Full Vita Specs, Peripherals, and Launch Titles Detailed

Recently at the 2011 Tokyo Game Show, Sony unveiled full product specifications and peripheral lists for the PS Vita. In comparison to the previously existing specification lists, this one is much more in-depth.

 
Additionally, it was announced that the release of the hardware will be in three tiers: the initial limited-edition run, which consists of the first 500,000 units and includes a 100-hour prepaid 3G data plan; a second limited-edition run, which will be in production for an unspecified timeframe after the initial limited-edition run and will include a 20-hour prepaid 3G data plan; and finally the standard model, which includes no free prepaid time at all. The US release will be handled by AT&T, but it is unclear whether or not this same promotion will reach the US.

Sony also unveiled a lineup of peripherals for the Vita, including memory cards for the system which may or may not be required for a game, and none are included with the purchase of a Vita. The press release noted the following:

Some PS Vita software titles may require the use of separately sold memory card for saving game’s saved data while some software titles are capable of saving it on to the PS Vita card itself. Please refer to the PS Vita game packages or game manuals for further details.

The fill list of peripherals is below:

 
Finally, the press release also listed a large array of games that will be at launch including BlazBlue, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Katamari Damacy, Ridge Racer, Disgaea 3 Return, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and Dynasty Warriors Next. Games that would eventually be release for the Vita but not available at launch were also announced and included Street Fighter X Tekken, Shin Megami Tensei (series), Persona 4: The Golden, Zone of the Enders HD Edition, Metal Gear Solid HD Edition, Super Monkey Ball, Little Big Planet, WipEout 2048, and Lumines Electronic Symphony. The full list of games unveiled can be read in the press release linked to above.

Analysis: While the launch titles look good, there are a few things that concern me about the release of the Vita. The first is about what is essentially a required cost a memory card. Sony has just outright stated that some games will require them. There is also the fact that the Vita only has 512MB of storage space and digital downloads generally take up more room than that. Early PSP games “only” took up between 200-500MB of space, but later ones were much larger, taking up as much as a gigabyte. Since the memory cards are the only viable place the Vita could store these, you’ll need to buy a memory card if you want to download games.

What is even more infuriating about this is that, if Sony goes through with the free UMD to Digital Download conversion program that they are “considering,” then you will likely need a large memory card. This then necessitates an additional $40+ to have a decent sized card to store your PSP collection on. Much sympathy to those who will require a 32GB card for this.

The second is the issue with the battery life. It’s rated at 3-5 hours on a full charge. This is only a rating, however; most real-life values are generally less. Additionally, this rating does not account for 3G or WiFi usage. This puts the Vita on par with the 3DS at best, but potentially much worse. One of the most annoying things I found with the original PSP was the short battery life, which was approximately the same as the 3DS’s today. The Vita is even worse than the PSP.

The following was noted about the battery:

Game: Approx. 3~5 hours
Video: Approx. 5 hours
Music (in stand-by mode): Approx. 9 hours
* Screen brightness default setting, Bluetooth feature off, headphones used
* Game, when not using the network
* The duration may change depending on the brightness of the screen, what content [is] being played and if the network (3G/Wi-Fi) feature is being used or not

As a final comment, I’d just like to say that I sincerely hope a third party will manufacture a Micro SD-to-Vita Memory Card adapter. It’s pretty obvious that their proprietary memory cards are a form of flash memory, and I’m willing to bet they took an existing standard and simply modified the form factor.
 
 
 
Note: The article was updated about an hour after it was posted to include USD values for the yen prices. All price conversions were done via XE.com.