In 2011-2012 Sony announced the PlayStation Vita. After a commercial hit with the PlayStation Portable, Sony decided they had a sure-fire formula to make another critically successful handheld. With the titan rise of the Nintendo DS and mobile games on Android and iOS, Sony could see that touchscreen was the next biggest hit for mobile gaming. So the formula was simple. Take a PSP, add a second analog stick, and add touchscreen… Simple, right?

While Sony had mixed sugar, spice and everything nice, the Vita was a commercial failure. Speculation was far and wide as to why this had happened, but most believe the combination of Sony’s constant tries of introducing proprietary media formats alongside the mobile phones that everybody was carrying anyway, the Vita was just not good enough. The ruling platform of the time was the Nintendo 3DS, and even that was nowhere near as successful as Nintendo anticipated. Despite a great range of games, Sony classics, PSP backwards compatibility (via emulation), the Vita just wasn’t the hit Sony wanted. Tail between their legs, Sony ceased the Vita in 2019, and closed the store in 2021 – never to try a handheld console again.

Is it worth buying?

Oh hell yeah.

You know how it plays here. Sony made a winning platform, but they didn’t make enough sales. That’s sad, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. But as with most dying platforms, the homebrew and hacking communities picked them up. They didn’t just make it better, they made it the best.

Don’t want a super expensive, barely containable storage solution? Homebrew solved that.
Wish the PSP emulation was better? Homebrew solved that beyond expectations.
Don’t want to pay for games? Well we won’t help there… But there’s a solution out there that’s mind-blowing.
Homebrew games? So, so many.
Want to play San Andreas on basically a PS2 controller with a screen? Damn, they solved that recently!
Do I have to sell a kidney for one? No, not even the 3G models!

The PSP 2- I mean, the PS Vita, is well worth your dime.

Contents

Information

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  • What to Buy – Thinking of picking one up? We run down some comparisons and opinions of the console, along with the big ol’ flaw – storage.
  • Essential Applications – Grab the best homebrew swag available for the Vita!

External Guides

  • vita.hacks.guide – Fully recommended guide on starting with custom firmware, and getting an SD2Vita setup. Community run.

Communities

  • ReviveToday Discord – Sorry, shameless plug. Best way to communicate with others asides from article comments.
  • Wololo.net – Literally everything.
  • PSX Place – PlayStation dedicated community, frequented by homebrew developers.
  • Reddit communities.
    • Vita for literally anything Vita related.