All those Vita advertisements

With the February 22 launch of Sony’s brand new handheld, the PlayStation Vita, you’d think there would be more advertisements for it. With less than two weeks, I’ve yet to see a single TV, radio, magazine, or internet ad for it. In fact, the only advertisement I have seen is the Taco Bell promotion that gives away a free PlayStation Vita every 15 minutes (they aren’t).

In an interview with the New York Times, John Koller, senior director for Sony’s handheld consoles, said the company is spending $50 million on commercials, billboard, retail details, online banners, and social media including a Twitter campaign themed, “Never Stop Playing,” with the hashtag #gamechanger. Koller says the campaign is focused on brining “the largest platform launch in terms of marketing investment we’ve ever hand.

That would sound great, if their demographic wasn’t so niche. According to Koller, the target audience for the Vita is men in their 20s who play video games eight hours a week for more and own a PlayStation 3 console. The challenge that lies ahead for Sony is to overlap that market with those who already own other mobile or handheld devices, such as the iPhone or Nintendo 3DS, and pull them towards the PlayStation brand.

Is Sony Living La-Vita-Loca?

Since it was announced, Sony’s newest portable console has only officially been referred to using its code name Next Generation Portable, or NGP. It’s been commonly called the PSP2 by gamers alike, but it looks like the official name for the hand-held device could be the PS Vita.

Games Pundit discovered images of the portable console from an E3 fact sheet clearly showing a logo saying PS Vita. Vita is this case means new life, as in a new life from the old PSP brand.

More evidence suggesting PS Vita will be the new name of the portable console is the website vita.SCEdev.net. SCEdev.net is a domain registered to Sony’s UK branch and links to other product sites for the PS3, PSP, and NGP.

You can expect the official name and more games will be revealed during Sony’s E3 Press Conference on June 6.

New Sanctuary Relaunch

Today marks the official relaunch of New Sanctuary. You can now access this site through its new address: www.newsanctuary.net. You’ll also notice more feature articles in the next few weeks in addition to the news articles.

This time of the year is big for gaming. E3 is just around the corner and I’ll be there to cover as much as I can. I’ll be working with the Darth Hater crew so you can expect lots of news and coverage for Star Wars: The Old Republic. You’ll see coverage for other games including Dead Island, BioShock Infinite, Jurassic Park: The Game, Mass Effect 3, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

You’ll also see news coverage the big press conferences for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, where we’ll hear more about Sony’s NGP and Nintendo is expected to unveil its new HD-ready console.

There is a lot more content coming through the end of this year so be sure to make New Sanctuary your new home.

Sony Announces Next-Gen Portable, Coming This Holiday

Hot on the heels of Nintendo’s 3DS announcement last week, Sony held a press conference yesterday in Japan to announce their newest handheld device. Being referred to by its codename NGP (Next Generation Portable), the device was said to be available this holiday season, though a prices is still undetermined.