PS Vita: Is it Worth it?

I originally bought a pink PSP way back in early 2008, just because I felt like I had to. Three months later I ended up flogging it on Ebay, because funds were tight and to be honest, at the time, there weren't really that many interesting games for it. Then, just over 12 months later, I started seeing adverts on the TV for this....

And so I ended up buying this Limited Edition PSP with the game. I love my PSP more than anything, and would never dream of selling it, because I have some pretty awesome games on it, including Crisis Core, Dissidia and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.

A few years later, Sony released the PSP Go and over the past few months, this has repeatedly been drawn to my attention:

Source: hmv.com via Kat on Pinterest

What makes the PS Vita Different?


Actually, the whole concept of the PS Vita is very cool, and is Sony's way of getting up to speed with the technological side of gaming. We've had touch screen consoles for a while (Nintendo DS) and Sony has already brought us touch screen Android phones, so it was a natural progression to head in this direction. And I do think that is was a smart move.

• It comes with a touch screen. No surprise there, but it'll be interesting to see how it plays in comparison to the DS and Android phones. There's a lot more scope graphically, than any other hand held, but will touch screen work for them? I think it could.
• With 3G, you are always connected to the big wide world. In an age when we're obsessed with social media, and sharing just about every aspect of our lives, this is another good move for the console. The good thing is that they appear to have used their noggins, by introducing ones that can be used with Mobile Broadband, as well as ones with Wi-Fi.
• Social Gaming. This of course connect with the previous point, but with social gaming it's not just about sharing everything, it's also about playing and competing against friends. That is also a factor that a lot of people seem to be interested in these days.
• Brilliant graphics and performance, but from Sony you wouldn't expect anything less, since it's what they and Playstation are renowned for.
• Built-in cameras and stuff offer what Sony describe as "augmented reality and location-based experiences", not 100% certain what that means, but sounds intriguing enough

Okay, that sounds great but....

On paper, I honestly do think that the PS Vita sounds incredible, but will I be buying one? No. And not just because they are practically extortionate at £279.99, but because I'm not 100% convinced that there is a market for it over here. Well, the shops certainly don't seem to think so anyway.

I've blogged before about my annoyance at how little shelf-space the PSP gets right across entertainment-based shops, from the specialists of HMV down to the less specialist supermarkets. In fact, in most shops you're lucky to find any space at all. I've also come to the conclusion that a lot of games companies seem to be snubbing the console too, and other than Dissidia, I can't think of that many games that have been released for the PSP over the past year or so.

Another gripe that I've had with PSP recently, is the fact that everything seems to be going "download only", which is great in the sense that it's given us some real classic Playstaion One games such as Final Fantasy VII and VIII, as well as earlier Persona's, but they tend to cost a fair amount, and are very often quite large in size, meaning that unless you have a really huge memory card, it's not always convenient.

Nevertheless, I got the impression that there will be hard copies of games available for the PS Vita, which for me is a step in the right direction.

I honestly hope that the launch of the PS Vita will bring a little oomph back to the portable Sony console genre, but I'm not entirely convinced.

Why Final Fantasy VII Should Never Be Re-Made

Recently, I attended the Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy Concert, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Just up the row from us, was a group of quite pretentious males, one of whom made the following statement:

"Anyone who prefers eight  over seven obviously started the series with eight!"

A very sweeping statement, I have to say, because yes, I do prefer Final Fantasy VIII over Final Fantasy VII, but it is most definitely not because it was the first game I played. In fact, I was first introduced to the series not long after VII was released, by my brother. So, yes, the first game I ever played was in fact Final Fantasy VII!

I have a huge amount of respect for Final Fantasy VII and I can wholeheartedly appreciate why it is the most respected and loved of the entire series, but for me, the game had so many flaws, predominantly in the story telling that at the time, really led me to dislike the game. I found the story to be incredibly confusing at times, and it took me about two or three run throughs of the 40+ hours game to really grasp the whole Cloud/Zack concept.

As I've grown as a gamer, I've become a bigger fan of the game, but I can't help feeling that is only really down to Crisis Core, which answered a lot of the questions I had about Zack and Cloud's pasts.

But, the confusion over the back story is not the reason why I honestly do not think that Final Fantasy VII should be re-made.

The key here, is more down in my previous statement that said that the game is "the most respected and loved of the entire series" and you have to appreciate why it is so loved. It is loved because of the characters, the plot that once you get your head around it, is actually really intriguing. And the game as a whole is just such a joy to play.

Is remaking the game really going to do anything for it?

Probably not. All that is going to happen is that we'll gain better graphics, because to change the plot would be to change the history of the game. To change the game play would be to lose why VII is so much fun to play. Change any of those small things that made the game a classic game, graphics aside, and you h ave created a rough shadow of a game that is great, just the way it is.

Is it enough to remake the game purely on gaining "better" graphics?

As with any classic video game, surely the basic graphics are what make us appreciate the game so much. The fact that it represents the time that is was created during, for example, is an important part of the game. It is also a great piece to show just how far the series has come.

Personally, I think that remaking it would be a complete waste of money and time. If a person truly loves the original that much, then I just think that they should appreciate it for what it already is: a 1997 classic. It is not a 2011 classic.

No PSP Reduction for the UK

I've rambled on here before, about how rubbish the PSP gets treated in the UK. Some shops choose not to sell anything to do with the hand-held console, whilst others only sells games and of those their sections are often very small.

When I initially bought my first pink PSP back in late 2006, early 2007, there were very few games that held any interest to me, and I think I only really bought it because it seemed like a cool idea at the time, and both of my older brothers owned one. That PSP remained in my position for a mere few months, before I inevitably sold it on Ebay. Admittedly, a year later when I purchased my Special Edition Crisis Core PSP, the amount of games that appealed were a lot better, and I do have a healthy collection of PSP games these days. However, I still can't help feeling that the PSP isn't taken as seriously over this side of the Pond.

And to make me more dubious of how well it is treated, the PSP has seen very little, in regards to price drops, since it's launch in 2005, despite the console now being six years old.

This week, Bloomsberg announced Sony's intentions to reduce the cost of the PSP from just under 170 Euros to just under 130 Euros. Fantastic, I can just about hear you all screaming, but before you get all excited, the story was eventually updated to include a statement, from which the following excerpt was included:

"Since we in the UK are vulnerable to two exchange rate calculations, pounds into Euros and Euros into Yen, we are not in a position to offer a similar cut in PSP for the UK."

 It's hard not to feel kind of let down, and a little disheartened to be British, because we seem to be getting a really raw deal. We get very few games, for the PSP, compared to other consoles, most shops don't take it seriously, and just like the PS3 (and the PS2 before it) prices don't drop a great deal over time.

What makes little sense, is how extortionately expensive pre-owned games are, with some of them being priced at very little less than the original new price.

It'd be nice to think that things might one day change, but we all know that they won't. And, we also know that Sony can get away with it, because despite my moaning, they are still my number one trusted brand when it comes to technology.

Kingdom Hearts pushes Monster Hunter off Japanese Top Spot

A couple of weeks ago, I paid a visit to several entertainment-based shops including HMV and Gamestation with the intention of looking to see what there was for the PSP. In my honest opinion, I think that the PSP has been treated pretty poorly in this country, and the absolute lack of games on offer in both of these specific shops speaks volumes.

Gamestation were only selling pre-owned games for the PSP (all at ridiculous "not-much-cheaper-than-new" prices!!) and HMV had a shelf end dedicated to no more than ten titles, all of which were all roughly in the same genre and no real variety.

Skip over to Japan, the reigning country for video gaming, and it couldn't be a more different story, and the fact that a PSP game in the form of Kingdom Hearts, has pushed another PSP game off the top of the Japanese gaming charts shows this quite nicely.

From personal experience, the PSP has the capabilities of offering some really nice games. For evidence just check out Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core or the game this is really about which is Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. So, why don't more companies make games for the console?

The Nintendo DS is of course competition, but gaming is very different between the two consoles. For example, Kingdom Hearts on the DS is always cute, but has terrible gameplay. For me, KH has never quite got the DS right. But, on the PSP, KH games (well game, there's only actually one) look incredible graphically, and there's much more scope for playability.

Nevertheless, I guess there is a little bit of good news, in the fact that sony seem to be really filling the Playstation Network up with tons of old Playstation games to download for the PSP (as well as the PS3), which is really great, because we now have wider access to games like the Final Fantasy series, Grandia, early games in the Persona series and games that weren't released over here.

Unfortunately, there are problems with downloading all the time:

• Buying large enough Memory Sticks gets expensive 
• Downloading games isn't necessarily cheap. You have to pay for the game, and some are still close to £20, and then you're eating up your internet too and potentially slowing everything down
• Sometimes you just want to experience a brand new game, and not one that was made over ten years ago (even though it is nice to play them again)

So come on Sony and game developers, give us some awesome games for the PSP (RPGs would be great *nudge nudge wink wink*), and Retailers, PLEASE stop treating the PSP (and PSP owners) like second-rate citizens...we have feelings too (okay, maybe that was a little dramatic, but it has an effect, admit it ;))

Final Fantasy XIII-2: Square Enix Release Teaser Trailer

Square Enix seem determined to build-up early interest in this game, don't they, now that they have released a very short teaser trailer. 

In all honesty, I feel a little dirty watching it, because I haven't finished Final Fantasy XIII, and am nowhere near finishing it. But, then again I still haven't completed Final Fantasy X, but I've completed Final Fantasy X-2, and I never completed Kingdom Hearts, but I have completed the second one!!

Anyway, here's the teaser trailer for your perusal.

What do you guys think? Will you be buying it when it comes out?

**Ironically, as I was writing up this blog, Memories of Happier Days, from the Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack came up on my MP3 player!!**

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Anyone?

Well, this is news that I really did not expect to read today. But, according to various Square Enix and Final Fantasy related Facebook pages, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is on it's way!

This is completely new information to me, because I didn't even have a clue that they were planning on making a sequel.

This could be really good news, or really, really bad news. That's going to depend on whether or not you liked Final Fantasy XIII. Having bought a PS3 solely for that game, I personally, thought that the gameplay sucked, but it looked stunning and I liked the storyline.

So, as long as they sort out the annoying battle system, quit with the mundane linearity, I may just be persuaded to buy it.

As far as sequels go in the world of Final Fantasy, I always have mixed opinions. Final Fantasy VII's spin-off Dirge of Cereberus was never my cup-of-tea, and the DS spin-offs of the Kingdom Hearts games, and Final Fantasy XII were both let downs. But, then I'm a huge fan of Final Fantasy X-2, Crisis Core, and the one Kingdom Heats game that came out on the PSP, so it's a hard one to judge how much change this new game is going to under-go!

But, there's really no point getting too excited, because it's likely to be at least a year away, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this one pans out!!