Vita EU release date, price announced

UPDATE: Sony has announced the UK price for PlayStation Vita.

The RRP for the Wi-Fi model is £229.99. The RRP for the 3G/Wi-Fi model is £279.99.

"PlayStation Vita is an incredible device that offers the best possible portable gaming experiences," said Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Jim Ryan.

"Its revolutionary mix of features combined with social connectivity, delivers a platform for gamers to play games in a whole new way and to connect with their friends and the world around them. We're very excited to launch a portable gaming device that goes beyond anything available on the market and is positioned to deliver the uncompromised gaming experiences consumers have been asking for."

Meanwhile, Sony issued product outlines for the two models that will be available in the UK.

PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi Model Crystal Black

• Product name: PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi Model Crystal Black
• Product code: PCH-1102 (Australia/New Zealand) PCH-1103 (UK, and Ireland) PCH-1104 (Europe/Eastern Europe) PCH-1108 (Russia)
• Release date: February 22, 2012
• MSRP: £279.99
• Included: PlayStation Vita 3G/Wi-Fi model x1 USB cable x1 AC adaptor x1 Power cord x1 Printed materials x1

PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi Model Crystal Black

• Product name: PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi Model Crystal Black
• Product code: PCH-1002 (Australia/New Zealand) PCH-1003 (UK, and Ireland) PCH-1004 (Europe/Eastern Europe) PCH-1008 (Russia)
• Release date: February 22, 2012
• MSRP: £229.99
• Included: PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi model x1 USB cable x1 AC adaptor x1 Power cord x1 Printed materials x1

ORIGINAL STORY: PlayStation Vita launches in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australasia, Canada, the US and Latin America from 22nd February 2012, Sony has announced.

The Wi-Fi-only version costs $249 / €249.99 / AUD$349.95 / NZD$449.95. The Wi-Fi plus 3G model goes for $299 / €299.99 / AUD$449.95 / NZD$549.95.

UK pricing remains unannounced. Sony is yet to confirm the European launch line-up of Vita games, or reveal which 3G service provider will handle Vita in the UK.

"Our first-party studios and army of publishing partners have been extremely hard at work to ensure that PS Vita launches with a vast library of titles that deliver unique gameplay experiences that go beyond any handheld or mobile device on the market," said Sony US boss Jack Tretton.

More than 100 games are in development for Vita, including Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Resistance: Burning Skies, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Assassin's Creed, FIFA and Call of Duty.

Accompanying the announcement, Sony published official Vita specifications, below.

• Platform name: PlayStation Vita
• Model number: PCH-1000 series
• CPU :ARM Cortex-A9 core (4 core)
• GPU: SGX543MP4+
• Main memory: 512MB
• VRAM: 128MB
• External Dimensions: Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth) (tentative, excludes largest projection)
• Weight: Approx 279g (3G/Wi-Fi model)Approx 260g (Wi-Fi model)
• Screen (Touch screen): 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colours, OLED Multi touch screen (capacitive type)
• Rear touch pad: Multi touch pad (capacitive type)
• Cameras: Front camera, Rear camera Frame rate : 120fps@320×240(QVGA), 60fps@640×480(VGA)Resolution : Up to 640×480(VGA)
• Sound: Built-in stereo speakers Built-in microphone
• Sensors: Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three axis electronic compass
• Location: Built-in GPS (3G/Wi-Fi model only)Wi-Fi location service support
• Keys / Switches :PS button Power button Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left)Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square)Shoulder buttons (Right/Left)Right stick, Left stick START button, SELECT button Volume buttons (+/-)
• Wireless communications: Mobile network connectivity (3G/Wi-Fi model only)3G modem (data communication): HSDPA/HSUPA, GSM/GPRS/EDGEIEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1×1)(Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode)Bluetooth 2.1+EDR （A2DP/AVRCP/HSP）
• Slots/Ports: PlayStation Vita card slot Memory card slot SIM card slot (3G/Wi-Fi model only)Multi-use port (for USB data communication, DC IN, Audio [Stereo Out / Mono In],
• Power: Built-In Lithium-ion Battery: DC3.7V 2210mAhAC adaptor: DC 5V
• Operating environment temperature: 5℃～35℃
• Supported AV content format: Music－MP3 MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer 3, MP4 (MPEG-4 AAC), WAVE (Linear PCM)Videos－MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC), H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High/Main/Baseline Profile(AAC)Photos－JPEG (Exif 2.2.1), TIFF, BMP, GIF, PNG