While the PSVita has been hacked for quite a while, interest hasn’t dwindled down and positive responses to xCorra’s PSVita Dock prompted him to create a Plug and Play version for not much more money! From a software point of view, the console got an addictive little game called Cup Critters which we’ll also be looking at in this article.
PSVita Dock Plug and Play Edition now available – First batch already sold out!
Until the Plug and Play edition was released, the PSVita Dock was merely a $30 piece of plastic but now, it’s much more appealing!
2 days ago, xCorra decided to start an IndieGoGo campaign for his PSVita Dock project, a dock similar to the Switch dock but without any guts! This meant that buyers had to supply their own Raspberry Pi and cables which made the asking price of $30 a tad too high for many since what you were getting was essentially a plastic shell.
Thankfully, xCorra swiftly listened to criticism from others (and my own suggestions on the matter) and is now offering a Plug and Play version of the PSVita Dock for the pretty reasonable price of €58 (or $65 for those in the States). As its name suggests, this Plug and Play version is intended for people who want a dock that’s already set up and only requires you to hook it up to a power source and television (through HDMI) in order to start streaming your PSVita’s display to a bigger screen.
The main gripe of many with the PSVita Dock has now been addressed as a nicely priced version that contains actual hardware is now available!
While the PSVita Dock IndieGoGo campaign only mentions that you don’t need any cables and an RPi, some other information has also been made available through comments on Reddit:
- The PSVita Dock Plug and Play Edition will include a Raspberry Pi 3/3b/3b+ (xCorra is currently in talks with suppliers about this)
- The first batch/wave will be shipped in May (it was early June before)
- If you backed the PSVita Dock without the RPi included, IGG allows you to refund the purchase so you can get the Plug and Play Edition
As of right now, the 1st batch has been fully sold out (15 out of 15) but you can back the 2nd batch, for the same price, which will be shipped in June (it was July before).
Disclaimer: Neither I, Aurora, nor Wololo.net are affiliated with the PSVita Dock project and we’re not responsible if anything goes wrong with the PSVita Dock campaign and you end up losing money. Please read the FAQ of the IndieGoGo page before backing the project.
The IndieGoGo page can be accessed by pressing this link
FantaHG ports/remakes Cup Critters to the PSVita
Cup Critters is a pretty simple game that could keep you hooked for quite some time if you like simple yet difficult-to-master games
On the software side of things, the PSVita has also been receiving a fair amount of homebrew games lately and Cup Critters, ported/remade by FantaHG, is the latest one. This game, by RCMADIAX, was released in late 2016 for the Wii U and New 3DS consoles (yes, for some reason it doesn’t support the Old 3DS even though it’s a pretty simple game).
In it, you have to manipulate gravity with the d-pad (left/right) in order to make critters (which look like balls/orbs) land in the cup/basket placed opposite to the one they’re in. While it sounds pretty simple, it’s somewhat addicting and could get pretty challenging especially in later stages as you have two separate cup/critters sets that you have to manage simultaneously!
The game gets pretty challenging in later stages so you won’t be getting a very high score easily
From my testing experience, I observed the following about the PSVita port:
- Overall, it works pretty well as performance is really good (expected from such a simple game) and audio also works properly
- It doesn’t contain a small help box on the main menu (like the official Wii U version) which could make it confusing to new players
- To start the game, you have to use the touch screen to press the ‘PLAY’ button which makes it unplayable on the PSTV which is unfortunate as the game itself doesn’t require touch input.
A link to download Cup Critters won’t be made available here as it is a paid game (costs $1.49) and FantaHG didn’t mention having permission to distribute it
Conclusion
For more recent PSVita releases, you can check out VitaHEX’s recent Fallen Knights game and also follow FantaHG on Twitter as he’s currently working on a game called Speedrun Vita.
On the other hand, if you’re patiently waiting to receive your PSVita Dock Plug and Play edition, you can always take out an old laptop and use that with your television as an easy way to transmit your Vita’s screen to the TV!
The post PSVita Dock Plug and Play Edition Now Available for €58/$65 on IndieGoGo and FantaHG ports Cup Critters to the Vita – Transmitting your PSVita’s screen to the TV has now become much easier and you can play an addicting game while you wait for it! appeared first on Wololo.net.