Buyers' Guide: How to get the cheapest PS Vita in the UK

There has never been a better time to be the owner of a PlayStation Vita.

Sony's handheld system might have struggled in its first year of life, but this slick dual-analogue device has 'stepped up' to the plate with a huge library of top games - and there are new ones heading this way all the time.

You've got huge console-quality games in Killzone: Mercenary and Rayman Legends; essential indies in Spelunky and Lone Survivor; and a back catalogue of PSP and PlayStation Mobile titles.

We've put together this buyers' guide to help you finally make the jump and join the "Cool Vita Owners" club. Come on in - we have personalised T-shirts.

Online-only retailer Shopto is your best bet for a cheap Vita right now. You can get the Wi-Fi-only model for just £134.86 from the site, whereas you'd have to pay about £150 from Amazon and other shops.

The 3G Vita is a lot harder to find on the cheap. Amazon sells it for £170, and Tesco beats the online retailer by a pound. So, unless you really want to play Killzone: Mercenary in the middle of a field, save your cash and get the Wi-Fi version.

There are loads of Vita bundles from which to choose.

First up, Sony recently put out a pair of Vita Mega Packs that come bundled with armfuls of top titles. Let's take a look at those.

In this package, you get a Wi-Fi PlayStation Vita and ten games on a 8GB memory card. The games vary in quality, but there are some really good titles here.

The full list is as follows: LittleBigPlanet, WipEout 2048, MotorStorm RC, Little Deviants, Frobisher Says!, Ecolibrium, Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters, Lemmings, Hungry Giraffe, and Rotating Octopus.

As above, this is a Wi-Fi Vita with an 8GB card and a selection of games. These are mostly sports and driving games, and quite a few of the titles are actually PSP games.

You'll get Gran Turismo, WipEout Pulse, ModNation Racers: Road Trip, Everybody's Golf, MotorStorm RC, Top Darts, Tabletop Tank, and Table mini golf. Not a bad selection.

There are also game-specific bundles you can buy that come with the Wi-Fi console, one game, and a 4GB memory card. Buyer beware, though: every last one is a waste of money, as it is cheaper to buy the items piecemeal.

Take the LittleBigPlanet bundle, which retails for £169 at Amazon. It would cost just £162.34 to buy the console, the game (£17.49 at Amazon), and the memory card. You would also be better off buying the cheaper 10 Game Mega Pack, above, which includes LittleBigPlanet, a bigger card, and nine more games!

The same goes for the Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified, FIFA 13, FIFA Football, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted bundles.

The only one worth your cash is GAME's 3G Vita, 8GB memory card, and Killzone: Mercenary bundle. At £169.99, that represents a saving of about £40. Sadly, the bundle is not currently in stock at GAME.

You need a memory card to enjoy a PlayStation Vita. Some games require a card, while most need one for saving data. Oh, and you'll need a lot of storage space for all the excellent indie games on the PlayStation Store.

Here's how to get the cheapest card. We'd heartily recommend you consider the 8GB one... as the bare minimum.