Much to our surprise, Sony revealed a brand new PS Vita console before many of us had finished our cereal this morning. The new PS Vita for 2013 is both slimmer and lighter than the original and will give users an extra hour of game play to boot.
The redesigned PS Vita looks very similar to the original from the front, but turn it sideways and you’ll notice that the handheld console has lost some weight. Sony has trimmed 20% width off the console to make it just 15mm thick, but has kept the curved edges and contoured lines to ensure maximum comfort.
Weighing in at 219g, the new model is also 15% lighter than its predecessor, though we’ve not yet been able to figure out what Sony has either sacrificed or improved to lose this weight.
A couple of popular gripes have also been addressed, including the need to buy a memory card to install anything. The new Vita has 1GB of onboard memory, which although it may not be enough for most games, will allow the user to download small videos, music and perhaps even small games.
Battery life has also been improved, which as any handheld gamer knows, is a huge plus. An extra hour of gameplay has been squeezed out of the Vita’s battery somehow, so now six hours of game play is feasible from a single charge.
Finally, Sony is introducing a range of new colours with the new Vita. As well as black and white there’s going to be yellow, pink, grey, lime green and light blue versions available.
Unfortunately these upgrades have come at a price. Sony has replaced the excellent OLED display for an LED one, which we’re not sure the reason for. OLED screens tend to be brighter and more vivid whilst also offering better viewing angles. Just how good the new LED screen is remains to be seen.
The new Vita will launch in Japan on October 10th, whilst no international release dates have been given.
