Sony’s PlayStation Vita was released around a year ago now, and the console has become a haven for fans of Japanese games. Fantastic games that Vita owners have already started playing include Orgarhythm, Ragnarok Odyssey and Corpse Party 1 & 2. Other Vita games which were greatly enjoyed by the staff here at Oprainfall were Earth Defence Force 2017 Portable, Vblank’s Retro City Rampage, Let’s Fish! Hooked On developed by the kind people at Wired Productions (who even granted us an interview!) and of course, Atlus’ wonderful remake of the PS2 classic, Persona 4 Golden.
There are plenty of games to look forward to as well. One of these is obviously Soul Sacrifice, which will get released in America on the 19th of April. Tearaway is a gorgeous little game set to be released later this year. Aksys games will soon be bringing us two more games for our playing pleasure, with XSEED doing the same.
Hopefully some time soon we’ll be hearing more localisation announcements for Vita games like Tales of Hearts R, the latest in the Legend of Heroes series, Phantasy Star Online 2 and several more games which at the moment don’t seem to be leaving Japan.
Today, at 5PM Japanese time, Sony held their very own Vita Heaven, an online presentation dedicated to the PlayStation Vita and trying to convince potential consumers that the Vita is indeed worth their time and money. It was hosted by SCEJ president Hiroshi Kawano. Let’s take a look at what was announced, shall we?
The price cut Sony were talking about last year is finally going to happen! From February 28th, the Vita will cost 19,980 yen, or $215 USD. There will also be a bonus PlayStation Vita pack. Costing 24,980 yen ($270 USD), it will also come with a 32GB memory card.
Vita users will also be getting a week of free access to Sony’s PlayStation Plus service, to be redeemed between February 28th and March 13th of this year. Uncharted, Ridge Racer Vita and four other titles will be available for free via this service.
Phantasy Star Online 2 will be released for Japanese Vitas on February 28th. Those who would like to play this game for the Vita but don’t yet own one, don’t fret; Sony are going to be bringing out Ice Silver-coloured consoles bundled with the game to be let loose on its release day. The bundle will cost the same as a regular Vita console after the price drop; so, around $215 USD. I can’t wait to play this game in English!
Toukiden is an “action hunting” game from Tecmo Keoi coming to the PlayStation Vita. A demo will be coming to Japan in April, with the game itself getting a summer release.
Kawano had a chat with Comcept’s Keiji Inafune about Soul Sacrifice. Inafune spoke about how the Vita allows for easy development, and how he wanted the controls to be easy for the player so as not to frustrate them. This is only possible on the Vita, he claims. There will also be a special Soul Sacrifice Vita bundle to be released this year, at the price of 24,980 yen or $270 USD.
Valhalla Knights 3 got a lovely new trailer and will be out in Japan on the 23rd of May. Don’t worry about a Western release; XSEED have it covered, and it’ll be out in America this fall.
Legend of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki got a new trailer. It will be a 3D game packed with scenes full of action and a camera which can be controlled freely. In addition, it will have a great field of depth and Nihom Falcom have been careful to pay attention to detail in their work.
Gundam Breaker is a Namco Bandai game that allows you to create your own personal mobile suit Gundam. It will be released some time this year; no specific date was given.
God Eater 2 will be seeing a Japanese release some time this year. There was discussion about a new weapon and improved graphics relative to God Eater Burst. Between February 28th and the March 31st, data will be able to be transferred between God Eater Burst and God Eater 2.
A pretty new trailer for Atlus’ Dragon’s Crown was shown. Thank goodness Atlus are bringing it over; it looks gorgeous. More information will be released sometime in March.
Final Fantasy X HD will be available for the Vita when it finally gets its release. An apology was made to fans regarding the 18-month wait for news on the game.
Finally, a trailer reel for a whole bunch of other games was shown.
You can find more information on the Vita price cut and some of its games here.
