LONG BLOG
Fools & money, quickly parted: Vita Memory card speeds tested
So someone finally bothered to put PS Vita cards to the test on the value level. I had my suspicions about the Vita memory cards before playing the demo kiosks and was rather puzzled regarding the large load times of Vita games such as Gravity Rush.
I had gone on and on about the price of Vita cards and why they were too expensive and Sony fanboys swore up and down the prices were what they were because of reasons. One of the latest defenses being that the cards were probably Class 10 reading speed.
Well, that's a nice theory, but Sony doesn't say what class the Vita cards are. I checked in-store and online, but couldn't find any details on the matter. Class 10 SD cards are typically around $59.99 - give or take - if they're 16GB cards, which is the asking price of the Vita card.
Turns out they're not Class 10, though, but Class 4 when someone put them to the test on GameFaqs - meaning, they read at the same speed as your standard 16GB SD card, which can be found at a Radio Shack for $19.99 to $29.99 depending on whether or not they had a sale that week (and I've yet to pass through on a day they're not on sale). I did pick an 16GB SD card last week for $19.99 because I'm a cheap bastard that doesn't want to fork out for a proper 360 HDD right now, but when I do it means I'll then have more storage for my 3DS than I will likely ever need.
This also means the 32GB Vita card should be $49.99 to $59.99, not $99.99, as that is the range for an SD card of a similar class
If you're heading out for a Playstation Vita today, my advice is buy whatever card rips you off the least. You will not be getting the storage you deserve for your money, but at least you'll be getting something closer to your dollar value for a 4GB card than you would anything higher than that. Plus its not like all your PSOne Classics are available for play today anyway.
Additional link with more discussion on the matter.
And now, for the SDF's excuses for this one. The rest of us know what this was really about - mitigating the damage of the PS Vita's price point and nothing more for as long as Sony could fool the early adopters.
What I'm really saying here is if you're getting that 32GB card, you should just give that $100 who would spend it better. I won't turn it down.
The Silent Protagonist 
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I had gone on and on about the price of Vita cards and why they were too expensive and Sony fanboys swore up and down the prices were what they were because of reasons. One of the latest defenses being that the cards were probably Class 10 reading speed.
Well, that's a nice theory, but Sony doesn't say what class the Vita cards are. I checked in-store and online, but couldn't find any details on the matter. Class 10 SD cards are typically around $59.99 - give or take - if they're 16GB cards, which is the asking price of the Vita card.
Turns out they're not Class 10, though, but Class 4 when someone put them to the test on GameFaqs - meaning, they read at the same speed as your standard 16GB SD card, which can be found at a Radio Shack for $19.99 to $29.99 depending on whether or not they had a sale that week (and I've yet to pass through on a day they're not on sale). I did pick an 16GB SD card last week for $19.99 because I'm a cheap bastard that doesn't want to fork out for a proper 360 HDD right now, but when I do it means I'll then have more storage for my 3DS than I will likely ever need.
This also means the 32GB Vita card should be $49.99 to $59.99, not $99.99, as that is the range for an SD card of a similar class
If you're heading out for a Playstation Vita today, my advice is buy whatever card rips you off the least. You will not be getting the storage you deserve for your money, but at least you'll be getting something closer to your dollar value for a 4GB card than you would anything higher than that. Plus its not like all your PSOne Classics are available for play today anyway.
Additional link with more discussion on the matter.
And now, for the SDF's excuses for this one. The rest of us know what this was really about - mitigating the damage of the PS Vita's price point and nothing more for as long as Sony could fool the early adopters.
What I'm really saying here is if you're getting that 32GB card, you should just give that $100 who would spend it better. I won't turn it down.
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About The Silent Protagonistone of us since 1:33 AM on 10.06.2009
I've been into games since I was able to reach the joystick on the Pac-Man arcade cabinet. That was 1982 - ever since that day I knew gaming and I would be bound by fate in some way, shape or form that I've still yet to figure out.
Until then, I've decided to just play games, enjoy them, blog about games and otherwise not shut up about them. Well, I do think about other stuff, I just keep coming back to the whole games thing.
Metroid is probably still my all-time favorite series. Its the one I keep coming back to year after year despite which version it might be. Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 2 are my favorites of the series and I also often enjoy anything Metroid-like. I enjoy the solitude and exploration of such games.
I also enjoy Shin Megami Tensei, Fallout, Deus Ex, The Elder Scrolls - pretty much anything with a lot of solitary exploration and a large world makes me a rather happy camper. To contrast this I usually need some lighter and happier games as well, which could be anything from a Pokemon game to a fashion game. Retro games of most stripes are something I still enjoy. Sometimes you just need that sort of contrast to keep going.
My platforms of choice tend to be handhelds, I'm starting to consider dropping any non-Nintendo console in favor of PC since Sony's IPs don't appeal to me and Halo just ends up on PC at some point anyway. I don't hate Playstation per se, I just hate what its become under the current Sony.
I do keep a PS2 handy to revisit Playstation's glory days. Great console, easily one of the best platforms aside from SNES, DS and Dreamcast.
As for other things about me, I guess we'll find out, won't we?
Until then, I've decided to just play games, enjoy them, blog about games and otherwise not shut up about them. Well, I do think about other stuff, I just keep coming back to the whole games thing.
Metroid is probably still my all-time favorite series. Its the one I keep coming back to year after year despite which version it might be. Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 2 are my favorites of the series and I also often enjoy anything Metroid-like. I enjoy the solitude and exploration of such games.
I also enjoy Shin Megami Tensei, Fallout, Deus Ex, The Elder Scrolls - pretty much anything with a lot of solitary exploration and a large world makes me a rather happy camper. To contrast this I usually need some lighter and happier games as well, which could be anything from a Pokemon game to a fashion game. Retro games of most stripes are something I still enjoy. Sometimes you just need that sort of contrast to keep going.
My platforms of choice tend to be handhelds, I'm starting to consider dropping any non-Nintendo console in favor of PC since Sony's IPs don't appeal to me and Halo just ends up on PC at some point anyway. I don't hate Playstation per se, I just hate what its become under the current Sony.
I do keep a PS2 handy to revisit Playstation's glory days. Great console, easily one of the best platforms aside from SNES, DS and Dreamcast.
As for other things about me, I guess we'll find out, won't we?