The latest handheld console from Sony is scheduled for launch in Europe tomorrow, the Playstation Vita was released in Japan at Christmas and the company claims that over half a million of the consoles have already been purchased.

The Playstation Vita will go head-to-head with the Nintendo 3DS, featuring a quad-core central processor and 5″ touchscreen display, although the market is becoming ever more competitive as the mobile gaming sector is being progressively more focused on gaming apps for smart phones. Two distinct models of the Vita are set to go on sale tomorrow, one having wi-fi connectivity as well as an enhanced model which also makes use of the 3G mobile system.

Following Nintendo’s launch of the 3DS model in 2011, product sales were weak, requiring the firm to reduce the price by 40% in spite of critical acclaim. It was only when game titles including Mario Kart were released that sales of the 3DS began to increase. By comparison, the Vita is going to have a variety of games offered at the time of release. Many will be full-price commercial games, although some will be third-party downloads coming in at less than £10. The Vita has received a generally favourable reaction from within the video gaming media