news Sony Computer Entertainment Australia announced yesterday in Sydney, the pre-order details for its next generation portable gaming and entertainment system, PlayStation Vita, launching in stores across Australia on February 23 next year. Pre-orders for PS Vita will be available through select Australian retailers including GAME, EB Games and JB Hi-Fi.
Customers pre-ordering are guaranteed a PS Vita on launch day as well as a PS Vita Gift Pack which includes exclusive discounts and content, limited edition merchandise, and game discounts for the PlayStation Store. The PS Vita Pre-order gift pack consists of:
- In-ear PlayStation headphones with metallic ‘PS Vita Blue’ finish
- Select PS Vita items for PlayStation Home including PS Vita t-shirt, sunglasses, headphones, trainers and bag
- A discount of $8 on one of the following PS Vita games on PlayStation Store: Super Stardust Delta, Little Deviants, Escape Plan, and Hustle Kings
- Exclusive early access to Frobisher Says! application for PS Vita
- An exclusive PS Vita Avatar for PlayStation Network
PlayStation Vita is the successor to the PlayStation Portable; it will be introduced in Japan and some Asian regions on December 17th, 2011 and in North America and Europe on February 22nd, 2012. The name of the device, which means ‘Life’ in Latin, was revealed on June 6th, 2011.
Unique features of PS Vita include a 5” OLED touchscreen, dual analog sticks, a rear touchpad, a revolutionary user interface, motion sensors and dual cameras, and additional 3G and Wi-Fi support. The 3G version also features a built-in GPS. The front and rear cameras enable head and face detection and head tracking, allowing for customisation and personalisation. It has 512 MB of system RAM and supports cross-game chat on the system.
PS Vita has been designed to be backwards-compatible with PlayStation Portable games digitally released on PlayStation Network through the PlayStation Store. It will also support PlayStation Suite games, PlayStation minis, comics and videos from PlayStation Store and PSOne Classics. Select PSP games will also support PS Vita’s dual analog sticks. The Vita will not have a removable battery, however, or support video output.
The PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi model will be on offer at $449.95 RRP in Australia and the PS Vita Wi-Fi model at $349.95 RRP. Customers can pre-order by placing a deposit at their local GAME, EB Games or JB Hi-Fi store from November 17th onwards. Once PS Vita launches on February 23rd, 2012, customers can pay the balance at the same store and collect their PS Vita and Pre-order Gift Pack.
Image credit: Sony
I dunno… do people actually use dedicated portable gaming devices anymore? With phones just as powerful (well, almost) what’s the point? A better controller?
I agree. No one buys these things anymore. Even nintendo is failing hard with their 3DS.
but hey ps vita has a QUAD CORE PROCESSOR. I Mean c’mon no other phone has this and also this is mainly for playing games!!!!!!!!! and wit all this it is PORTABLE……
Well sure, until the Tegra 3 comes out…
Tegra 3 came out a little too late. Sony would have to have a successful device in the hands of developers and that takes time. Tegra 2 was also amazing when it came out, but I didn’t see game developers falling for it.
Wow, and people say apple marks up its Australian prices….
I think Penny Aracde sums up the portable gaming market perfectly.
http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-GgW57X4/0/L/i-GgW57X4-L.jpg
If they’re giving it 3g, why not take that extra step and just give it phone functionality.
And now it is coming to Vodafone AU as well: http://t.co/EsNs918V
I’ll be preordering! Touch controls on phones and the games on phones are awful!
You can compare smartphones to ps vita all you want. But the development pipeline between ps vita and ps3, and the fact that it has dual analogue sticks and actual buttons help make it a console. Having all your controls on the same screen you are viewing isn’t for me. I own an iPhone and an iPad and I bought games for them. But I ended up not playing them because of the lack of physical buttons.
I think Sony is on the money. After a few more AAA games hits the shelves for vita. You won’t be able to resist it.
Tegra
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