Recently, my house has been under some construction due to some water damage from a leaky swamp cooler. One bit of collateral damage to this situation is my computer. It sadly, can’t connect to the internet because its hardwired only and with the construction I am unable to get the ethernet cable from my computer to the router. Now, I do have a laptop but, with a 256gb hard drive I don’t really have the suite of games I am accustomed to.
This leaves me with a few options: I could spend my time playing on one of the many consoles I have; I could do something productive with my life (not); or, I could play one of my handhelds. I actually prefer handheld games so that’s the direction I went with. I have two handheld systems of note: A PS Vita, and a Nintendo Switch. Both of them are impressive consoles that really push the limit on what a portable can do. Now, if you read the title of this article, you can guess which option I went with. My Switch is collecting dust while my hands begin to meld into the controls of the Vita.
I should say right now, both systems are great. They have their own unique areas of expertise and honestly, if you have one or the other, you can’t go wrong. In this article, I’ll discuss the reasons why I have been enjoying the Vita more but know I still love the Nintendo Switch.
I have rewritten this paragraph a number of times, really trying to get down to what the big selling point is for the Vita over the Switch. As of October 2018, one of the reasons the Vita edges over the switch is the library of games. Looking at just Vita and Switch games its clear that if you like RPGs or JRPGs the Vita is the system for you. The Switch has a handful of RPG titles but it pales in comparison to the Vita.
The Vita doesn’t just have RPGs though! You have plenty of collections for it from the older generations. You have the God of War collection and the Jak and Daxter collection to name a few. Honestly, the system has been out long enough that there is plenty of games for your eyes to feast on.
Another area to consider when buying one of these systems is the cost of games. The switch is still very new and everyone is excited to get the latest game. Because of this, you’re spending 40-60 bucks per game. Thanks to my wife, I have a monthly budget on the games I buy so 60 dollars a game is very precious. The Vita however, has many cheap games. As long as you aren’t going for the obscure limited run games you can find them for around 20 bucks. I just checked GameStop’s website and the most expensive game is Steins;Gate for 40 bucks.
Another area I love about the Vita is the battery life. Maybe its just my switch but I feel like the power dies out on handheld mode only after a couple of hours. Sure its powering some beautiful looking games but the same can be said for the Vita and it easily doubles the battery life of the Switch.
Speaking of beautiful games, the screen on the switch is AMAZING. I have the fat model and with that OLED screen it really makes the colors pop. I often play with the lights off to really appreciate the quality of screen I’m using. I’m told the slim model’s screen is pretty good too but I hesitate getting one just because of how much I love the screen.
Something else you should consider when buying a handheld is the comfort of holding the device for long periods of time. Once again, the Switch does a pretty good job. It feels great at first but, with the sheer weight of the system it can become tiring fairly quickly. The Vita on the other hand has just the right heft to it. Its heavy enough that I feel like I am holding a quality console but, not so heavy that I get fatigued holding it.
One area the Switch knocks it out of the park is the cost for storage. I won’t spend too much time talking about this because its something EVERYONE who has done a review on the Vita has talked about. Just know the storage for the vita is kind of pricey and annoying. That being said, when you figure the cost for the system and games, it still turns out to be a fairly cheap option.
Once my house is back in order, I’m sure I’ll go back to playing the switch on my big screen. That’s the real advantage of the switch; the fact that you can play it handheld OR on a TV. This doesn’t mean the Vita is down and out. If you’re looking for a console with a beautiful screen and some amazing games at a cheap price, the vita is the place to go.
Anyways, I’m going to go back to playing some Persona 4, thanks for reading and keep playing!