PlayStation Plus goes portable: Vita now a must-buy

Starting November 19th, there will be no reason not to own a PlayStation Vita.

Yesterday, Sony announced that PlayStation Plus, its premium network membership, will expand support to include PlayStation Vita games. Here’s the kicker: the games included are some of the best reasons to buy a Vita.

In North America, in the first month alone, you’ll be treated to (with your $50/year subscription, of course) digital copies of the following games for free:

  1. Uncharted: Golden Abyss (click for review!)
  2. WipEout 2048 (click for review!)
  3. Jet Set Radio
  4. Gravity Rush
  5. Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack!
  6. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions

If you’re keeping track, your $40 per year subscription to PlayStation Plus will, in one month, give you a value of well over $100 in games from the PlayStation Store, including two highly-acclaimed launch titles with the system and Jet Set Radio, a brand new title not even available on the Vita yet!

In addition to these features, you’ll get an additional gigabyte of online storage for game saves, bringing the total to 2GB including PlayStation 3 storage, as well as email support and wireless Vita to PC and Vita to PS3 file transfers.

If you’re already a PlayStation Plus subscriber, it won’t cost you a penny to get any of these great games, unless you consider the cost of memory cards to store them on. Even with that, it is well worth the price of admission.

Standard PlayStation Plus rules apply: if you download a game once while it’s in the free period, you will have access to that game for free to re-download at any time going forward. So maybe you’re not really into WipEout 2048 right now but you know you’ll want at it in a few months, grab it now and you’ll be able to get it again anytime at no charge!

At this point, there really are no excuses left for not buying a Vita. The handheld itself is relatively inexpensive, its technology is fantastic, and now, the games are also super cheap! We also happen to think it’s one of the best handheld units we’ve ever used, save for a few minor nitpicks.

With PlayStation Plus now extending to Vita for the same price as your existing membership, you owe it to yourself to experience the sweet, sweet candy that Sony is making. You’ll be able to sign up for PlayStation Plus from your Vita on the PlayStation Store starting November 19th.