When Can I Get A Playstation Vita? 
The latest rumor that has surfaced is that the Vita will be launching in the UK on November 4 (2). One could then assume that the US, JP, and other territories will be slightly before, on, or slightly after that date. But don't get too excited about this date.
First, if you check the source, you will see that the date is being pulled from a UK retailer listing. Retailer listings are hardly the most reliable source. Wouldn't it be nice if you could depend on the Gamestop estimated release date that they first put up to allow you to preorder that mega-hyped upcoming game? It would. But you can't. Retailers just want to get as many preorders as possible. If they have to push back their date later, they already have your order, and most people won't bother changing it. This is a normal way of doing business now.
Second, the Vita was just officially announced at E3. This would be the shortest time ever between an announcement and a major hardware release. The 3DS was announced at E3 June 2010, and wasn't released until Feb. 2011. Also, there is a large list of "confirmed" launch titles. Thinking all these could be ready to go by November is a stretch, depending on how long the developers have had their hands on dev kits.
Third, and most telling: At E3, when pressed about a Vita release date, Jack Tretton, SCEA president, said (paraphrasing) "the Vita will launch in at least one territory by the end of the year", and during E3 Kaz Hirai, Executive Deputy President of Sony's Consumer Electronics Division, said only that "the Vita will launch worldwide by the end of this year". It seems very likely that Sony will launch the Vita in Japan (-possibly- North America) only this Christmas, with a worldwide release coming soon after. Simultaneous worldwide releases are very difficult from a supply and marketing standpoint, and Nintendo employed a similar strategy with the 3DS. This possibility is backed up by recent rumors where Jack Tretton interviewed with Gametrailers TV (3), where he said a worldwide release would be "at latest, by March, 2012".
So, it seems the rumor mill is once again building around the Vita, after being someone dispelled by E3. The bottom line is, don't expect one before Christmas, especially if you aren't living in Japan, North America, or Western Europe. But Sony has put together a great little machine with what looks like an amazing launch lineup, so it should be worth the wait.
Source:
1 http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/06/sony-japan-denies-any-earthquake-related-ngp-delays/
2 http://psp.ign.com/articles/117/1177704p1.html
3 http://wololo.net/talk/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=6956
As we finally have some confirmed information and not just rumors, the buzz has been growing: the Playstation Vita is coming. With a pile of interesting features including front and rear touch sensitivity, a quad core processor, gyroscope, front and rear cameras, and best of all a great price point, it looks like the 3DS has a serious competitor.
So of course now the question is, "When can I get one?". Well, you won't have to wait too long, but exactly how long is still up for debate.
When the first rumors of this new handheld were coming out, word was that it would launch in fall 2011, probably at the end of October. It's unusual for rumors to carry such a specific release date, so this may have held some credibility. However, likely because of delays caused by the Japan earthquake (although Sony has denied this (1), and of course, the usual delays all complicated electronics suffer, this supposed October release date seems out of the question now.
So of course now the question is, "When can I get one?". Well, you won't have to wait too long, but exactly how long is still up for debate.
When the first rumors of this new handheld were coming out, word was that it would launch in fall 2011, probably at the end of October. It's unusual for rumors to carry such a specific release date, so this may have held some credibility. However, likely because of delays caused by the Japan earthquake (although Sony has denied this (1), and of course, the usual delays all complicated electronics suffer, this supposed October release date seems out of the question now.
The latest rumor that has surfaced is that the Vita will be launching in the UK on November 4 (2). One could then assume that the US, JP, and other territories will be slightly before, on, or slightly after that date. But don't get too excited about this date.
First, if you check the source, you will see that the date is being pulled from a UK retailer listing. Retailer listings are hardly the most reliable source. Wouldn't it be nice if you could depend on the Gamestop estimated release date that they first put up to allow you to preorder that mega-hyped upcoming game? It would. But you can't. Retailers just want to get as many preorders as possible. If they have to push back their date later, they already have your order, and most people won't bother changing it. This is a normal way of doing business now.
Second, the Vita was just officially announced at E3. This would be the shortest time ever between an announcement and a major hardware release. The 3DS was announced at E3 June 2010, and wasn't released until Feb. 2011. Also, there is a large list of "confirmed" launch titles. Thinking all these could be ready to go by November is a stretch, depending on how long the developers have had their hands on dev kits.
Third, and most telling: At E3, when pressed about a Vita release date, Jack Tretton, SCEA president, said (paraphrasing) "the Vita will launch in at least one territory by the end of the year", and during E3 Kaz Hirai, Executive Deputy President of Sony's Consumer Electronics Division, said only that "the Vita will launch worldwide by the end of this year". It seems very likely that Sony will launch the Vita in Japan (-possibly- North America) only this Christmas, with a worldwide release coming soon after. Simultaneous worldwide releases are very difficult from a supply and marketing standpoint, and Nintendo employed a similar strategy with the 3DS. This possibility is backed up by recent rumors where Jack Tretton interviewed with Gametrailers TV (3), where he said a worldwide release would be "at latest, by March, 2012".
So, it seems the rumor mill is once again building around the Vita, after being someone dispelled by E3. The bottom line is, don't expect one before Christmas, especially if you aren't living in Japan, North America, or Western Europe. But Sony has put together a great little machine with what looks like an amazing launch lineup, so it should be worth the wait.
Source:
1 http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/06/sony-japan-denies-any-earthquake-related-ngp-delays/
2 http://psp.ign.com/articles/117/1177704p1.html
3 http://wololo.net/talk/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=6956
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