Sony PS Vita gets a price and pre-2012 release date on Amazon

Amazon in the USA has revealed a release date which will please eager players hoping to get their hands on the anticipated PS Vita portable gaming gadget. New listings suggest that the Sony handheld will be coming to the West before 2012 after all.

 

But only by the ‘skin of its teeth’ that is, with New Year’s Eve – December 31st – billed as the date the PSP successor drops onto the online retail market Stateside, with the United Kingdom presumed to get its launch at the same time, or failing that – only a short time later.

Japan will be first in line to grab the PS Vita, which boasts quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, with 5” screen and a 960×544 resolution (220ppi) touchscreen display.

Following claims from various online retailers of an October/November release date, the portable Playstation was pushed back till ‘early 2012’ much to the disappointment of gamers hoping to get their fix before Christmas.

There’s set to be a gap in the handheld market, come late 2011, due to the difficulties experienced by Nintendo’s 3DS console – the only real competition looks to be no competition at all. Following price slashes and discounted PSP on the way, Sony is poised to deliver a solid gaming platform for players on the move, and from what we’ve heard so far, could quite easily clean-up the portable market.

Amazon prices for the two PS Vita variations are: £229.99 for the WiFi-only model and £279.99 for added 3G connectivity.   

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