This week saw the long-awaited release of the new PS Vita, which features a slimmer, lighter design, enhanced battery life, and 1GB of onboard storage, in addition to a host of subtle refinements. We caught up with two key individuals responsible for the new PS Vita design — Taichi Nokuo, UX Platform Design Group for the SCE Corporate Design Center, and Mika Nagae, Strategy and Product Planning Dept — to learn more about how this elegant overhaul came to be.
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PlayStation.Blog: Have you been involved with designing other PlayStation hardware? If so, what?
Taichi Nokuo, UX Platform Design Group for the SCE Corporate Design Center: Yes, I have been involved with the Pulse wireless stereo headset, PlayStation Move charger, PS Vita TV (available in SCEJA regions), and I am also involved in Project Morpheus. A lot of wearable hardware!
PSB: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced? How difficult is it to strike a balance between keeping certain design elements and changing others?
Taichi Nokuo: I personally think there is always some kind of challenge involved when working on a new design. I think hardware design is, overall, very challenging.
When designing the new PS Vita system, I took general button positions and ease of use into consideration. I aimed to design a hardware that felt intimate, and something that fit comfortably in the users’ hands. I had extensive conversations with the engineers so I was able to see the hardware’s internal structure, and understand how to achieve my goals.
The new PS Vita inherits the overall silhouette of PSP and the first generation PS Vita, but I also tried to accentuate its freshness, lightness, and slimness. I also incorporated our vision that a new world of PlayStation is about to unfold with the launch of PS4.
PSB: Tell us about your approach to redesigning the new PS Vita — what were some of the key areas you wanted to improve and address?
Mika Nagae, Strategy and Product Planning Dept: The concept of the new PS Vita was “casual, easier to use, and makes users want to play their favorite games every day.” I think users will be able to tell when they actually hold the new system in their hands, but the thin, light, and round silhouette makes the system very comfortable to hold, allowing users to play their games continuously over longer periods of time.
We also improved the shape of the buttons and adopted a micro USB port to further enhance usability. I encourage both new users and current PS Vita owners to go and try out the new design!
PSB: When did you start working on the redesign of the new PS Vita, and how long did it take overall?
Taichi Nokuo: I began designing around spring of 2012. I continued to work on it until the beginning of 2013. So overall, it probably took me a little less than a year.
PSB: How were you able to reduce the weight of the new PS Vita?
Mika Nagae: We optimized and reduced the number of components, and also downsized the circuit board. The optimization of the internal mechanical structure and materials also contributed to the lighter design.
PSB: The new PS Vita incorporates many smaller design changes. Why did you decide to make these revisions?
Mika Nagae: The new PS Vita inherits the overall design of the current PS Vita, but also incorporates many new elements. The shape of the Start button, Select Button, and PS button is slightly larger than its predecessor, and has a round convex shape so that it’s easier to push.
Furthermore, the new system features the power indicator and notification indicator at the top of the system so users can see the status of their PS Vita just by a quick glance. The new PS Vita’s rear touch pad is decorated with a simple dotted pattern to indicate the area where users can tap, and we also placed the PlayStation family logo at the very center of the touch pad.
PSB: Do you ever find design inspirations in unlikely places?
Taichi Nokuo: I get inspiration when I’m eating good food, especially sushi and Korean barbecue. I also like to play the drums, so being in a music studio sometimes inspires me as well. I think I come up with more ideas when I’m relaxed.
– 1 1/2 extra battery life.
The external rechargeable battery is still usable with the slim model, just use the OG charger as the external requires that and use the slim usb cable.
The 1GB of internal memory is disabled when using the PS Vita memory cards, honestly, just import a 64GB, Sony I am disappoint.
The speakers have been moved and are louder then the OG model, they are also harder to block out with your fingers.
The back touch pad is harder to hit by mistake.
Overall, it is lighter, grippier and easier on the hands (I type a lot).
It is a welcome redesign, just needs a few improvements here and there, but it is a win over the OG.
I love the Original OLED, I own two, but the new Slim is getting undeserved hate, maybe it is not meant for you.
Keep your OLED if you already have it, but don’t judge what you don’t have.
One of my comments is awaiting moderation, so don’t fret if my prior comment looks like it is missing context.
It will be there in a bit.
To add to my prior points:
The start and select being larger is a welcome change, they are not easy to hit by mistake but they are easier to hit when you do want to.
Other than that, my gripes follows:
Cameras are the same as the OG model.
No 3G/4G model.
Battery could have been much better.
@ 93 – If Sony was greedy they wouldn’t charge 100$ less for a next gen console that is twice as powerful and has far superior and far more expensive equipment (than the xbone) PS4=GDDR5 – Xbone=DDR3 <— inferior] . Funny u mention Samsung and the Galaxy phones as giving u great value? What …… a phone that (without a bloodsucking contract) can run u 600 – 800$ depending on model, hmm the Vita is 200 and the Galaxy 800 …… hmmm. Yes we the ppl must rise against Sony and tell them "we want u to be more like phone companies, we want to pay 80$ a month for service and 800$ for your portable device but as long as u dont use proprietary memory cards u can have your way with us, oh and please we want hidden fees too"
Got my slim back in January,love it ever since,already spent hundreds of dollars on Vita on PSN since
*on Vita games
@ 59 THA_STARKILLER – First off the slim and BL2 on Vita are awesome and if u didn’t realize BL2 is a huge open world AAA game that honestly never even ran well on the PS3 so obviously some concessions had to be made. I have the same GTA5 Pulse Elite headset (also have regular Pulse Elites) and i beat them the heck up, every night i fall asleep with them on (in bed) and wake up with them twisted around my neck or i’ll be laying on them ect. I have dropped them and left them on all night with the bass maxed out and yet they’re still day1 fresh not a hint of damage or decrease in sound going on 8 months – the Pulse Elites are gorgeous and the bass/pulse and HD 7.1 virtual surround sound is spectacular for the price ( i got them on sale 100$) so anything Taichi Nokuo had a part in designing i am in favor of. Nokuo is helping with the Morpheus VR (virtual reality) headset and u wont buy it because of that? You will be missing out on gamings next movement and the company leading the charge, we will all be rockin out with Driveclub, project cars, and i’m sure many more great titles in VIRTUAL REALITY while u enjoy your lonely 2-D non-virtual reality because u foolishly destroyed your beautiful headphones.
Keep the proprietary memories,
Someone at Sony claimed they suffered from non-proprietary ones with PSP days ‘n such.
Ok…. do we have to suffer the over-piricing ? no
Cut the pricing by 50~70% at this moment ‘n forward
Can we get a percentage indicator in the battery so we know our actual battery life. Also it would be nice if we could delete individual items in the notifications screen. And for GOD sake either drop the price of the memory cards or make a adapter to allow a standard microsd. i love my vita slim but these lil things will make it even better.
I don’t see how this newer Vita is any better than the old one. In fact, I just bought a second original Vita because almost everything about the new model sucks. The OLED screen, build quality, even the rear touchpad aesthetic on the old one looked better with the Playstation symbols design. The whole point of a new model is to IMPROVE on the old one, not make it worse and remove what worked. Definately have no interest in getting this.
Why so much hate for the slim? Oh well. I’ll just get back to Borderlands 2.
Thank you so much for this Q&A… The Vita Hill Club I visited was a disaster and the (Demo) Vita was not up to par for my gaming needs or wants… yet this new model looks promising… I am interested in feeling the weight difference and seeing if the touch pads and screen have been improved since my 15 min test at the Hill Club that seemed like an awful a joke.
Is there any news of an affordable internet access price (unlimited for under 50 a month) in the works or will we be stuck with carrying a portable internet device along with the Vita for its life time?
I hear some folks saying they are not happy because their hands are large, yet I have a small Finger Span I can understand where they are coming from as well…
Maybe from now on when coming out with hand held platforms, it might be a good idea to offer 3 sizes on Launch… A child size, a woman’s size and a Men’s size. Even if it were just a slip on Molded Casing to fit the individual Gamer’s hand size Needs…
Again thank you for this Awesome Post in the Blog… I appreciate it…
The mystery port on top of the original PSV was for Project Morpheus so you can play KZM in virtual reality :p
REduce the price of the Memoery Cards !!! Stop being greedy that concept doesn”t translate well in this economy !!!!!
What about a UI redesign.
The Vita interface looks childish…
@100 @avluis
“Just want to make sure you fact check on that GOW Collection being 15.5GB, technically not possible to do on a PS Vita card as the max confirmed size was only 4GB, but that is something that can be upgraded, best way to check this is by buying GOW Collection from the PS Store.”
I just find it funny that you didn’t take your own advice because if you go to the PlayStation Store you will see that the GOW collection IS in fact 15.5GB. I tried to find info on the size of the card version for comparison, but had no luck. Either way, even if the vita cards max out of 4GB, but that only applies to games on vita cards not digital titles.
The screen is lower quality and 1GB memory is a joke. I have a Vita and buy a lot of games but it will continue struggling with these small memory cards at still high prices. BI have a 32GB card now and it’s too small but I’m definitely not buying a larger card until prices are within reason. Even 64 is too small. 128 especially if you have Plus would be good. The next Vita design upgrade needs to include the ability to use other types of memory if you can’t get the costs down on the current ones. I’d also like to see you return to the screen quality of the original. I’ll be sad if mine ever breaks and I end up having to downgrade screens.
@115 I’m fairly certain it is not 15.5GBs as I have the game and it did not take that long to download.
Don’t forget that will eat most memory cards out there, the slim only comes with an 8GB card as well, and many are crying about the 32 and the 64 not being enough.
Anyways, I’m sure that’s showing up like that because of the PS3 version and not because that is the actual size.
And if that is the actual size, then Sony is giving away 16GB PS Vita carts for a heck of a lot cheaper than the memory cards, including a game.
Bring out the PS Vita TV in the US.
A lot of USA gamers prefer to play on the big screen.
Also; I did say to bring out 2 models. This one (Bundle @199$ and Stand-Alone for 170$), and a better model.
The better model would have the extra:
-OLED or Tri-luminous Tech.
-16Gb of internal memory (NOT A MEMORY CARD, the 16Gb ADDs on top of the Memory Card)
-Same Micro-USB plug and Rear Touchpad as the slim.
-1Gb of Ram at least, for faster UI interaction.
~225$
If you can add PSP UMD card support, that’s even better.
Slim Factor = Insignificant for this particular model.
But the most Important Factor; Games! AAA Games franchises that are system sellers.
We already know that the Vita HAS More games than the 3DS (Do the Math, even with a year lead) but you need Games SUITED for the PS Audience, not the Nintendo Audience.
http://nerdburglars.net/viewpost.php?ID=252&Title=new-oled-technology-could-see-oled-screens-return-to-the-ps-vita&type=Article
This might help you get the cost of the OLED screen down.
The Slim Is Great, now it needs a good marketing strategy and pricing.
170$ as a stand-alone.
Bring out the 64Gb card to the US.
As you can see with the 3DS, they’ve released MULTIPLE VERSIONs of their portable console and are KEEPING them all on the market AT THE SAME TIME.
It’s gonna do great for Japan. The US Audience always wants “the best” (That’s why the PS4 will win this gen).
Those 2 markets are very different from each other.
it seems nice
stop asking for non- proprietary memory cards; it ain’t gonna happen. PSP had non -proprietary cards and it was hacked to high heaven because of it.
I don’t have an issue with proprietary cards but I agree they are way too expensive.
Dude that new psvita is gona look sick ass hell
Thank you for the new ps vita. i love it, it feels great in my hands. i like how the back touch pad is smaller and the grip pads bigger. The buttons seem much easierto press and feel sturdy, in fac the whole system feels sturdy in my hands. The grip that lines the whole vita is really nice, cause sometimes my hands would feel slick on the old model but now it feels i alwys have a solid grip. the anolog sticks seem more responsive and the top with a better grip. Seems to have better speakers, sounds louder and more clear. Love the indicater lights on top. Being lighter is great to carry in my hands and carry it arond. I like that how much thinner it is it fits in my pockets or bag a whole lot more comfortable. So overall i love the improvements and don’t miss my old vita. Noteven the OLED, this LCD is just fine, in fact i like it more, may not be as viberiant, but it seems to be brighter to were the dark spots show up in games.
I wonder how much Sony pays you for commenting in favor of the PS Vita, $10, $20 bucks?
Eh, think I’ll just stick with my current Vita for now. There’s not enough games coming out for it to warrant buying another one.
Sony needs to create an smartphone that plays VITA games, the VITA as it is right now wont have much sales sadly. Me and my brother are day 1 owners and we are deeply disappointed with the system. After Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, and some other games, the system has turned into an indies/small games system.
Too bad they changed the omoled screen, will be hunting for the first generation ones in case mine brokes.
@117 Both the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Store website say 15.5 GB. I am going to contact Sony about fixing it, because not only is it incorrect, but because the memory cards are expensive, I’m sure a lot of people only have an 8-16GB and upon seeing this they may not buy it. Sorry about my previous reply, I assumed the information from Sony would be correct.
sony ill pay you to let me design a vita my way now this sounds like a business plan
it should L2 and R2 and analog sticks sucks
why did you not use a SDHC or micro version. cards for this device. seeing the cards themselves are really great price perspace then. the awful price vita cards
I don’t mind this version of the vita as long as the OLED model remains.
LED for the kids.
OLED for the big boys (and girls, of course) :)
Now, as for the mystery port on my OLED, do tell what that was/is for and be transparent from now on, Sony. I’d rather know than don’t know…the mystery port is like a lump in my breast.
Suppose Sony is “perfecting” the Vita, so takes steps backwards while going forward (the Vita slim), and when everything is all worked out we’ll see the PS Vita 3000 *OLED, Triluminous, 4G, OMG* and all that good stuff.
We’re only supposin’…
64 GB memory cards PLEASE!
Also, patch the firmware so that the Vita can use both external memory cards and also the internal 1 GB. It’s a really big waste to have that 1 GB sitting around doing nothing.
The slim is hideous. Very disappointed with the designers on that one. The frame around the screen especially makes it look terrible. And it looks cheap. Not surprising, after how cheap the PS2 slim, PS3 slim and PS3 super slim look.
Also, 1GB internal memory being inaccessible when a memory card is inserted is a huge fail. Sony makes phones and tablets that have internal memory, and then allow you to expand that with micro SD. So… why couldn’t they call up those guys and figure out how to make the Vita’s internal memory useful?
Would you like to know why they used propriety memory? Very simple. Hackers and modders. They didn’t want the system tampered with thus we have these memory cards. Yes it stinks and is much more expensive however we have no one else to thank but them(hackers and modders).
you killed the 3g service by partnering up with at&t in the US, if you would of kept it an open network it would of been more successful and would of likely still been in the second generation vita
@106 iamtylerdurden1 – I Consider Your facts to be wrong, The GTAV Pulse Wireless Elites are a Gamestop and Sony Exclusive & have only been on sale for $130 for Black Friday & the week before Christmas(so how does one have Them for 8 Months & also get Them on Sale 3 months after?), how does someone get Them ‘Twisted’ around Themselves with a Wireless Headset I wonder, Borderlands 2 is not an Open World it has Zones, and it not Running well is from the Massive Bullet Count. The game on Ps3 almost freezes with only 1 Player playing when The Bee Amplify Shield & Conference Call Shotgun are used in Conjunction, which proves it’s not the Player Count but the Coding of Borderlands 2 itself. So iamtylerdurden1, either don’t Lie or get your Facts Straight, Your obviously a Fanboy. And Borderlands 2 is way too easy with Only 2 Players, the Games difficulty increases with the Player Count, which I require. My Pulse Headset work just fine, but Only Vibrate when I Plug the USB Transmitter into my Laptop, just not my Ps3, obviously a Designers mistake.
I bought a second ps vita before the new slim came out because I love the oled screen and I have my doubts about the new screen:/ why downgrade? Battery life? Not worth it in my opinion I’ll play less with better graphics:/ or charge it.
lollolollolololooolllloll
really u guys i cant get past the fact that u all is blogin about this
I love the new slimer VITA. I now own two versions. the 3G/Vita and the newer borderlands 2 slim bundle. I definitely recommend trying the new design out yourself and see what you think. I was a lil nervous it would feel cheaper in build, and it does a lil, but its a good thing, its so much thinner, lighter and start and select buttons are now easy to find with a touch of your thumb even in the dark. I love the new design. The screen is not as vibrant in its color, but my battery last 7 hours now, rather than 3 hours on my OLED VITA. I am selling a great deal on my 3G OLED vita if anyone is interested heres the link. http://www.ebay.com/itm/PS-Vita-3G-WiFi-w-8GB-card-More-/161308818550?pt=Video_Games&hash=item258ec13c76
Don’t count on using that 1 gig of internal memory for anything. Because you can’t. Thanks, Sony. : `)