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Sony shows off PlayStation Vita's initial setup process and user interface (video)
While we're still months away from seeing the PlayStation Vita show up in the stores, Sony continues to tease us with more live demonstrations here at the SCEJ press conference -- what we saw just now was a quick walkthrough of the initial setup procedure, and our first look at the interface in action. Setup is simple and predictable: select your region, create or log into your PSN account, enter your birthday -- pretty standard for today's handheld gaming devices. The UI itself looks primed to make smartphone users feel right at home, spreading a cloud of large, friendly app icons across the Vita's five-inch touchscreen.Our hosts skipped through a few media applications, showing off a pair of movie trailers and concurrently running the device's music player and photo viewer. We didn't see it live today, but Sony suggested that cross-app multitasking is compatible with games as well, stating that a player could hop out of a game session, pop-into a Twitter app, and then jump right back into the game. We'll give you a more detailed account once we've hit the TGS show-floor. Can't wait? Peek our gallery below, or see Sony's live demo above.%Gallery-133574%
Sony announces bucketload of PlayStation Vita launch games, teases PSP downloads for UMD lovers
Wondering how many games the PlayStation Vita will be launched with on December 17th? 26 is the answer, with 100 games in total to be released. Launch titles include Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Power Smash 4, Fish On, Project N.O.E.L.S and more in the photo above. These will be followed by Metal Gear Solid HD Edition, Rayman Origins, FIFA, etc. If new titles aren't enough to whet your appetite, Sony announced that as many as 500 to 600 PSP titles will be available for download via the PlayStation Network, given that you're willing to re-purchase your last-gen favorites. Don't toss out your UMDs just yet though -- Sony said they are working on a solution to bring your old games to your new handheld, mentioning "special download plans" that they will discuss at a future point. We wouldn't hold our breath, but hit the break for a splash image featuring the full list of launch games you will be able to get -- good luck with the Japanese.
Sony PlayStation Vita debuts in Japan on December 17th, partnering with NTT DoCoMo for 3G (updated)
Sony's just announced in Tokyo that the PlayStation Vita will debut in Japan on December 17th, and it'll partner with NTT DoCoMo for the console's prepaid 3G service. Customers will have two choices of connection here: 980 yen ($13) for 20 hours, and 4,980 yen ($65) for 100 hours -- see press release after the break. Alas, the rest of the world will still have to wait until 2012, but you'll know more concrete dates as soon as we do. For now, head over to our sister site Joystiq for the SCEJ press conference liveblog.Update: Capcom's Yoshinori Ono came on stage to mention that Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 would launch simultaneously with the console. Square Enix also announced that the PS2's Final Fantasy X will be remastered for the PS Vita, and it'll be in PS3-like quality; sadly, there was no date nor demonstration.Update 2: The first 500 units sold will come with 100 hours of prepaid 3G connectivity. Want in? Pre-orders open on October 15th.Update 3: We now have a video demonstration of the Vita's interface. Enjoy!%Gallery-133612%
PS Vita to pack 512MB of RAM, support cross-game voice chat
What's the difference between Sony's PlayStation Vita and the PS3? About 256MB of RAM, apparently. In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida confirmed that the forthcoming handheld will boast a full 512MB of RAM (compared to the PS3's 256MB), allowing the Vita to support cross-game voice chat via its Party feature. Yoshida's confirmation effectively debunks earlier rumors that Sony would be halving the Vita's RAM, in order to compete with the 3DS' lower price, though the console does feature comparatively less V-RAM (just 128MB, versus the PS3's 256MB). According to the executive, however, that disparity won't make too much of a difference on the gaming experience, due to changes in the Vita's display resolution. "The resolution on the PS Vita screen is much lower," Yoshida said. "Even though it's four times the resolution of PSP, compared to the console, the amount of data you have to push is much smaller." The proof, of course, is in the pudding, but unfortunately, we probably won't be tasting it for a while.
PlayStation Vita getting social networking apps, 'winning' hashtag making a comeback next year
Wondering how you'll be able to most efficiently brag to far away friends about your new PlayStation Vita? Sony's got the answer in the form of newly announced apps for its next generation portable. Vita Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and Skype apps will be landing in the PlayStation Store in Japan before the end of the year. The US and Europe will get their shot at the free apps in early 2012.Update: It is unclear whether the apps will be available when Vita launches. The above dates are actually for the device itself.
Sony's PlayStation Vita goes up for pre-order at Best Buy Canada
It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here -- or at least its pre-order page is. Sony's hotly anticipated PlayStation Vita has been on our minds since January, and now it's making its Canadian North American pre-order debut via Best Buy Canada. The product pages for both the WiFi-only and 3G editions list a release date of March 30th -- which lines up with previous reports that the console won't be gracing your stocking this Christmas -- but we'd take that estimate with a heaping fistful of salt. If you're itching to throw down some Canadian dollars, however, feel free to hop on over to the source to secure yours now.[Thanks, Silverfox]
Sony PlayStation Vita handheld will miss Christmas in US and Europe
How can this be? Sony's new handheld console already passed through the FCC and was even leaked on a UK Blockbuster flyer that stated an October release date. Yet apparently these clues count for nothing, because Bloomberg reports Kazuo Hirai as saying that the Vita won't launch in the US and Europe until early next year -- with only Japan getting the device before Christmas. Why would Sony be content to miss out on all that festive trade? We have absolutely no idea, but it looks like we'll have to email Santa a revised wish list. [Thanks, Jerry]
PlayStation Vita out in October, says Blockbuster UK flyer
Blockbuster may have had its share of trouble here in the States, but that doesn't mean its British brother isn't doing well enough to have (and leak) a big-shot release date or two. According to a flyer brandishing the Blockbuster logo and that good 'ol co.uk extension, the PlayStation Vita will land in the United Kingdom on October 28th. That's ominously close to Halloween -- not that we're suggesting anybody is having pre-holiday PSV boot-shakes, or anything -- and the flyer's fall release prediction squares up nicely with Sony's "end of 2011" launch window. As always, we suggest taking rumors and leaks such as this with a grain of salt -- but considering Sony's sinkable record regarding loose lips, we'd understand a low sodium approach. Hit the break to get a peek at the Blockbuster UK flyer -- ready and waiting for your judgement.
Sound Shapes preview: Run, jump, dance
Do you own any of the following? A. Very flexible, DJ-quality headphones B. A messenger bag sized specifically for vinyl records C. A modded Game Boy/Game Boy Color/etc. for creating music D. The freshest styles and moves, straight from Planet Funketron If you answered "Yes" to any of the above, and you also share my love for precision platforming in video games like N+ and Super Meat Boy, then Sound Shapes is gonna be your jam.%Gallery-125607%
Xbox COO sees dedicated handheld market as a 'red ocean,' will let Sony and Nintendo swim in it
Dennis Durkin is COO and CFO for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. He's also a dude thoroughly disillusioned with the future of portable consoles. Speaking to IndustryGamers, Durkin explains that the "crowded" nature of the mobile gaming market right now makes it extremely difficult to launch a dedicated handheld gaming device successfully -- in his colorful words, it's "a very, very red ocean." Whose blood is soiling those waters? The Nintendo 3DS, says Durkin, which has sold reasonably well, but has clearly failed to reach the lofty expectations set for it by fans and previous handhelds from the company. Likewise, the PS Vita invites a lot of skepticism from the Xbox chief, who says his excitement is reserved for what Microsoft can do with Kinect, Xbox Live and unique content. You might say it's to be expected that an Xbox exec would be casting doubt over Sony's great new hope, but what we learn in the process is that Microsoft has no intentions of squaring up to its home console nemesis on the mobile front. Not with dedicated hardware, anyway.
Sony PlayStation Vita's removable memory looks like it's an SD card, but it isn't
Sony's seen fit to tell us many of the PlayStation Vita's specs, how much it'll cost ($249 for WiFi, $299 for 3G), and who gets it (everyone). Amidst all the hullabaloo at E3 2011, however, we missed seeing that Sony was showing off the new handheld's internal memory cards. Good thing an eagle-eyed member of the public snapped a pic of the 4, 8, 16, and 32GB cards on the show floor. They look awfully similar to garden variety SD cards, only there's a little notch in the side confirming they hew to Sony's unfortunate habit of using proprietary storage formats. The cost of the cards remains shrouded in secrecy, but life's more fun when a little mystery's involved, right?
Sony answers more PlayStation Vita questions: no to video output, yes to region-free
We heard earlier at E3 that the PlayStation Vita might be able to do video output via the multiport on the bottom of the handheld, but it's now looking like that won't be the case -- at least according to the official FAQ that Sony has made available. In slightly better news, however, Sony exec Michael Denny said today that, to the best of his knowledge, the PS Vita will indeed be region-free just like the PS3. Otherwise, Sony hasn't provided much more in the way of surprises, but it looks like it is at least leaving the door open to helping folks bring their UMD-bound games with them to the new handheld. While it's ruled out a UMD reader of any sort, Sony says that it will "consider every possibility for support on bought UMD games," although it has nothing to announce at this time. Check out the complete FAQ at the source link below.
PlayStation Vita title 'Ruin' connects to PS3 for continuous client gameplay, we give it a swing (video)
Cross-platform gaming is a wonderful idea, but Sony's showing off something even more impressive at E3 this year -- a game that you can starting playing on either PS3 or the PlayStation Vita handheld and immediately transfer to another console. Ruin leverages cloud storage to save your entire hack-and-slash RPG game, right down to the positions and actions of every nearby enemy and the structures you've destroyed. Then, a second or eight after you hit load on another machine, you're right back in the very same fight. Resuming on console or handheld and picking up exactly where you left off -- yep, it's a bona fide continuous client, and we had to give it a try. So, off to Sony's E3 2011 booth we went, to seek out developer Idol Minds.With both Vita and PS3 connected to a local router, it was both as simple and as mind-blowing as you'd expect -- simply save on one (no matter what you're doing), load on the other, and everything (save certain scripted animations) loads exceptionally quickly. In fact, Idol Minds VP Jeff Litchford said that while show floor conditions necessitated the local router, Ruin's cloud resume functionality would even work over 3G, as the save files are actually fairly small, on the order of 250KB. He couldn't tell us whether you'll have to purchase two copies of the game to make the magic happen (we're hoping not), but he did have some good news on the cloud storage front: it won't cost a thing to save your game data, not even a subscription to PlayStation Plus.Sean Buckley contributed to this report.
Sony's PlayStation Vita: a closer look (update: burning questions answered)
We told you what Sony's PlayStation Vita felt like, but here it is in the glossy plastic flesh -- all five-inches of vibrant OLED display, two cameras, dual analog sticks, twelve buttons, two capacitive digitizers and a D-pad. Check out the gallery below for some close-up shots, and hop on past the break for some video footage of the quad-core handheld in action.Update: Sony just answered a few burning questions for us -- mainly about those mysterious ports we spotted on the bottom and top. Apparently those top port covers will hold one slot for the official PSVita game cards, and another slot for regular removable media for downloadable content and saves, and the port that's occupying one of those places will be removed. Meanwhile, the large socket at the bottom is a "multiport" that provides power, connectivity and might do video-out. We couldn't get any firm details about the AT&T 3G partnership, by the way, but we're told that there will be a special cellular plan of some sort. As you'd expect, Sony's also not talking battery life, but a developer told us that -- with the exception of graphically intensive titles like Uncharted -- the company's shooting for parity with the original PlayStation Portable.%Gallery-125671%
Sony's PlayStation Vita: first hands-on impressions
We've seen Sony's PlayStation Vita, and more importantly, what it can do -- but this evening, we touched that Next Generation Portable for the very first time. How does it compare to its single-sticked predecessor? And will we make another Madonna joke? Find out after the break.Update: Sony wouldn't let us take any pictures or video of the Vita at the time of this post, but we just got some on the E3 show floor.
Sony's PlayStation Vita official: $249 for WiFi, $299 for 3G
Details about Sony's new handheld have been trickling out for months in the form of spec sheets and fantastic footage of its quad core capabilities. All that, and we still didn't know how much she'd cost or when we could get our grubby paws around one. Thankfully for those tuned in at E3, said mystery is a mystery no more -- the Vita will be listed at $249 for the WiFi-only model, or $299 for the 3G version. Sony's Kaz Hirai confirmed will be available exclusively through AT&T, with both models shipping worldwide toward the end of 2011. For those of you camped out overseas, prices are set for ¥24,980 (WiFi) and ¥29,980 (3G) in Japan, while those closer to that other pond will see tags of €249 and €299.The device, also known as the PS Vita, offers up six-axis motion sensors, dual analog controls (proper ones, with thumbsticks), front- and rear-facing cameras, an OLED touchscreen, and a touchpad on the back, too. The company showed off a number of top-tier titles, including Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a hack-and-slash RPG called Ruin, a new ModNation Racers, LittleBigPlanet, and Street Fighter x Tekken, each showing off plenty of motion and touch interactivity... things that we couldn't be more elated to try for ourselves in due time. They're all looking quite good, and honestly a bit more advanced than what the 3DS has delivered so far -- for the same money.Update: Check out our hands-on impressions from E3!%Gallery-125550%
Sony files for 'PS Vita' trademark in Europe, intends to do something Next Generation with it
The words "PS Vita" and "PlayStation Vita" have just made their way through the EU Trademarks and Designs Registration Office, courtesy of a set of new applications from none other than Sony Computer Entertainment. The name PS Vita showed up in some source code on an official Sony site late last week, though it's still not certain that it'll be the official branding for the company's Next Generation Portable. "Vita" means "life" in Italian, so a literal translation would be PlayStation Life. For now, all we know is that the NGP will be large and in charge at E3, and the best way to find out how this Vita moniker relates to it will be to tune in to our Sony keynote liveblog later today, which can be found right over here.
Sony 'PS Vita' logo appears on EU trademark registry filing
On friday, while no one was peeking, Sony Computer Entertainment was quietly filing to trademark the name "PS Vita" and a logo in Europe. But NeoGAF forum user B.D. noticed, and pointed out the Trademarks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union (breath) filing this morning, which again hints at the repeatedly rumored final name of Sony's codenamed handheld, the NGP. Additionally, Sony Computer Entertainment filed for the name "PlayStation Vita." Unfortunately, none of the listings specifically spell out what exactly the trademark is for -- each of the three listings denotes a wide range of potential applications, including gaming (and specifically handheld gaming). It's likely we'll find out what's what tomorrow evening, when Sony's E3 2011 presser kicks off, and the company is expected to put a final name on its upcoming handheld.
Sony NGP soaks up the pre-E3 glitz in official demo videos
With E3 2011 just around the corner, expectations for Nintendo announcements are mighty high, but you can get a glimpse at the heat Sony's packing before another day goes by. The official PlayStation.Blog spat out some footage of the quad-core NGP in action, and it's not just playing last-gen games; rather, there's yet another glimpse at Uncharted, a brand new platformer called Sound Shapes where you build levels with a music sequencer (and which procedurally generates tunes as you play) and a taste of the cross-platform PS3 vs. NGP wireless racing you can expect in Wipeout HD. There's definitely a lot of dual-analog action here, but demonstrators are also taking advantage of that five-inch touchscreen, and Wipeout will apparently use the front-facing camera to beam taunt-filled pictures and video of the victor to the losers in each race.You'll note that Sony's focusing on software over hardware here, and that's not by accident -- the company's careful to state that we're looking at early dev units. "They're the right size, but they don't possess that final PlayStation-quality fit and finish," says the official blog, "What you'll eventually be able to pick up in a store will look a heck of a lot better." Two more vids after the break.
Sony NGP confirmed to be backwards compatible with downloaded PSP games
There was a bit of confusion over what sort of backwards compatibility the Sony NGP would have when it was announced earlier this year, but it looks like that particular mystery's now been cleared up. Eurogamer reports that the NGP (or whatever it's eventually called) will be indeed compatible with existing PSP games -- of the downloadable variety only, of course. What's more, the site says that it has actually seen Resistance: Retribution demonstrated on the handheld, and that all PSP games are run via a software emulator that will let you turn upscaling on or off to suit your preference -- games will also be able to take advantage of the NGP's dual analog sticks (to control your character's view in Resistance, for instance). As Eurogamer notes, that sounds similar to Sony's remastering effort for PSP titles on the PS3, which also promises to add cross-device playability. Might the NGP also get in on that act? We should know more at E3 next week.
