Sony PlayStation Vita WiFi

If I could give my review a 10/5 stars I would! I purchased 2 BRAND NEW SEALED PS Vita Slims with 3.55 firmware from seller Above All Games with FBA (fulfillment by Amazon). Items came in USA/NA PCH-2001 black edition, all shiny and new with seals both top and bottom of boxed packaging untouched. From my pictures the seal residues on the box front are from how these units are stored before shipment, they seem to have been stacked on top of one another. Don’t worry as those are not the actual box seals (just residues) as they are on the front of the box so don’t be alarmed by my images. You will see from the back of the box image I provide, untouched manufacturer seals are in tact and untouched. Everything was included in each box; PS Vita Slim PCH-2001 unit with 1GB INTERNAL memory (NO individual card, it’s not included in this boxed unit, sold separately), USB cable, AC adapter, AC power cord, 2 quick start guides in English and French with safety guide booklet. Both units had more than enough charge to start up and edit your desired settings.I purchase 2 units for both my husband and I to enjoy. I have been using the one unit since I received it and it works great for remote play using powerline wifi access point and adapter in our home. My husband setup the access point wifi in our master bedroom since our PS4 Pro unit is in our game room. Without his setup, we did notice terrible gameplay quality via remote play with just using simple private internet network. With the access point wifi in place, picture and sound quality is SUPERB on the PS Vita especially for its LCD screen. I can finally relax in bed and play my PS4 games while my husband reads his book or watches tv, and vise versa. The audio bluetooth capability of the unit also comes in handy. The one drawback to these units are the memory cards, they are expensive! I will mainly be playing with my PS Vita via remote play so I have no need for more than the internal memory that Sony has provided with the PS Vita slims. I did order an adapter memory card, but it did not fit properly on either unit. Bit the bullet and awaiting the PS Vita made memory card instead just in case for my husband’s personal use with his PS Vita unit.Overall, the risk was high when purchasing these on Amazon and picking the right seller. I’m so happy I received what was advertised 🙂

Note: Purchased from Above All Games. YMMV with other sellers.For those concerned about what exactly they might be getting: I received a brand new North America PCH-2000 on 3.55 firmware, exactly as described in the listing. So far everything is working perfectly.

Absolutely love this PS Vita. I have owned a PSP, 3DSXL, Gameboy and Gameboy Advance – this one is definitely a PSP on roids. Very elegantThe screen is amazing – large and clear (I did not see the original one with the OLED so cannot compare)The button placement and sizes are perfect for a handheld, it fits well in your hands, although I would recommend the Comfort Grip accessories if you were planning on playing for a long time in one setting (my thumbs get a little sore without one)Both the front and back touch screens are responsive and crispSound is not out of this world, but definitely on par.My only complaint about this is the Wifi – it does lose connection every so often even though it will show Full bars and 90% connectivity and I can be right next to my router. My 3DS never had this problem or any of my other wireless devices. It happens intermittently, but that’s too often if you play online a lot (I do not).OK – one other complaint – the Proprietary memory card nonsense – Sony decided to go this route like the PSP, unfortunately – there are no adapters that I have found that allow you to use regular micro SD cards in this like the PSP had (eventually).Speaking of memory cards – don’t forget one – I would suggest at least a 16GB one (about $30-35) to be safe – unless you like to download a lot and keep in on there – then go the 32GB route.Runs my PSOne classics from the PSN flawlessly and I actually prefer to play them on this than my PS3 (actually why I bought it).The game sizes (physical size) are perfect for portability.The games look amazing on this screen and no need to fire up the big boy TV or shut everything down when done – just hit the power button and put in standby, pickup where you left off in an instant.Accessories:I would definitely recommend the Vita Vault Case if you are into protection/storage – both Best Buy and Amazon sell it for around $20, Gamestop for about $25. I think even Target carries it in certain places.Screen protector would be a good investment too to protect that gorgeous screenTrigger comfort grips are a plus too.If you ever had a PSP and wanted to upgrade or are looking for a handheld that can play retro games, but also the current genre, this is the route to go.Battery life rocks – very important nowadays.Would definitely recommend

Just ordered this item from Above All Games for $224.99 at time of ordering in Apr 18, which was a little more than other sellers, but seemed worth the extra $15 or so compared to other sellers after reading the positive feedback from other customers for this product from this particular seller to have peace of mind in knowing what I was getting, compared to some of the other sellers selling this model or other models with high-speed colors where it was mixed bag of what you might receive (FW 3.61 or higher, items not in new condition or some people even getting old PSP models). After doing a lot of research on this particular item and contacting seller Above All Games (who promptly responded back to my inquiry about whatFW version that their items shipped with), I pulled the trigger and ordered on Wed night and received Sat afternoon. Shipping wasn’t quite the quoted 2-day shipping time frame by Amazon, but that may be due to me ordering late that night. Opened up the box of the PCH-2001 model, which was assuredly sealed on both ends to find a brand new black Sony Playstation Vita Slim Wi-fi with all items included (console, booklet, charger and cables). Powered on the console for the first time and now the moment of truth: everything powered on and did first-time set-up and check system version and it came with 3.55 FW stock! Why is this so important? Because if you want to play homebrew and other cool applications as well as back-ups of your physical games, you want to be able to have a FW less than or at 3.60 stock. This allows you to install CFW on your Playstation Vita and truly open up the possibilities of the console (emulators, homebrew games like a DOOM port and more). Now I’m running on CFW 3.65 Enso and playing all my games on a 128 GB microSD instead of lugging all my physical game carts around or paying for the pricey proprietary memory cards for the Vita. Be advised this model unfortunately doesn’t ship with an included official Sony Playstation Vita memory card, which you will need if you’re going to download any digital games as the meager 1 GB internal memory fills up pretty quick unless you’re just using digital carts that require no patch installs (patches can be pretty big sometimes, too). If you’re installing CFW 3.65 Enso or 3.60 Henkaku, you may be able to get by without the expensive Vita memory cards and buy an inexpensive SD2Vita adapter ($7-13 on Amazon) and a microSD, which have gotten relatively inexpensive for $/GB, especially on sale. The card with adapter goes into your physical game cart slot on the top and you’re good to go. If you’re going the official route, look for one used or pre-owned and you can find some decent deals on the Vita memory cards. Needless to say, I’m definitely pleased with the product and don’t intend parting with mine anytime soon! Worth every penny to have a handheld this powerful with near PS3 graphics and such a huge library of games on the go in the palm of my hand. This product and the seller Above All Games come highly recommended! NOTE: I will update this review with photos and screenshots later.

I’ve read through all of the questions here on Amazon and there are some things that come up repeatedly. I’ll start with those things and then move on to my general impressions. I’ve owned the Vita for a few years now.HARDWARE VERSIONSThere are two versions of the Vita: new and old / Slim and Fat / 2000 and 1000 series… The slim (2000) has rounded edges and completely transparent shoulder buttons. Compare to the original (1000) which has sharper edges and dark tinted shoulder buttons. Just a quick way to tell them apart in pictures. The original had an OLED screen which is technically better quality, but used more battery life and was more expensive. The new model has an LCD screen, still sharp picture but maybe a little less contrast, but much improved battery life and also has 1 gig internal memory and uses standard micro usb to charge instead of a proprietary cord. From here on I’ll be only referring to the new model unless I state otherwise.MEMORYThere is 1 gig of memory onboard. This means it is built-in, not a card. Some sellers bundle the system with a memory card, others don’t; please read descriptions carefully or contact sellers if there is confusion.The 1 gig of onboard memory is sufficient if you will be playing mostly cartridge-based games as opposed to downloaded games. At some point though you may want to look into getting a Vita memory card. The best size to get is the biggest you can afford so that you limit the frequency of your having to swap out cards. 16 gigs should be plenty for the average person in my opinion. Memory cards will occasionally go on sale. 16 gigs can go down to about $20 on sale. They’re proprietary and different from standard SD cards. They are pricey compared to SD cards, but reliable.GAMES PRELOADED / BUNDLEDSome sellers are bundling the system with a game. Please check the description.Otherwise, no there are not really games pre-installed, just some tutorial type games.WiFiYou do not have to be connected to the internet to play Vita games. There are almost zero games that require that. An internet connection is needed for online play obviously. Buying games can be done over a PC or PS3 / PS4. Updates can be installed in a similar fashion.You do not have to pay to play online with the PS Vita. Similar to the PS3, online play is free. With PS4, you have to pay to play online. The service is called Playstation Plus.You do not have to pay to access the store. The store works like any other online apps store and is pre-installed on the Vita.PLAYSTATION NOW AND PLAYSTATION PLUSBoth are subscription services. They are separate things. Both sometimes have free trial periods.PSNow is a streaming game service. It’s like Netflix for games in a sense. The games are not fully installed on your system, they are streamed, meaning they would need a continuous internet connection. Note: as of now (March 2017) it seems that PS Now is no longer available for the Vita, nor for any platforms besides PS4 and PC.PSPlus is like Amazon Prime. It’s sort of a Premium Membership Program. It allows you to download and install certain games for free; the selection of games is updated regularly; you do not ‘own’ these games, but you can play them as much as you want as long as you are a PSPlus member. Members also get reduced prices on some games.REMOTE PLAYIf you have a PS4, you can basically use your PS4 remotely on your Vita. The PS4 does the hard work of rendering the game and it sends the image to your Vita’s screen. The Vita for it’s part sends your control inputs to the PS4. In effect you can play PS4 games on your Vita. This can be done at home on your home wifi network or it can be done over the internet–so if you’re somewhere else, and you’re connected to the internet on your Vita, your Vita can wake up your PS4 back home and control it from wherever you are.CROSS SAVEWith some games, you can share saves between a ps4 copy and a Vita copy of the same game.CROSS BUYSome ps4 games come with a Vita copy. Some Vita games come with a PS4 copy.WAYS TO GET GAMESBuy physical game cartridges that are made specifically for the Vita,Download games directly to Vita from the PS store,Download games from the PS store to a PS3/4 or PC and transfer to Vita,Stream games using Playstation Now.GAME TYPESPS Vita Games: Made for the Vita. Either in physical cartridge format or downloaded from the store. Some of these are available on other systems such as PS3, PS4, PC.PSP Games: Made for the PSP, but can be played on the Vita. They will need to be downloaded from the store. The Vita does not accept PSP cartridges, called UMDs.PS1 Games: Made for the PS1, but can be played on the Vita. They will need to be downloaded from the store. The Vita does not accept PS1 cds.SPECIAL NOTE: Indie GamesMany “Indie” games available on services like Steam are available on the Vita. If you don’t know what that means, I’ll say: There are a lot of games that are made by smaller game companies that are very popular with those who know about them, but are obscure compared to higher profile releases like Call of Duty or Pokemon. The catch-all term for these types of games (sometimes erroneously applied) is “Indie”. Some of the more popular of those games are available for Vita. Many people who love Indie games, buy a Vita for that reason alone.SPECIAL NOTE: JRPGs and Visual NovelsThere are a lot of these types of games. Many people who love JRPGs and/or Visual Novels, buy a Vita for this reason alone.REGIONSIt used to be that game systems were only able to play games that were of the same “region” (group of countries). This is not the case for the Vita. Some games from Japan for example might have no English text option, so that’s a separate issue, but the game will play. In this example, online play and dlc would require a Japanese Playstation account.NEW GAMES / THE FUTUREAs of my writing this (08/2016), Sony has stated that it is putting a hold on producing first party games for the Vita. This means that Sony itself will not be making new games, however many new games are on the horizon from third party companies: companies other than Sony itself. This is not a huge problem as many great games in Playstation’s past have come from third party companies, if not most. And even if new games were not coming, the existing content on offer is still large and diverse and it will be available at least in digital format through the online store for a very long time.PERSONAL NOTES (Opinions)I play the Vita in bed after the kids are down. I also take it on trips but I mostly play it at home. I have a PS3 and a powerful gaming PC that I use less than I use the Vita. It’s just a convenience factor and there’s just something hard to describe about the simple act of playing on a handheld instead of on a TV or computer monitor.The Vita has a marketing problem, always has. No one knows about it when a new game is released. On my Vita game wishlist I have about 70 games. On another list I have about 25 that are not released yet but are planned for this year or next. There are games out and there are games coming. The games will continue to be released with no fanfare / promotion, but they’re out there. Check the Playstation Store regularly for sales. Check Amazon for deals on physical cartridges and memory cards. Read websites like PocketGamer, Destructoid, or iPlayPSVita for news on upcoming games. Or simply Google “best Vita games” and see if any of those strike your fancy, then look them up in the aforementioned stores. Unfortunately, just going to Target will get you nowhere and don’t expect to be passively informed of new releases.The Vita feels great, looks great, it’s a solid dependable piece of hardware, currently priced attractively at $156. It has an enormous library of games and I prefer it to playing on a TV or monitor.