• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

It's a real shame that it's been ~12 years and no handheld has come close to looking as good as the Vita (especially the white variant).

Skel1ingt0n

Skel1ingt0n

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,888
psvita2_1024x1024_2x_22f55912-927a-4b3e-83a3-9d2a7d5703c6_1000x.jpg


DSCF2841-1024.jpg


1000 and 2000 respectively - really comes down to preference and how important the OLED is to you.

I'm a handheld gamer at heart. Grew up on the GameBoy. Lusted after the GameGear. And was there day one for the PSP. Even have some cool and unique stuff like the WonderSwan.

And so, as much as I love my Switch (and especially the Switch Lite), there's been nothing as svelte and as timelessly clean as the Vita in more than a decade.

The only thing that looks equally good, IMO, is the Analogue Pocket, which is designed exclusively to play 20+ year old games (but boy does it look good doing it). But the Switch? The Deck? The Ally... ?

I mean, these are the two biggest (har har) handheld devices releasing this fall:

EMBARGOED-Legion-Go-in-use.jpg


p1015114.jpg


I can understand (even if I don't like it) a focus on bigger screens and bigger batteries and more ergonomic controls. I "get" that more capable hardware demands more space. But... like... shit... I still think a "bigger Vita" would look better than any other handheld I've purchased in the last ten years. While size is an obvious advantage, just the general industrial design in general seems to have gone downhill.

Your thoughts?
 

Deleted member 16908

Oct 27, 2017
9,377
Vita was a beautiful device. I'm hoping the next Switch looks less like a toy.
 
Truno

Truno

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Jan 16, 2020
4,915
The Vita looks better than the OG Switch and Lite, but the OLED looks better imo
 

SFenton

Member
Nov 10, 2017
638
Yep. There's a reason why the GPD Win 4 turned my head so hard I ended up getting into mobile PC, and then PC gaming. I *love* the Vita aesthetic.

nobbt6iyn4bzykmm5odr
 
Transistor

Transistor

Outer Wilds Ventures Test Pilot
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
37,329
Washington, D.C.
All they needed to do was get rid of the back touch pad and do joycon style L2 / R2 buttons and it would have been the perfect handheld.
 
solidstatesurvivor

solidstatesurvivor

Member
Sep 15, 2021
535
Geez it's depressing going to the modern day designs, they're so ugly. PSP and DS Lite are my favorites but the Vita was great and way nicer looking than the 3DS.
 
PallasKitten

PallasKitten

Member
Jul 11, 2022
794
I finally finished off my Vita backlog earlier this year (technically my digital PSP backlog I had on it, completed my last actual Vita game back in 2021 I think), and I've honestly really missed it. It's so ergonomic and a good size for actually traveling with. The controls are great as well, with it having perhaps my favourite D-pad of all time.

I definitely agree that consoles since then have been a bit too big and bulky, and not too aesthetically pleasing either, at least for my own personal preference. I've never actually seen a Switch Lite in person but I imagine it might be good for taking out and about, but the standard Switch is far too big and cumbersome for that for me.
 
Coolduderedux

Coolduderedux

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,492
Vita means life --- as it continues to live on in my thoughts and my dreams.

I fucking love my ROG Ally tho.
 
signal

signal

Member
Oct 28, 2017
40,271
I only owned the white one but black vita looked better. Also PSP looked better.
 

SFenton

Member
Nov 10, 2017
638
Cassius Bright said:
The GPD Win 4 is indeed very cool though it more closely resembles the PSP, no?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's a very interesting hybrid of both. For example, it has the wrist strap hole in the bottom left of the PSP, the D-Pad of the Vita, two analog sticks (though, now asymmetrical), but I personally feel it takes more from the Vita than the PSP.
 
LiK

LiK

Member
Oct 25, 2017
32,161
So good even those portable PCs and emulators have copied the design.

blows my mind Sony didn't reuse Vita design for Project Q
 
BeI

BeI

Member
Dec 9, 2017
6,018
It looks pretty, but it also looks like one of those cramped designs where you gotta either commit to stick or buttons, and feel limited by ergonomics in fast-paced games that need lots of thumb transitions between.
 
senj

senj

Member
Nov 6, 2017
4,521
I'll be honest, it looked nice in photos but it was kind of uncomfortable to hold, especially when trying to keep my fingers from hitting that dumb touchpad on the back. There are a number of designs that I like more
 
ConradCervantes

ConradCervantes

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,054
One of my biggest regrets was selling this incredible little thing; not too long afterwards, homebrew stuff really broke open and microSD adaptors became available for people who didn't want to pony up for Sony's expensive proprietary storage. I think about adding it to the collection again, but most eBay listings seem too sketch to be trustworthy, so many damn stock photos.
 
Var

Var

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
1,312
senj said:
I'll be honest, it looked nice in photos but it was kind of uncomfortable to hold, especially when trying to keep my fingers from hitting that dumb touchpad on the back. There are a number of designs that I like more
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This. I still use my vita a ton but I absolutely have to use the pdp grips to game on it.
 
Rolento

Rolento

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,539
They could re-release it with rounded edges (hurt to play for a long time) and some hardware upgrades and I'd be all over it.
 
GamerJM

GamerJM

Member
Nov 8, 2017
15,726
On one hand, this is true. On another hand, he bigger handhelds sacrifice looking cool at the expense of feeling good to actually hold.
 
Bard

Bard

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
12,574
Completely disagree OP. It just looks like a more rounded and squat PSP, so it's boring.
 
LordofPwn

LordofPwn

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,407
it looked a lot better than it felt to use. if only it was a bit bigger, had full controller mapability (L2/R2 and L3/R3), non-proprietary storage, and a better home interface.
 
Mullet2000

Mullet2000

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,916
Toronto
Analogue got your back:

01zi6z3128q81.jpg


Real talk I miss modern handhelds that genuinely feel handheld. Switch and Steam Deck feel like I different use-case vs. a Vita, PSP, or DS/3DS that I can just throw into any random bag whenever I go out. Bringing a Switch or Steam Deck feels like more of a "Do I REALLY need to bring this?" decision.
 
Justin Iacobellis

Justin Iacobellis

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,332
United States
stopmrdomino said:
ds lite, gba sp, psp 3000, psp go, aya neo 2 all clear easily
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

You lost me at GBA SP. Sony's hardware, especially the PSP, were so far ahead of Nintendo's offerings that they seemed to belong to a time in the future.

The same went for the Vita with its OLED screen and gleaming silver trim that separated the front and back of the device. The first 3DS model paled in comparison and ultimately felt like a regression from Nintendo's own DS Lite and DSi XL.
 
ThatCrazyGuy

ThatCrazyGuy

Member
Nov 27, 2017
10,052
Vita looked cool (and great screen of course), but I thought it was a pain to hold/play for long periods. I still use mine on plane trips, it's not comfortable beyond a certain point.

PSP GO looks really cool too, but a pain to hold and play as well for me.

PSP 3000 feels the best in my hands. I wish there was a PSP3000 with Vita D-pad, heh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.