Sony's next-generation PlayStation Portable got its North American debut today at E3, as well as a new name--PlayStation Vita.
The device, which Sony unveiled in Japan in January, comes with two joysticks, multitouch 5-inch OLED screen, front and rear touchpads, and front and rear cameras for augmented reality.
"Vita means life," said Kazuo Hirai, president and group chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment. "And we're confident that Vita will be the first product that blurs the lines between reality and interactive entertainment."
The Wi-Fi model will run $249, and a model that includes 3G and Wi-Fi will cost $299. Sony said it will be available for the holidays.
One of the first titles for Vita will be Uncharted: Golden Abyss. The device takes advantage of visually advanced technology that uses water shaders and dynamic lighting to create slick graphics on such a small gadget. And it features a touch screen that lets gamers move characters, for example, using joysticks or by tapping on the screen--or by using a combination of the two.
A passel of developers have agreed to provide launch titles, including the Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Activision. And during a presentation, Bioshock's Ken Levine announced plans to develop an as-yet-unnamed game for the NGP.
"This is going to be interesting too," Levine said, holding up an NGP device.
Sony first unveiled the device in January. Back then, the company disclosed many of the tech specs, including the fact that it has an ARM Cortex A9 (core) CPU, and a SGX543MP4+ GPU, and a Sixaxis motion-sensing system.
Sony launched its PSP line in 2004 and has sold 68.2 million units worldwide, according to independent analyst outfit VGChartz.com. But it remains a distant second to the line of Nintendo DS devices, which have sold 147.5 million units worldwide, according to VGChartz.com.
Sony's previous attempts to update the PSP have done little to close the gap with Nintendo. In 2007, the company introduced a slimmer version of the device. And two years later, it launched a more compact version, dubbed PSP Go, that failed to catch on with consumers.
And, of course, Nintendo isn't sitting still. The new Sony handheld will have to do battle with the Nintendo 3DS, which offers users 3D capabilities without special glasses.
