Sony PlayStation Vita to use proprietary memory cards

[Emil]

The Sony PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) (PCH-1000 series) will use proprietary memory cards. A user by the name of onQ123 on the Neogaf forums posted a picture showing four sizes of the planned chips: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB.

While they look very much like a standard SD card, they have an extra notch that clearly distinguishes them. This is very unfortunate because it means you will not be able to use any of the SD cards you already have: you will have to go out and buy a Sony memory card if you want additional storage on your Vita.

This sad news follows the great news from last week, when we learned the PS Vita will be region-free. Region-free simply means that you can purchase a game and system from any two different regions and they will be compatible.

Sony is promising that the PS Vita will give a PS3-level experience with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor and a multi-core PowerVR SGX543MP4 graphics chip four times faster than the PSP's. The device will come with a 5-inch OLED screen (950 x 544 resolution), two micro-analog sticks to simulate the Dual Shock experience, front and rear facing cameras, and two-finger multitouch pad on the back of the machine. Sony is hoping the front and rear touch screens will offer new three dimension-like motion gameplay experiences never before seen on any device through "touch, grab, trace, push and pull" finger motions. A Sixaxis equivalent with a gyroscope and accelerometer is also available to let players control games by moving and tilting the system itself.

In terms of connectivity you can expect built-in 3G in addition to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, as well as GPS support. The PS Vita will come with a pre-installed app called Party, which lets you use voice chat or text chat when gaming, using other apps, or browsing the Internet. Another app, called Near, will let you share your game information with other users and add them as friends.

The Wi-Fi model will be available for 25,000 yen (including tax) in Japan, $250.00 in the US, and €250.00 in Europe, while the 3G/Wi-Fi model will be available for 30,000 yen (including tax) in Japan, $300.00 in the US and €300.00 in Europe. Exact release dates are still unknown, all Sony has said is that the PS Vita will launch globally at the end of this year.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/44239-sony-playstation-vita-to-use-proprietary-memory-cards.html

 

[Muggs]

No shock. Sony has always done everything proprietary. I always avoided Sony Cameras because of their Memory Sticks.

 

[gwailo247]

Stupid Sony. I seriously wish they lost the BluRay war, then they wouldn't do this crap.

 

[Raswan]

gwailo247 said:
Stupid Sony. I seriously wish they lost the BluRay war, then they wouldn't do this crap.

It's absolutely infuriating and counter to progress. It's (part of) what pisses everyone off so much about Apple. They know, in their black, greedy, pernicious little hearts, that the closed system never wins, and yet they persistently choose the quick buck. Eff you, Sony. Again.

 

[lawfer]

... you will have to go out and buy a Sony memory card if you want additional storage on your Vita.

Or you could simply buy any of the cheaper, third-party cards that will most likely be released post-launch. Sure, you will spend money on a new card anyway, but at least not necessarily for Sony's (likely overpriced) offerings.

 

[Guest]

I hope the card prices are good as the Vita's was a shocker. Some company will build cards for the vita..no big a deal. I cant wait to get one of this beast...

My 3 yrs old PS3 Fatty YLOD on me while playing Killzone 3 online a week ago...(how ironic). I will fix it myself, thks to YouTube.

 

[taea00]

The whole point is there are completely viable alternatives. There are standard protocols that almost EVERYONE except Sony follow. Why is that? Who wants to constantly reinvent that wheel that only your car can run? Sure it good for you business, but it's completely and utterly disrespectful to your consumer base.

 

[Guest]

Uhhmm this is common business practice. M$oft does it with all X-Box add-ons they charge our arms off and our feet too if they could. So, this is nothing new & SONY is not in the business of hand-outs.

 

[Guest]

Why is this even posted as news? Every Nintendo handheld EVER was some sort of 'proprietary' format. Yes, even the carts. They didn't work on anything else, did they? The DS/DSi/3DS all use custom (and I assume flash-based) cards similar to what Sony is going to use for the Vita. So why all the talk?

Yes, Sony makes up proprietary formats all the time. But this doesn't count as one.

 

[Guest]

I hope it is a buisness for sony because it is just so plain stupid.

 

[Guest]

The author is being very presumptuous, considering the resource for this article is a photograph with a two word description. Who's to say SD cards won't be the medium for expansion storage? For all we know, these cards are the media used for retail games. Oh, and for the record, some SD cards do have a notch on the right side for a read/write lock switch.

 

[ramonsterns]

So long as they aren't over priced, I don't care if it's proprietary. But with Sony's track record, I supposed they will probably be.

 

[Scshadow]

Guest said:
Why is this even posted as news? Every Nintendo handheld EVER was some sort of 'proprietary' format. Yes, even the carts. They didn't work on anything else, did they? The DS/DSi/3DS all use custom (and I assume flash-based) cards similar to what Sony is going to use for the Vita. So why all the talk?

Yes, Sony makes up proprietary formats all the time. But this doesn't count as one.

Those are game cards... This is a memory card. All it will be is extra memory. DS games are only going to be compatible with DS so might as well have a unique format and it makes it a little bit harder to break the security. Memory cards on the other, hand stores saves, music, and video. It would be great if you could transfer stuff using your computer's card reader but with a fresh new format, that idea is screwed.

 

[herpaderp]

Hopefully they're just custom housings, and if so, there'll soon be adapters for MicroSD. Either way, if this is true, just another stupid decision by Sony execs.

 

[spydercanopus]

These might be SD cards without the lock switch.

 

[MVoleski]

Yeah it looks nice, but I will only buy it if it's hackable. I made the mistake of buying a psp3000 later to find out that it couldn't be hacked yet. Especially now that the vita will only have digital games, so no more 3 dollar games from the exchange.

 

[TechGuyChris]

Hmmm. The Sony Ericsson xperia branded phones dont use proprietary connectors

PS3 controller chargers arent proprietary

The PS3 hard disk isnt proprietary

Their camera connectors are no longer proprietary.

Microsoft, and Apple arent any different when it comes to proprietary stuff. Sony has lightened up while its main competitors (Apple, Microsoft, samsung) have all gotten more proprietary.

Thanks =)

 

[TechGuyChris]

Oh crap, i cant reply to individual posts on this website. My first comment was reflected to @M****

 

[gwailo247]

TechGuyChris said:
Oh crap, i cant reply to individual posts on this website. My first comment was reflected to @M****

Sure you can. Hit quote.

 

[PaulShawnP]

It was so expected from Sony. They have always done the same with PS Vita. It is so annoying and stupid from Sony.

 

[Guest]

do your research the psp 3000 is hackable noob