Those hoping to get their hands on the PlayStation Vita some time this year are unfortunately going to be a little disappointed because Sony has changed their launch plans for the handheld. The change made is that, rather than the PlayStation Vita being available “starting at the end of 2011” it will be only available in Japan by the end of 2011. This news comes out of an AP report saying that SCEI Charman Kaz Hirai would not be able to make the holiday window release for North America and Europe and instead would be released in these regions during the early part of 2012.
Hirai also said that the PS Vita would not be seeing a lower price to compete with Nintendo’s 3DS price drop. The reasoning for this he says, is because Sony “packed so much into the device and made it very affordable,” and that “there is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price.” This means that the PS Vita will still be selling at $249 for a normal version, and a 3G enabled one for $299.
