UK Release Of PS Vita Slim Confirmed, New Model Priced Around £180

Sony confirmed today that the PlayStation Vita Slim will launch in the UK on Friday, February 7th tethered with a suggested retail price of £180. The cheaper, lighter hardware, which was originally unveiled at Tokyo Game Show in 2013, has not been confirmed for other territories at this time, with the company stating that the device will be introduced on a region-by-region basis.

The PlayStation Vita 2.0 — or, technically speaking, the PCH-2000 model — is a streamlined version of the company’s gaming handheld. In fact, the PlayStation Vita Slim is 15% lighter and 20% slimmer than the current model and also boasts 1GB of built-in memory. What’s more, the second iteration also forgoes the OLED display in favour of a standard, five-inch LCD screen.

Elsewhere on the specs sheet, the revised handheld will come supplied with a micro USB charging cable, as opposed to the proprietary charger that came bundled with the PCH-1000. As such, users can expect a small performance boost which extends the battery life by up to an hour off the charge. As expected, though, only the standard black model will be available in the UK from next week.

Though the pricing is a little contentious considering that the current PlayStation Vita is available for £169 — a promotion that also includes Sony’s Mega Pack game collection and a 16GB memory card— it’s worth keeping in mind that £180 is merely a suggested price point. It’s likely that retailers will undercut Sony’s initial RRP when the PlayStation Vita Slim hits the United Kingdom on Friday, February 7th.

What do you think of the announcement? Are you disappointed that Sony remained hush-hush on a potential release date for North America? Or are you more irked that the 64GB memory card remains exclusive to Japan? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.