Sony will launch the Playstation Vita tonight

JAPANESE HARDWARE GIANT Sony is hours away from launching its latest handheld games console, the Playstation Vita.

The Playstation Vita is Sony's follow-up to the Playstation Portable (PSP). The Nintendo 3DS rival will go on sale tonight at midnight across the UK.

As expected, Game is promoting its midnight launch of the handheld console at its store on Oxford Street in London. Every customer will get a £5 Playstation Network voucher, and the first 100 customers in the queue will get tickets to a party around the corner.

However, Game's Playstation Vita prices are among the highest at £229 for the WiFi version and £279 for the 3G version. Asda on the other hand has the cheapest deals, with the WiFi model priced at £197 and the 3G at £259. Furthermore, you can knock £100 off this price by trading in a Nintendo 3DS.

The Vita comes with a 5in OLED touchscreen, a touch sensitive rear panel, dual analogue joysticks and six-axis motion control. It's powered by an ARM Cortex A9 processor.

Liz Hosmer, manager of video games at Amazon.co.uk said, "14 of the top 20 positions in our video games pre-order chart are held by the PlayStation Vita console, games and accessories, which clearly illustrates the level of excitement that we are seeing around the product."

Amazon's prices are competitive, starting at £209, which includes an 8GB memory card and £15 off a Vita game. HMV has a price of £219 for the WiFi model, which includes a free copy of Unchartered Golden Abyss or Fifa Football.

We've had the Playstation Vita in for review and scored it an eight out of 10, so take a look if you're not sure whether you want to invest in Sony's latest offering. µ