Buying the PS Vita as a handheld in 2025?

Thinking about getting psp1000 with psp camera.... just to take vintage digital pics.
Vita got the same camera build in but psp1000 strikes me as more "vintage"?
 
I love my Vitas - I've got three, or four if we include the PSTV. Even today, it feels premium and is a lot of fun to play. I just bought Habroxia 1 & 2 since they're on sale.

San Dan Glokta said:
PS: The Vita oled in black is sexy.

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That's the Vita 2000 with the LCD screen, not the OLED Vita.
But both versions are awesome.

Drew1440 said:
Not so much anymore, since the Logitech G1 is capable of running Duckstation, or any Android emulator.
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I like it better to play PlayStation games on a PlayStation. Don't get me wrong, I like emulation and other devices as well, but if I have the choice, I'll take the OG hardware for those games - even though PS1 games on the Vita run through the internal PSP and POPS emulator.
 
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R6Rider said:
The ergonomics are pretty bad, but I have that issue with all portables except for maybe the GBA, but I was using that as a kid.

Those grip attachments are amazing to fix this issue, but I do wish they were just better as is. The PS Portal may look weird/ugly, but you know it's super comfortable to hold.
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Yeah, I needed grips for DS, PSP, 3DS, and Vita. Portal is basically Dual Sense but in half, hence why it's comfortable.
 
Got 2 of them, day 1 amoled and a blue lcd ordered from Japan. Both jailbroken ofc, fantastic piece of hardware there. Perfect to play not only vita games, but just as important, all psp games through adrenaline :)

Yes there are emulators, but the form factor is amazing, so small and light, plus no compatibility issues by using the original hardware. In any case, they will never depreciate, if anything quite the opposite as years go by.
 
Imo, the best feature of Vita was Remote Play.

So basically, Portal would be a better option for someone like me.
 
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Bought myself a Japanese Vita 2000 a couple years back and modded it to use mostly PSP and PS1 games (with a few Vita games here and there). To me, completely worth it. If you are going to use it legitimately? Too expensive and not a deep enough library of exclusives, majority of the best ones are available on other platforms.

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OP, personally I think it was a great device, loved mine and used it way more than my 3ds (which was the opposite on the previous gen), however, I wouldn't reccomend one in 2025, a lot (but not all) of vita exclusive games have been ported to other platforms, and aside from a few games that were made with the touchscreen/back touchpad in mind, those ports are better experiences, quite a bit were also ported to the Switch.

Would only really reccomend it if you're into Sony consoles, don't plan to emulate anything older than ps1 and psp, and really REALLY like japanese games or playing on original hardware, otherwise I'd say to pick up a Switch or any of the chinese handheld emulation devices (Some are quite capable nowadays, being able to emulate ps2 games without an issue)
 
Do not buy a Vita if you are going to use Sony's cards for memory. They will eventually die and get corrupted. As long as you buy custom storage for your games, sure, it's worth it. I like the screen, and I like playing PSP, and PS1 games on it.
 
Sold off my PSTV and extra Vita's but I still use my launch Vita daily
when my phone is charging, as an ebook/comic/pdf reader, media machine during blackouts, old school emulation/mugen when I'm bored, streaming tv news via netstream, streaming more modern pc games and switch titles via moonlight, watching anime and movies from my server via switchfin or jamming out to music with bluetooth headphones its the perfect handheld device for my needs. One of the best systems sony ever made for a world with out smartphones. the only gripe is how shite the memory cards are SD2VITA is a must!
 
ShirAhava said:
Sold off my PSTV and extra Vita's but I still use my launch Vita daily
when my phone is charging, as an ebook/comic/pdf reader, media machine during blackouts, old school emulation/mugen when I'm bored, streaming tv news via netstream, streaming more modern pc games and switch titles via moonlight, watching anime and movies from my server via switchfin or jamming out to music with bluetooth headphones its the perfect handheld device for my needs. One of the best systems sony ever made for a world with out smartphones. the only gripe is how shite the memory cards are SD2VITA is a must!
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Haha, you're not wrong!
I don't really use the Vita for much other than games these days, but I still remember the times before everyone had a smartphone in their pocket - when I used to surf the internet with my PSP, even hang out in IRC chats with it. And my memory card was always loaded with anime and music.
 
Danjin44 said:
I did freed wars long time ago it's mostly MH like game but I honestly liked Soul Sacrifice way more.
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Soul Sacrifice and Super Stardust were my 2 favourite Vita experiences. I liked the idea of Sound Shapes, but it's oneof those games that needed a big community.
 
Kupfer said:
I love my Vitas - I've got three, or four if we include the PSTV. Even today, it feels premium and is a lot of fun to play. I just bought Habroxia 1 & 2 since they're on sale.



That's the Vita 2000 with the LCD screen, not the OLED Vita.
But both versions are awesome.
Click to expand...
You're right I feel so silly lol
 
Kagoshima_Luke said:
Even PSP is still a worthwhile handheld in 2025.
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I recently wanted to play mine. I pulled the memory card out while it was powered on or something. I didn't brick my psp but I think I bricked the memory card. I CBA buying a new card incase it's the psp that's broke.
Psp is perfect for playing PS1 games
 
The PSP was much better than the Vita in terms of software. It probably has the most underrated library of all systems. PSP had so many legit great games, its a ridiculous amount. But, Vita does play them better. Games like Dissidia and Resistance: Retribution really elevate when using the Vita.

There are better options to play these games today but its kind of novel to play PSP and Vita games on an actual Vita.
 
I did this, I still found it more cumbersome than a $40 Anbernic, so I would recommend that to 90% of people.

For Vita:
+oled
+you may already have it
+cool points of vintage hardware
=dual analogue, not really helpful for the games you can emulate

-no L2/R2…big miss
-widescreen, which is not the format of everything you will emulate
-too big, you gotta carry it with intent
-proprietary charger
-the most unpleasant console UI ever made


I may be salty as I lost mine as soon as I flashed it, but I have no motivation to get another.
 
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San Dan Glokta said:
PS: The Vita oled in black is sexy.

RqXh2RC.jpeg
Click to expand...
This may be nitpicking but that's not an OLED Vita it's a Slim.

Speaking of OLED Vita. When I was in Japan last April I bought a near mint PS Vita 1000 from a Hard Off for $80. Still thinking about modding it as my last Vita was modded (Japanese Light Blue/White Slim model).
 
hououinkyouma00 said:
This may be nitpicking but that's not an OLED Vita it's a Slim.

Speaking of OLED Vita. When I was in Japan last April I bought a near mint PS Vita 1000 from a Hard Off for $80. Still thinking about modding it as my last Vita was modded (Japanese Light Blue/White Slim model).
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Definitely mod it. And get the MicroSD card add-on for $10 off Amazon.
 
Still have my launch day Vita.

I actually just started selling a lot of my collection but that's something I'll never get rid of.
 
Loomy said:
As the owner of 2. Spend your money on something else.
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Easily. There are better handhelds elsewhere like the Steam Deck and Retroid Pocket , which can easily emulate the Vita, better to hold and more.
 
Donkusei said:
It was already not a good choice back in the day...
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Lots of Playstation fans purchased multiple Vita to artificially boost its sales figure, but that did nothing to save the handheld.

Everyone purchased a 3DS instead.
 
I bought one last year. Finished FFX for the first time on it. Had a blast with it, and the fact you can collect trophies with it makes it a great handheld imo. But I wouldn't spend more than 100$ for it.
 
Spukc said:
Never got the hate pspgo got..
it was a pretty clever form factor.
Better battery life and a cool form factor.
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I used to work in an electronics store at the time it came out and I played around with them. They were way too delicate and the buttons were unsatisfying to use. The slider was a major weak point and dirt often got into the crevasses.
 
El Muerto said:
They're not worth it now. For a little more than what you can find one on ebay for you can get a Retroid Pocket 5. It has a bigger OLED screen, same layout, and it runs android so you can emulate Vita using Vita3k and everything else up to the switch.
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I would recommend an Odin 2 over any Snapdragon 865 device. Far better PS2, PS3, GC, Wii, PC, Switch.
Retroid Pocket 5 is overpriced and underpowered.

Also, suggesting Vita3K over an actual Vita is silly speak. Most games don't work very well, if at all, even with godly hardware.
A Vita is like $100, you can get EVERY game for free, and has 100% compatibility.
 
for PSN PS1 games they're amazing. Especially when you can still buy PSP games off PSN.

I've got two Vita MicroSD cards with games that I want to play if Sony shuts down PSN. I purchased quite a lot on PSN back in the day.

If you aren't wanting an awesome collection of legit PS1 games then I don't see you getting a lot out of it. The Vita is like the only place you can play a legit copy of Parasite Eve 1 & 2 digitally. Vagrant Story and Xenogears as well. Mega Man Legends 1 & 2. Just get something you can add all your store fronts to.

I remember playing OG RE3 with a grip I got off eBay. The PS TV can play all these awesome PS1 games on your TV with a DualShock 3. Is that too niche to recommend? You could buy a lot of these classic games on Steam minus a few of those classics.
 
Majima Everywhere System said:
I did this, I still found it more cumbersome than a $40 Anbernic, so I would recommend that to 90% of people.

For Vita:
+oled
+you may already have it
+cool points of vintage hardware
=dual analogue, not really helpful for the games you can emulate

-no L2/R2…big miss
-widescreen, which is not the format of everything you will emulate
-too big, you gotta carry it with intent
-proprietary charger
-the most unpleasant console UI ever made


I may be salty as I lost mine as soon as I flashed it, but I have no motivation to get another.
Click to expand...

Did you guys know there is an easy to install PS Vita 1000 to USB-C Mod kit? It even is really affordable.



Theres also a version for the Vita 2000, but since it already has (micro) USB, it's maybe not worth the effort.
 
Also one other thing that I really loved about the Vita, is the great Dpad and the total absence of any input lag. In a game like Dead or Alive 5+, it was super obvious how instantly the inputs were registered, compared to the home console versions.
 
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coffinbirth said:
I would recommend an Odin 2 over any Snapdragon 865 device. Far better PS2, PS3, GC, Wii, PC, Switch.
Retroid Pocket 5 is overpriced and underpowered.

Also, suggesting Vita3K over an actual Vita is silly speak. Most games don't work very well, if at all, even with godly hardware.
A Vita is like $100, you can get EVERY game for free, and has 100% compatibility.
Click to expand...

Vita is the least emulated platform, both because there's lack of games, and that even the emulator developers doesn't find the time worthy enough to do any work on it.
 
The form factor of the Vita is much better than the clunky Steam Decks and Switchs. Once modded it's a wonderful emulation machine.
Battery life is not on par with modern standards though, and unless manually replaced with some tinkering (if even possible), most Vitas will be unusable in a few years.
 
ArtHands said:
Vita is the least emulated platform, both because there's lack of games, and that even the emulator developers doesn't find the time worthy enough to do any work on it.
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Wrong on both counts. Virtual Boy has MULTIPLE emulators for like 25 games, and you just pulled that last bit right out of your butt.

It is simply early on in development. It's gotten MUCH better in a short period of time. That wasn't my point.
My point was that to suggest getting a mid-tier Android handheld that cost 3x that of a Vita to emulate Vita is borderline retarded and currently just a bad suggestion based on the current state of Vita3K.
 
Reminds me that I should check upon my non-modded Vita OLED... I haven't touched it for quite some time and it's been sitting on its charging dock.
Most fondest memory of using it was for OG Ys8, and also Muramasa. It's a shame that the machine didn't get much support it should have.
 
It's an amazing portable emulator, I bought mine many years back when Sony was still supporting it, but they dropped that quickly and I haven't used it for actual PlayStation games for probably 8 years now though.
 
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ArtHands said:
Vita is the least emulated platform, both because there's lack of games, and that even the emulator developers doesn't find the time worthy enough to do any work on it.
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You just repeated, nearly verbatim, the same incoherent, erroneous nonsense a second time. Bravo.
 
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