Sony announces Vodafone as Vita EU 3G partner
Sony's announced that Vodafone has been selected as the "preferred partner" for Playstation Vita's 3G services in Europe.
UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands, as well as "Vodafone’s Partners in France," will be the countries initially included in the offer.
But the 3G connectivity isn't locked to Vodafone, enabling use of other networks if the option is available to you.
3G units of Vita will be sold at non-Vodafone stores, and will come with a Vodafone sim card that will enable its 3G features. Consumers will also able to pick up their model via Vodafone shops or online. Those who go with Vodafone will get a free download code for Wipeout 2048.
The 3G system, as previously announced, will cost $299 in the US, €299 in mainland Europe and £279 in the UK.
"With social gaming and connectivity at the heart of PlayStation Vita it is important that we partner with a market leading network provider, to ensure users have a high quality 3G experience," said SCEE CEO, Jim Ryan. "Partnering with Vodafone will enable PS Vita users in the selected countries to always be connected with their PlayStation life, friends and games, wherever they are."
Vodafone’s group terminals director, Patrick Chomet, added: "We know from our application downloads that games are hugely popular with our customers, so we’re delighted to be SCEE’s preferred connectivity partner for 3G Vita devices sold across Europe and other selected regional markets.
"Using the device over Vodafone’s high-performance network with extensive 3G reach and market leading download speeds brings a reliable ‘anywhere anytime’ dimension to gaming, which customers in our initial ten launch markets will be the first to experience."
In the US, AT&T was announced as Vita's 3G partner back at E3 in June. At TGS in September, Sony unveiled NTT Docomo as its partner for Japan, introducing a clever pre-pay 3G system for the handheld.
PlayStation Vita launches on February 22 in Europe, but releases in Japan first on December 17.