PS Vita: A New Hope

After E3 last year it felt like my PS Vita was finally relevant again. Despite not being a very old console, a lack of releases had me worried that it was quickly becoming a redundant piece of kit. The announcement of several new games, most notably Media Molecule's new IP - Tearaway - had me excited about my nifty little console once again. Sadly it proved to be a false dawn, with Activision's shameful Call of Duty offering proving that developers aren't taking the handheld as seriously as perhaps they should/could.

A couple of recent developments have changed my thinking somewhat, and once again my Vita is starting to look like a worthwhile purchase after all.

The most significant development, and the main cause for my shift into optimism, came from Sony's press conference last month. In New York they revealed the PlayStation 4 to an eager world - or at least its controller and several games. One of the talking points of that evening was the revelation that all games released on the console would support remote play on the Vita.

This is big news for Vita owners. It means that using Gaikai's streaming tech we'll be able to access our home console library on our handheld machines. It's the killer app that we've been waiting for, and whilst we still have a few months before we see it action, it's been confirmed that these features will work out of the box. The resolution of the handheld's screen will mean we'll be able scale down the graphics to fit the Vita perfectly, as everything on the PS4 will run in 1080p.

Hopefully it's an incentive that'll have people picking up Sony's struggling handheld in larger numbers, which would be a good thing for early adopters like me, because a bigger user-base will mean more developers wanting to make games for it, and more games will mean more people picking up a Vita. A welcome snowball.

On top of that there's a tempting carrot: using Gaikai tech we might one day be able to stream PS3 games on our Vitas. With a big question mark hanging over what'll happen to our digital collections come the shift to PS4, having access to our back-catalogues will also likely prove a huge incentive to people who want to keep playing some of their current-gen games into the new console cycle. Whilst not a game-changer on its own, it'd be another solid reason for people still undecided on Sony's handheld.

On top of that it was revealed that nearly all PS4 games will have Vita-only apps that accompany them. Maybe we can also hope to see ports of the spin-off games that we currently see landing on iOS and Android devices. If so we'll have yet another reason to switch on our handhelds whilst we're away from our consoles. It'll be spending a lot less time gathering dust once the PS4 lands. Imagine being able to check your progress and K/D spread in Destiny, see your friends fastest lap times on Driveclub, or even play spin-off games that contribute to our overall experience like we did in Mass Effect 3.

There's also the capability of using the Vita to connect to the PS4 during play - something that can already be done on select titles for PS3. It's an idea that mimics the functionality of the Wii U's GamePad, though with the Vita you'll have a much more powerful console in your hands. Wii who?

There's titles on the Wii U where games can be played by two - one on the controller and one (or more) on the screen. It's exciting to think of what might be possible with Vita and PS4 in this respect. It's another potential game-changer for the handheld console. It'll not be the cheap option, that's for sure, but for those feeling extravagant (or for those who, like me, already have a Vita) it'll mean a greater choice when it comes to different ways to play.

They're not the only reasons I'm once again excited about my Vita. In the interim there appears to be a growing amount of interesting games like Hotline Miami, Lone Survivor and Thomas Was Alone heading over to the handheld. This is trend I'm keen to see continue, and it only supports Sony's claims that they're interested in working with indie devs more in the future.

This is great news for gamers, because it means an even more diverse range of content is going to be available to play. Quirky titles like Hotline Miami definitely have a place on Vita, I know I'll certainly be snapping them up, as their pick-up-and-play gameplay is perfect for bite size gaming sessions, and their relatively small size makes them a perfect fit for the Vita's memory cards.

There's an awful lot of optimism there I realise, but happily recent developments indicate that there might be legs in the handheld yet. Hopefully it'll be enough to finally breathe some life into the ailing console, because the Vita is a cracking piece of hardware and it'd be a shame for it to go to waste. A growing range of increasingly diverse titles, and the promise of PS4 integration could just be enough to keep the Vita relevant. At the very least I can't wait to find out.