Sony's TGS 2011 press conference
Vita date, launch line-up, new games.
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Sony's Tokyo Game Show 2011 press conference has come to an end.
Revealed was a launch date for PlayStation Vita in Japan and the games that will be available for it.
Square Enix provided the most excitement of the morning with the announcement of a Final Fantasy 10 remake for Vita and PS3.
Capcom's Yoshinori Ono confirmed rumours of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on Vita. He said it will be a launch title and perform just as it does on PS3/360.
Hideo Kojima also solidified rumours of the Metal Gear Solid and Zone of the Enders HD Collections heading to Vita.
Eurogamer's blow by blow report of the event is below.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Hello from Tokyo Midtown Hall!
aka we're in, online and up and running. Well, kind of - we're being shunted around by quite literally hundreds of SCE staff, who quite handsomely outnumber the press here.
Quick show of hands - who's stayed up all night for this one?
And who's done the more sensible thing of getting up nice and early?
*whistles to self* Well, hopefully if you're up and watching this you'll be rewarded with some half decent news.
It'll be interesting to see if Sony has a response to Nintendo's decent showing yesterday - especially the mugging the Kyoto outfit carried out when it announced Monster Hunter 4 would be a 3DS title.
Proscenium update, 'cos I know that's all you care about. Tokyo's Midtown Hall's a pretty austere place with the dimensions and atmosphere of a school hall.
So the proscenium's a fittingly blank number. Can't even call it a proscenium really. More of a roof.
Anyways, back to business. Odds on that this'll be heavily Vita focused. I'm hopeful that we'll see a firm release date for Japan.
@jmechan - the difference is night and day. It's proper functional here - I don't think there'll be any dancing crews or celebrity appearances.
Important and exciting news - straight after the Sony conference I'm going to snoop around Treasure's offices. I am happy about this.
And even more exciting news - the Konami shop next door in the Roppongi mall has a Vic Viper model. I'm also very happy about this.
So, we're expecting a big Vita presence - and the most recent issue of Famitsu has revealed that Ninja Gaiden, Katamari and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will all be coming to the handheld.
We've been given the five minute warning. This is about to get real.
An image of the hall, courtesy of the big Shu. http://yfrog.com/kkdxsplj
Fred's my right hand man here, and he'll be turning this all into some serious news felch. Also, big shout out to Bertie who's woken up early to take point from Brighton, and whose cats are confused as they think he's woken up to feed them. Serious business, this.
Time for a quick plug - you will of course be able to play the Vita in just under two weeks at the Expo, some show or something that's going on in Earl's Court. Should be a cracker, that.
Just as Fred gets a little freaked out by the electro music being pumped into our earpieces we're told the show is about to start.
And so it does! Hiroshi Kawano takes the stage. No, us neither.
A year of conferences comes to a head - Sony started their Vita tour in January, and now they're going to explain some of its Japanese strategy.
And now it's Andy House, taking the big stage for the first time since he stepped up at the beginning of September.
Incredible Japanese skills from our man House. Can you do that, Jim Ryan?
House is talking about the support that Vita's got - and how well the PS3 and PSP have done since their respective price cuts.
Kawano's back on - and will give us an overview of today's topics.
51.8 million world wide PS3 sales.
And a runthrough of the software line-up. It's Japan centric - Tales of Xillia and FFXIII-2, which we won't be seeing until much later.
Some more impressive numbers - 71.4 million for the PSP. Sony's coming out well from the numbers game, evidently.
A dual-tone PSP being shown - but it doesn't look like the entry model one introduced at Gamescom earlier this year.
'As you may remember, not everything's been smooth' - Kawano's tackling the PSN outage.
A humbler and drier appraisal than Jack Tretton's one at E3 - Kawano's thankful to the users for sticking around, and there's been some positives as Sony's identified some security weaknesses.
And now for the main course - the PlayStation Vita.
A new member of the PlayStation family. 'The way gamer's interact with these devices is changing.'
Many of PS Vita's features are a response to the rise of smart gaming.
And! It's going to have games that are both Casural (sic) and Unique.
And now we're seeing some of those casural games being played in a swift little video.
A quick peek at a Monster Hunter game in the demo reel - not sure if it was a PSP one though, so don't get too excited.
The video showed core games, casural games and some of the apps like Near - so it's a diverse line-up, then.
A quick recap of the prices - 29,980 and 24,980 yen in Japan.
And now the launch date - December 17.
That's Japan only, obviously. That's a Saturday, should you wish to fly over to Tokyo and pick one up.
So, with the release date out the way, we'll get a look at the 3G features, the launch line-up (which has already been leaked) and the PSP compatibility.
The second main announcement is......
NTT Docomo will be carrying the 3G in Japan. None of the murmuring that met the AT&T announcement at E3, but it's a much politer crowd.
Obviously of little interest to those outside of Japan. But here's a nice photo opp as a chap from NTT Docomo takes to the stage.
While this is going on, here's an update on the leaks. A slide is doing the rounds that reveals that Metal Gear Solid HD and Zone of the Enders HD will be coming to Vita. So pretend to look surprised when that's announced.
This could be relevant - the data plan for Japan. a 980 yen 20-hour prepaid plan, or a 100-hour prepaid plan for 4,980 yen.
That's around a tenner and fifty quid according to my loose currency conversion skills that have been getting me into all sorts of trouble while I've been out here.
Docomo, btw, is a strong service provider. None of that AT&T business here - though obviously Japan's phone networks are from the future.
Be fascinating to see who snaps up the contract in the UK/Europe.
Never thought I'd say this, but where are the celebrity appearances and dancing crews when you need them?
This could totally be enlivened by a little Morris Dancing.
Kawano's not got a Vita in hand - presented to him by a man wearing white gloves. Which is the closest we've come to a dance troupe appearance so far.
Although we're told it's a prototype and won't be connecting to a 3G network.
And it doesn't work. He turns it off an on again. Standard.
Selecting language, time and date. This is gold.
And it connects to a 3G network! Well, a mock 3G network.
From here it's possible to access your account.
And now he's inputting his account details and inputting his date of birth. I really want to see some dancing now.
We actually just watched a man input his date of birth live on stage. Quite unbelievable scenes.
Someone fresh from SEJ. Maybe we'll see him update his credit card details.
Start-up screen being shown, as well as the wallpaper - which can be peeled away. Smart.
Media playback looks handsome - and is easily accessible using a touch-screen enabled spin on Sony's traditional XMB.
I think Fred's just fallen asleep. Multitasking will be possible o the Vita, so you can look at photos of your ex-girlfriend while you listen to The Smiths.
Welcome Park is the Vita tutorial. It's fun!
You tap numbers! Which teaches you how to use the touchscreen!
And you learn how to use the cameras via a little puzzle mini-game!
I hope by throwing excessive punctuation marks I'll keep some of you awake!
The browsers getting a rundown now.
Few problems with the CMS - I think it's fallen asleep itself. Just kicking it awake now.
An overview of the Vita - and a look at the final product. It's a handsome bit of kit, and it does do an awful lot. Would love to see some games now though please!
Itagaki and Nagoshi flash up - as do many other developers who are all behind the new console.
"Some people say that the Japanese games industry is lacking energy... But if you ask me what type of business model will revitalise the industry I'm sure that Japan's games industry will be a part of that."
"By working with these people, we hope we can revitalise the industry" says Iwano.
You're expecting Streetfighter x Tekken, but today he'll surprise us.
Except we knew that Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will be a launch title 'cos it leaked earlier on!
For what it's worth, the game will be out on December 17. And the game's complete.
"The same amazing PS3 experience on PS Vita" Observation mode is already installed, and obviously the connectivity of the Vita will be played to.
And it'll be at 60 fps!
Touch-screen gaming will also feature (optionally, of course) and it'll make the most of Near. Ono can't say too much about that though.
So, apparently this is Ono's third appearance at a conference this year.
Community and connectivity is important. It'll link to PS3 - and we're just finding out how.
Fighting games are all about community - so the Vita and its connectivity are a natural home for them. Can't argue with that.
UMvC 3 wil be playable tomorrow on the Vita. Which is exciting for me, and less so to you at home. Sorry.
The Awano and Ono show as they go through the community features. It's like seeing Eric and Ernie in their prime.
Toro and Kuro will be characters in SF x Tekken. Who won't be a playable character in SF x Tekken?
Toro and Kuro are the PS mascots in Japan, btw. They'll be announcing that Max from Eastenders is playable at the Expo next week. You heard it here first.
Square Enix on the stage to announce two titles.
First, Lord of Apocalypse, an action RPG.
Army Corps of Hell. It's supposed to be a 'horrifying' title. One hundred goblin troops, apparently.
Both launch titles. And both not that exciting, if I'm being honest.
Final Fantasy Type-0 coming on October 27.
Final Fantasy 13-2 released in December. On the PS3, of course.
10th anniversary title will be....
A quick announcement.....
Final Fantasy X on Vita!
HD version coming to Vita and PS3.
For what it's worth, I like Final Fantasy X. But Final Fantasy XII on Vita? That'd be something.
There's nothing to show on FFX on Vita right now, unfortunately.
Kojima's on stage for, let's have a quick guess.... Metal Gear and ZOE HD?
Transfarring - Kojima's own barmy name for playing at home then on the go.
Transfarriring's got a logo and everything! Peace Walker will support it, enabling transfer between the PSP and upcoming PS3 version.
MGS 2 & 3 HD also coming to Vita early in 2012.
You won't need wires to transfar!
Zone of the Enders takes centre stage now.
Again, for PS3 and Vita, and again for 2012. Both of these will be on the show floor, so we'll let you know what they look like soon.
Fox Engine, Kojima Production's in-house engine, is being developed across PS3 and Vita. So expect future titles to come across both.
Kojima's developing a original title to release across both. He can't say any more right now, but he'll reveal more soon.
"When can we expect new information?" Kojima: "It will take a while"
It's an original game, apparently. Does that rule out MGS5? Or another Boktai?
The social side and connectivity will be catered for by this new game from Kojima.
From Worldwide Studio we have Yamamoto from Japan Studio.
Connectivity is important for the Vita - Everybody's Golf 6 will have online, as wel as national competitions.
Two new applications being introduced.
The first one's called You Channel.... something. Not hopeful of seeing this one outside of Japan.
Your day to day schedule is treated as tasks that feed into an RPG.
There's an iPhone game that does this, but I'm too jetlagged to remember what it's called. Any answers out there?
The next one is... No, it's not got an English name, and if I try to phonetically type out what he's just said you might accuse me of being racialist.
It looks very much like the 3DS's Mii Plaza, for what it's worth.
Meanwhile on Twitter, @patlike's taking bets on Sony announcing Pokemon on the Vita as a conference-ending bombshell. Any takers?
Mr Sugimotmo, president of niwango, on-stage. No, us neither.
He's got his collar popped up like a bad boy though, so colour me interested.
Nico Nico Douga! Take that Nintendo!
I'm loving the white gloves that the assistant is using to handle the Vita. I hope they come as standard with the console.
Would anyone notice if I slumped over my keyboard and got a little sleep?
Sorry, back to the game at hand. It's a video sharing thing. It'll come out in December, with functionality being rolled out over the following months.
Nico Nico Douga could allow players to air themselves playing a game live to other Vita users.
Also, thanks BartsBlue. I'll buy you a box of Sugar Puffs if we ever meet.
Bertie reckons the bombshell will be Lair for Vita. I live in hope.
Quite literally falling asleep here as Awano wraps up. More as it happens.
Finally, we're on to support for PSP titles.
Actually, here's the launch line-up first.
Fish On, Ridge Racer, Dream Club Portable, Project Noels, F1 2011, Virtua Tennis 4.
There's more - 26 in total - that will be releasing at launch on December 17.
And more games to come - Metal Gear, Ninja Gaiden, WipEout 2048, FIFA. 100 games to be out by March. Maybe that's when we'll see the Vita outside of Japan?
And NOW we're on to PSP support.
Around 500-600 available. Dual sticks will be functional on the device, and they're scaled up for the shiny new screen of the Vita.
If you've a UMD and you want to play it on the Vita... They're considering special download versions of the UMD-only titles. More news on that at a later date.
A recap on today's news - release date of 17 December, NTT Docomo will be providing the data in Japan and will be doing prepaid plans. First 500,000 models will come with a data plan included, with 100 hours free.
You can start pre-ordering the Vita on October 15, in just a month's time.
At TGS 2011, some 31 games will be available. 80 Vitas will be there (and remember there'll be at the Expo n'all!)
If you're in Japan in the next month, there'll be a Vita caravan touring the country. Sounds like fun.
"Where there is fun, people gather and new friendships are born" is the concluding message.
And that's a wrap. Thanks for staying up!