| Manufacturer | Sony Computer Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Product family | PlayStation |
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Generation | Eighth Generation |
| Release date | JP December 17, 2011[1] EU TBA 2012[2] NA TBA 2012[2] |
| Media | PS Vita Card[3] |
| CPU | 4 core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore[4] |
| Memory | 512 MB RAM, 128 MB VRAM[5][6] |
| Display | 5-inch OLED multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, 24-bit color, 960 × 544 pixels @ 220 ppi[4] |
| Graphics | 4 core SGX543MP4+[4] |
| Input | |
| Camera | Front and back VGA cameras 640×480 @ 60 fps/320×240 @ 120 fps[7] |
| Connectivity | IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR[8] |
| Online services | PlayStation Network |
| Dimensions | 83.55 mm (3.289 in) (h) 182 mm (7.2 in) (w) 18.6 mm (0.73 in) (d)[4] |
| Predecessor | PlayStation Portable |
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PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (プレイステーション・ヴィータ Pureisutēshon Vīta, also known as "PSVita" or "PSV") is an upcoming handheld game console under development by Sony Computer Entertainment.[9] It is the successor to the PlayStation Portable as part of the PlayStation family of gaming devices. It is set to release in Japan and parts of Asia in late 2011, and in Europe and North America in early 2012.[10]The handheld includes two analog sticks, a 5-inch (130 mm) OLED multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, and supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and optionally 3G. Internally, the Vita features a 4 core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor and a 4 core SGX543MP4+ graphics processing unit, as well as LiveArea software as its main user interface, which succeeds the XrossMediaBar.[4][11]
The device is fully backwards-compatible with all PlayStation Portable games digitally released on the PlayStation Network via the PlayStation Store, with the Vita's dual analog sticks being supported on selected PSP games. The graphics for PSP releases will be up-scaled, with smoothing to reduce pixelation.[12]
Hardware
The device features a "super oval"-shape similar to the design of the original PlayStation Portable, with a 5-inch (130 mm) OLED capacitive touchscreen in the center of the device.[13] The device features two analog sticks (unlike the PSP which features only a single analog "nub"), a D-pad, a set of standard PlayStation face buttons (
, 
, 
and 
), two shoulder buttons (L and R), a PlayStation button and Start and Select buttons. Internally, the device features a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor (3 of the 4 cores will be usable for applications)[14] and a quad-core SGX543MP4 + GPU clocked at 266 MHz. The device also features a rear touch pad, two cameras (a front and a rear), stereo speakers, microphone, Sixaxis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), three-axis electronic compass, built-in GPS (only for the 3G version) as well as Wi-Fi, 3G, and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR connectivity.[4][11][8][13][15] The two cameras feature the abilities of face detection, head detection, and head tracking. It also allows for customization and personalization.[16][17] The PlayStation Vita will have 512 MB of RAM and 128 MB of VRAM.[5][6] The amount of RAM allows cross-game chat to be used on the system (in contrast to the PlayStation 3, which only has 256 MB of RAM).[6]The PlayStation Vita will be released as two different versions: one with 3G support, and a cheaper version without 3G support.[18] The more expensive 3G-version will also come pre-loaded with some special applications that take advantage of 3G's "always-on" capabilities, such as augmented reality software.[19] The 3G service will be partnered with AT&T in the US.
Unlike the PSP, the PlayStation Vita will not support video output or contain a removable battery.[20] Sony also confirmed during TGS 2011 that the battery would last 3-5 hours of gameplay, 5 hours of video, and up to 9 hours of music listening with the screen off.[citation needed] An external battery option was announced in an interview by SCEA Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida.[citation needed] PS Vita is equipped with a storage media slot in addition to the NVG card slot, so that users can choose their memory capacity based on their use. So far the capacities announced range from 4 GB to 32 GB.[citation needed]
PS Vita card
Software
Further information: List of PlayStation Vita games
Unlike the PSX DVR, PSP and PlayStation 3, the PlayStation Vita does not use the XrossMediaBar interface. Instead it uses a touchscreen-based UI dubbed LiveArea, which includes various social networking features via the PlayStation Network.[11]Several games have been announced for the device, including Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Hustle Kings, Everybody's Golf Next (Hot Shots Golf Next in North America) as well as new iterations of Killzone, Wipeout 2048, Resistance, LittleBigPlanet, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend, Ridge Racer, Reality Fighters and Call of Duty.[25] In addition, several third-party studios showcased technology demos of the device by exporting existing assets from their PlayStation 3 counterpart and then rendering them on the device. Some of the games that were demonstrated include Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Yakuza Of the End, and Lost Planet 2. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd was also demonstrated to be running on the device to showcase the device's backwards compatibility with downloadable PlayStation Portable titles, which was also shown to be compatible with the PlayStation Vita's additional analogue stick.[26] Unlike the first PSP, the PlayStation Vita will come with Trophy support for games.[27][28]
The device will also support backwards compatible PlayStation Portable downloadable titles, PlayStation minis, PlayStation Suite games, PSOne Classics, videos, and comics from the PlayStation Store.[28]
Social networking apps, such as Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and foursquare, will be available to download for PlayStation Vita free of charge from the PlayStation Store. Information about this was released at Gamescom 2011.[29]
History
Rumors of a true successor to the PlayStation Portable came as early as July 7, 2009 when Eurogamer reported that Sony was working on such a device, which would utilize the PowerVR SGX543MP processor and perform at a level similar to the original Xbox.[30]In addition on July 7, 2010, a report by the Wall Street Journal revealed that a new portable device is currently in development by Sony and that it "shares characteristics of game machines, e-book readers and netbook computers".[31] Prior to its announcement by Sony Computer Entertainment, several sites such as Kotaku,[32] VG247,[33] MCV[34] and IGN,[35] as well as the senior vice president of major video game publisher Electronic Arts[36] and Nikkei[13] had confirmed that the handheld existed. Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, had admitted in an interview that they were indeed developing new hardware in the PlayStation family of gaming devices.[37] Development kits for the handheld had reportedly already been shipped to numerous video game developers including both first-party and third-party developers.[38]
On November 17, 2010, VG247 released pictures of an early prototype version of the PSP successor showing a PSP Go-like design along with two analog sticks, two cameras and a microphone. The source of the pictures said that the pictures were of an older prototype version that had overheating issues, and that the design had subsequently been changed to that more similar of the original PlayStation Portable device.[33] Kotaku and IGN corroborated the story, also claiming that the pictures were legitimate.[35][39]
The device was supposedly unveiled internally during a private meeting during mid-September held at Sony Computer Entertainment's headquarters in Aoyama, Tokyo.[32] Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, revealed in an interview with UK video game magazine, Develop that when Ken Kutaragi left Sony Computer Entertainment, the new CEO, Kazuo Hirai, told him to engage SCE Worldwide Studios in the development of the next PlayStation. Yoshida also said that developers were present at the meetings from the very beginning when SCE was developing new hardware, and that SCE had to constantly keep talking with Worldwide Studios developer when developing the new hardware.[37] Further confirmation came on September 16, 2010, during an interview at PAX 2010, Mortal Kombat Executive Producer Shaun Himmerick revealed a successor to the PSP, referring to it as the "PSP2" and stating "...we have a PSP2 in the house and we’re looking at the engine, like what can it support. Always a big thing for us is the performance. We’re running at 60 fps, what can we do and do we have to build all the art assets over. We’re definitely looking at them. PSP2 looks like it’s a pretty powerful machine."[40][41] When asked about the PlayStation Portable successor during the Tokyo Game Show 2010, Shuhei Yoshida, said that he could not answer the question though he noted that "Personally, I cannot see Sony not making another portable gaming device."[42] On November 2, 2010 senior vice president of Electronic Arts, Patrick Soderlund, confirmed that he had seen the PlayStation Portable successor when asked about it in an interview though he could not divulge more details.[36][43][44] On December 22, 2010 Sony Computer Entertainment CEO, Kazuo Hirai, answered questions about a potential successor to the PlayStation Portable in an interview with The New York Times, saying that they would impress gamers in the handheld market by using a combination of touch screens and buttons rather than touch screen-only games on competing platforms such as the iPhone and iPod Touch.[45]
Post-announcement
| Currency | Wi-Fi only | Wi-Fi+3G |
|---|---|---|
| € | 249[49] | 299[49] |
| GB£ | 229 | 279 |
| US$ | 249[49] | 299[49] |
| ¥ | 24,980 | 29,980 |
At the Game Developers Conference 2011, Sony revealed some details about the Vita cards during their Next Generation Portable panel. Another storage option, "Removable Memory", was also revealed to be available for the NGP. Sony also said it's implementing a "single submission for both formats" to streamline the process of getting games approved for both card-based and downloadable releases.[23] Additionally, it was announced that only 3 of the 4 symmetrical CPU cores will be available to applications[14] along with two cameras feature, face detection, head detection and head tracking capabilities.[16]
Sony's Japanese arm told The Wall Street Journal that earlier reports—including those by SCEA president Jack Tretton—suggesting that Japan's recent earthquake would delay the release of the NGP in some territories were outright "wrong". Sony representative Satoshi Fukuoka said he expects "no impact from the quake on our launch plan".[51][52]
In August 2011, Sony confirmed that the system would be released by the end of 2011 in Japan but not until "early 2012" in North American and European regions.[10]
Following the Tokyo Game Show, Sony World Wide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida confirmed that the console would be region-free. [53]
