Sony PlayStation Vita will be region-free

[Emil]

The Sony PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) (PCH-1000 series) will be region-free. During a PlayStation Vita session for European and Australian press at E3, Michael Denny, Sony's Vice President of Sony Worldwide Studios Europe, confirmed the tidbit to IGN. He did say that it was according to the best of his knowledge, but at this point we really don't think Sony would decide to backpedal.

Region-free simply means that you can purchase a game and system from any two different regions and they will be compatible. This is particularly important for hardcore gamers who want to buy games that are released in niche markets. The PlayStation 3 is region-free, but the Nintendo 3DS, which will be Vita's prime competitor, is not.

If you've got questions about the PS Vita, check out the recently posted FAQs. The most important information, including pricing, is below.

Sony is promising that the PS Vita will have give a PS3-level experience with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor and a multi-core PowerVR SGX543MP4 graphics chip four times faster than the PSP's. The device will come with a 5-inch OLED screen (950 x 544 resolution), two micro-analog sticks to simulate the Dual Shock experience, front and rear facing cameras, and two-finger multitouch pad on the back of the machine. Sony is hoping the front and rear touch screens will offer new three dimension-like motion gameplay experiences never before seen on any device through "touch, grab, trace, push and pull" finger motions. A Sixaxis equivalent with a gyroscope and accelerometer is also available to let players control games by moving and tilting the system itself.

In terms of connectivity you can expect built-in 3G in addition to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, as well as GPS support. The PS Vita will come with a pre-installed app called Party, which lets you use voice chat or text chat when gaming, using other apps, or browsing the Internet. Another app, called Near, will let you share your game information with other users and add them as friends.

The Wi-Fi model will be available for 25,000 yen (including tax) in Japan, $250.00 in the US, and €250.00 in Europe, while the 3G/Wi-Fi model will be available for 30,000 yen (including tax) in Japan, $300.00 in the US and €300.00 in Europe. Exact release dates are still unknown, all Sony has said is that the PS Vita will launch globally at the end of this year.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/44188-sony-playstation-vita-will-be-region-free.html

 

[chaboi390]

With a Price Tag roughly around $300, this is shaping up to be a very nice Portable console from Sony.

 

[Guest]

Too little, too late. Sony has burned their bridges with me as far as gaming is concerned. Their attitude toward modders, homebrewers, etc. has forced me to consider them to be the console gaming equivalent of Apple. I don't understand why such manufacturers want to be hostile towards the customers of theirs who choose to void their warranty and make the device their own. Sony is still an awesome manufacturer of audio equipment, though.

 

[ElShotte]

Oh yeah. I remember watching a video of it playing Uncharted a while back, the graphics really do look on par with the PS3. I wonder if you'll be able to hook it up to a TV, and I hope they release MGS4 on it.

 

[example1013]

ElShotte said:
Oh yeah. I remember watching a video of it playing Uncharted a while back, the graphics really do look on par with the PS3. I wonder if you'll be able to hook it up to a TV, and I hope they release MGS4 on it.

Almost guarantee you there will be interface with TVs, just like the PSP had, but it won't look as good, again guaranteed. The small size allows devs to cheat a bit on the graphics, so while it seems like it's as good as the larger console, it's really sort of not. Still pretty good, but not PS3-level (or PS2, in the PSP's case). The Vita may reach PS2-level graphics, though.

 

[Guest]

Anyone who complains about sony taking an attack on modders is kinda lossing credit in my mind. in this current day and age we have to play the game and pay for things inorder to keep the cycle going for the people providing us the game to actualy survive

Maybe oneday thing slike the Venus Project will change the world and we wont have to pay for our games anymore but for now you shouldnt demand your games for free. that makes you seem immature and fairly Naive to the way the world works.

 

[Guest]

Vita is surely more powerful than ps2 guaranteed... Although Vita is almost powerful as the ps3 it is not the main attraction. The games it is providing, the connectivity, the apps we can use through android and many more.

 

[Richy2k9]

hello ...

i work hard to pay for my entertainment & will pay those developers & manufacturers the consoles, the pc components, the software, the games, the music, the videos, the combined work to make me dream & enjoy my life. PS VITA is on my wish-list, if somehow, someday, someone else do want to pay me my entertainment without stealing it from someone else, would be glad ...

will buy, mostly because it will interact with my PS3 & i got some free games on PSP too ...not no PSP

cheers!

 

[Guest]

This handheld looks really good but there's one major thing I don't but also do understand.
What I don't understand is why they are using a download only system as a way of having the games distributed.
From a retail point of view:
Parents would buy handhelds for their kids over systems because of its size. The less "things" they have to buy the better (accessories). With a handheld, basically everything they need is in the box whereas on systems you have to buy more controllers, online gaming access, etc, that turns off parents.
They also get very turned off on buying cards you swipe to redeem over a game on the shelf. Baby boomers and the generation after need to have something physical, in their hand, for the money they spend. They see it as handing it over with no return because of that.
From sony's point of view:
That is, unless their target marget is older. Then in which case, it MAY be a smart move.
It is a good way of them to control distribution, and also cut costs since no physical disc, manual, etc needs to be printed.
Just like how the audio cd is being replaced by microSD chips, I wonder if Sony will sell MSduo cards pre-loaded with the game they buy as maybe an option for limited edition games or something lke that.

My only problem with that defense of Sony is that, regarding rescent issues with security breaches, and also the ridiculous DRM crap they tried to pull on thei audio cd's, what's to stop someone from takin control of thousands of handhelds, stealing accounts and all their games, and that those pre-loaded MSduo cards would have DRM on it?
I think the PS3 would have been better if it was made by Samsung. At least the systems wouldn't be made in China, bleh.

 

[Guest]

They're getting desperate. I won't buy it regardless.

 

[Guest]

Vita games won't be download only. It uses game cards.

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

If they don't protect it from being hacked than it will bomb. I hate the name but it looks okay and region free is a nice touch. PSP was really hurt by pirating and game development was abysmal because of it, if they prevent hacking to some extent(make it difficult) than PSV will succeed.

 

[Guest]

The PSP was region free as well, problem was that Sony went around suing the exporters so actually importing the console and/or games proved difficult.

My decision to buy this will solely lie on whether they will allow importing this time around cause I'm really fed up on the release schedules here in Europe, often the games take months to get over here and sometimes they don't get released at all. The 1:1 dollar -> euro conversion is only a minor annoyance but even after tolls and added taxes it's usually way cheaper to import these things.

 

[Guest]

agreed, nothing is free in the world and sony isn't the only ones who are against people who mod and pirate either. Just accept the fact that these people have created a successful business and are running it without monopolizing anything.

 

[Guest]

I HOPE SONY WILL ALLOW APPS OFFICIALLY!!! If apple have an app store, Sony MUST have one too!

 

[Guest]

This is a really cool system.I can't wait to get my hands on it.

 

[Guest]

Well I will be buying it. So it's not too late for me nor is it too little! It is WAY better than 3DS.

 

[mavis311]

Guest (9:44) said something stupid:
Maybe oneday thing slike the Venus Project will change the world and we wont have to pay for our games anymore but for now you shouldnt demand your games for free. that makes you seem immature and fairly Naive to the way the world works.

It's interesting that you apparently assume people are trying to get "games for free." Maybe it's just how much media attention piracy has been getting these past few years that causes you to jump to those conclusions.

Personally, I'm interested in developing software, so I would much rather spend my time (which is far more valuable to me than a few dollars) and be able to create my own game than to rob another developer of the pay they deserve for creating a game that I intend to enjoy. You, sir or madam, should be less quick to tag a person as immature or naive.

Also, please learn how to type.

 

[Guest]

does it have an internal memory...........????

 

[ramonsterns]

I wonder if the PS2 Emulator thing is true, how it will work.

I hope I don't have to buy the game again.