New PS Vita Firmware Update Is Pretty Awesome

The PS Vita has just got a major firmware update, taking it to version 1.80. It brings the ability to use the Vita as a PS3 controller (like with LittleBigPlanet 2), you can now control the Vita’s home screen with the standard (non-touch controlls) and the Photos, Videos, Music and Web Browser applications have been updated considerably.

Playlists, video thumbnails, and a series of changes to the core UI make using the Vita a much smoother experience.  Moving around the menu without tapping is nice, but being able to quit back from a LiveArea with Circle is so obvious it’s strange it wasn’t there before.

Even Near has had a few tweaks, and the smaller notifications are lovely. A nice new feature is that you can also control PSP games with the touch screen! Of course, 1.80 also brings PSone playback – we’ll wait and see which games SCEE offer for sale in this week’s Store Update.

You now get notifications when a friend comments on your activities, making that whole social system actually worthwhile.

Very happy overall. Most of my issues with the Vita’s operating system are now sorted – it even reconnects much quicker to the PSN inbetween those times when the Vita decides to kill its Wi-fi link. The web browser still lacks some basic stuff but it’s better, and the rear touchscreen options are handy.

It does now appear that memory cards are 100% locked to a single account now though – switch profiles and you’ll need to format it. If you run multiple profiles from the same cards, this might well be the end of that.

42 Comments

  1. Great update to the Firmware going to download now. Wonder what PS1 games will work as i have a couple downloaded.

  2. Here is the full list of PS One games that will work:
    Cool Boarders SCEE
    Cool Boarders 2 SCEE
    Crash Bandicoot SCEE
    Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back SCEE
    Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped SCEE
    CTR: Crash Team Racing SCEE
    Destruction Derby SCEE
    Everybody’s Golf 2 SCEE
    G-Police SCEE
    Jet Rider SCEE
    Jet Rider 2 SCEE
    Jumping Flash SCEE
    Kula World SCEE
    Kurushi Final SCEE
    MediEvil SCEE
    Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 SCEE
    Rally Cross SCEE
    Syphon Filter SCEE
    Syphon Filter 3 SCEE
    Twisted Metal SCEE
    Wild Arms SCEE
    WipEout SCEE
    40 Wink ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    A Bug’s Life DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    A Bugs Life and Monsters Inc bundle DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Abe’s Exoddus ODDMOBB INC
    Abe’s Oddworld Oddysee ODDMOBB INC
    Airboat XS GAMES LIMITED
    All-Star Boxing MIDAS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
    Arc Arena: Monster Tournament MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Arc the Lad MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Arc the Lad II MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Arc the Lad III MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Arcade Hits: Shienryu MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Arcade Hits: Sonic Wings Special MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Atari Anniversary Edition ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    Atlantis DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Atlantis and Hercules Bundle DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Bishi Bashi Special KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT GMBH
    Blockids MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Bugriders ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    Buzz Lightyear of Star Command DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Centipede ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    Cho Aniki MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Constructor SYSTEM 3 SOFTWARE
    Critical Depth ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    Dezaemon Plus MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Disney’s Action Game ft. Hercules DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Dodgeball MIDAS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
    Driver UBISOFT ENTERTAINMENT SA
    Eagle One: Harrier Attack ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    Fear Effect SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Fear Effect: Retro Helix SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Fighting Force SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Fighting Force 2 SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Final Fantasy VIII SQUARE ENIX (2009) LIMITED
    Final Fantasy IX SQUARE ENIX (2009) LIMITED
    Final Fantasy V SQUARE ENIX (2009) LIMITED
    Final Fantasy VI SQUARE ENIX (2009) LIMITED
    Final Fantasy VII SQUARE ENIX (2009) LIMITED
    Front Mission 3 SQUARE ENIX (2009) LIMITED
    Gaiaseed MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Galaxy Fight MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Gex SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Gex 3: Deep Under Cover SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Gex 3D: Enter the Gecko SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Grandia GAME ARTS CO., LTD.
    Gubble MIDAS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
    Guilty Gear SYSTEM 3 SOFTWARE
    Gunship ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    Hardcore 4X4 URBANSCAN LIMITED
    International Track & Field KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT GMBH
    Jigsaw Madness XS GAMES LIMITED
    Judge Dredd URBANSCAN LIMITED
    Junior League Soccer PS1 XS GAMES LIMITED
    Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Lilo & Stitch DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Little Mermaid 2 DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Little Mermaid 2 and Winnie The Pooh bundle DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Metal Gear Solid KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT GMBH
    Mickey’s Wild Adventure DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Miracle Quad Racer MIDAS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
    Miracle Space Race MIDAS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
    Missile Command ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    Monsters Inc DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Motorhead URBANSCAN LIMITED
    N20 URBANSCAN LIMITED
    Namco Heritage bundle NAMCO BANDAI GAMES EUROPE S.A.S.
    Pandemonium SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Pandemonium 2 SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Parasite Eve 2 SQUARE ENIX (2009) LIMITED
    Peter Pan DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Pong ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    Pooh’s Party Game DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Rageball MIDAS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
    Rainbow Six UBISOFT ENTERTAINMENT SA
    Rascal Racers MIDAS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
    Rayman UBISOFT ENTERTAINMENT SA
    Rayman 2: The Great Escape UBISOFT ENTERTAINMENT SA
    Reel Fishing NATSUME INC.
    Re-loaded URBANSCAN LIMITED
    Resident Evil 2 CE EUROPE LIMITED
    Resident Evil 3: Nemesis CE EUROPE LIMITED
    Resident Evil: Director’s Cut CE EUROPE LIMITED
    Ridge Racer Type 4 NAMCO BANDAI GAMES EUROPE S.A.S.
    Sheep EMPIRE INTERACTIVE EUROPE LTD
    Silent Hill KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT GMBH
    Snowboard Racer MIDAS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
    Sorcerer’s Maze XS GAMES LIMITED
    Spin Jam EMPIRE INTERACTIVE EUROPE LTD
    Sports Superbike MIDAS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LTD
    Streak ATARI EUROPE S.A.S.U.
    Street Fighter 2 Alpha CE EUROPE LIMITED
    Super Star Dance Club XS GAMES LIMITED
    Tarzan DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Tekken NAMCO BANDAI GAMES EUROPE S.A.S.
    Tekken 2 NAMCO BANDAI GAMES EUROPE S.A.S.
    Tomb Raider SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Tomb Raider Chronicles SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Tomb Raider 2 SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Tomb Raider 3 SQUARE ENIX LIMITED
    Toy Story 2 DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Toy Story Racer DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Toy Story Racer and Toy Story 2: Woody and Buzz bundle DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS, INC.
    Vagrant Story SQUARE ENIX (2009) LIMITED
    Alundra MONKEY PAW GAMES INC.
    Urban Chaos SQUARE ENIX LIMITED

    • Not many then… lol

    • International Track and field on a Vita……bad choice for the list. An ace game and the best athletics game that I’ve ever played, but the button mashing is better left to Affordable replacement (read…inevitable) PS1 controllers!! :P

  3. was hoping they would fix the screen brightness setting like on some games its locked at 80%

    • That’s an intentional power saving measure handled on a game by game basis.

      • i would rather have the option do disable it

    • I doubt it hardly makes a difference.

  4. I’m very tempted to pick one of these up now. PsOne playback was a real stumbling block for me – with the other upgrades they have made it looks a far worthwhile package.

  5. I’m getting my PS Vita next week for my birthday. Aside from my general excitement, does anyone know if already purchased PSOne titles will work?

    • yeah they should work if its compatible I’m sure.

    • if you go to download list on store its say cant down load on vita,i would wait till 2 moz

      • Just use your PS3 to download them and you can play the games now.

    • As long as they’re on the list, they will. I already had Metal Gear Solid and all the Crash Bandicoot games and they work perfectly :)

  6. Ps1: Hoping for Gran Turismo 1&2 but highly unlikely.
    also the THPS series, but with the HD out tomorrow I expect they won’t like that.

    • They probably can’t because of licensing with cars, music, Skateboarders, brands etc etc

  7. Really really awesome update, good to see Sony can deliever :) The update of the notifications are great, the tweak of NEAR is pretty much what NEAR needed, hopefully more people and games will use it now. The better use of homescreens is brilliant, maps is so much better and love the rear touch controls in the browser, which also feels a bit more snappy, excellent job Sony.

    • As long as more games dont make use of it like GA did with the black market. I hated that so much!

      • True the black market i GA was a good idea, but it didn’t really worked that well. Though with the new NEAR update it should work better.

      • I’m just glad i started going for the plat after the last firmware update as you could only updat once an hour before.

  8. The psone play support is a moot point for me, I didn’t buy a £200 hardware device to play 15 year old games, I’m just not interested though i understand some people are.
    The rest of the stuff is nice but non essential.
    Loving my vita I have to say.

    • Even without the PS One support, I’ll call this a VERY VERY good update. So many things has been tweaked and improved.

  9. Apparently if you copy PS1 games over from the PS3, they work. Haven’t been able to check yet.

    • It’d be cool if you could chuck a PS1 game disc into a PS3 and be given an option to copy the disc image to PS3 Hard Drive……then do as you’ve just suggested with all of those original disc images ;)

  10. Not more notifications!! lol, pretty sweet update though, i’m very glad to see some of those features added.

Comments are now closed for this post.