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The PS Vita Slim is everything we hoped it would be. Our fears about the step down in screen were overly pessimistic: there is a noticeable difference, yes, but with the size and resolution still the same, the reduction in quality is not enough to be a huge bugbear.
But all that said, Sony's still trying to sell an expensive dedicated handheld console to a generation of mobile gamers. It's for that reason that we'd expect retailers to start dropping below the RRP in the not-too-distant future.
We liked
The PS Vita doesn't do a lot wrong. It's thinner, lighter, and therefore more comfortable to hold. And at the same time, it's every bit as powerful as its original model. The 1GB of inbuilt storage is a great bonus, though you won't get an awful lot of mileage out of it.
We disliked
The Vita Slim really is just too expensive, and not just for the handheld itself. The games and memory cards are also going to be hard on your wallet, which is worth bearing in mind before paying out for the console. The Vita experience does not come cheap.
The step down to LCD will probably niggle at some owners of the current Vita. The colours are a little less vivid than they were. Not hugely so, but worth bearing in mind if you're a real videophile.
Final verdict
The PS Vita Slim makes some welcome improvements on the original without much sacrifice. The main sticking point is the price, especially given that the Vita doesn't have an arsenal of games to rival the 3DS. However, we expect to see most retailers drop below Sony's RRP.
Without that, the Vita Slim is still a great handheld especially worth a look at if you're buying a PS4, but doesn't warrant an upgrade for owners of the existing Vita.
