Mythbusters: “The PS Vita has no games”

February 16, 2014 6:46 PM

“The PS Vita has no games!” This oft mentioned statement has been made plenty of times throughout the brief 2 year life cycle of the PS Vita. Now, to casual video game fans and general fans of Sony Playstation maybe this myth might seem true, but I insist this is not the case. The PS Vita has actually grown and developed a substantial library of titles. Admittedly, in comparison to the behemoth, Hand Held King of its generation – the Nintendo 3DS – the PS Vita does look less fulfilling in regards to its game library. But there are many options on the PS Vita.

Now many people may not have heard the big name title from the PS Vita, but there are many gems on the system. For example Persona 4 Golden is referred to as one the great RPG titles on the system. Many users of the PS Vita state that their experiences on Persona 4 can range to a 100 plus hours in the game, so the replay value is there — but I grant that this is a JRPG that was originally released on the PS2.

Another great title that the PS Vita has in its library is the indie hit Miami Hotline. It originally came out for the PC but gained a substantial following on the Vita. Other less known titles such as Guacamelee, Terraria, Spelunky,  and Thomas Was Alone are all demonstrations of the PS Vita’s range and depth among the Indie scene. On the other side of the system’s face, are the few titles available from the PSP library. Titles like Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, and Final Fantasy 3 and 4 are all available for download on the Playstation Network. Not to mention that, just like the Nintendo 3DS has the Virtual Console, with former NES and SNES titles for download, the PS Vita also has classic PS1 games. Popular titles like Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8, Chrono Trigger, Twisted Metal, Tomb Raider, Dino Crisis, and Tekken are just a small section of the vast array of classic titles under the PS1 library.

I know some parts of the Sony audience and market are seeking for big name blockbusters that are contemporary, and are new for the system. With this being said, the first half of 2014 looks tremendously uplifting if you are a Vita owner. For example Final Fantasy 10, 10-2 and Borderlands 2 will be released on March 18th. Also some time in march MineCraft will become available on the Vita, and on May 6th the God of War Collection will be released. On May 27th the Sly Cooper collection will be released and farther on in the year we will see MLB 2014 on the system, along with other titles such as Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number and Dragonropa 2.

So on the surface it may seem like there are no apparent blockbuster titles or must have games on the PS Vita, but if one looks a little closer there are a few gems in the PS Vita catalogue. Although, in all honesty, I feel that the majority of casual gamers will disregard the PS Vita for a more traditional console experience. Additionally, I believe that Sony knows they might not have a huge gathering among the general gaming market, but steadily they have boosted their handheld platform with small, but excellent, titles.

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