In recent years (and maybe longer) PlayStation has put their graphical power front and center. The original PSP, the PS3 and the upcoming PS Vita are all graphical powerhouses compared to the competition. That fact is a large reason Sony is in the position it's in today.
But while both the PSP and PS3 have suffered due to their high price points, the upcoming PS Vita will have a reasonable $250 price tag. If the Vita can deliver as the high tech portable to have, the price tag shouldn't be as much of a problem as before. Today Sony released a ton of screenshots of early Vita games. So how are the games looking? Are they as beautiful as our wildest fantasies or over hyped slop? Let's take a look.
Just a warning before we start, I have not seen a PS Vita in person (I'm told it's very beautiful). Also these are games in development, not finished products. Games can look better or worse in motion than they do in screenshots. Finally, remember the earliest games on a console are usually the least impressive, so do not take this as the fullest example of what the PS Vita can do.
To the screenshots!
A great character model from Ruin. Notice the light effects the carpet.
Another nice one from Ruin. The background textures aren't as fleshed out, but they'll do.
These enemies from Resistance: Burning Skies do not look that great. The textures on the ground and walls look even worse.
Not a great looking shot, but there's enough going on to make it impressive for a handheld.
As usual in Little Big Planet, these background textures look beautiful.
Bright colors and realistic wood highlight a fantastic looking screen.
Stylized games such as Escape Plan are usually trying to make up for lack of graphical power, so, here on the powerful Vita, everything is looking extra nice.
The cartoon style works well here, as the bed and feathers look wonderful.
Even though Little Deviants has a cartoon style, this image is pretty disappointing. None of the foreground or background characters is particularly impressive.
The ground texture in this Little Deviants screenshot is pretty bad and is not helped by the sky or houses.
The amount of detail on the craft in this Wipeout 2048 screenshot is impressive.
There is a lot going on here, but most of the surfaces look flat. Still, that might not be a problem when speeding past them at a virtual 1000 MPH.
Smart As is a puzzle/quiz game and therefore doesn't focus on graphics, but these bright colors and nicely textured blocks are still nice.