Siobhan Keogh: Handheld happiness or horror?

Dead or Alive: Dimensions on Nintendo 3DS.

Handheld devices get a bad wrap, but Siobhan Keogh reckons there are some hidden gems amongst them.

It's just such a shame.

When the PS Vita was announced, things were looking up. It had technical specs that no other handheld device could rival. It was designed specifically with gaming and gamers in mind. People were excited.

Until, of course, Sony announced prices.

It was a mistake Nintendo had already learned from. When Nintendo's 3DS came out, it too was overpriced. Within months, the company dropped the price, making a loss on manufacturing so that it could sell more units and therefore more games. Immediately after the price drop, the 3DS started to fly off of shelves everywhere.

Nowadays, the 3DS has a lot going for it - great games, reasonable price, more affordable version for those who just want to play Pokemon. It's all good.

But Sony wasn't going to play the same game. The company had set a price and it stuck to its guns. The strategy might have worked out if the device's AAA games had been up to scratch in the beginning. Instead, the more high-profile games on the release calendar largely failed (the most spectacular failure was Call of Duty Declassified, which was much hyped and truly terrible).

It became circular. The Vita wasn't selling, so companies weren't developing games for it. Companies weren't developing games for it, so the Vita wasn't selling.

I own a Vita - I have from day one. I like it. It's a nice device and it has some seriously awesome standby battery life. It even has some really great games now - in particular, Tearaway and Gravity Rush are fantastic. But the thing that's a real shame is that people who never buy the device won't discover the joy of playing old favourites and cute little indie games on the Vita.

The Vita, which started out as an attempt to get gamers to play blockbusters on handheld devices, has essentially become a vessel for arcade games both old and new. And I love that.

If you're a fan of old school JRPGs, there's a huge library on the Vita's store. Personally I've replayed Final Fantasy VII, and had a crack at Grandia too. Then there's Crash Bandicoot, Silent Hill, Chrono Cross, Gex, and tens if not hundreds more PSOne Classics.

Many of the device's top games are ports that were remade for the Vita - Fez is the Vita's highest-ranking game on Metacritic, followed by the remastered versions of Final Fantasy X and its sequel. A God of War collection also appears on the list.

The Vita's also become something of an indie workshop - PlayStation actively promotes indie games developed for the platform. Sound Shapes and Guacamelee are both fantastic games.

If playing all of those old games again - and some of the new ones - appeals to you, I do have good news. There's a slimmer version of the Vita on its way on June 4 which is WiFi-only, but sports an internal memory card and costs $330. That's significantly less expensive than the current version of the Vita, which is retailing for $449 at EB Games (ouch).

It is progress, but it may be too little, too late. Consoles live and die on their games - especially exclusives - and many developers have already made the tough call; they're not developing exclusives for Vita anymore. It's hardly surprising considering Sony's old handheld, the PSP, outsold the Vita 2:1 for months after launch.

In the meantime, gamers are missing out on some real gems - especially Media Molecule's titles Tearaway and LittleBigPlanet Vita, which both use the unique features of the Vita flawlessly.

I can only hope that the new version of the Vita begins to sell better at its lower price point. The device itself is solid, and still has a lot of potential. It just needs some big-name developers to get on board and unlock it.

*What do you think? Are you a Vita fan? Comment below: