The Playstation Vita is probably one of the greatest handheld systems of all time, but also the most neglected. The Vita has been struggling since its release with Sony seemingly dropping support immediately, but the fans didn't let it die. Being marketed early on as a way to play AAA console-like games on the go (now a statement touted by Nintendo for the switch) the vita basically ended up an indie machine.There are two different versions of this handheld available, the fat and slim. The differences between them are pretty slim (get it?) but there are some important distinctions. The fat vita's screen displays colors more vibrantly and clearly, while the Slim has a more dull screen but better battery life. These difference won’t matter to most people unless you are very picky about the colors and brightness of the screens you use. The Aqua blue vita slim that I have has a pretty slick matte finish, while most other versions of the vita including the 1000, have a glossy finish. All the buttons on the vita system are of console like quality instead of the triggers, which can be a little iffy sometimes if you need to click them quickly.
But what good is long battery life and a nice screen without some games? If you buy a Vita in 2017, prepare for a catalog consisting of only indie games and japanese RPGS. Most of the AAA experiences and system selling games came out in the first year of the things lifespan. That being said, the Vita's current library is far from empty and you can find many great games on it. Classic indie games like Binding of Isaac, Axiom Verge, and Spelunky are abundant on the Vita, but that's pretty much all there is to it.If you want something that can play all your indie games and want it to be more portable than a laptop, go ahead an pick up a Vita, but if you are looking for console quality games and a promising future of releases, go with the Nintendo Switch. That being said there is still a great backlog of high quality games like Persona 4 Golden and Killzone Mercenary that you can pick up for relatively cheap. But from the looks of it right now, Sony has basically dropped support of its own and stopped releasing first party games a long time ago. There is no telling how much longer the Vita PSN will be up for, or how much longer Sony will be manufacturing them. The future of the Vita looks grim, but the past releases can make one worth picking up in 2017.
