PS Vita Firmware Update 3.50 Is Now Out

All eyes are on the new PlayStation 4 update, which, among other things, adds the long promised and awaited Suspend/Resume functionality to the console, but Sony also released a new firmware update for their PS Vita handheld last night simultaneously. In the process, they also acknowledged its existence. That alone would be cause enough to post news about it, but the firmware update was actually fairly substantial, adding a slew of features to bring the Vita more in line with the PS4, while also removing features.

Among the features added to the system are the capacity for 60FPS Remote Play (this must be enabled in the PS4 Link app), as well as universal OS level button re-mapping (same as on the PS4). There are also other Accessibility changes (you can make font larger or smaller, enable Color Blindness settings, enable Closed Captions, and more).

But while the update adds a lot, it also removes a fair bit- as Sony had already announced, the Maps app and the geolocation tracking in Near are now both dead, and have been taken out of the system (the Maps app won’t even show up on the home screen). Support for the YouTube app has also officially ended, and it will no longer show up in the PSN Store.

Still though, I’d say the pros – universal button remapping and higher quality Remote Play – definitely outweigh the cons, so go out there and get the update.