Sony announces new version of PlayStation Vita hardware

Sony has announced plans to release a new revision of its PlayStation Vita hardware to the Japanese market next month, as part of its pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference.

The new model will reportedly be 20 percent thinner and 15 percent lighter, will include 1GB of built-in memory, and will provide an additional hour of battery life--for a total run time of six hours of use. The new model appears to abandon the previous model's OLED screen in favour of a 5-inch LCD.

The new model (PCH-2000) will be available in six colours: pink, white, brown, light blue, black, and yellow. Sony also announced plans to drop its proprietary PS Vita charger, moving to a more common micro-USB type. The company also announced that it would be reducing the costs of the entire range of its PS Vita Memory Cards, as well as introducing a larger-capacity 64GB model for 9,980 yen.

The new PlayStation Vita will be available from October 10 for 19,929 yen, including tax. No Western release dates were confirmed.