[Hardware Preview] PlayStation Vita

When we first saw the PS Vita at E3, it all seemed like afuturistic system that we would never actually own. With only a month beforethe PSV’s North American release, we got our hands on one of Hong Kong’s 3Gmodels and tried it out. Aside from its technical superiority, the PSV is filledwith smart design decisions that make it the premiere portable device forgamers to anticipate.

There are several things that players will notice about thesystem once they hold it in their hands: it’s wide yet slender, features alarge 5-inch screen that is incredibly lightweight, and a wildly differentinterface. While the sleek nature of the system is appealing, I couldn’t helpbut feel paranoid about putting it into my pocket. With such a large screen,the system felt like it was bound to snap and was just plain uncomfortable inmy pocket.

During gameplay, however, the system was a marvel to hold.The PSV’s dual analog sticks and overall sizable buttons felt welcoming, asthough a portable was finally large enough for my gigantic hands. The system’sportability was ultimately sacrificed for a more engaging gaming experience. It’sa trade-off that I won’t mind, as long as I had something other than my jeans’pocket in which to store the PSV. Conveniently, games include useful links tothe game’s website, company’s website, or PSN store for easy access. The multitouchcapacitive touchscreen is duly sensitive and precise, making it leaps andbounds above the 3DS’s outdated resistive touchscreen and giving it many morepossibilities instead.

Some browsing through the system’s applications quickly showedsome notable improvements over other systems’ similar counterparts. ThePlaystation Store itself is pretty easy to browse, featuring categories on theleft ranging from the games and add-ons to movie downloads. Fans of digitalcontent will be excited to find that retail games are also available as digitaldownloads. Near, the PSV’s attempt to connect nearby gamers, shows differentusers on a map including their PSN usernames, recent games, and trophies. Thisfeature most mirrors the original Nintendo DS’s PictoChat that allowed users tochat with others nearby; however, Near works on a much larger scale, allowingusers to see others several kilometers away as well. Security concerns mayarise, but since the unit was in Chinese, we were not able to test outdifferent settings.

In order to receive internet signal, the 3G model includes aslot for a SIM card. Curious to see if any SIM card would work, we inserted aT-Mobile SIM card with data on it and, to our amazement, it was able to receivedata. However, it was only able to receive 2G speeds, telling us that thesystem is on the same band as the AT&T network. While the SIM card was inthe slot, the PSV gave notifications on any text messages that arrived.Unfortunately, the system was incapable of replying to text messages or receivingcalls. Perhaps hackers may work on a mod for this in the future, but at leastexisting AT&T customers who wish to have data anywhere can use the system’sdata capabilities, given that they are willing to miss some calls. Keep in mind that the model we tested was from Hong Kong and unlocked - a feature that may not hold true for the North American release.

With only a month to go before its North American release,the system is looking better and better. There are some design decisionsalready that some may question, but the trade offs are definitely worth it. Welook forward to its release and will be waiting by the door for its arrivalcome February 22.