Sony TGS press conference round-up: PS Vita to arrive December 17th in Japan, 26 launch titles, PSP downloadable title support

Sony has announced the Japanese release date for its latest handheld gaming device, PS Vita, as December 17th, with pre-orders starting October 15th.

There has been no mention of a US or European release as yet, however.

The SECJ presser took place in the Roppongi district of Tokyo at 1pm Japanese time (5am UK time, bright and early this fair morning), giving Sony a chance to respond to Nintendo’s pre-TGS press conference with its own event.

Launch pad

SCEJ’s Hiroshi Kawano took to the stage to announce the Japanese PS Vita release date along with a hefty 26-title launch line-up.

While a lot of those titles will remain exclusive to Japan, of particular interest were the mentions of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, Dynasty Warriors Next, Gravity Daze, Metal Gear Solid HD Edition, FIFA and Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

Also mentioned were Everybody’s Golf 6, Ridge Racer, Michael Jackson: The Experience and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend. You can see the full list at the bottom of this article.

Kawano announced that 100 titles will be made available for the PS Vita within its launch window, though just how long that window might last is anyone's guess.

There will be 31 playable games at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Tokyo for this week’s Tokyo Games Show, so we can expect a lot more news to arrive in the next couple of days.

Also of note during the Sony conference was the announcement that PS Vita will support around 600 downloadable PSP titles from launch, enabling gamers to get to grips with their old faves with the Vita’s two analogue sticks. Monster Hunter, we’re looking at you.

Square-Enix revealed during the conference that it is currently working on a HD remake of Final Fantasy X, for both PS Vita and PS3.

It also announced dates for its upcoming Final Fantasy Type-0 for PSP and Final Fantasy XIII-2 for PS Vita, along with two new titles: Lord of Apocalypse and Army Corps of Hell.

MGS HD Kojima-llection

Japanese game designer, genius, and Twitter enthusiast Hideo Kojima also took to the stage in order to announce his company’s plans for the new handheld.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will feature MGS2: Sons of Liberty and MGS3: Snake Eater from PS2, and will be capable of syncing your old save games from home console to handheld.

Fan favourite Zone of the Enders (ZOE) will also get the HD collection treatment, replete with backwards PS2 console syncing capabilities.

While we were aware of Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker HD's forthcoming arrival, (November 11th in Japan), we didn't know that Kojima has begun work on a top secret project for PS Vita. Kojima said he is the chief designer of the new game, but was reluctant to reveal owt else, the cheeky swine.

Here’s the full 26-title long release list, though don’t expect to see all these reach European or North American shores.

BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend
Arc System Works

Project NOELS
Arc System Works (Download Only)

Browser Sangokushi Touch Battle
AQ Interactive

Fish On
Kadokawa Games

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
Capcom

Dynasty Warriors Next
Tecmo Koei

F1 2011
Codemasters

Army Corps of Hell
Square Enix

Lord of Apocalypse
Square Enix

Shinobido 2
Spike

Power Smash 4
Sega

Uncharted: Chizu Naki Bouken no Hajimari (Golden Abyss)
Sony

Sawari Ma Kuru
Sony

Minna to Issho
Sony

Hot Shots Golf 6
Sony

Yuusha no Kiroku
Sony

Monster Radar
Sony Marketing

@field
Sonic Powered

Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru
ChunSoft

Dream Club Zero Portable
D3 Publisher

Nico Nico
Dwango

Disgaea 3 Return
Nippon Ichi

Katamari Damacy No Vita
Namco Bandai

Ridge Racer
Namco Bandai

Dark Quest
Ubisoft