Sony TGS News Roundup: New PS3, PSPlus Vita and More

Sony’s pre-Tokyo Games Show conference wrapped up earlier this morning, and they have announced some interesting tidbits.

First of all is yet another PS3 redesign, this one even slimmer than the original slim. This new design is half the weight and size of the original PS3 and available in black or white. It is also top loading, and comes in various configurations. Curiously, in Europe they are making a 12 Gigabyte Flash Memory model, which they claim will take a hard drive using an official mounting bracket but that apparently blocks off the Flash Memory. Given that the PS3 has quite a lot of mandatory installs, this version seems unviable but we will wait and see. It is looking to be priced about the same price as a current Slim with at least 200GB, so we’ll see how many takers it gets. There’s also a standard 250GB and 500GB version to come in only a few weeks time which you will look to pay at least £250 for, so if you need a new PS3, maybe it’s time to consider the upgrade for Christmas.

Next up is an announcement (finally) of when Playstation Plus, Sony’s subscription service which offers you a collection of games to play as part of the package, as well as discounts on specific releases, will come to Vita. The answer is November. The main plus point is for existing members of the service, as it will be expanded to Vita at no extra cost, allowing users to reap rewards for both consoles at the same price, which is a smart move. It will also provide cloud storage for Vita saves.

As well as these larger announcements, a trailer for God Eater 2 was shown, which will now find it’s home on Vita. There was also the announcement of Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the cult Wii game, on Vita in Japan, but no signs or expectations of a western release just yet.

There’s also the prospect of new Vita colours in Japan of red and blue flavours, but again no current sign of them coming over here.

Once again currently only for Japan, a Reader app was announced for Vita which offers a collection of manga to be read on the system, and the system’s screen seems perfect for such an application, so hopefully this one will see light of day here.