OMG you guyz, it’s nearly Vita Time! Honestly, it really is exciting for us to see your reactions over Twitter and the blog comments. Most of you who have picked one up seem really happy with your purchase, and for those on the fence, we’ll still aim to answer as many questions about the device as we can (including in the comments – though please note that I’m out with the family today, I’ll check back tonight).

And for those of you who haven’t picked up a PS Vita yet, we’d be honored to have you join us at one of the Sony Store Midnight Launch Events this coming Tuesday night. Rey and I will be in New York, where the first 200 people who purchase a Vita will walk away with a free copy of ModNation Racers: Road Trip. If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there!

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of February 13, 2012)

• Sony PlayStation Vita Review: Beautiful, Expensive and Worth It – TIME.com
• Headshot – Uncharted 3 with Chris Lockey (Flashback Map Pack #1) – Machinima (YouTube)
• Escape Plan Review – PlayStation Vita Review at IGN
• Army Corps Of Hell Interview: How Goblins And Rock ‘n Roll Came To Vita – Siliconera
• What a Rush! Gravity Rush Impressions – Kotaku
• Army Corps of Hell: The Kotaku Review
• The Best Use of the Vita’s Rear Touch Panel So Far – Kotaku
• The Best PS Vita Accessory You Can Buy – PlayStation LifeStyle
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus Review – PlayStation Vita Review at IGN
• Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack Review – PlayStation Vita Review at IGN
• Interview: CC Sabathia and Adrian Gonzalez Talk MLB 12 The Show, Gaming, and the Upcoming Season – DualShockers
• Review: PlayStation Vita puts big-time gaming in the palm of your hand – Yahoo! Games
• Why Audio Matters In The Last Of Us – www.GameInformer.com
• Early adopters, rejoice! PlayStation Vita available now – CNET News
• Review: Uncharted Golden Abyss for PS Vita – TIME.com
• 2 Months Of Hype, 12 Hours Of Vita – Platform Nation
• Why Sony’s Shu Yoshida thinks the PlayStation Vita will kill it in the U.S. compared to Japan (interview) – VentureBeat
• How Sony’s Big Gamble With The PS Vita Will Lead Them To Victory – Forbes
• The Top 7… Signs that the Vita isn’t – GamesRadar
• Risk And Consequence: Combat In The Last Of Us – www.GameInformer.com
• Super Stardust Delta Review – Giant Bomb
• FIFA Soccer Review – GameSpot.com
• Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational Review – Push Square
• Uncharted: Golden Abyss Review – PlayStation Universe
• Review: Lumines: Electronic Symphony -Destructoid
• Rayman: Origins Review: Vita Version – Giant Bomb

I go through a sequence of phases when a big electronics product is announced. Starting with mild interest, I quickly transition into research mode where I find out everything I can about the device. By the time launch day rolls around, I’m worked into a frenzy and inevitably end up waiting in a line for midnight release. I’m Jeff Rubenstein, and I’m an early adopter. And I know that I’m not alone.

If you’re like me, please join us this coming Monday Tuesday night for Sony Store midnight launches in the following locations:

Towne Center at Boca Raton – Boca Raton, FL
Houston Galleria – Houston
Fashion Valley – San Diego
Century City Mall – Los Angeles
Valley Fair –  Santa Clara, CA
Flagship Sony Store – New York

It’s not a major gaming launch without a ritzy, glitzy New York launch event, and this one is open to you, the gaming public. We’ll start with the best part: the first 200 people to buy a PS Vita at our Sony Store event will get a free copy of ModNation Racers: Road Trip!

We’re flying in PS Vita development teams from around the country to meet and greet you, talk PS Vita games, and sign autographs. While you wait, hostesses will be bringing PS Vitas to you to play and enjoy. This will be the most fun line you’ve ever stood in!

The Sony Store is located at 550 Madison in Midtown New York, and the festivities start at 8pm!

So get there early — you *know* you want to be the gamer who gets handed the ceremonial First Vita from SCEA President and CEO Jack Tretton.

Live streaming by Ustream

If you see a white space above here – please refresh the page – you should then see the livestream. If you’re still having issues watching, please click here.

The PlayStation Vita: after over a year of hype, the first of us will get to take one home (or on a plane, train, submarine, or hot air balloon) this week. The Vita is more than just a shiny OLED screen and dual analog sticks; it’s a complex, cutting edge device, and we know you have questions about some of its finer points.

Over the weekend we took questions via Twitter, and today John Koller and I will be answering many of them and demoing features as appropriate. No smoke and mirrors, we’ll do it live!

And for those of you who think you already know everything there is to know about PS Vita, we’ll show a few other things to you for the first time. It all starts at 3pm Pacific/6pm Eastern, so see you then!

Good Sunday to you! With the PlayStation Vita releasing to the first North American consumers this Wednesday, we’d like to answer any lingering questions you may have about the device. So tomorrow at 3pm Pacific, I’ll be hosting a live PS Vita Q&A/demo session right here on the Blog. So if there’s anything you’d like to see demonstrated, or have any hardware or PSN-related questions, please Tweet them at us using the #PSVitaChat hashtag.

Even if you don’t have any questions to ask, we’ll be revealing some new details about Resistance Burning Skies, and maybe a few other things as well. See you tomorrow afternoon!

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of February 6, 2012

• Digital Foundry: PS3 Skyrim Lag Fixed? – Eurogamer.net
• First Impressions – PS Vita Launch Titles – PSNation.org
• Shuhei Yoshida Gives a Quick Last Guardian Update – 1UP
• Tons of New Mass Effect 3 Details – PS3 News at IGN
• The Making of Skyrim – PlayStation 3 Feature at IGN
• The Story And Environments Of The Last Of Us – www.GameInformer.com
• Quick Look: Jak & Daxter Collection – Giant Bomb
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review – Giant Bomb
• Watch 15 Whole Minutes Of Gravity Rush Play Footage – Siliconera
• You’ve Never Seen This Crazy-Ass SSX Footage – PlayStation 3 Preview at IGN
• The 7 Most Promising PlayStation Vita Launch Games – TIME.com
• Depressing-Ass Heavy Rain Makes for Some Good Stand-Up Comedy – Kotaku
• See How Well the Vita Plays With / Against the PlayStation 3 – Kotaku
• Hottest PlayStation Vita games for launch and beyond – Yahoo! News
• Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Uses PS Vita’s Rear Touchpad – G4tv.com
• Naughty Dog Almost Made A New Jak And Daxter – www.GameInformer.com
• Grand Slam Tennis 2 Review – PlayStation 3 Review at IGN
• Everything You Need to Know About Sony’s PlayStation Vita Launch – TIME.com
• The Last of Us to Boast Online Component – Push Square
• Why You Should Play Catherine – PlayStation 3 Feature at IGN
• Is More Than 200 Hours of Kingdoms of Amalur Too Much Reckoning?- Kotaku

PS Vita will begin making its way into gamers’ hands in just a few short days! Day one Vita owners will have many, many games to choose from, with 25 titles announced for launch on February 22nd. Actually, make that 26 — Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus is now a confirmed launch title as well.

If you’re being thorough, however, that number is off by a bit… like by 90%. Hundreds of classic PSP titles and minis will also be available to play on PS Vita on day one via the PlayStation Store. Even better, if you’ve already downloaded a compatible PSP title, you can download it directly onto your PS Vita at no extra cost (please note that some limitations do apply).

There are a couple of ways to get these PSP games onto your PS Vita:

• Purchase PSP games from PS Vita’s PlayStation Store and download via WiFi directly to your system. If you’ve already purchased a game via PSN from the list below, you can redownload it from the Download List.

• If you’ve already got one of these games sitting on your PS3 XMB (or have purchased from the PS3’s PlayStation Store), you can connect your PS Vita to the PS3 via the included USB cable, and transfer the game via PS Vita’s on-board Content Manager.

Here are the first 275 PSP titles ready to be downloaded onto PS Vita. Don’t worry if you don’t see your favorite title here now; more PSP titles will be made available for PS Vita play in the coming weeks. We’ll keep this list current and let you know when updates are made.

PSP Titles

PlayStation Minis

If you’re a fan of ninja games, PS Vita won’t leave you wanting – or waiting. The system’s upcoming launch will be supported by two ninja-centric titles: Shinobido 2 and Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, and I spent some time with the latter this weekend. NGS+ is an updated version of an early PS3 title, which itself was an enhanced version of an original Xbox game that debuted back in 2004. Despite some control choices which have clearly evolved over the past 8 years, the source material holds up pretty well in 2012.

Playing through the first few levels of the NGS+, memories from nearly a decade ago came flooding back to me: the placement of treasures, decapitating enemies with a single charged slash (hold down the triangle button to, um, execute), and the difficulty. The Ninja Gaiden series resides firmly in the “tough, but fair” challenge department. When you die – and you will – it’s usually not due to AI cheapness, but rather a mistimed block or a delayed dodge. That doesn’t mean the game can’t get frustrating, but when you prevail, the frustration melts into delicious satisfaction. For those having trouble, NGS+ adds Hero Mode, which helps automates some blocking and dodging to help you along. There’s no shame in it.

Ninja Gaiden was one of the best looking games around when it first debuted, and NGS+ still looks nice on PS Vita. While it doesn’t approach an Uncharted Golden Abyss level visually, it’s better looking on Vita’s OLED than an 8 year old game ought to look.

Tecmo’s Team Ninja has added a number of features to take advantage of the new Vita hardware, such as six axis arrow shooting and touchscreen prompts to enhance your Ninpo magic attacks. I had trouble adjusting to the new controls in first-person view, but fortunately, they’re optional.

The most significant addition to NGS+ is the new Ninja Challenge mode, a series of snack-sized trials can be completed in just a couple of minutes – geared toward gamers on the go. Each of these 76 missions provides a straightforward goal, such as clearing a certain amount of enemies, taking on a boss character, or engaging in a weapon-specific objective. This is also where you can use use alternate character Rachel, and try out new costumes and weapons that you might not have earned yet in the story mode.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma arrived on PS3 before the advent of PSN Trophies, so NGS+ is the first to incorporate the addictive baubles. I took a look at the Trophy list, and most of the rewards involve killing lots of dudes with each weapon, or by mastering techniques such as the powerful Izuna drop.

I can confirm that Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus is no longer a “launch window” title – it’ll be ready for launch day. If you’re picking up a PS Vita on February 22nd, or are looking for a primer for the upcoming Ninja Gaiden 3, you should give Ryu Hayabusa’s first modern adventure a look.

Most people have their Super Bowl plans locked up by now (I’ve got a rack of ribs with my name on it), but what about tomorrow? If you’re in the SoCal area, why not head on down to the Santa Monica Vita Hill Social Club for our (free) Tester Season 3 launch party. You can compete with Tester participants, meet host Meredith Molinari (she’s sweet!) and the judges, as well as my coworker Will “68 Platinum Trophies” Powers. And, you know, play some PS Vita. Click here for details.

Oh, and: Giants or Patriots? As an Eagles fan, I find the whole thing very depressing. Pass me another rib.

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of January 30, 2012)

• A Few Questions With Yoshinori Ono – Giant Bomb
• Is More Than 200 Hours of Kingdoms of Amalur Too Much Reckoning?- Kotaku
• The PlayStation Network Joins SEN – PS3 News at IGN
• PlayStation Move Mayhem Bundle for PlayStation 3 ($80.00 off) – Best Buy
• Game of Thrones’ site is overflowing with new content – Destructoid
• Escape Plan screens feature leather sheep beasts – Destructoid
• Wow: Check out these Gravity Daze whiteboard drawings – Destructoid
• How to Kick Ass in Starhawk – IGN
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 gets new Ability Cards, new trailer for Vita – Joystiq
• Playable Vita demo units now at Gamestop – Joystiq
• Game|Life Podcast: Twisted Metal Maestro David Jaffe Speaks Out – Wired
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review – IGN
• Final Fantasy XIII-3: Next In Line? – IGN
• Uncover The Origins of Uncharted’s Inspiration – PlayStation LifeStyle
• New Story Details Revealed for Sumioni: Demon Arts on the Vita – PSNation.org
• Vita games will be cheaper when downloaded – Shacknews.com
• The 25 Best Video Game Coffee Table Books – Complex
• Exclusive First In-Game Screenshots Of The Last Of Us – www.GameInformer.com
• Army Corps of Hell Preview for Vita – 1UP.com
• Ten FTW – Top 10 Playstation Network Games – Machnima (YouTube)

Finally – games are coming out again! This Tuesday brings us some high-profile new releases, including Final Fantasy XIII-2 (find a couple of reviews below). You’ll be able to find the week’s entire release list (retail and digital) right here later on today.

Don’t forget: if you’re in the Bay Area, please join us on Thursday for David Jaffe’s Twisted Metal tournament at Mezzanine.

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of January 23, 2012)

• A Fast-Paced Tour Of Final Fantasy XIII-2 Battles – Siliconera
• Vita’s Mutant Blobs Attack has a silly credits theme – Destructoid
• Best Buy stores getting PS Vita demo units – Destructoid
• Review: Final Fantasy XIII-2 – Destructoid
• Don’t Play Gravity Rush Out In Public – Siliconera
• Sony Speaks Out on its Relationship With Insomniac – PlayStation 3 News at IGN
• Lumines: Electronic Symphony includes bonus MP3s at Amazon – Joystiq
• Remembering the best JRPG ever – Joystiq
• Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review – PlayStation 3 Review at IGN
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review in Progress – PlayStation 3 Feature at IGN
• The 12 Best Games For the PlayStation 3 – Kotaku
• Preview: The philosophies of Street Fighter X Tekken – Destructoid
• Exclusive Interview with Naughty Dog Co-Founder Jason Rubin – Vivid Gamer
• Here’s a new batch of screenshots for Disgaea 3 on Vita – Destructoid
• BioWare ‘Didn’t do a Good Job’ for New Players in ME2 – PlayStation 3 News at IGN
• Ibb and Obb Gameplay Trailer Defies Gravity – PSNStores
• Battlefield 3 voice chat fix for PS3 is confirmed – patch coming soon – VentureBeat
• ScaryGirl Review – PlayStation 3 Review at IGN
• MLB 12 The Show Hands On – PS Move and PSVita – PSNation.org
• Top 10 Reasons I Am Excited For The Vita – DrGamerDad
• Vita Games We Want to See – G4tv.com
• The 10 most anticipated PlayStation Vita games – Digital Trends
• PS Vita: the inside story – guardian.co.uk
• Thumbs Up, Proprietary Bullshit Down | Product Reviews – Wired.com
• The Best-Selling PSN Games Of 2011 – www.GameInformer.com

Finally – games are coming out again! This Tuesday brings us some high-profile new releases, including Final Fantasy XIII-2 (find a couple of reviews below). You’ll be able to find the week’s entire release list (retail and digital) right here later on today.

Don’t forget: if you’re in the Bay Area, please join us on Thursday for David Jaffe’s Twisted Metal tournament at Mezzanine.

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of January 23, 2012)

• A Fast-Paced Tour Of Final Fantasy XIII-2 Battles – Siliconera
• Vita’s Mutant Blobs Attack has a silly credits theme – Destructoid
• Best Buy stores getting PS Vita demo units – Destructoid
• Review: Final Fantasy XIII-2 – Destructoid
• Don’t Play Gravity Rush Out In Public – Siliconera
• Sony Speaks Out on its Relationship With Insomniac – PlayStation 3 News at IGN
• Lumines: Electronic Symphony includes bonus MP3s at Amazon – Joystiq
• Remembering the best JRPG ever – Joystiq
• Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review – PlayStation 3 Review at IGN
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review in Progress – PlayStation 3 Feature at IGN
• The 12 Best Games For the PlayStation 3 – Kotaku
• Preview: The philosophies of Street Fighter X Tekken – Destructoid
• Exclusive Interview with Naughty Dog Co-Founder Jason Rubin – Vivid Gamer
• Here’s a new batch of screenshots for Disgaea 3 on Vita – Destructoid
• BioWare ‘Didn’t do a Good Job’ for New Players in ME2 – PlayStation 3 News at IGN
• Ibb and Obb Gameplay Trailer Defies Gravity – PSNStores
• Battlefield 3 voice chat fix for PS3 is confirmed – patch coming soon – VentureBeat
• ScaryGirl Review – PlayStation 3 Review at IGN
• MLB 12 The Show Hands On – PS Move and PSVita – PSNation.org
• Top 10 Reasons I Am Excited For The Vita – DrGamerDad
• Vita Games We Want to See – G4tv.com
• The 10 most anticipated PlayStation Vita games – Digital Trends
• PS Vita: the inside story – guardian.co.uk
• Thumbs Up, Proprietary Bullshit Down | Product Reviews – Wired.com
• The Best-Selling PSN Games Of 2011 – www.GameInformer.com

We were humbled this week by the massive turnout at this week’s Vita Social Club meetups. We had never held more than one in a week, and here we were in five cities over two days, and close to 1500 of you turned out. That was awesome, especially considering the conditions in places like Chicago, where it was really damn cold!

If you weren’t able to make it out to one of our grand opening events last week, fear not, as we’re open in eight cities through launch. Click here for details. We’re also in the planning stages of four more events – look for details here soon.

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of January 16, 2012)

• I Cannot Wait to Replay Jak and Daxter – PlayStation 3 Preview at IGN
• Bethesda Outlines Skyrim Patch 1.4 – PlayStation 3 News at IGN
• Momiji Returns For Ninja Gaiden 3 (And Do Ninjas Carry Machine Guns?) – Siliconera
• New screenshots for Vita game Dynasty Warriors Next – Destructoid
• Collect The Debts of the Dead in Yakuza: Dead Souls – Giant Bomb
• Mortal Kombat Brutalizing Vita This Spring – Wired.com
• How to Create an Entire Religion – PlayStation 3 Feature at IGN
• Daxter And Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror Coming To A Sony Tablet Near You – Siliconera
• In Which the Lord of Hell Accidentally Takes a Bus to Michigan – Kotaku
• Preview: Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen – Destructoid
• Irrational Would Love it if You’d Party With BioShock Infinite’s New ’1999 Mode’ – Giant Bomb
• UNCHARTED 3 mention in Spider-man – Twitter
• PlayStation Vita Hill Social Club Takes Over NYC – DualShockers
• 27 ways Uncharted: Golden Abyss uses the Vita’s unique controls – GamesRadar
• Why WipEout 2048 Is The Vita’s System Seller – TheSixthAxis.com
• For wider appeal, PlayStation Vita can do non-gaming apps like Twitter and Flickr – VentureBeat
• Sony Partners With Playboy Cyber Girl Jo Garcia To Make PlayStation Vita More Sexy – Forbes
• Growlanser: Wayfarer Of Time Coming to North America On PSP Courtesy of Atlus - PSNation.org
• The Top PSP and PS Vita Games of 2012 – 1UP.com
• Post Mortem: Uncharted 3 – PlayStation 3 Feature at IGN
• A Glimpse Behind The Scenes Of PixelJunk SideScroller – PSNStores
• Say Hello to My Little Friend – The PS Vita – The Digital Den
• Six million LittleBigPlanet user levels created; here are some of the best – VentureBeat