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Europe's getting a 5-game Vita Slim bundle this summer
Sony's bringing a new Vita Slim bundle to Europe in June, this time with codes for a quintet of games. The famous five are Injustice: Gods Among Us, God of War: Chain of Olympus, PlayStation All-Stars, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate and Killzone: Liberation. You'll see it's subtitled the "Action Mega" pack, but with those games we'd call it "Not for Pacifists." The eagle-eyed of you will have spotted two of those games are for PSP rather than Vita - that's God of War and Killzone - and we'd prefer to see Killzone: Mercenary in there. In any case, the 200 euros bundle also chucks in a much-needed 8GB memory card. As for which countries, the pack's confirmed for Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, UK, Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, France, Greece, Poland, Russia, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Spain. There's no word yet on a concrete release date. [Image: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe]
Vita 2000 lands in Oz next month
The Vita 2000's journey around the world takes it to Australia on June 4, Sony announced today. It's taken it a little longer than 80 days to make it from Japan to Australia, with stop-offs as North America and Europe along the way, but it'll finally head downunder in three weeks' time with a price tag AUD$270. The new model is 20 percent thinner and 15 percent lighter than the original, and it has a LCD screen. The battery life is upped to 4 to 6 hours for gaming and 7 hours for video, and there's also a new micro USB Slot and a 1GB internal memory card. After launching in Japan back in October 2013, the slim Vita finally hit American shelves earlier this month, and you can pick it up now with a copy of Borderlands 2 for $200.
PS Vita slim hardware launches in North America today
A revised, slimmer version of Sony's PlayStation Vita portable console launches today in North America in a new hardware bundle that includes a free copy of Gearbox Software's Borderlands 2. The redesigned PS Vita system is approximately 20 percent slimmer and 15 percent lighter than the launch Vita model, and boasts extended battery life compared to the previous hardware generation. The $199.99 package hitting retail today includes a PS Vita handheld, an 8GB memory card, and a copy of Borderlands 2 with six DLC packs. Sony released a PS Vita port of God of War Collection today to promote its newly launched portable hardware, and plans to support the platform in the coming months with games like Soul Sacrifice Delta, Sly Cooper Collection, Minecraft, and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number. [Image: Sony]
Football Manager 2014 scores Vita Slim bundle in the UK
Football Manager 2014 Classic is getting its own Vita 2000 bundle in the UK, although it's launching a week after the game on April 17 - if you're just after the game, that hits shelves on April 11. There's no word on a price, but the regular Vita Slim price is £180, and going by the box art the FM bundle includes a 4GB memory card in addition to a digital voucher for the game. If you're in need of some translations, here we go: FM2014 Classic is the latest edition of Sega's soccer/football/sportsball coaching sim, and it's a portable timesink for enthusiasts who think they can do a better job than the real managers (in some cases that's not saying much). As for the Vita 2000, it's the slimmer, lighter version of the Sony handheld, and it's expected to hit North America sometime this spring. [Image: Sony]
Borderlands 2 hits Vita in spring, alongside slim Vita US launch
Borderlands 2 is coming to PS Vita in the spring, Sony head of hardware marketing John Koller announced at a PlayStation event in Santa Monica today. Vita's Borderlands 2 includes six bits of DLC, and it will allow four-player co-op and cross-play with access to save games from the PS3 version. The included DLC packs are Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty, Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage, the Psycho, the Mechromancer, Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 1 and Collector's Edition Pack. The new, slimmer Vita will launch in North America this spring, bundled with Borderlands 2 and an 8GB memory card for $200. The remodeled Vita hit the UK on February 7 for £180 (just under $300), following its launch in Japan last year. This new Vita is 20 percent thinner, 15 percent lighter, has an LCD screen rather than OLED, 1GB memory and a micro USB slot. A God of War collection and a Sly Cooper collection are also on their way to Vita, courtesy of Sanzaru Games. The God of War bundle contains God of War 1 and 2, and is due out on May 6. The Sly Collection includes Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racconus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, and launches on May 27. Borderlands 2 is 2K's highest-selling game ever, with more than 8.5 million units shipped. [Image: Sony]
Sony defends Vita OLED to LCD switch: differences are 'relatively imperceptible'
Though the screen in the Vita Slim is LCD, it will not feature a drastic decline in picture quality from the undeniably rich and vibrant OLED screen found in the original Vita, according to Sony UK managing director Fergal Gara. "When we introduced Vita with the OLED screen that was considered - and it was - the pinnacle of screen technology," Gara told VG247. "It was a beautiful screen and LCD at the time would have felt like a compromise." "What's happened in the interim is LCD screen technology has improved significantly," he added. "Whilst some think there's a subtle difference between the two, we think it's relatively imperceptible." Gara then goes on to explain that the new LCD screen allows Sony to build a smaller, lighter Vita while maintaining its processing power and battery life - a feat not possible with the attractive, but more power-hungry OLED display. Gara echoed these sentiments in an interview with Eurogamer. "[The LCD screen is] giving bigger advantages than disadvantages - it's helping with the battery life, with the thickness. We think they are bigger wins than any subtle - if any - reduction in visual quality." As we reported earlier today, the Vita Slim is slated for release in the UK on February 7. The updated handheld has been available in Japan since October, but there is no word yet on when or if it will make its way to North America.
