Why Is Everyone Talking About Sony's New Gaming Device?

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The PlayStation Vita reviews are in, and it seems we have a winner. February 22nd is the Vita's mainstream launch date, but pricier early-bird bundles are shipping this week. Sony's betting hard that it can woo gamers back from their phones with actual hardware (and not just terrible commercials). Still, the PS Vita does have some features that mobile lovers have gotten used to -- the five-inch AMOLED screen acts as a touchscreen device and it packs a built-in GPS. With its standard array of console-style buttons, analog and direction pad controllers, and a touch-sensitive back panel, this thing's not lacking for input.The Vita made waves when it was first announced, due to the fact that it packed so much horsepower in a handheld. The words "(almost) PS3-level graphics" were on everyone's lips, and the quad-core Vita definitely comes through with some amazing-looking games, most notably Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Vita's highs and lows noted by the reviews: The good news

-Amazing graphics.-Better controls than the PSP or Nintendo 3DS.-Good roster of launch titles.-Great for video playback thanks to the screen.-Decent three- to six-hour battery life while gaming, depending on your settings.-Amazing screen quality (thanks, Samsung) with a screen density of 220 pixels-per-inch.-Region-free (so you can play imported games)has built-in GPS.-Games are available in both physical and digital formats, with a slight discount for digital.-The $249 starting price for the Wi-Fi model makes it well-priced . Notable gripes

-Has a pretty useless camera (front and rear both have 640x480 resolution).-No compatibility with UMD PSP games for non-Japanese users.-Plastic (not Gorilla Glass) screen makes it a lot easier to scratch than a modern mobile or tablet.-Lacks multitasking.-Another expensive and proprietary memory format, Sony?-Dearth of apps compared to iOS or Android (obviously).-20 MB file download limit over 3G so you can't get larger games unless on Wi-Fi.The reviews are unanimous in saying that the Vita definitely outclasses the 3DS and completely destroys the iPhone as a gaming device. That's not particularly surprising given this thing has four cores, buttons and physical game controls, but only time will tell if that's enough to draw people away from their increasingly-freemium iPhone and iPad games to a pretty expensive-looking $44.99 (for quality games like Uncharted). If it fails, this could wind up being another golden abyss for Sony. Continue Reading

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