Grave Gamer News & Views — playstation vita

PS Vita Slim + Borderlands 2 Bundle Incoming This Spring

The slimmer, redesigned PlayStation Vita, already available in Japan and having just launched in Europe this month, is inbound for North America this Spring.

Right around the Vita Slim’s launch, a bundle featuring Borderlands 2 portable port and the remodeled handheld will be made available. No specific pricing or date has been announced for the system solo or bundled (though it’s likely the latter will come in at $199).

So how different is a Vita Slim? Well, for one, it’s cheaper thanks to some cost cutting maneuvers. The handheld’s thickness is reduced by twenty percent and the overall weight is fifteen percent lighter than the original Vita, making it a bit easier on the hands (though, in my opinion, the first model is still a sight more comfortable to hold than either 3DS model – i.e. my wrists’ mortal enemy).

The only trade-down would be the swap from that beautiful OLED display to a more standard LED screen. Perhaps a gig of internalized memory will assuage you. No? Yeah, same here. But, hey, cheaper!

A decidedly soft lineup of software has stayed my wallet when it came to Sony’s second foray into the handheld market. Which is a shame, because whenever I got my hands on the Vita, I loved the shit out of it – its interface, its button placement, its generously sized screen. I already own Borderlands 2 on two separate consoles but… goddamn if one more won’t hurt. Looting on the go is too hard to resist, and Sony’s handheld struggles definitely aren’t because they produced a bad system. Far from it.

Come Spring, if you’re like me and have been living life without a Vita (get it?), the Slim may be the way to go, LED and all.

PlayStation 4 Release Date Finally Announced

Sony’s Gamescom conference today brought much in the way of news for just about everything slapped with the PlayStation logo today.  I’ll get to the notables in a tic, but I wanted to get it out of the way since Sony’s hour and a half conference was an hour and fifteen minutes of too much foreplay:

The PlayStation 4 is launching November 15th in North America and November 29th in Europe.

We were already treated to the revelation that a PS Plus subscription is the new requirement for online play (but, gracefully, little else, meaning services like Netflix won’t be barred from use without Plus).  With your PS4 purchase, however, Sony is throwing in a 14-day trial of the service at no cost.

Additionally, Music Unlimited – the PS3’s, uh, unlimited music service – is back in a modified form where you can easily access it by pressing the DualShock 4’s PS Button, allowing you to play music in the background of any and all games.  As someone who is swayed by a custom tracks option even if the PS3 version of a game is technically superior, this is a triumph (I’m sorry Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3, I cannot listen to your bullshit loop indefinitely in my eardrums).

Also, those looking for style in their accessories will be pleased as a plum to see the Magma Red and Wave Blue DualShock controllers (above) releasing alongside the console, priced at $59.99.  You’re gonna earn yourself a hard, squinted look from me if you ask which one I’m springing for.

PS Vita’s Price Dropkicked

The thing that needed to happen, thankfully, went and happened.  Sony’s impressive yet struggling handheld, the PlayStation Vita, has taken a $50 price cut, dropping its tag to $200.  Additionally, Sony promised the bloated pricing found on the system’s proprietary memory cards will see a significant reduction in the future.

Remote Play functionality, in which PS4 games can be remotely streamed via WiFi to the handheld turning the Vita into a second-screen controller, will be found on “almost every” title according to the company.

Increased affordability and unique compatibility with PlayStation’s next household device, along with an up-spike in third-party support – yes, Borderlands 2 on the system is a humongous win –  may just surge some life into the Vita (it’s a pun if you know Italian; it’s also a bad pun if you know humor).

Got in our shipment of Vita games only to find that they come in little baby cases.  It’s like Sony accidentally ran Blu-Ray boxes in the dryer too long.