MotorStorm RC races to PS Vita and PSN

The PlayStation Vita release is three months away, and its launch will bring a number of familiar Sony franchises like Uncharted and Wipeout. This latest announcement may not quite make the new handheld's launch, but it will bring another Sony franchise into the mobile mix.

Sony today announced MotorStorm RC for the PS Vita and PSN, a spin-off set to shrink the Sony off-road racing series down to handheld-friendly, radio-controlled size. Developed by series creator Evolution Studios, MotorStorm RC will deliver 16 different tracks set in four familiar environments, with many of the vehicle types from previous games making a return.

MotorStorm RC will be a "Pay once, Get both" game, so players need to buy only one version to gain access to the game on both the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita. The different versions will be interoperable, but the PS3 version will offer a four-player split-screen mode. Other features, like the Pitwall--which lets players track challenges and friends' activity--will be accessible in both versions.

This is not the first Sony racing franchise to spawn an RC-based spin-off. Twisted Metal was treated to its own diminutive iteration in 2001's Twisted Metal Small Brawl on the original PlayStation.

MotorStorm RC is set to hit the PSN and PS Vita in spring 2012. Pricing has not yet been revealed.