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Vita Launches In Japan To Thousands Of Excited Fans

Well, Japan loves their handheld gaming.

As reported by The Washington Post, the PlayStation Vita launched today in Japan, and thousands of anticipatory gamers were standing in line to nab the fancy new portable.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has predicted "brisk sales," which they could really use, as Sony expects a loss of over $1 billion for the fiscal year through March 2012. But the Vita may do very well at the start; in Tokyo's Ikebukuro shopping district, around 300 buyers lined up outside a major electronics chain before the store opened. Television footage showed happy new owners unboxing the Vita and playing it right in the store.

Said SCEJ President Hiroshi Kono on his blog:

"I’m so happy to see so many people lining up for PS Vita so early in the morning. I can tell they had anxiously waited for today’s launch."

The first hardware launch for Sony since the PlayStation 3 back in 2006, the Vita also has the benefit of two dozen launch titles, the biggest launch lineup of any PlayStation device in history. Featuring dual analog sticks, front and back cameras, front and rear touchpads, and the option of 3G, Sony's new portable is definitely an attractive, highly advanced little unit.

But will it release to throngs of excited fans here in North America as well? We'll have to wait and see; February 22 isn't too far off.

Tags: vita, playstation vita, vita launch, vita japanese release

12/17/2011 10:28:10 AM Ben Dutka

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Comments (21 posts)

Temjin001
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 10:47:38 AM
Reply

That's great. I dusted off my PSP the other day and gave it some love. I finally tried that free Kllzone game. Playing it reminds that while cellphones may have the technology advantage, from what I can tell, PSP games still have the production advantage. I'm hopeful the Vita is successful enough to maintain a premium mobile gaming experience. I sort of want to get one but I don't have $300 for one and a game.
Then again.... My birthday is at the end of February. And then again FFxiii-2 releases at that time too. Oh the decisions =p

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Codeez
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 10:51:51 AM
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I'll be one of those people sitting outside my local gamestop in the subfreezing weather anxiously awaiting my Vita. Hopefully they have a solid selection of RPG's within the first year of its existence. I do enjoy me some portable RPG's.

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Shams
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 12:22:37 PM
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Vita and Uncharted:Golden Abyss. Makes me feel all giddy inside.

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TheAgingHipster
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 12:30:01 PM
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Mmmmm, Vita goodness. Must go put my bundle on reserve now.

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DjEezzy
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 12:35:22 PM
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Yeah i'm super excited for the vita although i may not be able to get one right away.

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Cpt_Geez
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 1:55:08 PM
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D1P for me can't wait.

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hellish_devil
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 3:10:23 PM
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Persona 4 The Golden!!

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Douchebaguette
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 6:13:04 PM

Shit. I am there. I am in that midnight line up.

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daus26
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 3:52:25 PM
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Very cool. I'm looking forward to the evolution of this device. It would seem not all the potential is being pulled out of this, and I'm hopeful that it can advanced as much as the PS3 has since its launch.

I really want to play Gran Turismo on this, but at the same time I really want Gran Turismo 6. I hope there's some cool integration of GT6 with the Vita.

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eLLeJuss
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 3:54:42 PM
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I want it!!!!

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BikerSaint
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 8:18:00 PM
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For me, the good news is....

I'm not sure if I'll be doing my 1st midnight launch or not, but I've already had my Vita paid off a couple months ago.

The bad news...

No money allocated right now to even buy 1 game &/or 1 memory card for it.
So let's hope there's either a voucher for a free game, or at least the same batch of free PSN store game trials or playable demos out upon Vita's release too, just so I/we can sample it's goodness.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 12/17/2011 8:19:11 PM

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Fane1024
Sunday, December 18, 2011 @ 1:23:08 AM

There are at least a few simple games that come installed on the PSV (with trophies to boot), according to the official PS Blogcast.

By Feb, there will hopefully be a bunch of demos on the store, if there isn't a "demo disc" in the package. You might need a memory stick, though.
Last edited by Fane1024 on 12/18/2011 1:24:12 AM

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BikerSaint
Sunday, December 18, 2011 @ 5:07:40 PM

Fane,
OK, cool, if so, that's definitely some good news then.

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Jawknee
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 8:24:54 PM
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Bagh! Ima have to wait to get this. I had the money saved but priorities dictated I spend the cash I had on hand. Business has been slow. :( I'll start saving again after the new year. :)

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daus26
Sunday, December 18, 2011 @ 9:53:35 AM

Same here. I was gonna get it on day one, but it would seem I need to get a laptop first. The price of the memory cards also somehow affected my decision because I wanted at least 8 gigabytes, but that can run me over 300 dollars with tax and all that.

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Metal Head
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 8:28:23 PM
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Vita is a great piece of hardware,but without software is a waste of money. Sony needs to release a firmware to allow us to download and play our already own PS1 disc games on the Vita. Otherwise I'm gonna have to wait till it builds a good library. PS1 games play and look better on a smaller screen.

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TheAgingHipster
Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 9:20:02 PM

That's a good idea. I'm already buying one, but if I were on the fance, that would push me over.

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Fane1024
Sunday, December 18, 2011 @ 1:27:33 AM

"...Vita also has the benefit of two dozen launch titles, the biggest launch lineup of any PlayStation device in history."

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Neo_Aeon666
Monday, December 19, 2011 @ 8:21:20 AM

That won't happen at least not for free EVER. Why? Because people are not honest and would take advantage of it. Lending your game copy to a friend so he can upload to his vita and so on. And I am not sure about it looking good on the Vita's screen. It looked good on the PsP but that was because the resolution was also much smaller. Vita is near HD resolution so it would still look like crap...

And like Fane said Vita has a huge launch lineup already. With over a 100 titles in the first 6 months or something. I do not think I will ever play a regular psp game on it... Maybe some Disgaea lol but I'll probably only want to play games that have trophies haha
Last edited by Neo_Aeon666 on 12/19/2011 8:23:41 AM

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___________
Sunday, December 18, 2011 @ 1:05:31 AM
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not exactly surprising, you could re launch the tammagochi and there would be a line down the corner, round the street, up to the moon, and back!
never understand japan, i mean this IS the country where you can buy underwear, yes freaking underwear in vending machines!
more interesting to see how it does outside the crazy land.
in other words its not exactly surprising to see the sheep follow the Sheppard off the cliff!

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Kai200X
Sunday, December 18, 2011 @ 8:55:39 PM
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I can't wait for PSV to be release here in NA. I admit I don't play my PSP often enough, but I think all that will soon change.

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