(photo: shenmuedojo.net)
Sony has decided that it’s time for a re-up of their popular handheld video game system, the PS Vita. While the PS Vita hasn’t been as popular as the Nintendo DS or the Sony PSP, the latest handheld from Sony has regained relevance with the introduction of the PS4 and the PS Vita’s capability of playing PS4 games streamed from the console. This remote play functionality is very similar to the Wii U game pad but with better graphics and faster processing.
The new PS Vita is the PS Vita slim and while it doesn’t have any major hardware updates, the slimmer profile and some of the other features make it worth considering.
Sony has reduced the weight of the PS Vita Slim by 20% from the original PS Vita which according to trustedreviews.com makes it lighter than all the other handhelds in it’s class including the Nintendo 2DS. They’ve also cut the profile back from 18mm to 15mm in thickness making it a decent weight and size to fit in someone’s back pocket.
The overall design is a little more curvy and refined and when paced side by side looks less clunky.
The display on the new unit still comes in at 5 inches and has 540×960 pixel LCD screen, a minor downgrade in the display. . They’ve also upgraded the battery life to 6 hours.
Sony has made slight improvements to the game playing pad and controls as well. They’ve rounded the start and select buttons and made them easier to access
Sony has added 1gb of internal memory. This allows users to download a few smaller games but you’re still going to need an external and proprietary memory card from Sony to download any significant amount of games. But in a great move Sony has dropped the proprietary charging connector in favor of a microusb connector that any Android device, windows phone or Blackberry device owner is going to have just laying around. You can now charge the PS Vita Slim using any microusb cord and USB connector or car charger.
The real selling point on the PS Vita Slim is the interaction with the PS4. You can stream or “remote play” just about any PS4 came from the console to the PS Vita, or PS Vita Slim for a great in hand experience. You can use the PS Vita or PS Vita Slim as the controller or as a stand alone device playing your PS 4 games provided you have your PS4 on to serve up the game you want to play.
The PS Vita Slim will be available in the UK on Friday but they’ve made no mention of when it will come to the United States. We will update you when we hear more.
Trustedreviews.com has a thorough review of the PS Vita Slim, here.
