Sony unveils next-gen portable device

Sony has taken the wraps off its next generation portable gaming machine, PlayStation Vita, a touch-interface and motion-sensitive handheld that outdoes its workhorse PlayStation Portable and will go on sale within months.

Company executives have called the device Sony's biggest product launch since the PlayStation 3 five years ago.

The device will allow gamers to be connected with one another over mobile phone networks and Wi-Fi hotspots, and use GPS location-tracking technology. In the US, Sony is partnering exclusively with AT&T for mobile phone service.

The device, available for $US249 for its Wi-Fi-only version, was unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video game industry's annual convention known as E3. A version that will also have mobile phone service will retail for $US299, and buyers will have to subscribe to a data plan.

The handheld has front and back cameras, a touchscreen in front, a touch pad on the back and two knob-like joysticks.

It will enable gamers to play against people using PlayStation 3 consoles over the internet-based PlayStation Network, a system that was recently restored after being shut down due to a massive hacking attack.

Sony apologised again for the outage and said since the network was restored, activity is back to 90 per cent of the pre-attack level.

The hardware comes with an accelerometer, which means it will also react to being held at different angles and being moved through the air.

"PlayStation Vita will revolutionise the portable entertainment experience," Kazuo Hirai, president and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, told a crowd of 6000 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

"The whole world is really in play."

The Vita is slightly bigger than the PlayStation Portable, which has sold more than 70 million units worldwide since its launch in 2004. The PSP will continue to be sold along with new games.

But the Vita - code-named "NGP,"or next generation portable, until Monday - will enable gamers to do more.

A Sony staffer demonstrated a version of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, in which he used the familiar buttons and knobs but also touched the screen to move the Drake avatar across ledges and attack opponents in close combat.

Another game called Reality Fighters will allow users to take a picture and have fighting characters battle each other using objects from the real world.

Along with social games and email, Sony also unveiled a communication service it called Party that will enable voice and text chat during games or when using the web browser.

Users will also be able to sense when other gamers are nearby, what games they have played recently, and enable in-game gifting of virtual items.

Sony was the latest technology company to make a big bet on connected-everywhere services, following Apple's presentation on Monday in San Francisco of its iCloud storage service, which will allow consumers to access their photos, music and documents on distant servers.

"Cloud is where everything is headed," said Ricardo Torres, editor-in-chief of GameSpot.com.

"This is certainly the attempt by Sony to make sure they're not left behind."

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