As e3 2014 (or as I like to call it, Christmas in June) rapidly approaches, I would like to share a more general hope of mine: Namely, that the PS Vita gets some proper attention.

I actually got my Vita by accident, but boy did it turn out to be a happy one. To cut a long story short, if you ask for a Playstation 4 as a Christmas present from a family of non-gamers, draw a picture or something, because otherwise they might wander into a game store, ask for a “Playstation thingy”, and somehow manage to wander out again with a Playstation Vita (which is, technically, a “Playstation thingy”, but obviously not the one I was after).

Anyway, after some initial “what the f*** is this shit….” unpleasantness on Christmas Morning, I quickly grew to love my Vita. I was hesitant at first (even though console gaming has mostly shaken off the ‘for children’ image, a 32 year old man playing with a handheld in public, is, let’s be honest, still something of an eyebrow raiser), but it’s portability was an immediate bonus, as I often spend a lot of my time travelling. Similarly, the power of the Vita is impressive, making it a genuine on-the-go gaming experience, certainly much more than previous handhelds, and some titles are every bit as enthralling and complete as they would be on consoles.

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Pivot…….PIVOT!!

Then there are the additional quirky features (touchscreen etc) that could’ve been over-gimmicky, but actually work quite well, and generally add to the immersiveness of the experience, as in Uncharted: Golden Abyss, for example (at one point, I needed to hold the Vita up to a bright light, but I was on a plane, so that meant turning on the reading light, climbing on my seat, and generally looking like an idiot, but I wasn’t even bothered….)

Finally, there are a lot of games for the Vita, and more importantly, they’re easy to get hold of, thanks to the PS Store. I had an original PSP, and finding games was always something of a mission, but now it’s so easy, and with PS One, PSP, Minis, (plenty of) Indies, and Vita games all available to download at the touch of a button, the Vita has been a revelation.

All that said, though, I think it could benefit further still from more games, particularly ones that have taken all the above into account. With a bit of care and thought, developers could really carve out a niche for the Vita, making it a genuine, must-have part of the gaming canon: In other words, making the Vita vital!!

Gravity-Rush-1Obviously, porting a console game onto it, and then adding things to utilise the touchscreen etc is one option, and can be great if it’s done well, but I think there’s ample scope to create awesome vita games from scratch; in essence starting with those features, and then building a brilliant game around them, like with Gravity Rush, say. Similarly, even though Indie developers have so far had success with the Vita format, I’d suggest a couple of them really pushing the boat out, and nailing a quirky, yet full-length game for it would be a smart, and mutually beneficial move.

Clearly, a lot of eyes are going to be on the next-gen games at e3 2014, and how Sony and Microsoft compare, but I’d argue that just a couple of well-conceived, well-developed, and ultimately well-made games for the Vita could really make it pop, and give Sony the edge at e3, given that the Vita is a (vastly under-utilised) Ace-up-their-sleeve.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, this will be the year they finally play it, so watch this space for more PS Vita news……