Fewer and fewer games are being released for the PS Vita these days. New physical titles are only being produced by Japanese publishers, or as exclusives from the likes of Eastasiasoft. So we’re left with digital to fuel our gaming needs. Yet the advent of COVID-19 has even stunted the release of new digital games. Sony have put all of their resources into approving PS4 games for release and Vita titles have fallen by the wayside, not being considered a priority.
There’s still plenty out there to keep us Vita owners happy in the meantime though. With over 1,200 games at our disposal on the PlayStation Store sometimes it can be hard choosing what to buy. But in today’s tough financial climate, you want to make the most of your hard earned cash. While other handheld owners could use a Nintendo Switch CD key to save a packet on getting online store credit, it’s not as simple for us. So how do we make our Vita gaming budget stretch that bit further?
Discount Vouchers
Discount codes don’t really come up for purchase for Vita games as they do for other platforms. The most we can hope for are deals on PSN store credit. Fortunately there’s no expiry date on credit so if you get the chance to grab any deals, just load it on your account and save it for when you need it.
Use The Web
While the PS Vita has it’s own version of the PlayStation Store pre-installed, the general consensus is that it’s a poor substitute for the main web-based store. Not all the games available in the PS Vita’s library are visible in the console version of the store, the search function is severely restricted and as you’ll see from a lot of tips we’ll cover shortly you’ll miss out on a lot of other potential deals. One thing we will advise is that if you use the store on a mobile device, make sure you use the site in the Desktop View to get the best functionality from it.
Finding Bargains
While there are sales on the PlayStation Store, over the last couple of years it has felt that the PS Vita has been left out of many of them. The recent Big In Japan sale, for example, had well over 150 titles reduced including a large number of major big name titles. Yet there were fewer than 10 Vita games included. This was a shocking figure considering not only the staggering number of games released for the Vita from Japan, but also the number of titles in the sale that were available for both the Vita and PS4 where only the PS4 had discounts.
So while it’s safe to say that the regular store sales skip the Vita completely, it’s always worth looking in the weekly Price Drop area of the store. These temporary sales usually have a good selection of games and add-ons reduced, many of which are Cross Buy with the PS4. Because of the nature of this part of the store they’re not widely promoted so it’s worth just taking a look each week.
Cross Buy Deals
Then we have the wonders of Cross Buy. Never ignore sales and deals when it comes to PS4 games as there are often indie titles reduced that just happen to be Cross Buy with the Vita. Even when Sony do promote these either on the store itself or on their blog, the Vita is seldom mentioned. A quick check of the latest PS4 deals can bring up a few surprise bargains hidden away.
Hidden Offers
As time goes on, older titles for the Vita (and legacy games for the PSone and PSP) are also reduced in price. The real trick to finding these is to look at the complete Vita lineup in the store (which will also show the compatible PSP, PSone and Minis titles) and then order the list by price. With compatible titles for the PS Vita starting at just £0.79, you’ll never say that you can’t afford anything for the console again!
Found any great deals on the PlayStation Store? Let us know in the comments below
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