A leaked flyer from Blockbuster in the United Kingdom has revealed that the PlayStation Vita, or the Android-based Next Generation Portable we are all waiting for, will be launching by October 28th this year. While Blockbuster has not confirmed the veracity of the flyer, it ties in with last week’s rumours of the Vita emerging by the Fall.
Speaking to gaming site IGN, Sony confirmed that the PS Vita will be launching with a ‘phased global release’ in the ‘holiday season.’ European pricing of the product was also seen on the flier, at £229.99 for the Wi-Fi only version, and £279.99 for the Wi-Fi 3G version. Rather extravagantly priced, compared to the already confirmed U.S. pricing of $249 and $299 respectively.
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Sony hopes to breathe some life into its aging portable platform with the PS Vita, it looks like it will have a strong chance – it has a list of major launch titles (revealed at E3 2011); the apps of the entire Android platform; as well as the hardware to back it all up – with a Tegra 3 ‘Kal-El’ processor quad-core Cortex A9-based processor and SGX543MP4 graphics; as well as multiple input interfaces from gyroscopes to touchpads, analog sticks to a 5-inch OLED touchscreen. Check out our previous coverage for more details about the PlayStation Vita.
In the meanwhile, it looks like Sony is strengthening the Vita’s platform before launch, by giving out free development kits. Rubicon Development, an independent developer, has revealed in a report that it has received dev kits from the Japanese giant. Speaking to IGN, Steve Haggerty of Rubicon said:
“We’ve worked with Apple, and you can’t get anything out of them. Microsoft rarely responds and I suppose Nintendo are okay, but Sony are always there to help. They always get back to you.”