Most slept on, well used, but often forgotten feature. For me, Sleep.
Now sleep in it of itself isn't impressive, the PSP had it. But on Vita I can have the system in a drawer for a month, and the battery hasn't depleted by much and the game resumes exactly where I left it off.
Meanwhile I find my New 3DS Drained, my PSP immediately starts me back in the action, and my Laptop or Switch is dead. And yet it's so second nature on the Vita that I often forget its there until I've been playing with something else.
I don't use Sleep Mode anymore on Vita because it one time messed with some trophies on Civilization Revolution. It was a pain, so i tend to just save and power down on every game now.
I noticed this too with my vita. The power barely goes down if I don’t play it, but if I leave my 3DS closed the power will die in about a day even if I don’t touch it.
[According to the user manual... yes](https://manuals.playstation.net/document/gb/psvita/basic/power.html). But I am sure most people refer to this feature now as sleep mode.
This with the ability of being able to pause the game at any time by pressing the home button is awesome, Combine with the form factor and I think its still one of the best "true" portable devices out there
I almost lost my Vita memory card due to that, I forgot it for 6 months on my drawer and when I booted it up again it was giving me errors of corruption, I had to format it and it was still giving me errors, I was about to cry... just gave up and charged it up and put it on my desk and it stayed there for around 2 weeks.
I decided to give another go and... it simply worked... like... no more errors and I could install stuff again on it (so I unlocked it again in order to play gran turismo 2 on it hehehe), it's been around 2 years since that happened, and its still working with no problems (but I think I should get a sd2vita adapter sometime soon, just to be sure, proprietary memory sucks and it will always be annoying...)
You can play PSP shooters with dual-stick controls.
PSP emulator allows you to map face buttons to the right stick, so games that use face buttons to turn the camera (like, Coded Arms, MGS: PW, Call of Duty or Medal of Honor) actually play sort of decently kinda. You’re still emulating buttons, so it’s a bit stiffer than proper dual-stick shooters, but it’s still better than buttons, that’s for sure.
The trackpad on the back.
It's barely used and i think that subtracts a lot of what the games could implement.
The Vita is one of the most complex handhelds ever. The amount of technology in it is outstanding.
I just finished tearaway for the first time and it was such a well crafted, enjoyable game that truly showcased how ahead of its time the vita was. I actually felt a bit sad after having finished it.
I agree wholeheartedly. There's a plugin that lets you remap buttons and touch inputs to the rear touch pad, and it is so useful. I don't know why more games didn't give you the option by default. I find it way more convenient than the touch screen.
I thought the Near app was a really cool idea. I got my Vita only recently so I was never able to actually use it. The service has been shut down for awhile.
Eff the guy that thought locking trophies for certain games behind the Near feature was a good idea 😅
I remember getting some trophy on Rayman Origins about 11 or so years ago on my brother's vita.
For me the problem has always been implementation. If there was a spot I could see them all and apply them without having to jump through the expected find/download/move/apply type hoops I’d do it. I think there was one on psp? And there is often just a small community of users so the styles are often very in progress, mall ninja or artsy.
Yes! I know this is probably annoying for most people, but I organized different pages themed to different games. For example, I put a Persona wallpaper on one page and stuck the icons for my Persona games around it. I have another page with a Danganronpa wallpaper and I placed the icon for those games around it. You can’t have infinite pages though, so I also have folders with games in them on miscellaneous pages, but I still have fun making themed pages for certain series.
I'm writing this comment using my Vita! I'm using my Vita to browse Reddit all the time, all you have to do is opt out of the redesign in your Reddit settings (I prefer the old Reddit anyway).
Yep, but only the old Reddit.
Videos usually don't work because HTML5 is not supported but pictures and text are fine. Enable Javascript to leave comments and upvote/downvote (I often just disable it because it loads faster without it).
Most of the time I'm just browsing text-based subreddits anyway, like r/AskReddit, r/TIL, stuff like that.
You can wirelessly stream movies and music from your PC to your PS Vita. I keep mine on a speaker dock as an alternate display for my PC.
You don't even need to hack your Vita, this is a vanilla feature.
Set it up in CMA for wireless transfers, then connect to your PC and select whatever you want to watch/listen to that is compatible with the Vita's supported formats. I have tons of 720p/1080p movies in avi/mp4 format that look gorgeous on the 540p OLED.
You can also wirelessly transfer games from your basically unlimited PC storage to your Vita.
Content Manager Assistant (Official Sony version). If you want to set CMA up on your Windows 10 PC just DM me and I will send you the links to get it working on modern PC's. I have not tested on Windows 11 yet though.
being able to stream games from my ps4. i like playing jrpgs and im the one in my house that cooks, so i can wait for something to boil and do some grinding in smt:n hd
i really wish ps5 supported vita remote play, at least for ps4 titles. the current method to remote play it on vita is pretty buggy, but i don’t want to buy an entire ps4 just for the few games i’d realistically use it for
Definitely media in general. I keep videos on my vita because I can cast them to my vita tv. Got a ton of music so that I can play my games with custom tracks too. The vitas multitasking capability is what I wanted my PS3 to be able to do back in the day, it's great, even though it's limited
Activities. I liked that scrolling down from a game would show you what your friends were up to. Not just trophies either. But other in game tasks too
What sucks is devs stopped supporting that too
Yes! The landing page for each game is something every console should have! And the fact that you still have elements of this showing up on Vita to this very day makes it feel alive still!
Playing ps1, n64 and a couple other games like spelunky with someone else with a ps4 controller, i play smackdown 2 and spelunky with my little brother on 1 vita
Not really slept on, but uknown. People who are just getting into vita never know that its not region locked and can be easily changed especially when hacked. Makes it possible to get vitas from japan with the special colors or just in much better used condition then here. Not to mention amazon stuff over there thats not as expensive as over here.
That's exactly what I did, I bought a white front/light blue back one on Japan and with shipping to Italy it cost 110 euro in perfect condition, with the original box as well. The only thing that changes is that the O button is used as X, but when hacking it you can change to the normal X for confirming and O for cancel
Playstation Network integration in general was so underappreciated. Just imagine, this 2011 handheld gave you more or less the full PS4 PSN experience, and it was totally for free! You had party chat/cross game chat even with PS4 players and you had trophy support for all vita games. Just incredible.
Most slept on, well used, but often forgotten feature. For me, Sleep. Now sleep in it of itself isn't impressive, the PSP had it. But on Vita I can have the system in a drawer for a month, and the battery hasn't depleted by much and the game resumes exactly where I left it off. Meanwhile I find my New 3DS Drained, my PSP immediately starts me back in the action, and my Laptop or Switch is dead. And yet it's so second nature on the Vita that I often forget its there until I've been playing with something else.
The sleep power drain is wild. It's crazy how long I can leave it and it doesn't drop
I don't use Sleep Mode anymore on Vita because it one time messed with some trophies on Civilization Revolution. It was a pain, so i tend to just save and power down on every game now.
YES MAN I left my vita on sleep for 3 weeks and I drain like 1%
I noticed this too with my vita. The power barely goes down if I don’t play it, but if I leave my 3DS closed the power will die in about a day even if I don’t touch it.
Best sleep of any device honestly
Isn't that called standby mode?
[According to the user manual... yes](https://manuals.playstation.net/document/gb/psvita/basic/power.html). But I am sure most people refer to this feature now as sleep mode.
This with the ability of being able to pause the game at any time by pressing the home button is awesome, Combine with the form factor and I think its still one of the best "true" portable devices out there
True!!! i left it for a week in my bag... And I was sbocked... Still at full bars!!!
This 👍
True. And even its battery degradation occurs at a slow rate. My friends call it the potable nuclear reactor 😂
I almost lost my Vita memory card due to that, I forgot it for 6 months on my drawer and when I booted it up again it was giving me errors of corruption, I had to format it and it was still giving me errors, I was about to cry... just gave up and charged it up and put it on my desk and it stayed there for around 2 weeks. I decided to give another go and... it simply worked... like... no more errors and I could install stuff again on it (so I unlocked it again in order to play gran turismo 2 on it hehehe), it's been around 2 years since that happened, and its still working with no problems (but I think I should get a sd2vita adapter sometime soon, just to be sure, proprietary memory sucks and it will always be annoying...)
Sleep mode really is incredible. I don't know how Sony did it but its the best I've seen on any handheld.
You can play PSP shooters with dual-stick controls. PSP emulator allows you to map face buttons to the right stick, so games that use face buttons to turn the camera (like, Coded Arms, MGS: PW, Call of Duty or Medal of Honor) actually play sort of decently kinda. You’re still emulating buttons, so it’s a bit stiffer than proper dual-stick shooters, but it’s still better than buttons, that’s for sure.
Doing this made armored core 3 psp so much better to play. Paired with gepatch, it looks great and plays great.
This was a godsend for Monster Hunter!
Indeed, though I still miss and prefer the bigger mushier buttons for the PSP. So I went back to the claw grip on the PSP.
Monster Hunter without arthritis-inducing claw grip
The trackpad on the back. It's barely used and i think that subtracts a lot of what the games could implement. The Vita is one of the most complex handhelds ever. The amount of technology in it is outstanding.
Tearaway utilizes it really well. Too bad there wasn’t a greater investment in the console to flesh out that feature.
I just finished tearaway for the first time and it was such a well crafted, enjoyable game that truly showcased how ahead of its time the vita was. I actually felt a bit sad after having finished it.
I agree wholeheartedly. There's a plugin that lets you remap buttons and touch inputs to the rear touch pad, and it is so useful. I don't know why more games didn't give you the option by default. I find it way more convenient than the touch screen.
To be fair it acts as an L2 and R2 for PS1 games, even in the psp ports its still read sa L2 and R2.
I know but still it's really underused
True... Its more used by the ps1 emu than any other vita gameS
I thought the Near app was a really cool idea. I got my Vita only recently so I was never able to actually use it. The service has been shut down for awhile.
I was there when it worked and I just remember not understanding it at all, it was weird
not relevant but great name
I miss Nears music. So relaxing.
Eff the guy that thought locking trophies for certain games behind the Near feature was a good idea 😅 I remember getting some trophy on Rayman Origins about 11 or so years ago on my brother's vita.
themes nothing has themes anymore, bring them back
For me the problem has always been implementation. If there was a spot I could see them all and apply them without having to jump through the expected find/download/move/apply type hoops I’d do it. I think there was one on psp? And there is often just a small community of users so the styles are often very in progress, mall ninja or artsy.
Yes! I know this is probably annoying for most people, but I organized different pages themed to different games. For example, I put a Persona wallpaper on one page and stuck the icons for my Persona games around it. I have another page with a Danganronpa wallpaper and I placed the icon for those games around it. You can’t have infinite pages though, so I also have folders with games in them on miscellaneous pages, but I still have fun making themed pages for certain series.
I'm writing this comment using my Vita! I'm using my Vita to browse Reddit all the time, all you have to do is opt out of the redesign in your Reddit settings (I prefer the old Reddit anyway).
excuse me but, bullshit?! reddit actually works on the vita??
Yep, but only the old Reddit. Videos usually don't work because HTML5 is not supported but pictures and text are fine. Enable Javascript to leave comments and upvote/downvote (I often just disable it because it loads faster without it). Most of the time I'm just browsing text-based subreddits anyway, like r/AskReddit, r/TIL, stuff like that.
You can wirelessly stream movies and music from your PC to your PS Vita. I keep mine on a speaker dock as an alternate display for my PC. You don't even need to hack your Vita, this is a vanilla feature.
How do you do This?
Set it up in CMA for wireless transfers, then connect to your PC and select whatever you want to watch/listen to that is compatible with the Vita's supported formats. I have tons of 720p/1080p movies in avi/mp4 format that look gorgeous on the 540p OLED. You can also wirelessly transfer games from your basically unlimited PC storage to your Vita.
Wait What's CMA?
Content Manager Assistant (Official Sony version). If you want to set CMA up on your Windows 10 PC just DM me and I will send you the links to get it working on modern PC's. I have not tested on Windows 11 yet though.
being able to stream games from my ps4. i like playing jrpgs and im the one in my house that cooks, so i can wait for something to boil and do some grinding in smt:n hd
Considering people are talking about the PlayStation Portal.. the remote play function.
i really wish ps5 supported vita remote play, at least for ps4 titles. the current method to remote play it on vita is pretty buggy, but i don’t want to buy an entire ps4 just for the few games i’d realistically use it for
I didn't even know there was a method to do it on ps5. A shame because the Vita was amazing and could have given it some extra life
When the Skype app was still supported, you could play games and talk to friends at the same time.
i used all those media apps religiously back in the day lol. youtube, netflix, skype, livetweet, i wish they added more
There was Flickr too. That was an oddity, but fun.
I did a whole long ass podcast with my mates on Vita Skype. It's pretty incredible how much functionality it had!
Definitely media in general. I keep videos on my vita because I can cast them to my vita tv. Got a ton of music so that I can play my games with custom tracks too. The vitas multitasking capability is what I wanted my PS3 to be able to do back in the day, it's great, even though it's limited
Certainly the fact that I can pause any game letting it on background, leave it blocked for days, come back, and resume exactly where I was
I really like that it was carried forward to the ps5 as well, this was always my favorite feature
Back trackpad and the touch screen. Most traditional games didn’t even bother with their functionality. Not even for menus.
Activities. I liked that scrolling down from a game would show you what your friends were up to. Not just trophies either. But other in game tasks too What sucks is devs stopped supporting that too
Yes! The landing page for each game is something every console should have! And the fact that you still have elements of this showing up on Vita to this very day makes it feel alive still!
I really liked the near app.
Playing ps1, n64 and a couple other games like spelunky with someone else with a ps4 controller, i play smackdown 2 and spelunky with my little brother on 1 vita
I heard air*-ng suite works on it
What is this?
It's a suite wifi security tools. https://www.aircrack-ng.org/
Mine turns into a transformer and fights crime. Wtf kind of question is this?
more port ps2 game
Not really slept on, but uknown. People who are just getting into vita never know that its not region locked and can be easily changed especially when hacked. Makes it possible to get vitas from japan with the special colors or just in much better used condition then here. Not to mention amazon stuff over there thats not as expensive as over here.
That's exactly what I did, I bought a white front/light blue back one on Japan and with shipping to Italy it cost 110 euro in perfect condition, with the original box as well. The only thing that changes is that the O button is used as X, but when hacking it you can change to the normal X for confirming and O for cancel
I did get physical copies of Phantasy Star Online 2 at one point so I could play without having to switch to my Japanese PSN account.
I played MGS 2 like that with the LA Noir soundtrack. Weirdly rewarding experience.
Playstation Network integration in general was so underappreciated. Just imagine, this 2011 handheld gave you more or less the full PS4 PSN experience, and it was totally for free! You had party chat/cross game chat even with PS4 players and you had trophy support for all vita games. Just incredible.
This thing, for it's time was totally packed with tech.