Do I Need a Memory Card for PS Vita?

PS Vita doesn’t come with a memory card. Also, there is no slot for a micro-SD card.  For this reason, many PS Vita users get confused about whether the PS Vita supports or needs a memory card or not.

If you are also a PS Vita user and not sure if you need a memory card or not for your device, then you are just in the right place. Because in this article, we will tell you about what kind of memory card PS Vita uses and what size memory card should you get.

Do I Need a Memory Card for PS Vita – The Necessity of a Memory Card

Without any ado, let’s be straight cut about whether you need a memory card for your PS Vita or not. The answer is – “Yes”. You must need extra storage to play games on the PS Vita.

You will get 1GB of internal storage with the PS Vita PCH-2000 console. The sizes of some games for PS Vita are over 1 GB. On the other hand, games need to save their data on storage and some games contain over 4GB of data. So, it is mandatory to have external storage for your PS Vita console.

Therefore, you cannot use game patches without using memory cards. So, you must need a memory card for your PS Vita.

What Types of Memory Card Does the PS Vita Supports?

As the PS Vita doesn’t have any micro-SD slot, the question may come to your mind what kinds of memory card does your console use? Well, PS Vita doesn’t support usual SD cards but it only the dedicated PS Vita memory cards to store data.

The PS Vita memory cards are different in shape & size than ordinary memory cards. They also are highly secured because these memory cards cannot be recognized directly on a computer. Special management software is required to read and write the memory card.

Now, let’s see how much memory you need for your PS Vita console.

The Capacity of PS Vita Memory Cards

PS Vita supports up to 64GB of external memory card. Sony provides five sizes of memory cards: 4Gb, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. Now, which should you go for completely depends on your needs and budget.

If you only play retail games, then you need only 8GB for DLC (Downloadable content) and patches on your console. But if you are a PlayStation Plus subscriber, then you are going to need 32GB or 64GB memory for downloading games.

Price of PS Vita Memory Cards

PS Vita dedicated memory cards are very expensive for their different shape. The price of a PS Vita memory card is 3 times more costly than usual SD cards.

However, these dedicated memories are not any better than usual SD cards. The speed of a PS Vita memory card is only Class4. Here is the price range according to the capacity of these dedicated memory cards.

• 4GB: $29.99-$31.99
• 8GB: $44.99-$48.99
• 16GB: $69.99-$72.99
• 32GB: $119.99-$122.99
• 64GB: $189.99-$192.99

Now, choose any of the PS Vita memory cards for your console according to your need and budget.

Bonus Tip: How to Use an SD Card on PS Vita?

If you want to use your SD card instead of buying an expensive PS Vita memory, then fortunately there is a perfect alternative way for you. You can use an SD2Vita adapter to use your SD card on your PS Vita console. Follow the steps below to prepare your SD card to use on PS Vita:

1. First, create a backup of your PS Vita memory card, and then connect your SD card to your computer.
2. After that, navigate to Disk Utility > Select Card > Partition > Options > MBR > 1partition > exFat.
3. Then, move the backup data into your SD card.
4. Now, insert the SD card into the SD2Vita adapter and put it into the PS Vita.
5. Finally, reboot the PS Vita and your console is ready to use the micro-SD card.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Play PS Vita Without Memory Card?

Yes, you can play certain games on your PS Vita without any external memory card. But if you want to play bigger size games on your console, then you certainly need a memory card.

Does PS Vita Have Built-in Memory?

Yes, PS Vita has a built-in internal memory card with 1GB of storage. But this storage isn’t enough for PlayStation Plus subscribers who download games to their PS Vita console. But you can play small games on your PS Vita without using any external memory card.

What Size of Memory Card Do I Need for a PS Vita?

It completely depends on you how much memory you need to play games on your console. If you play initial games then you only need an 8 GB memory card. On the other hand, if you download and play bigger-sized games on your console, then you are going to need 32GB or 64GB depending on the size of the game.

For example, you can use 4-8 full PlayStation Vita games on a 16GB PS Vita memory card.

Does the Vita have SD Card?

No, PS Vita doesn’t come with any external memory cards. But you can add an external memory card to it if you want.

The PS Vita doesn’t support ordinary SD cards so you only need to get a dedicated PS Vita memory card for your console which is completely different from the usual SD cards which can be found on the market.

Conclusion

According to many PlayStation Vita users, the external memory card is necessary to enjoy playing games on PS Vita. However, it doesn’t mean that you cannot play any games on this console without any external memory card.

So, it’s up to you whether to use a memory card on your PS Vita console or not. We hope now you are aware of almost all the facts about using external memory cards on PS Vita.

If you have any suggestions or confusion, please let us know in the comment section below.