E3 2011: PSP’s successor is called PS Vita and will cost $249

During this year’s Sony E3 press-event, Kazuo Hirai was at hand presenting the next generation of handheld gaming console that will henceforth be referred to as PlayStation Vita. Mr. Hirai was also thoughtful enough to explain why they picked a name that is reminiscent of vitality pills for men with failing libido. As it turns out, Vita means life and Sony’s new console has been designed to be another one of those devices whose primary function is to blur the lines between reality and entertainment. While some might argue that blurring lines between reality and the fuzz-world is the last thing our race needs at this moment, Sony is going ahead with the release of this reality altering device with two models variants—a Wi-Fi only model that will retail for USD 249 and a 3G model that will cost USD 299.  

Now, let’s look at why Sony is asking would-be patrons of PS Vita to shell out almost as much as a PlayStation 3. The console’s screen is an OLED panel, all five inches of which is sensitive to touch, and a couple of cameras. Apparently, just having a touch sensitive screen wasn’t enough for Sony as they have added a touch-pad on the back of the console. User input is not restricted to touch as the console has a full-set of traditional gaming controls. There are the four PS face-buttons, two shoulder buttons, two analog sticks and a D-pad. 

Along with touch input, motion-sensing is all the rage among handheld devices and Sony has put a whole bunch of them in PS Vita. The console’s motion-sensing capabilities comprises of six-axis motion sensors and three-axis electronic compass. It also has an embedded GPS device which may have been included for a feature called “Near” that can be used to locate other Vita users in the vicinity. 

Games for PS Vista will be distributed at retail on a cartridge or flash card, just like Nintendo DS. Some of the games that have been announced as releases with, or around the launch of the console includes a new ModNation Racers, LittleBigPlanet  with tailored features for Vita, Street Fighter X Tekken  and Uncharted: Golden Abyss  which was demoed at GDC. In case you are curious about how the console plays, engadget has posted their impression of the console after spending time noodling with it at the conference. For the official press release, which consists of a specs-sheet and list of releases for PS Vita, follow this link.

Sony has announced that the PlayStation Vita will be ready to launch by the end of this year, without confirming if it will be a simultaneous release in all territories.