@turtlelink Sammy used to be a reviewer here at NL and is still a good friend of ours. He's also been solely running PushSquare for years and he has been writing a few of our Impressions Articles for us at Vitagamr.

@shingi_70 Yep, it seems that the remote play is suppose to be mainly for PSN/PSone games unless the PS3 game supports it, but I've since read that Sony is already looking into making remote PS3 play through Vita a permanent thing.

I was very confused about what the Vita could and could not remote play from day 1 until I read psikorps post here: http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/general-vita-discussion/1436...

I really wanted to be able to play my PSN games on my Vita in some way, but now it looks like I'll have to write to the makers of games like Might & Magic if I want them to add the ability to remotely play their games. At least we'll be able to remotely play our ps1 classics it seems. Hopefully Sony makes remote play functionality a requirement in the future.

So has anyone gone to GameStop and Best Buy to try the demo units?

For those that have: What do you think of the Vita? Does it have a solid feel? How are the buttons and sticks? How nice is the screen?

@tendoboy, just tried it out. It was alright. The analog sticks and the buttons are pretty small but the system itself is pretty big. The screen is very nice too. Very surprised that the home button closes the game though.

Vita buttons are small and clicky. I don't like 'em.

/waits for redesign

Might preorder the Vita. Might. Just saw the awesome preorder bundle on the Amazon UK website, Vita, 8GB Memory Card and game for £234. Still expensive, but more affordable that before.

Well since those are demo units, perhaps Sony locked the home menu functionality?

And how small would you say the buttons are? PSP Go small, or 3DS small?

Are they more clicky than the 3DS?

And I don't see how they can redesign the Vita. They could make it slightly smaller, but then everything would be more cramped.

They can make the buttons bigger and more like the PSP's

How small are the Vita's buttons? Are we talking around 3DS size, or PSP Go size?

Smaller than 3DS. Very small. I find the face controls of the Vita quite cramped.

I personally didn't like the control stick. It wasn't what I expected.

I played around with the Vita at my local Gamestop and to be honest I was slighty disappointed, although I had some pretty high expectations to begin with. I too found the Vitas buttons too small, but what annoyed me the most were the two Control sticks. They were uncomfortable and felt a bit bulgy. Maybe thats due to the fact that i'm accustomed to the 3DS's flat circle pad. The d-pad was more clicky and smaller than the psp's, but I found it to be an improvement. When pressed, the home button on the Vita would close the current game demo and send me off into the Vita's Menu, unable to return back to the demo I was playing a few moments ago.

Other than that I enjoyed the Vita, the game that impressed me the most was Gravity Rush, and the least being Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
Gravity Rush was beautiful and It felt awesome flying through the air, (although I sucked at it). Uncharted was one of the most visually striking games out the bunch but the demo bored me. I'll be waiting until Febuary 22nd for the 300$ Vita deal that comes with an 8GB Memory Card, a free -PSN- SEN game, and of course a 3G/Wi-fi Vita.

The Vita has some amazing potential, and i'll be eager to see what Sony can bring to it.

When you press the PS button on the regular retail unit, it only pauses the game and brings up a menu that has a "Continue" square on it you can press to go right back to the game. I use this button to check battery life and messages.

@corbs
Are all the PSP games available for download on the PSN store, or is it just a few of them?

I played on a Vita at my local Game (yes, us Brits have gotten hold of demo units too) and found the hardware itself pretty good. I couldn't judge the weight as there was a GIGANTIC chain & cord attached to it, but the console felt solid and didn't have any obvious ergonomic issues. Also the controls, while smaller than expected, did eventually feel comfortable (was an adjustment after using the PSP) and I actually liked the placing of the sticks... though they felt a little loose, which may be specific to demo untils.

In regards to the games, I have no complaints. Modnation Racers felt like Modnation Racers, Gravity Rush felt like a really nice arcadey game & Uncharted felt like a really good version of Uncharted on the PS3... plus the screen and app menu's were very slick. Though I was suprised at the lack of haptic feedback (sony liking their rumbly gimmicks and all).

I do have a few gripes, much like Nintendo & their 3D screen Sony have gone for the extremely shiny front casing which will attract finger prints faster than Darth Vader collects airmiles and I would feel happier of they inset the screen slightly (I know, you can't lay it flat face down because of the sticks... but there is always the chance something could be laid ON the mid section) and so far the demo games all look JUST as good as my PS3 versions. I was hoping that there'd be something "extra" too them that would make be buy them over or on top of a PS3 copy; so far I'm still waiting.

All in all it's great hardware (8/10), good software (7/10) & my only reservations are Sony's actual approach to handheld gaming in general (2/10), though I'm sure they (my personal worries) would get shouted down in seconds by other gamers. Good luck Sony!

I finally tried out a demo unit at Best Buy. It was attached to a store associate who wore it around his neck, so he was able to show it to me. The screen is big and beautiful, and the associate said it's full HD (but he kept calling the system a "PSP Vita").

The main thing that surprised me about the Vita is the D-pad, which is now a single + shape button, instead of 4 separated buttons like on every other PlayStation controller.

That's one thing I liked. It will make pulling off attacks in fighting games so much smoother. <3

So the D-pad on the Vita is like the 360's D-pad? But better? Noice.

Or just use the analog stick...