Vita Game Cards vs Playstation Store

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.