of lame casual games… :l
xdarkmagician
Why do people think that just because someone is selling something for a loss that it makes it a deal for the consumer?:) I’ll admit that for a small percentage of people that constantly travel the Vita is a sweet deal, but that’s only because those people won’t have access to a PS3. When you start adding everything up the Vita starts getting extremely expensive just to use during normal commutes. IMO- portable gaming shouldn’t cost more than home gaming. Portable gaming is a back-up… you can’t play uncharted when your not at home so you get a (back-up) portable device to hold you over until you get back. In my world that’s like spending a 1,000$ on a spare tire for a car that is worth 500$. I’m glad that in this economy some people are willing to pump money back into it, but Sony is going to have to do a helluvalot better then adding social site apps to convince me the Vita is worth the cost- and extra cost of AT&T (if your not already an AT&T customer) if I’m even going to consider the Vita as a purchase.