Play Station Vita questions

[Patrick425]

So, my son wants a Play Station Vita for his birthday. I had a bunch of questions about how this system works and went to the website to find out more, but I'm still not sure I understand. So, I thought I would use the great knowledge database that is Brewerfan.net

 

1) Looks like you have to pay a monthly fee for 3G (either $15 or $30 per month depening on the amount of data). I'm not going to pay for this and my son can't afford it (He's going to be 14). So, if he didn't use 3G at all is there any mobility to this device if he can find a WiFi spot (like in our house)?

 

2) I think he's mainly intreaged with the being able to continue a game on the Vita that you started on your PS3. How does this work? Does he also have to puchase the same game and download it on to Vita? If so, at what cost? Also, can he do this through WiFi, or does it have to be through 3G?

 

Thanks for any help on this.

[patrickgpe]

don't own it but i think i think i can help. i find Vita to be a waste of money. you have to buy the system and buy a 2nd version of the game. i believe they run about 40, so you are looking at 100 dollars to be able to pickup a game after you leave the house.

 

i am not sure about the wifi, but you almost would need to get the data package, because the game has its best use by being able to play after leaving your house (ie playing on the bus to school or whatnot).

 

EDIT: you can but a wifi version for 50 dollars cheaper than the 3G version.

[Patrick425]

Thanks for the info Patrick. What you said is kind of what I thought. Although, what if he's not playing online? What if he's just playing a game like MLB the show by himself against the system and then wants to stop midgame on the PS3 and continue on the Vita? I know he needs to also own the game (for an extra $40) on the Vita, but does he need to have WiFi or 3G to continue to play it? As far as I know, he didn't need wifi or 3g to play the game on his PS3 - so why would he need it to continue the game on his Vita (other than when he "downloads" the information from that game onto his Vita)?

[Patrick425]

Never mind - After talking to my son he has decided he does not want it anymore. He was actually already having 2nd thoughts about it, but was concerned that we had already bought it for him.

[patrickgpe]

yeah i usually get an hour a week to play the show to myself these days, but i hated playing the show on the psp, so i don't know how that would translate to the vita anyway.

[DuWayne Steurer]

SOmewhat redundant, since your son decided he doesn't want it...but a few things, just in case.

 

You don't need 3G to get online. If you have internet at your house, he can get online. I don't take my Vita anywhere, so I just use my own wireless at my house.

 

Also, you don't need internet to use the cross-platform functionality between the Vita and Ps3. You just have to have the 2 devices synced.

[endaround]

Yeah just to be clear, there are two versions of the Vita, one for $250 that is WiFi only and one for $300 that is WiFi and 3G. The 3G is ala carte so no contract. The other thing is that you need to buy a separate memory card. An 8 GB one comes with the $300 bundle, it normally sells for $30 alone.

 

All that said, Sony will be having deals on it very soon (they have been giving away free memory cards with purchase plus some other stuff in Japan).

[DuWayne Steurer]

Yeah, I bought my Vita at Target (the WiFi only model), and got a free 4GB memory card with it. They also had a deal that same day that if you bought two games, you got a 3rd game of your choice for free. So I guess the thing is, if you look for deals, you're not going to have to pay full retail. I think this holds true for anything, really. Especially with new stuff.

 

Oh, and I guess this goes without saying. Don't go to GameStop.

[RightFieldCoder]

Why not GameStop? They sometimes have good deals.