14 DAY TRIAL // Kaz Hirai, who is the chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, has announced that the upcoming PlayStation Vita handheld will be only launched in Japan before the end of 2011, with North American and European gamers set to get access to it in the early months of 2012.
The Sony executive has not offered any hard dates for the launch but Sony will probably offer them at the upcoming press conferences it will hold at Germany's Gamescom, in Cologne on August 16, and at the Tokyo Games Show during September.
Kaz Hirai has said at the E3 press conference of the company that the device would be out before the end of 2011, although he did not specify the markets while the initial announcement of the PlayStation Vita also suggested that it would not be released on all territories at the same time.
It seems that Sony will follow the same pattern that Nintendo tried with the launch of the 3DS, aiming to get Japanese gamers interested first before moving towards the potentially bigger customer bases in North America and in Europe.
Sony's decision might also have been influenced by the fact that its manufacturing capabilities were affected by the earthquake and the tsunami from earlier in the years, making it impossible to adequately supply all the major markets at the same time.
The Vita is seen as a handheld for the more hardcore gaming crowd, one which is set to deliver gaming experiences that are just one notch below those seen on the PlayStation 3 home console.
The device will also have an OLED screen, touch screen capabilities and also full traditional control schemes.
It will also have a good set of connectivity options, allowing players to engage in multiplayer and use social services, and will also work with the Sony home console, potentially acting as a controller.