If I Could Change One Thing About The PS Vita

If I could change one thing about the Playstation Vita it would definitely be the game slot. In order to insert a game cartridge, you must open the slot that is placed on the top of the Vita. When I first got my Vita, I had the hardest time the game slot. My nails aren't that long so I had to pick at it in order to open it. When I finally was able to open it, I noticed that my method of picking at the slot resulted in parts of the game slot being chipped. That's not cute for a device that I just paid almost $300 dollars for. If Sony had designed the game slot to be open like the 3DS I wouldn't have cosmetic damage on the first day with my Vita.

I could have avoided this problem by buying games digitally from the PS Store. It's actually better to buy games digitally as they are usually cheaper than owning the cartridge. The problem with that was having to buy a memory card big enough to hold all of the games I want to play. $99 for a 32GB memory card is simply too expensive for this gamer on a budget (especially after dropping $250 on the Vita.) I went with the 4GB which could maybe hold 2 Vita games on a good day.

Another thing I would change about the Vita is the location of the headphone jack. The headphone jack is located at the bottom of the PS Vita which has proven to be a pain. Having the headphone jack at the bottom of the Vita makes it hard to place the Vita onto my desk in order to watch the screen. This makes it annoying to watch movies on the Vita, especially when the sound from the built in speakers isn't that good. It would've been better to place the headphone jack on the side or the top of the Vita so I can plug my headphones in and be able to place the Vita on my desk for viewing enjoyment. I shouldn't have to hold the Vita in my hands at all times. If Sony considers redesigning the PS Vita they should really put my suggestions into consideration.

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EK Thomson

May 26, 2012

I have rather short nails, and have never found the game slot to be a problem here. Though, i'm also not all that concerned about scratches and cosmetic problems with a system so long as they don't affect the use of the system. (That's why I have a screen protector, but don't really worry about scratches elsewhere.) I just checked my system and I have similar scratched paint on the door, but who really cares about that anyway?

As for the headphone port, I don't use it at all except in the car. I use a set of Bluetooth headphones. Motorola brand, in this case. They're only about $35 and they work great. Alternately, if you want to plug speakers in and a charging cable and still have it at a viewable angle, the official docking station for it also has a headphone jack.

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Also, the 4gig card isn't meant for holding Vita games. It's for holding much smaller PSP MInis, PSP games, and saved games. If you want to download your vita games, you should get at least a 16 gig. The 4-gig card is made for people who want to buy all their games physically.

Ed Grabowski

May 28, 2012

Well that's not totally true. On my 4GB card I had Touch my Katamari, Escape Plan, Motor Storm RC, and Mutant Blobs Attack, which were all Vita games. On top of that I had a few PSP Games and Mini's. The 4GB card can hold a good amount, and you can back it up and delete anything you want off of it and put it on the PS3 whenever you want to make room for more stuff.

I've gotten a lot of use out of it without having to bother with the bigger one which I technically own. You could even fit Uncharted: Golden Abyss and almost any other retail Vita game on a 4GB one. That's not too shabby.

Jonathan Oyama

Hmm. I own a PSP, but I'm wondering if you have to back up your data constantly with a Vita. I have to do that with my PSP pretty often, because the memory card has a tendency to lose its data.

I appreciate that the Sony system lets me manage data more closely, but I hate how sensitive the memory card reader is. I was hoping that Sony changed this with the new platform.

May 29, 2012

Jon: Do you use a Sony branded, or Sandisk branded memory card for your PSP? I've been using Sony ones (8gb) and have never had a lost saved game on it.

Of course, that's the whole reason for going with a proprietary memory card this time, to avoid the horrendous problems with shoddy third party cards.

Ed: Well, I was mainly referring to the ones available on physical cards, though Katamari is a fairly small one for a card game. Referencing back to the 2-games-per-4gig-card comment he made, which is primarily true for physical games.

Yeah, I have a feeling that the SanDisk cards are not nearly as safe or reliable. My experiences taught me to back up all my data on my computer, though. Sigh. I guess I should hunt for a Sony one.