PS Vita

[ChryZ]

The PlayStation Vita, once known as the Next Generation Portable or PSP2, has a price. For the standard Wi-Fi you'll pay €249.99 (£223). For the fancypants 3G plus Wi-Fi model you'll pay €299.99 (£268). Gallingly, the US Vita will cost the same, but in dollars. The PS Vita will arrive this holiday. The news comes from Sony's E3 2011 PlayStation press conference.

Hardware: (click pictures for higher res @flickr)







Accessories:



GUI:



"LiveArea"
Every game title for NGP will be provided with a space called "LiveArea" where users can share the fun and excitement with other players. Users will have access to the latest information of games provided from SCE and 3rd party developers and publishers through PlayStation Network. Additionally, NGP users will be able to view an "Activity" log that is constantly updated with accomplishments from users who are playing the same game, which in turn can trigger active real-time communication among users.

"Near"
SCE will also provide location-based services on NGP as part of the basic features utilizing PlayStation Network. The new application called "Near," developed specifically for this service and the network, will be pre-installed in the system to let users find out what their friends in the vicinity are playing now or what they were playing recently. Users can meet their friends and new players virtually, regardless of what games they are playing, simply by sharing their game information across different dimensions of time and distance.

Specs:

Platform Name     PlayStation(R)Vita

    Model number      PCH-1000 series
    CPU               ARM(R) Cortex(TM)-A9 core (4 core)
    GPU               SGX543MP4+
    External           Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth)
     Dimensions        (tentative, excludes largest projection)
                       5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colors,
    Screen             OLED
    ------             ------------------------------------------------------
    (Touch screen)    Multi touch screen (capacitive type)
    --------------    ------------------------------------
    Main memory       512MB
    -----------       -----
    VRAM              128MB
    ----              -----
    Rear touch pad    Multi touch pad (capacitive type)
    Cameras           Front camera, Rear camera
                      Frame rate : 120fps@320x240(QVGA), 60fps@640x480(VGA)
                      Resolution : Up to 640x480(VGA)
    Sound             Built-in stereo speakers
                      Built-in microphone
                       Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope,
                       three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic
    Sensors            compass
    -------           ------------------------------------------------------
    Location          Built-in GPS (3G/Wi-Fi model only)
    --------          ----------------------------------
                      Wi-Fi location service support
                      ------------------------------



    Keys / Switches   PS button
    ---------------   Power button
                      Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left)
                      Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square)
                      Shoulder buttons (Right/Left)
                      Right stick, Left stick
                      START button, SELECT button
                                                         Volume buttons (+/-)
    Wireless
     communications   Mobile network connectivity  (3G/Wi-Fi model only)
                       IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1x1)(Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure
                       mode/Ad-hoc mode)
                      Bluetooth(R) 2.1+EDR (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP)
                      -----------------------------------
    Slots/Ports       PlayStation(R)Vita card slot
    -----------       --------------------------
                      Memory card slot
                      ----------------
                      SIM card slot (3G/Wi-Fi model only)
                      -----------------------------------
                       Multi-use port (for USB data communication, DC IN,
                       Audio (Stereo Out /Mono In), Serial data
                       communication),
                      ---------------------------------------------------
                       Headset jack (Stereo mini jack) (for Audio (Stereo Out
                       /Mono In))
                       ----------
                      Accessory port
                      --------------
    Power             Built-In Lithium-ion Battery,
    -----             -----------------------------
                      AC adaptor
                      ----------
    Supported         Music
    ---------         -----
                       -- MP3 MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer 3, MP4 (MPEG-4 AAC),
    AV content         WAVE (Linear PCM)
    ----------        -------------------------------------------------
    format            Videos
    ------            ------
                       -- MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC), H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
                       High/Main/Baseline Profile (AAC)
                       --------------------------------
                      Photos
                      ------
                      -- JPEG (Exif 2.2.1), TIFF, BMP, GIF, PNG
                      -----------------------------------------

Communication:

Mobile network connectivity (3G)*
IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1×1)(Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode)
Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR （A2DP/AVRCP/HSP)

*all of the devices will have Wi-Fi capability; a separate SKU will have 3G

Media:

NGP uses "New Game Medium" a flash memory based card dedicated for the system. The card is writable and it allows users to store saved games and DLC directly onto the card.

Region Locking:

PSVita is confirmed region free!


Third party support: (last updated January 27, 2011)

Japan:
Acquire
Alvion (makers of Malicious)
AQ Interactive
Arc System Works
Arika
Artdink
Ascii Media Works
Atlus / Index Holdings
Capcom
Chunsoft
Craft & Meister (they’re making Earth Seeker for Wii)
CyberConnect2
D3 Publisher
Dimps
Edia (they make Maplus software for PSP)
Enterbrain
Falcom
From Software
Genki
Grasshopper Manufacture
GungHo Online Entertainment (remember Mimana?)
Gust
Hamster
Hudson
Idea Factory
Irem
Kadokawa Games
Kadokawa Shoten
Konami
Level-5
Marvelous
Media Five
Namco Bandai
Nippon Ichi Software
Now Production
Q Entertainment
Sega
SNK Playmore
Spike
Square Enix
SystemSoft Alpha
Takara Tomy
Tecmo Koei Games
Tose
Yukes

North America:
Activision
Capybara Games
Demiurge Studios
Epic Games
Far Sight Studios
Frima
High Voltage Software
Kung Fu Factory
Paramount Digital Entertainment
PopCap Games
Powerhead Games
Trendy Entertainment
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
2K Games
2K Sports

Europe:
Avalanche Studios
Climax Studios
Codemasters Software Company
Eurocom Developments
Eutechnyx
Exient
Firemint
Gameloft
Gusto Games
Home Entertainment Suppliers
Impromptu Software
Rebellion
Rockstar Games
Sidhe Interactive
Sumo Digital
Team 17 Software
Ubisoft Entertainment
Zen Studios

Middleware Provider:

Game Engines

* Blitz Games
* Crytek
* Epic Games
* Terminal Reality
* Trinigy
* Vicious Cycle
* SCEE/SCEI Phyre Engine

Physics/AI/Animation

* Havok
* NaturalMotion

Audio

* Audiokinetic
* CRI Middleware
* Firelight Technologies
* RAD Game Tools

User Interface

* AiLive
* Scaleform

Source: http://www.scei.co.jp/ngp_tm/

Size Comparison:


Courtesy of Kotaku.

Game Cases:







Online User's Guide:

http://manuals.playstation.net/docum...ita/index.html

Battery can be changed by endusers:

[Ratmistro]

Awesome!!!!1

[Raonak]

ha, the rear touchscreen has the PS symbols all over it, never noticed that.

This thing is awesome overload. How much is it gonna cost

Paying thoes PSN premiums for PSP games is finally gonna pay off

[ChryZ]

Added a size comparison to the OP, pretty big device.

[The1stMJC]

The touchpad looks badass with the logos on it.

I really am interested in this device, but like I said in the shoutbox it seems like a clusterf**k of features. This means it is gonna be expensive and I should start looking for work.

[hedges1001]

hopefully i can still use my psp 1 games with it and it allows more then 1 psn accout per device like the ps3 so i can play yggdra union

[Raonak]

The PS suite is a really good idea.

-Android game devs get another market by submitting their games to the suite.
-Google gets the PS1 library on their platform, which is another advantage over iphone
-Sony potentially gets a bunch of awesome andrioid games, which means NGP can target the hardcores and casuals at the same time.


Win-win for sony and google.

one of the best decessions sony has had in a long time. They aren't loosing control by putting full andriod, but get the benefits of app store.

[Zvarri]

Reposting a couple of thoughts from my news post at PSNStores.com:

“Near” is a new idea that marries the NGP’s GPS with the Playstation Network for a greater focus on the world around you. By keeping track of your location and the location of other NGPs, the Near app will tell you what games are popular in your area (and let you buy them through the same interface) as well as connect with local gamers you may not have otherwise met. I’ll take this over Foursquare any day.

It’s no surprise that major console franchises like Uncharted and Call of Duty are being announced for the NGP, but there are some far more interesting titles being developed that caught our attention. Dungeon Defenders was shown running on the new handheld and utilizing both the physical controls and the touchscreen in unison. Trendy Entertainment reports they had ported the PS3 build of Dungeon Defenders to the NGP in under a week. Hustle Kings was also visible in one of the sizzle reels. The list of developers working on NGP titles includes Capybara Games, Frima Studio, Just Add Water, Sidhe Interactive, Team 17, and Zen Studios.

I am super-hype to see what devs do with this platform.

[ChryZ]

I'd guess they can ask $300-400 for it, but since you need/want a data plan there might be subsidizing via carriers.

[Zvarri]

I'd guess they can ask $300-400 for it, but since you need/want a data plan there might be subsidizing via carriers.

Subsidy might be difficult if the device isn't a phone. However, I have seen laptops sold via subsidy because they have 3G modems built in and tied to carriers, so maybe it's possible.

I hope they offer non-subsidized versions, because otherwise Canada might not get it.