Sony PlayStation 4 to debut in Japan on Feb 22

SINGAPORE — Sony today (Sept 9) announced the Japan launch date for the long-awaited PlayStation 4 (PS4): Feb 22, 2012, three months after the Nov 15, 2013 launch date for North America and the Nov 29, 2013 launch date for Europe.

At the press conference, which was held in Tokyo and streamed worldwide on Sony’s PlayStation websites, Sony said that the delay was “due to the availability of contents”, pointing to the time needed to localise foreign content for the Japan market. This is to ensure the console is launched with sufficient games.

This arrangement marks a departure for Sony, which had traditionally launched their consoles in their home market of Japan first.

Sony said details for the PS4’s launch in Asia, including Singapore’s, will be announced on Sept 18, just before this year’s Tokyo Game Show to be held from Sept 19.

The PS4 will retail in Japan at ¥39,980 (S$510) for the basic set, and ¥43,980 for the set that comes with the PlayStation Camera. In comparison, the Microsoft Xbox One will be sold for US$499 (S$640) on Nov 22 in select North American and European markets.

Sony also announced the Sony Vita TV, a new tiny 6x10cm device that connects to your TV, at today’s announcement. The unit lets you play the Vita, PSOne classic and PlayStation Portable (PSP) games on your TV with a PlayStation controller. It also uses video streaming services. The ability to play PS4 games without being in the same room as the console will also come in a later update. The Vita TV will launch in Japan Nov 15 at the price of ¥9,480.

Sony also announced a new Wi-Fi-only PlayStation Vita, which will retail at ¥18,980. Calling it a more “casual or easy to use model”, the new Vita will have all the functions of the older Wi-Fi models, while being 20 per cent thinner and 15 per cent lighter. It will come in six different colours, and have 1GB of on-device storage, a “best-in-class” 5-inch HD screen and six hours of battery life. It will be released Oct 10 in Japan.

No international dates have been announced for both the Sony Vita TV and the new Playstation Vita.