14 DAY TRIAL // Video game hardware maker Sony has confirmed that it will be launching the PlayStation Vita handheld on December 17 on the Japanese home market.
The announcement was made at the Tokyo Games Show and did not include too many new details about the device itself.
Sony said that the version of the platform that has Wi-Fi will be selling for 24,980 Yen while the version which also offers 3G can be acquired for 29,980 Yen.
The company has also confirmed that all the 3G services for the Japanese market will be offered by NTT DoCoMo, with two pre-paid options unveiled at this time, one with 20 hours of activity for 980 Yen and one which delivers 100 hours for the price of 4,980 Yen.
Sony has not talked about when the PlayStation Vita will be offered on North American and European markets but an announcement could arrive before the end of the year.
February or March are looking like probably months for the launch, considering that Sony will be interested in giving possible buyers some time to recover after their Christmas spending.
Sony has always said that it planned to launch the Vita in Japan first, giving the players on the home market time to see what the device can do before it arrived in other parts of the world.
The Vita is billed by Sony as a console aimed squarely at hardcore gamers, those who are interested in playing big titles like Uncharted and Resistance on the go.
Sony says that there's still a market for hardcore mobile gaming, despite the rise of smartphones, and that it plans to make Vita the perfect handheld for it.
The device includes an OLED screen, which also offers touch capabilities on the back, and full analog controls.
The developers who have worked with the Vita have said that it offers quite a lot of power and that the games created for it will look very close to those seen on current gen home consoles.