Vita Game Cards vs Playstation Store

Most popular games for Sony’s new Playstation Vita are available via a physical card or by an online download.  Is there really any difference to which way you buy the game?  There are several things to take into account when considering a Vita game for purchase.

Purchasing online

Microsoft and Sony have a very different strategy when it comes to the cost of maintaining their respective multiplayer networks.  Microsoft forces a monthly subscription fee onto its online players, and Sony chooses to charge a one-time Online Pass for each game you want to play.

So far, all of the Vita game cards I’ve purchased as new come with a code that gives you the Online Pass, which normally costs an additional $10.  Even though the online version is usually $5 cheaper than retail, you may have to shell out extra money for the Online Pass, which makes the online version more expensive than retail.

On the flip side, you may not have to pay sales tax when you purchase online.  So, if a game has no online multiplayer (such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss or Rayman Origins),then it may be cheaper to purchase the downloadable version.

Manuals

Retail Vita games do not come with a manual.  All of Vita’s game manuals are electronic, and are accessed by the game’s LiveArea pre-launch screen.  You’re really not missing anything by purchasing the downloadable version here.  As mentioned before, the retail package may come with a leaflet with an Online Pass code.

Don’t want to pay full price?  Read on…

There are a few games that have little replay value, and you can get some of your money back if you sell or trade-in your game.  You can only trade in physical cartridges.   Once you purchase a game online then it is forever yours and cannot be transferred to another PSN account.  Single-player games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Rayman Origins may be great games, but usually once you’ve played through them then there’s little reason to play them again.   For these games I would recommend a rental from Gamefly.  Which brings me to my next point…

Renting

There is no way you can rent downloadable games.  If you want to try out a game before buying it, then you can either download the demo or rent it from a service like Gamefly.  The great thing about Gamefly is that if you like the game then you can just keep it (after paying for it of course).

Cheap Games

A video game store that offers trade-ins will usually have pre-owned games for less than retail cost.   Once gamers are finished with their experience, they may trade them in, and you can reap the rewards.  All of the extra profit usually goes to the game store rather than the console manufacturer or developer, which is why Sony would prefer you to buy all of your games online.

Special Deals and out-of-print titles

The Playstation Store has new deals on games all the time, and some of them are too good to pass up.  For example, this month they are offering all Tom Clancy games at half off, so I was able to pick up Splinter Cell: Essentials for the PSP at $5.  When a game is that cheap then I really don’t care about ever getting my money back.

Out-of-print titles like Splinter Cell Essentials have to be re-purchased

There are a select few PSP games that are just out of print, and even if you were able to find them you couldn’t transfer them to your new Vita.  Sony pretty much has you between a rock and a hard place if you want to play any PSP titles on its new handheld.

There are some great Vita games that can only be purchased via the Playstation Store.  Some of these are Super Stardust Delta, Mutant Blobs Attack and Escape Plan, and they range from $7 to $15.  Of course there are several Minis that are exclusive to the online store, and they average about $2 each.

Next we look at some of the problems with Vita cards…

The proprietary Vita memory cards aren’t exactly the cheapest things in the world, and they are practically a necessity to do anything useful with your handheld system.  The 4GB version currently retails for $15, the 8GB version for $30, 16GB for $60, and the 32GB version costs over $100.  Most people will opt for the 8GB version, but the 16GB version is the sweet spot.  People aren’t exactly excited to see that the real cost of ownership for a Vita is $30 to $50 more than the advertised sticker price, and many gamers feel cheated.

Regardless, some people would prefer to have all of their games available at one time without having to switch cards, or they want to take music and movies with them.  And for these select few, they will get the 16GB or 32GB cards.

Switching game cards

Having Vita games on their own cards can save space on your memory card, but then you have to switch games all the damn time.  The flap that covers the Vita slot isn’t exactly the easiest thing to pry open, and I’m certain that subsequent openings will eventually wear the silver paint off the plastic.

For those who don’t like to switch game cards, then you might as well download everything to one memory card.

Sony totally expects you to run out of room on your memory card, which is why they included the Data Management application with the Vita.  With this you can transfer content between your Vita and/or PS3, but it still sucks having to pick and choose which games you want to take with you.

Conclusion

So there you have the pros and cons to the two main methods of getting games for your shiny new Playstation Vita.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, and most people will probably do a little of both.  These points may become moot as soon as hackers crack the Vita, but that’s a completely different article.