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[Plinko]

I called the outrageous memory card pricing immediately after they announced the price of the Vita this summer. Absolutely insane that they're screwing over the consumers like that. There is absolutely NO REASON memory should cost that much unless you're deliberately trying to rip off consumers.

Edit: And now I just read that some games will require the memory card to save data. Ugh.

 

[Betta Lines]

Approx 279g (3G/Wi-Fi model)
Approx 260g (Wi-Fi model)

Whatttt. What happened to 'it's as light as a PSP Go'?

Oh well, I'm waiting for the redesign then.

 

[Plinko]

Both companies are quoting similar battery life for similar conditions. With the OoT remake already pushing measured results to about 2.5 hrs, I suspect Vita's will be better in practice, even in Uncharted and the like.

Documented numbers from OMAP SoCs demonstrate how much less power is consumed by the GPU than by the CPU or certain other parts of the device, so increased GPU usage isn't such a major factor.

Based on what? They just gave us the 3 figure with normal brightness, no Wi-fi, etc and developers have already said more graphically-intensive games like Uncharted are going to drain the battery even faster.

 

[sagi446]

For those that are disappointed by the battery life, have you ever considered getting an external battery pack?

This is the New Trent IMP1000 which has an 11,000 mAh capacity so would give you an extra 15-25 hours more gaming on the Vita.
You can use it with your smartphone, ipad, ipod touch, DS etc too. Surely gotta be worth a look if 3-5hrs will limit how you use it away from home.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZBZ64Q/?tag=neogaf0e-20

XD 11Ah. That thing packs and explosive punch.

It's really sad that Sony is playing the Card angle against the gamers. But, does anyone know if PSN is like Steam where you could download/delete the game you own many times? Might help with the 4GB shtick.

 

[FoxSpirit]

Based on what? They just gave us the 3 figure with normal brightness, no Wi-fi, etc and developers have already said more graphically-intensive games like Uncharted are going to drain the battery even faster.

No, they said graphical intense will draw the battery faster. I expect 5 hours from average games and 3 hours from stuff like Uncharted.

 

[Fafalada]

That's for the "default brightness" (take that for what you will) and with WiFi/3G off.

That'd likely be closer to 5 hours.
PSP1k had almost the same spec for game/video (5hour video from mem-stick, 4hour from UMD) and games followed it exactly (4hours from UMD, 5hours from ISO - no WiFi, brightness 3).
Granted you could optimize better for video - but noone ever does.


I find it interesting that MemoryCards are EXACTLY 2x the price of a SDMicro or M2. I called it 12 months ago too.
The question remains on speed-ratings. If these are comparable to high-speed Sandisk SDs, then the prices are actually in-line with Sandisk (highspeed stuff is quite a bit pricier then your usual class 2-6).

 

[French]

http://twitter.com/#!/yosp

Does he say something about tomorrow's keynote ?

 

[Mako_Drug]

XD 11Ah. That thing packs and explosive punch.

It's really sad that Sony is playing the Card angle against the gamers. But, does anyone know if PSN is like Steam where you could download/delete the game you own many times? Might help with the 4GB shtick.

Of course, its unlimited. No way would I use a service that capped the number of times you can download an item.

 

[DieH@rd]

I like the speed of the new Vita interface. So snappy [and multitasking is handled very nicely].

 

[gembel]

http://twitter.com/#!/yosp

Does he say something about tomorrow's keynote ?

no

 

[seb]

I like the speed of the new Vita interface. So snappy [and multitasking is handled very nicely].

link please ? I don't have the courage to dive in the sea of shit that are the Vita threads right now

 

[Barrett2]

$70+ dollars for 16gig of memory?

Thanks.

 

[gofreak]

I've edited a selection of the new game announcements into the OP. Tried to dodge pachinko games and unnamed stuff, more or less, so it may be of a little more use than Sony's wall-of-text.

 

[Acheteedo]

Meh, I think I'll pass on dedicated handheld gaming for the time being. My interest in both devices is waning fast.

 

[plainr_]

Doubt that has a video output. How would you waggle or rear-touch that thing while it's on the cradle anyway?

Exactly. It's unrealistic to expect TV out with the new control schemes. At best we might see an AirPlay (iPhone<->AppleTV) style approach over WiFi.

 

[milkham]

I don't understand the hour block for the 3g version,does anything else with a pure data plan work like this? I can't imagine multiplayer gaming willl eat enough bandwidth to justify this weird gouge.

 

[StuBurns]

I'm very pleased there's a cradle, I didn't think there would be, and it's great with the 3DS.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

With those memory card prices, every unit is a tard pack.

 

[Gravijah]

I'm very pleased there's a cradle, I didn't think there would be, and it's great with the 3DS.

Yes, yes it is. Not sure if I'll buy one if it's not bundled, though. I've already got a case+memory card to buy. Bastards.

 

[gembel]

just dont save your games, everyone will be happy

 

[Suzzopher]

just dont save your games, everyone will be happy

Bring back passwords \o/

 

[Durante]

The fact that they said "default brightness" and WiFi/3G off when quoting those variable hours means that the variation in battery life (2 hour difference) has to come from how graphics intensive the games are (and not how bright the screen is, or if WiFi is on)

Exactly, and in your example you stated 5 hours for a very simple game at lowest brightness. But according to your own reasoning it should be more than that.

 

[TTP]

About those memory cards, are those the same physical games will ship onto? If so, PS Vita would have two identical memory cards slots right?

 

[Betta Lines]

Of course, its unlimited. No way would I use a service that capped the number of times you can download an item.

Erm... PSN has a limit on downloading games right? Or is that only to multiple hardware?

 

[gembel]

About those memory cards, are those the same physical games will ship onto?

 

[Durante]

About those memory cards, are those the same physical games will ship onto?

No, the physical game cards are significantly larger. There's a comparison image somewhere.

Edit: actually it's right up there

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Erm... PSN has a limit on downloading games right? Or is that only to multiple hardware?

You can download it on 5 different consoles IIRC, but you can download it an unlimited number of times for those consoles.

 

[Betta Lines]

Ah ok.

 

[TTP]

No, the physical game cards are significantly larger. There's a comparison image somewhere.

Edit: actually it's right up there

Oh ah. Thanks. And to think I saw that comparison pic before. I just missed the PS Vita logo on the second from left and assumed it was some random memory card for comparison.

Why did they go for a proprietary format for the big one I don't understand.

 

[Shtof]

So, did the hype fade or what? Didn't see the conference, was it underwhelming?

 

[StuBurns]

Yes, yes it is. Not sure if I'll buy one if it's not bundled, though. I've already got a case+memory card to buy. Bastards.

Even though the system is launching for 3DS price launch price, it's still more because we have to buy memory cards (I know we don't need to, but we do). It's going to be a quite costly launch.

 

[Cipherr]

Bring back passwords \o/

lol

 

[TTP]

So, did the hype fade or what? Didn't see the conference, was it underwhelming?

Worst conference in years. There is more to learn from the OP here than from that conf.

 

[Shai-Tan]

I called the outrageous memory card pricing immediately after they announced the price of the Vita this summer. Absolutely insane that they're screwing over the consumers like that. There is absolutely NO REASON memory should cost that much unless you're deliberately trying to rip off consumers.

yep and the proprietary storage allows them to have lock in. however the market for them to take advantage of that is not so much in their favor anymore. they either put up a big $$ barrier for customers to buy digitally or drive them away altogether so I think there will be pressure to lower the prices after the release window which they want to make a success at retail... they want to make buying there cheaper and one way is via a big tax on buying digital -- that the retailer also gets a cut of

 

[Lonely1]

Has Sony announced a Vita battery replacement program? (Since it will eventually die).

 

[Gravijah]

Even though the system is launching for 3DS price launch price, it's still more because we have to buy memory cards (I know we don't need to, but we do). It's going to be a quite costly launch.

In America, Amazon offered all kinds of deals with the 3DS (25 dollar gaming coupon, free 3rd party accessory) so I'm realllllllly hoping they do it again for the Vita.

 

[get2sammyb]

Why does a poorly put together conference sap the hype out of a system though? I didn't watch it either, but I'm still just as hyped about Wipeout 2048 and Uncharted: Golden Abyss as I was last week.

It's so funny how the smallest things in the games industry can completely kill some people's hype. A bad press conference and no Monster Hunter announcement, and suddenly all the enthusiasm's gone.

There's a psychology case study waiting to be written.

EDIT: Memory card concerns are legit, but expected too, right?

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Exactly, and in your example you stated 5 hours for a very simple game at lowest brightness. But according to your own reasoning it should be more than that.

No. I'm saying that on those settings listed (default brightness and WiFi/3G off) you'll get 3 hours in Uncharted (graphically intensive) and 5 hours in Sound Shapes (graphically simple)

If you play on highest brightness and with WiFi/3G on, you'll get less than 3 hours in Uncharted and less than 5 in Sound Shapes.

Seems pretty simple and clear cut to me.

 

[1-D_FTW]

100 bucks for a lousy 32 GB card. I knew the pricing was major bait and switch.

 

[Jinfash]

Aside from the high prices of memory sticks, and lack of entry storage solutions for all their SKUs, I was pretty upset about their 3G plans' pricing.

I fully intended to pick up the 3G model, in hopes for some reasonable data plans, and maybe a memory stick to be thrown in. Obviously we don't know how the Japanese strategy would translate for the western release, but it certainly doesn't inspire confidence.

As for the battery life, I'm Ok with the idea of a "3-5 hours" battery life for a full charge, after all, I'm still rocking my PSP1000 and content with my 3DS stock battery. Just as long as there isn't a scenario where any settings combination would shave off an extra hour. 2 hours or less is just unreasonable for a portable with no replaceable battery.

This is what I personally took away from there conference today regarding the hardware:
- High price of memory sticks undermines their DD push, thus leading to a limited appeal of the service and screwing pubs and devs who choose to go digital only.
- High price of data plans will limit the appeal of 3G integration into games, which will render one of the supposedly biggest features of the device irrelevant.
- Limited appeal of the 3G SKU will also greatly limit location based apps, games, and integration thanks to the GPS being only mounted on the 3G model. I know there are other solutions, but they're not as ideal. (I also know nobody gave a fuck about this feature in the first place, but I did. I was really hoping it would gain traction).

I hope I get proven wrong on all, or any, of these assumptions.

 

[TTP]

Why does a poorly put together conference sap the hype out of a system though? I didn't watch it either, but I'm still just as hyped about Wipeout 2048 and Uncharted: Golden Abyss as I was last week.

It's so funny how the smallest things in the games industry can completely kill some people's hype. A bad press conference and no Monster Hunter announcement, and suddenly all the enthusiasm's gone.

There's a psychology case study waiting to be written.

It's not the conference. It's the press release (battery life, sold separately overpriced proprietary memory cards etc)

That, and lots of fucking remakes.

 

[Deadly Monk]

They still haven't confirmed if it's region free yet

 

[Lonely1]

Why does a poorly put together conference sap the hype out of a system though? I didn't watch it either, but I'm still just as hyped about Wipeout 2048 and Uncharted: Golden Abyss as I was last week.

It's so funny how the smallest things in the games industry can completely kill some people's hype. A bad press conference and no Monster Hunter announcement, and suddenly all the enthusiasm's gone.

There's a psychology case study waiting to be written.

EDIT: Memory card concerns are legit, but expected too, right?

This. Vita sounds as awesome as it did before. People expecting MC with the system and awesome battery life were deluding themselves. I was expecting a card with the 3g version, though.

 

[Shtof]

It's not the conference. It's the press release (battery life, sold separately overpriced proprietary memory cards etc)

That, and lots of fucking remakes.

Battery life was expected, and I can live with it. I don't like however, the Microsoft road they're going down with memory sticks.

 

[Jarmel]

Aside from the high prices of memory sticks, and lack of entry storage solutions for all their SKUs, I was pretty upset about their 3G plans' pricing.

I fully intended to pick up the 3G model, in hopes for some reasonable data plans, and maybe a memory stick to be thrown in. Obviously we don't know how the Japanese strategy would translate for the western release, but it certainly doesn't inspire confidence.

As for the battery life, I'm Ok with the idea of a "3-5 hours" battery life for a full charge, after all, I'm still rocking my PSP1000 and content with my 3DS stock battery. Just as long as there isn't a scenario where any settings combination would shave off an extra hour. 2 hours or less is just unreasonable for a portable with no replaceable battery.

This is what I personally took away from there conference today regarding the hardware:
- High price of memory sticks undermines their DD push, thus leading to a limited appeal of the service and screwing pubs and devs who choose to go digital only.
- High price of data plans will limit the appeal of 3G integration into games, which will render one of the supposedly biggest features of the device irrelevant.
- Limited appeal of the 3G SKU will also greatly limit location based apps, games, and integration thanks to the GPS being only mounted on the 3G model. I know there are other solutions, but they're not as ideal. (I also know nobody gave a fuck about this feature in the first place, but I did. I was really hoping it would gain traction).

I hope I get proven wrong on all, or any, of these assumptions.

Could you even do that? The sim card in the Japanese version might not be compatible with the AT&T networks.

 

[Jinfash]

Could you even do that? The sim card in the Japanese version might not be compatible with the AT&T networks.

Oh these are the concerns of a non-importer! I'm waiting patiently to see how their plans pan out for the west. It's weird to say this, but I'm actually looking forward to AT&T's plans now more than ever.

Still, the ripples of the 3G model flopping in Japan might end up affecting US users if Japanese developers, who were more enthused about the prospect of 3G gaming devices, decide give up on it.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Could you even do that? The sim card in the Japanese version might not be compatible with the AT&T networks.

Yeah, Sony do take note to list the specifications as the "Japan model". It's very possible that the JPN Vita might not work with US and EU 3G networks (of course, the WiFi only model would work just fine)

 

[Gravijah]

Oh these are the concerns of a non-importer! I'm patiently waiting how their plans pan out for the west. It's weird to say this, but I'm actually looking forward to AT&T plans now.

It's AT&T. Never look forward to anything AT&T.

 

[V_Ben]

With my best tinfoil hat, I could suggest the memory cards are expensive in order to appease retailers, so they push the product. They don't want retail decrying their system.

Also, of course retailers will do bundles with memory cards... Let's hope so at least.

 

[StuBurns]

The Japanese 3DS's don't have English language options do they? I don't think we can assume PSV will. I'd be really hesitant to import, region free or not.