The PS Vita (also known as "PlayStation Vita" or "PSV") is a new generation portable handheld gaming console by Sony Computer Entertainment. The PlayStation Vita is the successor to the PlayStation Portable as part of the PlayStation band of gaming devices. There were certain things wanted right from the very beginning, and most of those have been incorporated into the PlayStation Vita. Along with the huge boost in processing power (something that would not have been possible when the PSP first came out), these new features make the PS Vita the powerhouse gaming handheld and multimedia device the PSP was meant to be.
"PlayStation Vita is an incredible device that offers the best possible portable gaming experiences. Its revolutionary mix of features combined with social connectivity, delivers a platform for gamers to play games in a whole new way and to connect with their friends and the world around them," said Tim Stokes, vice president (sales and planning), SCEE.
The device is fully backwards-compatible with PlayStation Portable games digitally released on the PlayStation Network via the PlayStation Store. However, PS One Classics and TurboGrafx-16 titles were not compatible at the time of the primary public release in Japan. The Vita's dual analog sticks will be supported on selected PSP games. The graphics for PSP releases will be up-scaled, with a smoothing filter to reduce pixelation.
Sony PlayStation Vita Features:
Design and Display: The PlayStation Vita looks quite similar to the PSP; however without any doubt the Vita is more impressive and elegantly designed. It sports a 5-inch OLED multi-touch capacitive touch screen, 24-bit color with a resolution of 960 × 540 qHD and has pixel density of 220 ppi.
Dual Analog Sticks: The one thing that most gamers complained about right from the PSP's first beginnings was its lone analog stick. First-person shooters are almost impossible (or at best, very awkward) without two sticks, and just about any game could benefit from a second stick to control the camera.
Touch Screen: One of the reasons Nintendo DS fans sometimes give for choosing the DS over Sony's PSP is the DS's touch screen. And these days, just about every cell phone and tablet has a touch-sensitive screen, so why not the PSP--or rather, the PSP's successor? Ages ago, a homebrew developer announced plans to produce a touch screen that could be retrofitted to the PSP, but it never materialized.
Camera: Some time ago, I speculated that since everything has a camera on it these days, it was kind of silly to want one on a PSP, too. Yet gamers did seem to want a PSP camera, enough so that Sony actually made an add-on one.
Motion Sensing: Motion sensing, or motion control, wasn't as big a concern among gamers as some of the other items on this list, but it was a popular enough idea that Datel produced their Tilt FX add-on to bring motion control to the PSP.
Real PS3 Integration: I have written a whole article on the subject, and it's not certain yet exactly how PS Vita-PS3 integration will actually play out, but it's a good bet it'll be better than PSP-PS3 integration.
Sony PlayStation Vita Specifications:
CPU: ARM® Cortex™- A9 core (4 core)
GPU: SGX543MP4+
External Dimensions: Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth)
Screen (Touch Screen): 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colors, OLED Multi touch screen (capacitive type)
Rear Touch Pad: Multi touch pad (capacitive type)
Cameras: Front camera, Rear camera
Sound: Built-in stereo speakers, Built-in microphone
Sensors: Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic compass
Location: Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi location service support
Keys/Switches: PS button, Power button, Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left), Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square), Shoulder buttons (Right/Left), Right stick, Left stick, START button, SELECT button, Volume buttons (+/-)
Wireless Communications: Mobile network connectivity (3G), IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1x1)(Wi-Fi)(Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode), Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP)
