Sony Confirms PS Vita to Hit Japan on December 17 at TGS 2011

89w ago - Today at Sony's Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2011 press conference the PS Vita handheld console has been confirmed to hit Japan on December 17, 2011.

According to Examiner.com via NeoGAF, there will be twenty six PlayStation Vita titles (game logos pictured below) at launch, including Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Sony's Hot Shots Golf & Uncharted: Golden Abyss, with various other titles like Dark Quest, BlazBlue, and Rodeo.

For those curious, PlayStation Vita will sell for 24,980 yen (US $324) for the Wi-Fi version and 29,980 (US $390) for the 3G model, which will be available in partnership with Japan's biggest mobile operator NTTDoCoMo.

In the US, a PS Vita model that connects to the Internet only using Wi-Fi will be priced at US $249, while a version of the gadget featuring 3G connectivity to telecom data services will be priced at US $299. Sony did not reveal when the PS Vita will be heading to North America or Europe yet, however, it is predicted to arrive during Q1 of 2012.

Sony also issued a Press Release stating that a memory card will not be included in the base PS Vita package. For those curious, Vita Memory Cards will come in denominations of 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB. The price breakdown is as follows:

• Memory card 4GB - ¥2,200 ($28)
• Memory card 8GB - ¥3,200 ($41)
• Memory card 16GB - ¥5,500 ($71)
• Memory card 32GB - ¥9,500 ($123)

Finally, to quote from Engadget (linked above): "Sony's just announced in Tokyo that the PlayStation Vita will debut in Japan on December 17th, and it'll partner with NTT DoCoMo for the console's prepaid 3G service. Customers will have two choices of connection here: 980 yen ($13) for 20 hours, and 4,980 yen ($65) for 100 hours.

Alas, the rest of the world will still have to wait until 2012, but you'll know more concrete dates as soon as we do. For now, head over to our sister site Joystiq for the SCEJ press conference liveblog.

Update: Capcom's Yoshinori Ono came on stage to mention that Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 would launch simultaneously with the console.

Update 2: Square Enix also announced that the PS2's Final Fantasy X will be remastered for the PS Vita, and it'll be in PS3-like quality. Sadly, there was no date nor demonstration.

Update 3: The first 500 units sold will come with 100 hours of prepaid 3G connectivity. Want in? Pre-orders open on October 15th."