Be Excellent To Each Other

Sony has announced the UK price for PlayStation Vita.

The Wi-Fi model has an RRP of £229.99, while the 3G/Wi-Fi model will set you back £279.99.

Jim Ryan, the boss of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said, "PlayStation Vita is an incredible device that offers the best possible portable gaming experiences."

Vita will launch in the UK on February 22, 2012. But Sony has yet to confirm what games will be available at launch or which 3G service provider will support the device in the UK.

Jim Ryan, the boss of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said, "PlayStation Vita is an incredible device that offers the best possible portable gaming experiences... if I was talking to you in 2006, but since the iPhone we have no idea what to do. We know you won't buy this but we will carry on regardless"

Sony are lending me one of these for a week, let me know if you have any questions about it.

I should clarify. They're lending me one of these for a week, starting on the 27th.

And its released on the 22nd in Europe and America ...

I suppose my question then is 'are there any good games for it'

(which at the moment it doesnt look like it)

What's the USP with this over the PSP then?

Loads more graphics, and a brand new proprietary expensive memory card format. Also, kitchen sink approach to user interface (has waggle controls, two thumbsticks, touch screen, rear touchpad, and front and rear camera).

A large part of the pitch is that it's relatively easy for developers to port PS3 code to the Vita. They're selling some games as you pay once over PSN and get a PS3 and Vita version.

http://benheck.com/Games/Xbox360/x360_page_5.htm

http://benheck.com/Games/Xbox360/x360_page_5.htm

What's the USP with this over the PSP then?

I'd be far more impressed if it ran Android

*narrows eyes*

Who are you and what have you done with the Doc?

Looks pretty swish, but it's really just the psp all over again, isn't it? That was some frankly gorgeous tech for the time too. Some people are enthusing about the second analog stick, but I can't really picture playing shooters on a tiny screen without it being a total headwrecker regardless of controls. Maybe if they use some clever visual design to help the games read better on smaller displays or something.

So, you’ve got your PS Vita (whether it’s today via an over eager online retailer, or tomorrow from the high street) and you’re busily unwrapping the box and sticking it on charge. Well, before you dive in – stop – and read this, because it’s important.

Basically, the Vita will want to connect to your wireless Wi-Fi router when you first boot it up, and it’ll want to look for Firmware updates at the same time as trying to get you to sign into your PSN account. But it can’t, and gets stuck in a frustrating loop.

It’s odd, but here’s what happens: if you try to use an existing PSN (or SEN, as it’s now known) account you’ll be told that the Vita will need to do a firmware update (the latest system software isn’t on the Vita yet) but will then take you back to the account screen. Ad infinitum.

Still won't be long before its running homebrew so Sony need to make money whilst they can!

1) Can you play Dungeon Master?
2) Can you play Chaos Strikes Back?
3) If yes to the above, can you hack mine please?

1) Can you play Dungeon Master?
2) Can you play Chaos Strikes Back?
3) If yes to the above, can you hack mine please?

What sort of PSP is it?

Ask an Ashens

Sony's never-ending battle to control the content that runs on its hardware has moved to a new front on the Vita, with the company taking down downloadable versions of two PSP titles in response to reports that they include programming holes that allow the Vita to run unsigned, homebrew code.

On March 1, the hackers at Wololo.net first publicly announced that their homebrew Vita Half Byte Loader (VHBL) worked by exploiting a vulnerability in a downloadable copy of the PSP title Motorstorm: Arctic Edge, releasing a video of Doom being loaded onto the system by way of proof. Sony responded quickly, removing Motorstorm from the PlayStation Store just before VHBL was officially released the next day.

Users that had previously downloaded Motorstorm could still use the exploit, though, and the hackers claim they went to great pains to ensure that a few thousand people in and around the hacking community were able to download the game before the details of the hack were made public. Previous purchasers are no longer able to redownload the game from the PlayStation Store, however, potentially leaving some innocent bystanders without access to legally purchased titles if they delete their existing copy (Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter).

Fast forward to Sunday, when the Wololo hackers teased that they had found another exploit in Japanese and European PlayStation Store download Everybody's Tennis that could, in the hackers' tongue-in-cheek words, be "extremely dangerous for [Sony's] business," by letting people play titles "such as 20 year-old 8-bit games and 154 different versions of Pong." Following form, Sony once again removed the game from the PSN store just before the hackers publicly released the new exploit yesterday.

Wololo claims its VHBL hack is useful only for running homebrew software and not for playing pirated PSP or Vita games. Still, Sony has taken a zero-tolerance approach to players running unauthorized code on its systems in the past, usually responding to breaches by releasing re-secured firmware updates, which hackers subsequently re-hacked.

Now, Sony instead seems to be using its control of PSP game downloads on the Vita to try to cut off the supply of exploitable games as quickly as possible, opening up a new front in the war for control of the Vita hardware. They might have an uphill battle on their hands, though, as Wololo's hackers claimed to "collectively have access to about 5 to 10 user mode game exploits in psp games" earlier this month, and have created a so-called "exploit factory" to easily port VHBL as new exploits are found. We could be entering a new era in the Sony hacking wars, where exploits are first released quietly before being publicly deployed as tactical weapons that whittle down the number of downloadable PSP titles available from the PlayStation Store.

Sony Killing PSP Games To Prevent Vita Piracy?

Over the past few weeks, hackers from Wololo.net claimed to have exploited code found in two downloadable PSP games to essentially crack the PlayStation Vita wide open, allowing for the playing of pirated/homebrew games on the system.

Those two games were Everybody’s Tennis and MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, the latter of which was shown off with a hacker playing the PC version of Doom on Sony’s new handheld. The Wololo hackers claim the exploits would only be able to run homebrew games and not pirated PSP or Vita titles, but it appears the platform holder isn’t taking any chances.

Sony has now pulled both games from the PlayStation Store, and pulled them good: even if you’ve legitimately purchased the games previously, they’re now no longer available for download.

It may all be for naught though, as the hackers claim that tools for making the most of the exploit are already done, and in the hands of thousands of users.