PSVITA Master Thread - 3.60 Update

[Mavrick]

2:38 "Your gonna need to use wifi to play your hardcore head-to-head games online"

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3...on-vita/715472

Probably will apply to the majority of competetive online titles. 3g being reserved for stats or alerts etc as explained in the video.

[Shin-Ra]

3G asynchronous (turn-based) play is a dead cert for games like Hot Shots Golf and Hustle Kings. You'll get a system notification that your PSN friend's taken a turn, boot the game up and it shows a replay of their action.

I think you can get 'good' latency of around 150ms via 3G which is playable like dialup but the question is do people on WiFi want 3G players mixed with them. Probably not.

[Mavrick]

Originally Posted by Shin-Ra

3G asynchronous (turn-based) play is a dead cert for games like Hot Shots Golf and Hustle Kings.

I think you can get 'good' latency of around 150ms via 3G which is playable like dialup but the question is do people on WiFi want 3G players mixed with them. Probably not.

It also brings up the question of what would happen if you are using a smartphone as a wifi hotspot. Sure it recognises it as wifi but in reality it's 3g. Guess there will be only one way to find out

But to be honest, I wouldnt want to play online over 3g especially with most of the providers in the UK capping the speeds. My T-Mobile speed on my HTC Desire for example:

Ping: 120ms Download: 230kbps (0.25Mbps) Upload: 64kbps (0.06Mbps)

Not impressive at all....

[AranhaHunter]

What I noticed is that they're missing a FPS for launch/launch window. That would be a HUGE mistake. Of course, there could be a surprise announcement at Gamescom that COD MW3 Vita is being developed by Treyarch for Vita's launch.

[Shin-Ra]

Originally Posted by Mavrick

2:38 "Your gonna need to use wifi to play your hardcore head-to-head games online"

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3...on-vita/715472

Probably will apply to the majority of competetive online titles. 3g being reserved for stats or alerts etc as explained in the video.

The Street Fighter x Tekken gameplay @ 2:38 looks a lot smoother there than the other press conference recordings I've seen.

[AranhaHunter]

With Kitase evaluating how to release FF Type 0 in the west and with PSP remasters getting some buzz, you can almost see them cancelling or releasing the PSP version on PSN only in the west and releasing it in HD as a PSP remaster for Vita's launch and then re-releasing it in Japan as an International edition.

It's a really hard sell to release it in the US right now IMO, especially if they were to go with the usual retail route.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

I do think if they could have, the should've also used 4G so you might be able to play online anyplace that has it. 3G just isn't really suited and it shows, like that video a few posts back.

[hellmonkey]

Im sure a 4G variant will pop up. All major US providers are expanding their coverage. I hope Sony pulls its head out of its ass and adds a Verizon version. VZW states that they will cover the last majority of the US with 4G by the end of 2013.

[Shin-Ra]

Aren't AT&T the only major US operator to support GSM 3G? Makes it a lot easier for manufacturing early on if there's only one 3G model to produce.

Last I heard, 4G was still power inefficient. Probably wouldn't reflect well on the VITA's battery life.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Shin-Ra

Aren't AT&T the only major US operator to support GSM 3G? Makes it a lot easier for manufacturing early on if there's only one 3G model to produce.

Last I heard, 4G was still power inefficient. Probably wouldn't reflect well on the VITA itself.

T-Mobile USA use the regular EU standard GSM bands, AT&T use an oddball version while Sprint and Verizon use CDMA which is completely incompatible with the SoC in PSV.

Announcing AT&T means Sony have done a deal with them as T-Mobile would be the easiest version of 3G to support. I suspect it will actually support both T-Mob and AT&T in the end as running two separate production lines for USA and Europe is probably more costly than just including a radio that works with all frequencies.

[Monkey]

So I'm not clear on this, will the Vita or any version of it have a video out to hook up to an HDTV? It looked like they were using something like that at E3 (understanding that these aren't the final builds on display)..

[Shin-Ra]

Shuhei Yoshida said on the IGN Beyond Podcast they were hoping to offer pay as you go tariffs, I don't know if that's common in the US but it's probably what I'd go for.

Originally Posted by Monkey

So I'm not clear on this, will the Vita or any version of it have a video out to hook up to an HDTV? It looked like they were using something like that at E3 (understanding that these aren't the final builds on display)..

Firmly no video out. The all-black VITA's (that currently have no PSVITA logo) are dev units. On the retail VITA there's a headphone port next to the multi-use port on the bottom.



Multi-use port (for USB data communication, DC IN, Audio [Stereo Out / Mono In], Serial data communication),
Headset jack (Stereo mini jack) (for Audio [Stereo Out / Mono In])
Accessory port

[Septimus Prime]

Originally Posted by Maximus

T-Mobile USA use the regular EU standard GSM bands, AT&T use an oddball version while Sprint and Verizon use CDMA which is completely incompatible with the SoC in PSV.

Announcing AT&T means Sony have done a deal with them as T-Mobile would be the easiest version of 3G to support. I suspect it will actually support both T-Mob and AT&T in the end as running two separate production lines for USA and Europe is probably more costly than just including a radio that works with all frequencies.

That, and barring any interference by the FCC (and I honestly don't see them doing anything about it), AT&T is going to merge with T-Mobile soon anyway.

But, to me, AT&T is a deal-breaker. It killed my interest in iPhone and iPad, it killed my interest in Atrix, and it's killing my interest in both the 3G version of the PS Vita and the newly leaked Nexus 4G. I really wish companies stopped doing exclusivity deals with AT&T.

[hellmonkey]

But, its The Network.. It also does voice and data at the same time.

Oh wait.

[Shin-Ra]

Another PSN download-only game:
Robot Rescue Revolution: E3 2011 Trailer


Kazuma Kujo Studio Plans PS3, PS Vita Support (ex- IREM)

aaand..

Sony: PS Vita matching PS3 product pipeline

Speaking before E3, Sony's head of WorldWide Studios Suhei Yoshida told us that the company's decision to concentrate much more on PS3 software than PSP titles was a "mistake" and hurt the handheld.

However, he asserted that it wasn't an error Sony would be making twice.

"We are doing about the same number of titles [on Vita as on PS3] so that means a lot," he stated. "One of the things we didn't do to well to support PSP was that right after PSP came out we moved on to working on the PS3 launch titles.

"So we shifted too much resource out of PSP so after a couple of years the PSP support went quickly down.

"We tried to back it up a couple of years ago but there was a time where we were not offering enough PSP content. So going forward we do not want to make the same mistake so we always look at the balance that we are doing in support of both PS3 and NGP."

LBP appears to be safe in the hands of Tarsier Studios and Double Eleven so we're getting another game from Media Molecule. If SCE can keep partnering with capable developers this way it should work out well.

[Shin-Ra]

Atelier Meruru Director on Young Rorona and PlayStation Vita

Fans also asked Okamura about the possibility of porting the Arland series (this is the name for the PS3 Rorona, Totori and Meruru trilogy) to the PSP or PlayStation Vita. PSP would be technically impossible, replied Okamura. But Vita would be possible from a technical standpoint, and Gust is seriously looking into it.

You may remember, Falcom's already committed...

Legend of Heroes Developer Readying [VITA] Launch RPG

Sony's next generation portable system, NGP or whatever it ends up being called, is going to have some major RPG support right out the gate. Legend of Heroes and Ys maker Falcom have revealed that they're working on an original RPG for the platform, with a goal of making the new game into a launch title.

Falcom CEO Toshihiro Kondo revealed this juicy bit in this week's issue of Japan's Dengeki PlayStation magazine. Kondo seems to be a fan of the NGP, saying that it provides an evolution to all the PSP's functionality while also adding in everything that wasn't in that system. It also has some areas that resemble a PC, he said. Falcom has long experience as PC developers, so this makes them feel that they may be able to do things with the system that they couldn't do before.

[AranhaHunter]

http://ie.psp.ign.com/articles/117/1177042p1.html

To answer your question, we set out a goal: Yes, we're going to hit the $250 price, and no, we don't want to sell the hardware with a deficit. That's a goal we set out to do and I'm very happy we are achieving that.

IGN: So you're going to be profitable with each Vita sold?

Yoshida: We haven't completed the hardware development. It's like 98-percent done in terms of hardware, and on the system software side and network code, we have a few more months to work on that. We don't have the final-final answer to that question, but the way we are projecting it seems like we're going to do pretty well.

It's not making a next-generation game on home consoles where you have to spend $100 million. Actually, the development cost for one of our studio titles on Vita is way closer to what we've been spending on developing PSP games than what we've been spending on PlayStation 3.

Seems like they'll be profitable Day 1 and it's less risky for 3rd parties to make games on the system.

[Shin-Ra]

Check that full analog action.

[AranhaHunter]

I recently bought Dead Space 2, and the the PS Store is very nicely integrated there. You never have to get out of the game to purchase or download DLC whereas in other games when you connect to the store you have to get out, go to the store, and then relaunch the game.

I'm expecting this kind of integration for games on Vita. Easy, quick access to the store with one click download/purchase.

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by Shin-Ra

Check that full analog action.

Must feel good on the fingertips.