With the PlayStation Vita launch in Japan last weekend and the PAL launch in February next year we hope your anticipation levels are building nicely.

Today we’re happy to bring you a couple of pieces of PS Vita news, starting with confirmation that your PlayStation Vita will come bundled with six AR Play Cards and a voucher code to download three AR games, all for free. Those games are called Table Football Cliff Diving and Fireworks. Augmented Reality is going to be a big part of the new gaming experiences PS Vita has to offer and you can get an idea of how in this video we shot for Inside Vita:

In other news, we can confirm that the recommended retail prices (RRP) for PS Vita game cards, that’s boxed copies of games that you buy from physical retailers. We have a fantastic line-up for launch available at a range of prices between €29.99 for exciting new IP’s that utilise the unique feature set of PS Vita and €49.99 to experience your favourite blockbuster PlayStation games in a brand new way.

Here’s how that breaks down:

• Uncharted: Golden Abyss – €49.99/£44.99/$69.95 AUD/$89.95 NZD
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip – €39.99/£34.99/$54.95 AUD/$69.95 NZD
• Everybody’s Golf – €39.99/£34.99/$54.95 AUD/$69.95 NZD
• WipEout 2048 – €39.99/£34.99/$54.95 AUD/$69.95 NZD
• Unit 13 – €39.99/£34.99/$54.95 AUD/$69.95 NZD
• Little Deviants – €29.99/£24.99/$39.95 AUD/$54.95 NZD
• Reality Fighters – €29.99/£24.99/$39.95 AUD/$54.95 NZD

PS Vita memory cards are available in three sizes and will be priced at the following:

• 4Gb Memory Card – €19.99/£17.99/$26.95 AUD/$34.95 NZD
• 8Gb Memory Card – €34.99/£31.99/$44.95 AUD/$59.95 NZD
• 16Gb Memory Card – €49.99/£44.99/$64.95 AUD/$84.95 NZD

And here are the peripherals that will be available at launch:

• AC adaptor – €9.99/£8.99/$12.95 AUD/$16.95 NZD
• Portable charger – €49.99/£44.99/$64.95 AUD/$84.95 NZD
• USB cable – €9.99/£8.99/$12.95 AUD/$16.95 NZD
• In-ear headset – €19.99/£17.99/$26.95 AUD/$34.95 NZD
• Starter kit – €24.99/ £21.99/$34.95 AUD/$44.95 NZD
• Travel kit – €29.99/ £25.99/$39.95 AUD/$49.95 NZD

That’s all for now! Stay tuned to PlayStation.Blog for more PlayStation Vita news and, for the best way to keep up to date sign up for Inside Vita and let the news come to you.

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The Studio brings to PlayStation a collection of Static and Dynamic Themes for PS3 and PSP from some of the world’s greatest artists to create one of the best showcases of digital art anywhere in the world and they are all available for you to download.

We have partnered with Studio Output, one of the world’s most tuned-in creative design and production companies, to help us curate The Studio collection and ensure only the finest offerings in everything from urban street art to illustration are included.

Here is an update of the latest Themes from The Studio that on the PlayStation Store.

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At the time of this blog post going live, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Studios Europe Michael Denny is closing his presentation to journalists at a PlayStation Vita event in London. We are pleased to share the news from that presentation with our PlayStation.Blog readers.

PS Vita Launch Line-up

We can confirm that the following first party games will be available on 22 February 2012, when PlayStation Vita launches across PAL:

• Uncharted: Golden Abyss
• WipEout 2048
• Reality Fighters
• Little Deviants
• ModNation Racers: Road Trip
• Everybody’s Golf
• Escape Plan
• Unit 13
• Hustle Kings
• MotorStorm RC
• Top Darts

Additionally, the following games are in development:

Army Corps of Hell, Square Enix; Asphalt: Injection, Ubisoft; Disgaea 3 Return, NIS America; Dungeon Hunter: Alliance, Ubisoft; Dynasty Warriors Next, Tecmo Koei; EA Sports FIFA Football, EA; F1 2011, Codemasters; Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7, WB Games; Lumines Electronic Symphony, Ubisoft; Michael Jackson: The Experience HD, Ubisoft; Ninja Gaiden (working title), Tecmo Koei; OddWorld: Strangers Wrath, OddWorld Inhabitants; Puddle, Neko Entertainment; Pure Chess, RebelPlay; Putty Squad Vita, System 3; Rayman Origins, Ubisoft; Ridge Racer, Bandai Namco; Shinobido 2, Bandai Namco; Silent Hill: Book of Memories, Konami; Stardrone Extreme, BeatShapers; Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz, SEGA; Supremacy MMA, 505 Games; Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, Drinkbox Studios; The Treasures of Montezuma Blitz, Alawar Entertainment; Touch My Katamari, Bandai Namco; Troopies, Bloober Team; Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom, Capcom; Urban Trials, Tate Multimedia; Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition, SEGA; Orc Attack, Casual Brothers; Ben 10 Galactic Racing, Bandai Entertainment; Dragon’s Racing, Ignition Entertainment; Robot Rescue Revolution, Teyon; Mortal Kombat, WB Games; Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft; Bioshock, Take Two; Street Fighter X Tekken, Capcom; Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard.

Unit 13 Coming from Zipper Interactive

It was revealed that the developer of MAG and the SOCOM series is working on a third-person shooter called Unit 13, to be released around the launch window of PS Vita. You can find more a more detailed description of the game in this blog post.

Evolution Studios’ MotorStorm RC Revealed

Yet another new title coming to PS Vita and PS3 and playable at today’s event, MotorStorm RC blends old-school remote control and contemporary racing gameplay. Cross Play lets PS Vita and PS3 players to compete. You can find out more in this announcement blog post from Evolution.

Social Essentials Shown

We learned that Flickr is joining Twitter, Facebook and FourSquare in Social Essentials, PS Vita’s gateway into the most popular social media channels, and they were available to test at the London event. We’ll be showing you exactly how to Like, Tweet, Tag and all the rest here on PlayStation.Blog soon.

Augmented Reality Markers

Augmented Reality is one of the directions open to PlayStation Vita developers and it was announced that six Augmented Reality markers will be available at launch, with three games available to download for free from PlayStation Store. To see how these are going to be used, we saw this AR technology video:

We hope this news gets you even more excited about PlayStation Vita and we can’t wait to hear what you think when you get your hands around it on 22 February 2012. In the meantime, we’re going to do our best to show you what it can do and hint at the possibilities for the future. If there’s anything you’d like to know, please do ask away in the comments.

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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) and Vodafone have today announced a partnership that will see Vodafone as the preferred provider of 3G connectivity for PlayStation Vita initially in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands, and with Vodafone’s Partner in France (SFR).

The PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi model sold in selected countries will come with a Vodafone SIM card so that users can immediately enjoy social gaming experiences on the go. Customers will also be able to buy PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi model direct from Vodafone channels, both online and in store. In addition, customers connecting with Vodafone will receive a PlayStation Network voucher to download WipEout 2048 from PlayStation Store.

“With social gaming and connectivity at the heart of PlayStation Vita it is important that we partner with a market leading network provider, to ensure users have a high quality 3G experience.” said Jim Ryan, President & CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. “Partnering with Vodafone will enable PS Vita users in the selected countries to always be connected with their PlayStation life, friends and games, wherever they are.”

“We want our customers to have the best choice of devices and PlayStation Vita is a great addition to our range,” said Patrick Chomet, Vodafone’s Group Terminals Director. “We know from our application downloads that games are hugely popular with our customers, so we’re delighted to be SCEE’s preferred connectivity partner for 3G Vita devices sold across Europe and other selected regional markets. Using the device over Vodafone’s high-performance network with extensive 3G reach and market leading download speeds brings a reliable ‘anywhere anytime’ dimension to gaming.”

PS Vita will be launching in PAL regions from 22nd February 2012. For more information visit eu.playstation.com/psvita

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Can’t wait for the next generation in portable entertainment? PlayStation Vita is due to launch in Europe on 22 February 2012, but you have the chance to take home a PS Vita system as early as December 2011 in this exclusive competition.

This revolutionary portable is launching in Japan on 17 December 2011 and you can be there for its spectacular arrival courtesy of Inside PS Vita. One lucky winner and their guest will receive:

• A flight out to Tokyo, Japan on 14 December 2011.
• Five nights accommodation in a central Tokyo hotel.
• Spending money.
• Entry to an exclusive PlayStation Vita launch event.
• A free PS Vita system.

What do you have to do to earn the chance of winning this incredible prize? Simply sign up for Inside PS Vita at eu.playstation.com/psvita before 1 December 2011. Not only will you be kept up to date with all of the latest PS Vita news, you’ll have an exclusive opportunity to enter the draw for this amazing event.

So, what are you waiting for – sign up for Inside PS Vita at eu.playstation.com/psvita now and be in with the chance of winning the trip of a lifetime.

Competition open to residents of Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, UAE and the United Kingdom

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