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In the year since its release, the PS Vita has had to work harder than any other piece of Sony gaming hardware to establish itself in the marketplace.
Some might claim that its gaming library isn't quite up to scratch, or that the expensive proprietary storage is a pain in the arse.
But, on balance, Sony has arguably done more to make it an attractive device to own than any other console in its history - or anyone else's history for that matter.
You only have to glance at how much The Big S is giving away to PS Plus subscribers to realise that owning a Vita is a bit of a no-brainer. And that's only part of the story.
What's, perhaps, more compelling in the long run for industry watchers and console consumers is Sony's various cross-platform initiatives: Cross Play, Cross Buy, and Cross Control.
Judging by the number of people who claim never to have heard about any of those three initiatives, you could say that they are still very much in the 'soft launch' phase.
With that in mind, we thought we'd check out whether Cross Play, Cross Buy, and Cross Control are living up to their potential.
No Crossed wires
The idea behind Cross Play is simple: allow games to work across both PS3 and PS Vita. Your progress in a Cross Play-compatible game is saved to the cloud, and, therefore, you can pick up the game at home or on the move and carry on from where you left off.
With Cross Buy titles - of which there are an increasing number - you can, meanwhile, say, buy the PS3 version and download the Vita version free of charge. These Cross Buy games also benefit from the Cross Play features.
Another select bunch of titles make use of the lesser-known Cross Control feature, where you're able to use the PS Vita as your controller for the PS3, complete with all the touch functionality that brings.
Over recent months, we've had a chance to put a couple of dozen of these Cross Buy, Cross Play, and Cross Control titles through their paces to find out how the systems work, and whether these initiatives live up to their 'revolutionising' promises.
Here, then, are our findings...
1. Don't assume Cross Play means 'two for the price of one'.
Although Sony's Cross Play initiative grants you the freedom to sync your save game in the cloud, this doesn't always mean you get the other version free of charge.
A handful of Cross Play titles released to date require you to buy both versions if you want to be able to pick up your game from where you left off.
While this might sound slightly mean-spirited, all of the games that this applies to were cheap to begin with. And in some cases, the Vita version followed a long time after the PS3 original.
In Sony's defence, then, it's not like having to shell out for a full-priced release twice - that would be unwise.
Titles this applies to are tricky 2D puzzle-shooter A-Men, pool sim Hustle Kings, and Pinball Arcade.
2. Cross Buy mean two for the price of one... but sometimes you've got to wait
In an ideal world, all the Cross Buy titles would be shipped simultaneously, and gamers could get on with being able to play titles on either their PS Vita or PS3... just as Sony intended. But these are early days for this initiative, and plans don't always pan out quite as intended.
So, while Sony got off to a great start putting out PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale as its maiden first-party Cross Buy retail title, it has alreadymessed up the launch of Ratchet & Clank: Q-Force (a.k.a. Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault in the US).
Originally, you see, a PS Vita version of Ratchet & Clank: QForce was set to join the PS3 release by the end of January, but that has now been put back to the spring. On the plus side, you can now pick up the PS3 version for a bargain price, safe in the knowledge that you'll get the Vita version gratis in a few weeks.
Furthermore, regional variations in release dates have put a crimp in the initiative. While US gamers have been tucking into Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time since early February, EU gamers must wait patiently until March 27th to get their Sly Cooper fix. For those waiting for Retro City Rampage, the wait was even longer.
3. Don't expect your save games to seamlessly synchronise across devices
The biggest niggle I have with the whole Cross Play initiative hitherto is the fact that synchronising data is something of a dark art. More often than not, you'll play a game for a while, and then expect that your save game will synchronise with the cloud once you're done.
Problems start to emerge, though, when you go to play the same game on the other system, and find that your data hasn't synced as expected. You can spend rather more time than you'd like coaxing both the Vita and PS3 into performing manual synchronisations, only to find it hasn't worked.
In some cases, games need patching first, e.g. with When Vikings Attackor Sound Shapes. In fact, in the case of Sound Shapes, the Vita version point blank refused to log into the PlayStation Network via my router, but decided a mobile phone hotspot was just fine.
Such unfathomable tech issues also extend to getting games to even start syncing with one another. With Foosball 2012, for instance, the game refused to even start syncing unless you were already online when you saved the game. In other words, if I was offline and saved, I couldn't then perform a sync at a later date. Bizarre, but true.
At the Extremely Bad end of the scale is A-Men. Nothing I tried persuaded this game to synchronise at all. So, if anyone's managed to do it, please get in touch. At the usual address.
4. Practice makes perfect
Now and then, though, Cross Play seemed to work as advertised. Yep, no problems at all.
This was the case with the excellent MotorStorm RC, and more recent games such as Knytt Underground, Big Sky Infinity, Bentley's Hack Pack, and Retro City Rampage.
5. Indie games appear to be the focus
Right now, it's fair to say that the Cross Buy initiative is largely being trialled on more affordable titles, rather than on the big budget blockbusters. In these instances, having a PS3 version to play on the big screen feels more like a nice bonus, rather than a dealmaker.
In truth, a lot of these games do look rather wonderful when you're playing them in crisp 1080p.
On the other hand, though, almost all these titles aren't really what you'd call big-screen experiences, and generally lend themselves to handheld play.
Where the Cross Buy initiative really seems to work best is for games like PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. These two titles are not only fantastic to play on the big screen, but are also a real treat on the move. Plus, it's a genuinely good deal: you get another version thrown in for free, rather than your just making a minor saving.
Until we start to see third parties also getting involved in the Cross Buy initiative, it feels like people will find it hard to justify owning a Vita. Dangle the carrot of a Cross Play / Cross Buy Call of Duty, FIFA, andAssassin's Creed, though, and it's easy to predict a major upturn in fortune for the PS Vita.
6. Is Cross Control a gimmick?
Some games even enable you to use the PS Vita as a controller on the PS3. Examples of these are LittleBigPlanet 2 and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3.
Others, like ModNation Racers: Road Trip, allow you to download PS3 tracks on the Vita, while WipEout 2048 provides cross-format online play.
These are all nice ideas in theory, and show what's technically possible. In truth, however, these are piecemeal features that have barely gained any traction whatsoever.
One day, most games might support these features, but right now they're just obscure features for gamers to dabble in.
7. Remote Play still doesn't quite work
Related to Cross Control is Sony's Remote Play feature, which enables you to stream certain PS3 games on the PS Vita over the internet.
The problem is, the number of retail PS3 games that support Remote Play is minimal to the point of irrelevance.
Yes, you can run the HD remakes of ICO / Shadow of the Colossus, as well as the first God of War collection, via Remote Play, but the lag is almost intolerable (even if you're running it off your home network and you are sat in the same room as the router).
And it's the same story if you try one of the PSN games that supports Remote Play, such as PixelJunk Shooter, Bionic Commando Rearmed, orPeggle. You can also give PSone games a try if you own any, but, again, performance is patchy.
Hopefully, once Sony implements Gaikai's streaming technology into its console systems, we'll see a very different picture emerge. For now, though, folks, it's hardly worth wasting your time.
8. Thanks for trying, Sony
All told, it's fascinating to witness Sony experimenting in so many groundbreaking areas. In many ways that matter, the company is genuinely trying to push handheld gaming forward, and integrate it into its wider PlayStation ecosystem in a way that could make the PS Vita a brilliant-value handheld console to own.
But without enough compelling games that support Cross Buy and Cross Play, what you're essentially left with is a neat, good value means of sampling low-priced downloadable titles.
And given that the iOS and Android ecosystems already allow you to do much of what Sony is grasping at, it's hardly surprising that a lot of gamers aren't getting all that excited just yet.
Some might claim that its gaming library isn't quite up to scratch, or that the expensive proprietary storage is a pain in the arse.
But, on balance, Sony has arguably done more to make it an attractive device to own than any other console in its history - or anyone else's history for that matter.
You only have to glance at how much The Big S is giving away to PS Plus subscribers to realise that owning a Vita is a bit of a no-brainer. And that's only part of the story.
What's, perhaps, more compelling in the long run for industry watchers and console consumers is Sony's various cross-platform initiatives: Cross Play, Cross Buy, and Cross Control.
Judging by the number of people who claim never to have heard about any of those three initiatives, you could say that they are still very much in the 'soft launch' phase.
With that in mind, we thought we'd check out whether Cross Play, Cross Buy, and Cross Control are living up to their potential.
No Crossed wires
The idea behind Cross Play is simple: allow games to work across both PS3 and PS Vita. Your progress in a Cross Play-compatible game is saved to the cloud, and, therefore, you can pick up the game at home or on the move and carry on from where you left off.
With Cross Buy titles - of which there are an increasing number - you can, meanwhile, say, buy the PS3 version and download the Vita version free of charge. These Cross Buy games also benefit from the Cross Play features.
Another select bunch of titles make use of the lesser-known Cross Control feature, where you're able to use the PS Vita as your controller for the PS3, complete with all the touch functionality that brings.
Over recent months, we've had a chance to put a couple of dozen of these Cross Buy, Cross Play, and Cross Control titles through their paces to find out how the systems work, and whether these initiatives live up to their 'revolutionising' promises.
Here, then, are our findings...
1. Don't assume Cross Play means 'two for the price of one'.
Although Sony's Cross Play initiative grants you the freedom to sync your save game in the cloud, this doesn't always mean you get the other version free of charge.
A handful of Cross Play titles released to date require you to buy both versions if you want to be able to pick up your game from where you left off.
While this might sound slightly mean-spirited, all of the games that this applies to were cheap to begin with. And in some cases, the Vita version followed a long time after the PS3 original.
In Sony's defence, then, it's not like having to shell out for a full-priced release twice - that would be unwise.
Titles this applies to are tricky 2D puzzle-shooter A-Men, pool sim Hustle Kings, and Pinball Arcade.
2. Cross Buy mean two for the price of one... but sometimes you've got to wait
In an ideal world, all the Cross Buy titles would be shipped simultaneously, and gamers could get on with being able to play titles on either their PS Vita or PS3... just as Sony intended. But these are early days for this initiative, and plans don't always pan out quite as intended.
So, while Sony got off to a great start putting out PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale as its maiden first-party Cross Buy retail title, it has alreadymessed up the launch of Ratchet & Clank: Q-Force (a.k.a. Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault in the US).
Originally, you see, a PS Vita version of Ratchet & Clank: QForce was set to join the PS3 release by the end of January, but that has now been put back to the spring. On the plus side, you can now pick up the PS3 version for a bargain price, safe in the knowledge that you'll get the Vita version gratis in a few weeks.
Furthermore, regional variations in release dates have put a crimp in the initiative. While US gamers have been tucking into Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time since early February, EU gamers must wait patiently until March 27th to get their Sly Cooper fix. For those waiting for Retro City Rampage, the wait was even longer.
3. Don't expect your save games to seamlessly synchronise across devices
The biggest niggle I have with the whole Cross Play initiative hitherto is the fact that synchronising data is something of a dark art. More often than not, you'll play a game for a while, and then expect that your save game will synchronise with the cloud once you're done.
Problems start to emerge, though, when you go to play the same game on the other system, and find that your data hasn't synced as expected. You can spend rather more time than you'd like coaxing both the Vita and PS3 into performing manual synchronisations, only to find it hasn't worked.
In some cases, games need patching first, e.g. with When Vikings Attackor Sound Shapes. In fact, in the case of Sound Shapes, the Vita version point blank refused to log into the PlayStation Network via my router, but decided a mobile phone hotspot was just fine.
Such unfathomable tech issues also extend to getting games to even start syncing with one another. With Foosball 2012, for instance, the game refused to even start syncing unless you were already online when you saved the game. In other words, if I was offline and saved, I couldn't then perform a sync at a later date. Bizarre, but true.
At the Extremely Bad end of the scale is A-Men. Nothing I tried persuaded this game to synchronise at all. So, if anyone's managed to do it, please get in touch. At the usual address.
4. Practice makes perfect
Now and then, though, Cross Play seemed to work as advertised. Yep, no problems at all.
This was the case with the excellent MotorStorm RC, and more recent games such as Knytt Underground, Big Sky Infinity, Bentley's Hack Pack, and Retro City Rampage.
5. Indie games appear to be the focus
Right now, it's fair to say that the Cross Buy initiative is largely being trialled on more affordable titles, rather than on the big budget blockbusters. In these instances, having a PS3 version to play on the big screen feels more like a nice bonus, rather than a dealmaker.
In truth, a lot of these games do look rather wonderful when you're playing them in crisp 1080p.
On the other hand, though, almost all these titles aren't really what you'd call big-screen experiences, and generally lend themselves to handheld play.
Where the Cross Buy initiative really seems to work best is for games like PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. These two titles are not only fantastic to play on the big screen, but are also a real treat on the move. Plus, it's a genuinely good deal: you get another version thrown in for free, rather than your just making a minor saving.
Until we start to see third parties also getting involved in the Cross Buy initiative, it feels like people will find it hard to justify owning a Vita. Dangle the carrot of a Cross Play / Cross Buy Call of Duty, FIFA, andAssassin's Creed, though, and it's easy to predict a major upturn in fortune for the PS Vita.
6. Is Cross Control a gimmick?
Some games even enable you to use the PS Vita as a controller on the PS3. Examples of these are LittleBigPlanet 2 and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3.
Others, like ModNation Racers: Road Trip, allow you to download PS3 tracks on the Vita, while WipEout 2048 provides cross-format online play.
These are all nice ideas in theory, and show what's technically possible. In truth, however, these are piecemeal features that have barely gained any traction whatsoever.
One day, most games might support these features, but right now they're just obscure features for gamers to dabble in.
7. Remote Play still doesn't quite work
Related to Cross Control is Sony's Remote Play feature, which enables you to stream certain PS3 games on the PS Vita over the internet.
The problem is, the number of retail PS3 games that support Remote Play is minimal to the point of irrelevance.
Yes, you can run the HD remakes of ICO / Shadow of the Colossus, as well as the first God of War collection, via Remote Play, but the lag is almost intolerable (even if you're running it off your home network and you are sat in the same room as the router).
And it's the same story if you try one of the PSN games that supports Remote Play, such as PixelJunk Shooter, Bionic Commando Rearmed, orPeggle. You can also give PSone games a try if you own any, but, again, performance is patchy.
Hopefully, once Sony implements Gaikai's streaming technology into its console systems, we'll see a very different picture emerge. For now, though, folks, it's hardly worth wasting your time.
8. Thanks for trying, Sony
All told, it's fascinating to witness Sony experimenting in so many groundbreaking areas. In many ways that matter, the company is genuinely trying to push handheld gaming forward, and integrate it into its wider PlayStation ecosystem in a way that could make the PS Vita a brilliant-value handheld console to own.
But without enough compelling games that support Cross Buy and Cross Play, what you're essentially left with is a neat, good value means of sampling low-priced downloadable titles.
And given that the iOS and Android ecosystems already allow you to do much of what Sony is grasping at, it's hardly surprising that a lot of gamers aren't getting all that excited just yet.
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