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.