PlayStation Vita Live Launch: Watch Live, Reviews

Playstation Vita Launches at Midnight on Feb 22

Sony is launching the PlayStation Vita at midnight on February 22, 2012 in Century City, California. You can see Sony's handheld product launch via the video player below, via StuffWeLike. Coverage starts at around 11pm on Tuesday, February 21.

Sony is targeting serious gamers with PlayStation Vita, The PS Vita offers not only a touchscreen, but also a rear touchpad and twin joysticks: a marriage between a smartphone screen and a PS3 controller.

The PlayStation Vita will retail for $250 (Wifi version) or $300 (3G version- monthly network fees will also apply). Alas, AT&T will be the carrier handling the PS Vita 3G in the US.

PlayStation Vita Reviews

CNET rates the PS Vita as pretty much average. Its downsides include poor battery life, bulk, price, and lack of internal memory.

TechRadar gives the PlayStation Vita 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Again, the lack of internal memory holds it back: the user must buy proprietary Vita memory cards, which are useless in any other device. How many more Sony-only memory cards do you need in your junk drawer?

The Guardian lauds the PlayStation Vita's power, but sees it as "an anachronism" in the world of smartphones.

However, the PS Vita's games are averaging lower ratings than those of its PSP predecessor.

Nintendo's 3DS has been a sales disappointment, and Sony is hoping to capitalize on that with both a more "hardcore" product design and more serious-gamer titles.

However, the PlayStation Vita is a standalone device: will casual gamers want to spend two hundred fifty bucks on yet another device to lug around, or will they be content with their smartphones?

In other words, the price point may well scare off casual gamers, and we wonder if there are enough serious gamers with the disposable income to make the PS Vita and its game-title ecosystem a hit.