PS Vita Slim Review: Your Perfect PS4 Companion

A Slimmer, Lighter PS Vita: Review

May 10, 2014, By Dean Howard

As the smartphone revolution continues to dominate the causal gaming sector, we ask ourselves if consumers still have time for a dedicated handheld-gaming console? According to Sony the answer would be a big fat YES!––with the company introducing a brand new slimmer, lighter PS Vita, aka PS Vita Slim or Vita PCH-2000 to be technical.

The PS Vita Slim has been in circulation in Japan for a few months and was officially released in the United Kingdom in February and North America on May 6, 2014. The US version of the hand-held device comes with a limited Borderlands 2 bundle pack at a RRP of $200 dollars.

The PlayStation 4 has a ton of features that takes advantage of other Sony gaming platforms, such as cross buys, cross saves and cross play on the PS3 and PS Vita via a wifi connection. With all these great network connecting features, we decided to get a hold of the latest PS Vita Slim to determine if it really is worth buying.

What is PlayStation Vita?

To Begin, we must assume that not everyone knows what a PS Vita is and so we start this review with a brief introduction to the hand-held device. PS Vita was first launched back in 2012 and featured its own dedicated games, apps, downloads and other Sony exclusive services that enabled gamers to Cross-Play against PS3 owners who had the same game. In fact this was the beginning of Sony's evolutionary step towards their gaming consoles and dedicated handheld gaming devices talking with each other in Cross platform cloud heaven.

Fast forward to 2013 and we are introduced to Sony's next-generation PlayStation 4 with Remote Play and a Wi-Fi feature that enables the PS Vita to stream PS4 games on its hand-held screen. This new feature has been one of the many significant reasons why the once struggling PS Vita has now caught its second break in the popularities poll.

The great thing about the PS4 to PS Vita Wi-Fi mirroring feature is that if for example you are on a crucial part of your game and your significant other wants to watch the latest episode of Game Of Thrones on TV, you can simply switch your gameplay over to the PS Vita to continue your World saving mission, while they catch up with the very beautiful Daenerys Targaryen aka the Dragon lady. (Though I have to admit the Dragon lady can be a huge distraction when I am attempting to save the World from utter annihilation on my PS Vita).

Design

From our first impressions we could definitely tell the Vita had gone on a diet, even by the weight of the box. Unboxing the PS Vita Slim we could see that the hand-held device had gone through some major and minor subtle changes from its previous iteration. The device was indeed slimmer and lighter than the original Vita. The button locations have been subtly re-adjusted creating a much more user friendly experience and the overall look and feel of the Vita is smooth and polished with a fresh paint job –––The PS Vita Slim is also easier to carry in your pocket without too much distraction or major concern on weight.

The Vita Slim's touch screen interface is 5-inches like the original, but Sony has changed the OLED format to an LCD display on the PS Vita Slim, which we noticed did make a difference to our gaming visuals. The buttons situated around the d-pad no longer has the familiar 2012 matte finish, instead Sony has opted for a silky smooth polish, changing the PlayStation and Start buttons to a circular design in exchange for the original oblong-ish shape.

The back of the Vita Slim is much smaller with two grip pads that make it easier to hold the hand-held device while gaming. In order for the PS Vita Slim to be thinner, Sony had to change a few things up from removing the expansion port on the top of the console once hidden beneath a plastic rubber flap, to replacing the charging socket for a micro USB connection port. Apart from that the game cartridge and memory storage compartments are still the same as before.

UK consumers should also note that the PS Vita Slim will not be available in 3G as this new version is Wi-Fi only. This makes sense since most games will require the extra band width of Wi-Fi in order to truly be functional and 3G will no longer cut it.

A Much Lighter Vita

The PS Vita Slim weighs in at just 219g in comparison to the original 260g. Sony has stated that the Vita Slim is in fact fifteen percent lighter than its predecessor and we could certainly tell when holding the device. The front dimensions of the PS Vita Slim is about the same proportions as the PS Vita when viewed upfront, measuring in around 85.1 x 183.6mm to 83.5 x 182mm. This isn't a huge difference by any means but still a reduction no less. The PS Vita is also 18mm thick, compared to the PS Vita Slim's 15mm.

Vita OLED vs LCD Vita Slim
Going back to the PS Vita's screen display, Sony has changed the original OLED to an LCD display which for some could be seen as a downgrade to OLED's impressive display of sharper brighter colors. The major reason for this change is to cut cost on the production of the PS Vita Slim, making the price point much more accessible to most consumers. Though we found the OLED display to be the better display of the two, it really isn't by that much unless you are looking at it through a micro-scope.

Vita Slim Upgrades
The PS Vita Slim now has 1GB of internal memory storage built right in, saving you time and money buying an additional memory card. The Borderlands 2 PSVita Bundle pack also comes with an additional 8GB memory card as well. The PS Vita also has an improved battery life, allowing up-to five-seven hours of gameplay from a single charge. Sony has also improved the Vita's idle functionality, with the unit going into complete hibernation mode once left idle to preserve battery life.

Overall Verdict

The PS Vita Slim is an upgrade to a hand-held device that was launched only two years ago and though some of the new changes on the Vita Slim is not particularly earth shattering, it is a great way for Sony to re-introduce a dedicated hand-held game device to a mobile savvy consumer market looking for more gaming power on the go. This is further evident with the recent launch of the PlayStation 4, packed with rich cross platform play features like Remote Play accessible via the PS Vita Slim. As we continue to move towards a future where more and more major developers are creating socially connected games like DRIVECLUB and Destiny. A future where we will soon see the release of Sony's PlayStation Now, the companies online game streaming service. We think hand-held dedicated gaming devices like the PS Vita Slim will continue to grow in popularity as it bridges the gap between home entertainment systems and those who like playing video games on the go.

Score
4/5