New Slimmer, Lighter PS Vita Model Out Today

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New Slimmer, Lighter PS Vita Model Out Today

The day has arrived – the new slimmer, lighter PlayStation Vita model is now available at retailers across North America. Pick up the new model today as part of the Borderlands 2 Limited Edition PlayStation Vita Bundle, featuring the first-person role-playing shooter Borderlands 2 with six DLC packs and an 8GB memory card, all for $199.99 (MSRP). This is a limited edition bundle, so don’t miss your opportunity to pick up the new PS Vita model today.

Slimmer, Lighter PS Vita

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Hands-on the new with PS Vita

PS Vita’s new design has tons of tweaks and adjustments, aside from the obvious thinner design and weight reduction. The Start, Select, Power, and PS buttons have been raised slightly, making them easier to press. The grips on the back of the system have grown a bit, resulting in a more comfortable experience… and less accidental taps on the rear touch pad. The edges of the system are more rounded, which just feels better. The display is now LCD based, but I didn’t notice a dramatic difference in picture quality.

– Justin Massongill, PlayStation.Blog

The new model is approximately 20 percent slimmer and approximately 15 percent lighter than the original and features 1GB of internal memory, extended battery life, a new high-definition liquid crystal display (LCD) and rounded edges that make PS Vita even more comfortable to hold. PS Vita is the ultimate companion for any gamer with more than 1,000 games available (including classic games from PS one and PSP) and “Remote Play” with PlayStation 4, which allows most PS4 games to be streamed to the PS Vita system over a local Wi-Fi network. Pairing your PS Vita with your PS4 to use Remote Play is even simpler with last week’s system updates. The content library for PS Vita will become even richer when PlayStation Now support launches on the system later this year.

In addition to Borderlands 2, God of War and God of War II are available today for PS Vita as part of God of War Collection. And that’s not all for this month — Soul Sacrifice Delta launches on May 13 and Sly Cooper Collection launches on May 27.

Slimmer, Lighter PS Vita

May is a big month for PS Vita, right? Well it doesn’t end there, with Helldivers launching this summer and Minecraft, Metrico, Tales of Hearts R, Freedom Wars, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number all expected to release in 2014.

Check out the sidebar of this post for the PlayStation.Blog team’s hands-on impressions of the new slimmer, lighter PS Vita and let us know what games you can’t wait to play on the new model in the comments!

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195 Comments

11 Author Replies

  • You want to talk about big months for Vita? How about allowing us to once again play games like Spyro, Crash and Metal Gear Portable Ops, that you made compatible on April 21st just to go back and make them incompatible 2 days later?

  • oled for life…or riot :)

    64 gb card….or riot :)

  • When is Sony going to treat their handhelds with the same respect as their home consoles? I never have this problem with Nintendo systems, both 3DS and Wii U get equal support from Ninte do.

  • Drop the price of memory cards PLEASE I will not wast my time with a Vita until then.

  • I fear that SONY or whomever in charge of Vita system/hardware are fighting the very reason to convince peoples to buy it.

    The highly priced memory cards are the issue atm. we need bigger ? yes we got as big 32 ‘n soon 64. BUT, the price is not right at all.

    Half the price of the memories or even cut their price them to 50~80% of , after all, there are no competitors to be feared.

  • I picked this up and it is awesome! Long live the Vita!

  • diablo 3 or riot

  • @43 My second Vita was MIA during those couple days that Crash/Spyro should up downloadable for the Vita. Just last week I found it and used Content Manager to copy them from my primary vita to my computer and then to my secondary vita. Games worked fine.

  • @50, umm PSN accounts are not region locked. I can play a EU PSN game on my NA PSN account. What you’re asking for is impossible. Laws around the world can’t give you access to EU or JP content on a NA account without filing for every title that is available. You’re lucky PS even allows playing of other region titles on a region apart from it’s own

  • Infamous spin off or riot

  • This is the third Vita I have personally purchased now lol I bought an original and sold it to my little brother while simultaneously buying another brand new Vita OLED(spreading the Vita love) and now I’ve bought a Vita slim for my two youngest brothers lol spreading that Vita love! ;)

  • Does the fact that you didn’t mention Oreshika mean we aren’t getting it this year? That’s my most anticipated game for vita.

    • Oreshika is coming. I’m personally happy that Japan Studio made the commitment to bring it over to our region.

  • I’m waiting for mine, but amazon is taking their time, they will deliver it this friday :)

    Can’t wait to play!!!!!

  • I’d still recommend the original OLED model over the slim model.

    Shaving off a few ounces and smoothing corners wasn’t necessary. The 4GB extra internal storage isn’t enough and you will likely want a 32 GB or 64GB card.

    The weight was fine on the original and it’s still not pocket sized so slimming it down just makes it less comfortable to hold.

    If they want to improve the Vita they should reduce the over-priced proprietary memory cost down to something reasonable. (I just bought a 64GB SDMicro card for $18, but a 32GB Vita card will cost you $85.)

    They should also consider adding support for Crash Bandicoot 1-3, Spyro the Dragon 1-3 since everyone has been asking for it for the last 3 years!

  • @58, ahh thank you for that info!! I’m a back those games up to my Laptop and even copy to a USB too so I can always get access again in the future if something bad happens like my MC corrupts or something

  • I had the Vita since launch and I truly believe it still has huge potential. Hopefully the new slim bundle will drive insane sales.
    I love Remote Play but the games are a real disappointments. 90% are indies and ports. I was hoping for games like Killzone Mercenary and Tearaway. I feel I was tricked, but am patient. Just don’t neglect this awesome console.

  • Nice work. I really want the slim PS Vita, but I cannot part ways with the original oled screen PS Vita.

  • AvoidTalkingMice

    Desperately need a 64GIG (Or more) card. I have to delete something every time I install anything on my vita.

  • There needs to be another price drop on the memory cards, Sony.

  • the Slim should have replaced the stupidy overpriced memory with standard SD card support like the 3DS supports.

    Maybe someday the download list can be fixed to actually be useful on Vita as well…

  • I was a little bit jealous for a sec, and then read that the new slim version dropped OLED. Glad to have the original version :)

  • LightOfValkyrie

    I’ll stick with my original I’ve had since day one.
    OLED > LCD.

  • Still no different colors? A la PSP? Will there EVER be color options?

  • ummm, diff colors or riot! :)

  • This was unnecessary but you Sony to make unnecessary things…well you are champion on that.Whats the point of this Vita model?…moreover a slim Vita?….take off the internal 1gb and this model is pure crap…..LCD is the worst type of HD screen that exists…and OLED is the best so whats the point?…it looks like a bad joke.

    I may ask something though….the buttons…have you guys removed that clickness on the buttons?….I mean is it like PSP…?…cuz if the clickness is removed…I might change my judgement about the slim model.

  • -Monster Hunter
    -GTA
    -ability to copy saved data to an external source (or free cloud storage for non plus members)

    ….or riot!

  • TheFunkyPhantom

    It’s awesome we don’t get the six color selection nor do we get the matching colored protectors. I’ll wait until Sony stops treating us like a third-world country. Maybe someday PS4 will get the red and blue controllers too.

  • @Welmosca Whaaa….? I like the button clickiness of the vita….

  • Why would anyone pick the slim one? It’s barely slimmer and it uses LCD screen, which is vastly inferior to the OLED screen on the first Vita.

    Also, Why are memory cards still that expensive? It’s the reason the Vita is doing so poorly. A 32GB SD card is 25-30$, so the 32GB memory card should be priced the same (there are no competition).

  • Would really love one in white that is either a Core version or comes with something other than Borderlands 2, since I already have that on PS3…

    Pleeeeaaaassseeee!! :D

  • Let’s get that 64gb memory card here in the states, at a reasonable price.

    I think 3 OLED Vitas should hold me down for my lifespan of Vita gaming, but I may get a 4th OLED one (because the build quality and screen quality is more important to me) if I feel paranoid enough soon (paranoid about them all breaking down before I’m done playing the Vita in my life–for reference, I still play often on my PSP).

    However, the decision to go Slim is not a decision I could argue. I just wish it was viable enough to continue both models, the OLED at a slightly higher price point for the gamers wishing for the visual quality and willing to pay to support it.

    Here’s to hoping the Vita’s years ahead make the years behind a forgotten memory (in terms of overall sales).

  • Is this a Vita complaint week or what? This and GOW posts. Kind of makes Vita owners a little whiny this week. Yes, I would love to see Infamous, GTA, NBA, NHL, WWE, or Resident Evil, but the truth is the last couple of weeks have been good to Vita. Keep up the good work Sony. I am very optimistic about E3 and I am hoping to hear some great Vita game announcements.

  • Flash memory is so cheap now its pathetic we have devices releasing in the year 2014 with 1GB of it. Same goes for phones with 8 GB. 32 GB should be the minimum and 64 GB the norm.

  • I really want the hot pink one.

  • My biggest disappointment with the Vita isn’t the fact that I can’t transfer quite a few of my PS1 and minis.

    It’s not even the anemic web browser that can’t view trophy guides and walkthroughs on the most popular PlayStation trophy websites, even if I quit a game first.

    The biggest disappointment is that I invested in the platform because of its many hardware innovations, namely the fantastic OLED display. And now, just like the bait & switch that occurred with the ever-worsening displays on the PSP over its lifetime, the OLED display is being pulled from underneath us.

    If I had wanted a washed-out LCD with motion resolution issues that make any action smear across the screen, I would have bought an Android tablet and installed emulators.

    I sincerely hope there is a ‘Pro’ version of the Vita in the future that brings the OLED screen (or something of *truly* equivelant quality) back. If I could buy a Vita with an OLED screen and LTE/HSPA+ mobile support, I’d feel much better. Sony needs to figure out how to make a premium mobile gaming package, not just dilute the current product line’s quality to bring down the COGS.

  • oversevethousand

    You know, this should have been the perfect moment to announce that full access to PSP/PS1 titles was back. At least address the issue. Could we at least get the 64 GB cards soon?

    To those of you complaining about memory card prices though, seriously, it’s getting old. They’ve dropped significantly since release and hell, look at what you’re getting now. Subtract the game and card out of this bundle and you’re getting a Vita for like $120. That’s a steal if I ever saw one.

    @7
    Those games aren’t the only ones coming out this year – it’s at least twice that (that we know of), and even this list is about the same as what the 3DS has coming.

  • oversevethousand

    @85
    The reason they’re getting rid of the OLED is because it’s just too expensive. If they phase that out, they can lower card prices (which were as high as they were to support selling the OLED machine so cheap) and so on – this thing here is going for less than most cell phones when you consider you’re also getting a game and memory card.

  • LuiSpartanMIMIMI

    @44

    I love my Vita, but truth is: Sony is not capable of handling two consoles.

    Look to PSP: Sony herself said in the past that when they launched it on the market, they shifted focus to PS3, and they forgot PSP for a loooong time. Well, history repeats again.

    @45

    Yeah, really nice “copy-and-past” job from my side, ’cause there’s nothing more to say about the Vita. Maybe saying this many times, Sony can change their vision about the portable, because if things don’t change and they keep thinking everything’s OK, well.. Actually, Vita is dead. Then, it only needs a grave.

    Ohh, and here’s the link you asked. Nice reading:

    http://www.vg247.com/2012/09/08/sony-doesnt-want-vita-overrun-with-console-ports-like-with-psp/

  • LuiSpartanMIMIMI

    @44

    I love my Vita, but truth is: Sony is not capable of handling two consoles.

    Look to PSP: Sony herself said in the past that when they launched it on the market, they shifted focus to PS3, and they forgot PSP for a loooong time. Well, history repeats again.

    @45

    Yeah, really nice “copy-and-past” job from my side, ’cause there’s nothing more to say about the Vita. Maybe saying this many times, Sony can change their vision about the portable, because if things don’t change and they keep thinking everything’s OK, well.. Actually, Vita is dead. Then, it only needs a grave.

    Ohh, and here’s the link you asked. Have a nice read.

    http:// www. vg247.com /2012/09/08/sony-doesnt-want-vita-overrun-with-console-ports-like-with-psp/

  • GTA IV (or San Andreas) and Resident Evil 4 port and Metal Gear Solid 1 for Vita’s NA store.
    … or we will kindly understand if you decide not to. (RIOT)

  • I’m with @ 74, I want the different colors sold here. I would buy a 3rd Vita if you just sell a completely pink or purple one here. My 2 OLEDs are still just perfect and I’m sure they will continue to be. I just want more color options.

  • The continued proprietary memory card usage is still making me hold out on a Vita purchase (which sucks for me, I know, I have a ton of games ready and waiting to play). The 64GB card needs to be released here, and ALL of the card models need to be drastically dropped in price to be at the least close to comparable with SD card prices. That and the onboard memory could still use a bigger upgrade, any device that isn’t 4GB minimum at this day and age is just silly, and the fact that I still can only have a single PSN account per card is ridiculous. Those issues wouldn’t be as bad if the cards themselves were much cheaper, but whaddya know, they’re crazy expensive. …also more system colors. Colors colors colors. These get fixed and I will most likely be throwing cash into the air while running towards the nearest checkout line.

  • People stop being little B%*#ches………………………………….or Riot.

  • I saw the PS Vita Slim in person, the weight, the feel is better & the buttons but the display is a no no. OLED everything look sharp & colorful when LCD it look a little bit more bright but color wash. very low brightness on OLED look way better then Med brightness on LCD version. I wait for 3rd Gen PS Vita with Sony mobile phone LCD or LED screen or OLED screen.

  • Any chance for Vita TV to come over or for TV out to be enabled on the Vita?

  • ManjoumeThunder

    I have an OG Vita so I’m not upgrading unless there’s a special edition that’s khaki or just a khaki. Love that colour scheme.

    Bigger memory cards given all the digital content on the Vita would be great too.

  • Slimmer, Lighter, Crappier ~
    Everyone who’s paid attention to reviews knows the screen sucks compared to the original. Sony lessoning the quality to save money. Glad I bought mine when I did.

  • what about the older vitas will they be getting the games also. or did i buy the week before release for nothing.

  • Agree with AKA_Neku, Monster Hunter on the Vita (besides MHFU) or bust!

    Have almost 1,000 hours in MHFU but want MH3U & MH4U for the Vita. Make it happen PlayStation, please?

  • DecadanceFantasy

    I want colors! Lots of colors. Though I have my Crystal white Vita so I’m happy.
    Though it’s kinda heavy for me sometimes. After playing for a while so one day a slim would be great. I’m happy the US gets to have the slim.

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