Thu, Oct 20, 2011 | 06:32 BST
PS Vita given western Feb 22 launch, UK pricing confirmed
Sony has announced western date and price details for its new handheld, Vita – but given no indication of launch line-ups or 3G data pricing.
Launch at a glance
Arrives February 22 2012.
Wifi-only model: £229.99/$249.99/€249.99/AUD$349.95
3G enabled model: £279.99/$299.99/€299.99/AUD$449.95
Western launch software line TBC, but Japan gets 26 titles.
No word yet on 3G data pricing.
Hits Japan on December 17: ¥24,980 for WiFi only, ¥29,980 3G
Japanese data to be prepaid through NTT at ¥980 20 hours and ¥4,980 for 100 hours.
Will launch with ten social and system apps.
SCEA Jack Tretton made the announcement at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco overnight.
According to the US and EU PlayStation Blogs, the launch date applies to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australasia, the United States, Canada, and Latin America – all of Sony’s major territories outside Japan, in short.
In the US, the console is priced at $249.99 for the WiFi only version and $299.99 for a 3G-equipped model. In Europe, we’re looking at €249.99 and €299.99. SCE UK’s confirmed this morning it’ll release the Wi-Fi edition for £229.99 and £279.99 for the 3G flavour.
Despite international statements to the contrary, Sony Australia has advised the console will arrive one day later in Australia and New Zealand, on February 23. Locally, the Wifi unit will go for AUD $349.95 and NZD $449.95, while the 3G unit is priced at AUD $449.95 and NZD $549.95.
Regional launch line-ups are yet to be confirmed, but there are over 100 titles in development for the console including Sound Shapes, Resistance: Burning Skies, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Assassin’s Creed, FIFA, and Call of Duty.
Sony has launched territorial websites on its PlayStation.com domain and promised exclusive updates and content, kicking off with a free Resistance: Burning Skies theme for the PSP and PlayStation 3. Click here to be redirected to your local micro-site.
The Vita makes its global debut in Japan on December 17. Check out an image of the US packaging below.
[Original story by Brenna Hillier, contributions by Johnny Cullen]
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Posted in: America, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, New Zealand, Sony, South Africa, Vita
Tags: jack tretton
20 comments
#1
xino
19/10/11, 12:56 am
and what is the price for UK?:/
feb, not too bad I guess.
#2
Brenna Hillier
19/10/11, 1:20 am
@1 no word on UK pricing yet I’m afraid. Still waiting on Australia and it’s business hours here! Remember how Nintendo refused to set a UK price for the 3DS…? I wonder if we’ll see something similar.
#3
Ireland Michael
19/10/11, 1:35 am
I’d be surprised if it’s anything higher than the 3DS’s launch price. But at least the strength of the hardware in the Vita justifies that kind of price tag.
#4
aseddon130
19/10/11, 1:44 am
i’ll hazard a guess and say it’ll be the same price as the 3DS when that launched, £229 and then the 3G one will be about £30-40 more than that.
#5
ytdjdtgjdtjtyjrs
19/10/11, 1:49 am
dfd
#6
Brenna Hillier
19/10/11, 2:13 am
FFFFF look at the Australian price. Well, I guess I’ll be getting a Japanese unit then…
#7
speedxl01
19/10/11, 2:51 am
4 long months..
#8
Christopher Jack
19/10/11, 5:47 am
@6, Same here, shafted yet again :’(
#9
humanfish
19/10/11, 7:33 am
The UK price has already been set hasn’t it?? £230 for WiFi and £280 for 3G.
I won’t be picking it up at launch, I shall watch with interest and wait till there are games I want to play, other than just Uncharted.
#10
Johnny Cullen
19/10/11, 9:10 am
UK prices just confirmed by Sony.
#11
Gekidami
19/10/11, 9:12 am
How is the price in € for both models the same?
#12
The Grevster
19/10/11, 9:16 am
How does the UK price conversion even work? $290 translates to £280…..SAY WHAT?! Surely it should be £200 or thereabouts. It’s almost 33%+
#13
Johnny Cullen
19/10/11, 9:21 am
Gek: I’ve fixed it.
#14
Goffee
19/10/11, 9:24 am
Hang on, Sony announced this at a Web 2.0 event in San Francisco full of corporate gimps, rather than a couple of days earlier at Comic-Con New York where the Vita’s real audience was… this really shows off Sony’s marketing muppetry!
Staggering… once again Sony has the technology but will cock it up with its half-arsed marketing
#15
Christopher Jack
19/10/11, 9:28 am
@12, Still better than the 40% mark-up for the wifi only version & 50% for the 3G version in Australia, New Zealanders are suffering even more! Is ANYBODY able to explain these extreme price hikes? Do these manufacturers simply want to see higher profit margins from lower density areas than high sales? That seems to be the only way we should be paying these prices, I mean, we have average taxes & surely postage in bulk must be cheaper than ordering a single item from overseas.
#16
2plus2equals5
19/10/11, 10:52 am
I want it now! XD
#17
Gama_888
19/10/11, 11:37 am
@12 Amen to that,
US$ 300 = 190.5 UK£ according to google
Import from america and save £90? or would i be paying that in delivery anyway? xD
#18
mojo
19/10/11, 12:31 pm
US Price are usualy before taxes.
the difference isnt that huge.
#19
DrDamn
19/10/11, 4:45 pm
Yeah couple of extras need to be taken into account when comparing prices. First off US price is not including sales tax / VAT. So that would make it $360 if they had the same tax as here. So that’s closer. The way these goods are sold in different countries is also based on what retailers like to do. Here they like to have a larger margin they can use to make bundles themselves and discount, in the US you’d rarely see stuff going for less than RRP. See the 3DS launch. It had a similar RRP and I got one and pilot wings for < £200 just after launch.
#20
Crab of Thunder
19/10/11, 10:04 pm
@18 I was gonna say that, aren’t US prices before any VAT? Then you sorta have to guess/work out the full amount.