Sony Began PlayStation Vita 2000 Development Right After Original Vita Launch

With the PlayStation Vita 2000, the new thinner, lighter and less costly Vita set to be released in a week’s time in Japan, Sony has begun to talk more openly about the new portable console. As a quick recap, the PS Vita 2000 offers all the same functionality as the original Vita and will be sold along side the original model. While the new Vita will be offered in an array of colors and features a 15% lighter and 20% thinner design with better battery performance, it does lack an OLED display with Sony opting to use a traditional LCD. These combinations have allowed Sony to also after the Vita 2000 at a lower price. The new Vita also offers 1GB of internal memory. According to Sony, development on the new Vita began right after the launch of the original PS Vita.

This project got its start out of an effort to make the current PS Vita thinner and lighter, attracting more gamers without affecting the game experience. In addition to people who’re already using PS Vitas, we were also targeting new users here. The design plan for this has been around since just after the launch of the current Vita, but real development didn’t begin until the spring of 2012.

With the PlayStation Vita commanding a premium design and a premium price tag, Sony wanted the Vita 2000 to feel more accessible, both in terms of price, design, and out of the box functionality.

The current Vita presents this sort of high-class look with its coloring, but we wanted the new Vita to be accessible by anyone, regardless of age or gender. So I discussed things with the designers, trying to come up with casual, yet fresh and unique colors we could use. The colors have been pretty basic up to now, but the new Vita is trying to change that image by taking a different approach to coloring.

The PlayStation Vita 2000 will be released in Japan on October 10th. Sony has yet to reveal plans for the new edition beyond Japan but seeing how most of the world gets the PS4 before Japan, we think it’s fair that they get this one before us. In all likelihood, expect the console to hit the US in late Spring or next Fall.