PS Vita release date set for 2012 in the US, Europe, still launching in 2011 in Japan

Written by Matt Swider on August 04, 2011

PS Vita News: You can't really call it a delay: PlayStation Vita still launches in 2011 in Japan, but 2012 in US and Europe.

The release date for PlayStation Vita is now 2012 in USA and Europe

That time we got to spend demoing the PlayStation Vita at E3 2011? We're going to have to savor it. Sony just announced that the US and European release date for PS Vita will fall into 2012 territory. While this news isn't surprising, it's certainly disappointing for gamers who were looking to get their hands on Sony's PSP successor before the end of the year.

Technically, we can't go around calling this Уa delay.Ф In June, SCEA President Jack Trentton said that the handheld would go on sale before the end of the year. However, we never confirmed the scope of that 2011 launch. It turns out that Japan will be the one and only country receiving Vita in the next four months, as the 2011 release time frame is still on in Sony's home territory.

PSP had a similar 2004 launch breakdown, when Sony's original handheld released on December 12, 2004 in Japan and March 24 and September 1, 2005 in North America and Europe, respectively. Since those late 2004 and early 2005 launches, PSP has sold 70 million units worldwide. In this new decade, iOS and other mobile devices threaten Sony's share of the handheld market, but Nintendo's sluggish 3DS sales may give the company an edge with core gamers who are looking for more robust games on the go.

We'll just have to wait - a little bit longer than we were hoping for - to see how it plays out.