The PlayStation Vita was Sony's second (and so far final) portable gaming system. Released in Japan in 2011 (2012 in North America and Europe), the Vita followed in the successful footsteps of Sony's earlier PlayStation Portable (which I have covered here). Sadly, the Vita did not repeat the commercial success of its predecessor, selling somewhere in the region of one fifth of the earlier machine's total (something like 16 million units is nothing to sniff at - Sony stopped advertising sales figures - but nowhere near the 80 million of the PSP). That didn't mean it did not host some truly great games and it's the story of the console and its software that Sandeep Rai has covered in this three volume collection.
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| Quite the selection! |
Funded by three Kickstarter campaigns, Rai's trifecta of volumes are Year One, Years Two and Three and The End respectively. An extra for the third Kickstarter was the Vitazine, detailing the top 100 Vita titles (in the humble opinion of the author) as well as a community voted list and the top twenty PSP games that were available via download. This alone has given me much guidance for starting a Vita collection. Oh, and shame on me for forgetting the three bookmarks (one per volume) included.
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| A nice little extra. |
Year One begins with a 28 page section on the background to the Vita and a potted history of its launch in various territories. I'll not go into reasons here (as you'll have to read this yourself), but Sony did not help themselves when it came to getting the Vita into people's hands and the tale is well told. The following 75 pages are interviews, and what an interesting selection they are, from first party developers such as Evolution Studios and Sony Studio Liverpool, to smaller dev's like Honeyslug to third party publishers Limited Run Games. There is a lot to get into here. In fact, there isn't a wasted page and you get a wonderful feeling for the period immediately after the Vita's launch.
The final 75 pages are filled with retrospectives on 19 Vita titles (both good and bad) that give you a cracking selection of games to aim for if you fancy starting (or continuing) a Vita collection. There then follows a pictorial list of all European and North American physical and digital software releases in year one, plus all first party hardware and accessories, and then finally a timeline of notable events in that first year. As volume one of the set, this is a brilliant start, well written, with numerous screenshots and artwork, and an uncluttered design.
Years Two and Three is the shortest of the volumes, but still reaches 126 pages. It covers developments like the revised 'Slim' model, the criminally under-marketed (and half-baked) PlayStation TV and the connectivity features to the PlayStation 4. There is only one interview in this volume (but it's an interview with Kinda Funny Games' Greg Miller, so it's a corker), but you get a 30 page retrospection on original PSP and PS One titles available on the Vita (via download), as well as a five page section on the limited range of PlayStation 2 remasters that graced the handheld. Original software gets a 40 page section (covering both AAA titles and indie favourites), plus there is another pictorial list of physical and digital software releases from 2013/14 as well as first party hardware and a timeline for the period.
Volume three, The End, covers 2015 to 2020 and the decline of the console. The stand outs here are the interview with Shahid Kamal Ahmad, head of Sony's PlayStation Strategic Content Division and the retrospectives, covering a diverse range of niche titles (most of which, I must admit, I had never heard of - bad Andu!). These retrospectives are a thing of beauty and show off the breadth and depth of what the Vita was capable of. Finally, you get the software list again, and this time, it's huge - as you might expect from a five year period but considering that Sony let the platform wither away... well, 103 physical games and a whopping 481 digital titles (as of 12th August 2020), well, that's just amazing. All told, these volumes list 229 physical and 661 digital game releases - no software for the console my backside!
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| The software catalogue is comprehensive. |
As noted above, the Vitazine is a list of the 100 top games as compiled by Rai. You get a community top 100 as well as the top 20 PSP games to play on the Vita and a short "Missed the List" page. I know I'll be perusing that list in future purchases!
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| Hot bookshelf action! |
This collection has been a labour of love for the author, that is plain to see. Getting three Kickstarter projects funded and delivered is some achievement. The content is informative and comprehensive, the design and print quality are superb and I am really pleased to have caught the third project and ordered the three physical copies. The Vitazine is icing on the cake, and all four publications will be used as references when I start my Vita collection. Yes, I don't own one yet but I shall, to sit alongside my PSP and its growing library. I'm not sure if physical copies are still available but you can buy pdf's of the whole collection at 2old4gaming.com. You'll also find some Vita videos here from the author's YouTube channel and I suggest you check out some of his other videos too. In the opinion of your humble scribe, the sum total of £13 for the digital collection is a bargain but if you can, go for the physical editions. Very highly recommended!
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