PS Vita Midnight Release (Chelsea, Massachusetts)

 

PS Vita Unboxing

Why I'm Not Buying a PS Vita

I had every intention of buying one tomorrow. I've got the money and the time to make it to the store, but unfortunately I've had a change of heart. It happened as I debated whether or not to go to a midnight release. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to wait to buy a Vita. Sorry Sony, but here's why I'm not buying a PS Vita on launch day.

Price
The price of the PS Vita is too high. You know it's expensive when the cheapest Vita model is the same price as a new PlayStation 3. If I had to choose which piece of Sony hardware to spend $250 dollars on, the PlayStation 3 would always win. I already own a PS3, but still $250 dollars is steep. You saw what happened to the Nintendo 3DS was sold for $250. Sales stunk, and less than six months later the price dropped. After the price drop Nintendo 3DS sales have skyrocketed. We'll have to wait and see how the Vita sells around the world, but it hasn't been doing great in Japan. I'm going to hold out from buying a Vita for a few months to see if an inevitable price drop comes.

Games

The launch lineup for the PS Vita is strong. I had the chance to play Uncharted: Golden Abyss and I've been dying to play it again. Hot Shots Golf also looks like a lot of fun. On top of that Gamestop is doing a promotion where you buy two Vita games and get one free. That's all tempting, but I haven't heard much about games coming to the Vita after launch. I'm pretty sure we'll get updates as PAX East and E3 come around, but games are what sell the system. I don't want Uncharted: Golden Abyss to be the only Vita game people are talking about a year from now.

Metal Gear Solid 3D
As the PS Vita gets ready to launch tomorrow, Nintendo's 3DS lineup gets stronger and stronger. Just today Nintendo released Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D for the 3DS. I've been looking forward to playing Metal Gear Solid 3D since last year. I came to the conclusion that spending $40 on a videogame is a lot healthier for my bank account than spending close to $400 for the PlayStation Vita. I'm also in the process of finishing Resident Evil: Revelations on the 3DS which has also been fun. When it comes to handheld gaming, I'm pretty much set for now with my Nintendo 3DS. There's really no rush in spending $400 for a new system. Sorry Sony, but giving the Nintendo 3DS close to a year head start is hurting my decision to buy a Vita.

No PSOne Classics... for now

One of the biggest selling points on the PS Vita for me was the ability to play games from the Playstation One on it. When Sony initially announced that PS One classics weren't coming to the PS Vita I got upset. I have been buying more and more PS One classics lately. It'd be great to play Threads of Fate when I'm on the train. I also heard Sony's not going to release PS2 classics on the Vita which is wack. Everyone knows the Vita is capable of playing PS2 Games. Make that happen Sony. Sony has stated that PS One classics are coming soon to the Vita, but won't be available at launch. That gives me more incentive to not buy the Vita until I'm able to play PS One Classics on it.

One of these Days

I do plan on buying a PlayStation Vita at some point. It's either going to take a price cut, a large library of well reviewed games, or the return of PS One classics. Writing this blog post has revived my interest in buying a Vita tomorrow though. If I can make it past launch day without buying one I should be good. Wish me luck.

Fallout 3: Point Lookout Review

I haven't played a new Quest in Fallout 3 in a while. I've spent the better part of three years exploring the Capital Wasteland. I finally came around and bought some downloadable content (DLC) to expand on the original story. In comes Point Lookout which I bought for $9.99 on Xbox Live. Point Lookout is an island just off of Maryland's Coast. When you buy the DLC a ferry shows up to take you over. That's a picture of the ferry "Duchess Gambit" above.

Point Lookout is a crazy place. It wasn't hit by nuclear bombs during the war, but the island received radiation from the Capital Wasteland. The radiation attracted Ghouls and Swamp People who are radiated inbred locals. The small local population is reduced to gang of people known as Tribals. Tribals are initiated by traveling to the swamp and ingesting special seeds. The seeds cause you to fall asleep. You wake up with a scar on your head, and a piece of your brain missing. Lets just say that losing a piece of your brain can cause a person to go crazy. Point Lookout is worth a visit. By the time I finished the main quest I was satisfied with what I accomplished. It inspired me to finish the main story so I could start the "Broken Steel" DLC.

PlayStation Vita: 3G vs Wi-Fi

I'm having the hardest time deciding which PlayStation Vita to buy on launch day. On one hand you have the Wi-Fi model which is $249.99 and on the other you have the 3G model for $299.99. Being a gamer on a budget my natural inclination is to go with the Wi-Fi model because it costs less. After some research I'm not sure the Wi-Fi model is the best deal. Here's some reasons why.

When it comes to practicality, the Wi-Fi Model wins hands down for me. The need for 3G simply isn't there for me. My PlayStation Vita (like my Nintendo 3DS) will barely ever leave my house. I'll mostly spend mornings and commercial breaks playing the Vita. The rare times when my Vita does leave my house I don't intend on playing games online. I focus on playing one player games when I'm out in public. Especially when I'm in class because I don't have to focus my undivided attention on what's going on in the game. Besides that, playing a game online in a public place lets people know you have the most expensive Playstation Vita. It might attract unwanted attention from people who might want to steal it from you. The same goes for the iPad in this instance. If you're sitting on the train surfing the web, it says "Hey I can afford the most expensive iPad hear me roar!!!"

Another con against the 3G model of the Playstation Vita (besides it being $50 dollars more than the Wi-Fi) is that 3G service requires a monthly payment for the service. That's a huge no-no for this gamer on a budget. Lets say you decided to go with the $14.99 plan for 250MB of data. That comes out to $179.88 dollars a year for the service. That means you're shelling out close to $500 dollars for your first year with the Playstation Vita. It's not all bad though. You don't have to sign a contract so you can cancel anytime. I'd much rather stay home or hit up a hotspot and use the Wi-Fi for free thank you very much.

At this point I was all but sure that I was going to go with the Wi-Fi model of the Playstation Vita. Then I was introduced to the various bundles Playstation is offering with the 3G model. The first bundle they have is the First Edition Bundle. The First Edition Bundle includes the 3G model of the Playstation Vita, A case for the Vita, The game Little Deviants, and a 4GB Vita Memory Card. The big thing about this bundle is that it allows you to purchase the Playstation Vita a week before it's launch date. Meaning on February 15th you can be playing Uncharted: Golden Abyss while the the rest of us wait until February 22nd. That sounded really cool until I saw the price of $349.99. You're paying an extra $50 dollars to be able to play the Vita a week early. I'd rather go to Boston and play the Vita right now (3 weeks early) at the Vita Hill Social Club for free.

The bundle that has my attention is the Launch Bundle that comes with every 3G Playstation Vita on February 22nd. The Launch Bundle includes an 8GB Vita memory card, a free month of 3G service, and a free Playstation Network game to be announced all for the price of $299.99. This bundle has my attention. The free stuff included is worth over $50 dollars. The 8GB Vita Memory Card alone is $34.99 and a month of 3G from AT&T is $14.99. I was planning on buying a 4GB Memory card because it's the cheapest one, but seeing an 8GB memory card included in the 3G bundle has me curious. Who knows what the free games going to be. Good or bad the PSN game is free my friends.

On launch day my original plan was to buy a Playstation Vita, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and a 4GB memory card. If I go with my original idea, I'm looking at spending $324.97 before taxes. If I go with the 3G bundle, I get a 3G Vita, an 8GB memory card and Uncharted Golden Abyss for $349.98 before taxes. The question I'm left with is this. Is the extra $25 worth it to buy a 3G bundle? I'll let you know what I decide on launch day.