Sony may start referring to its next handheld system as the Playstation Vita.
When it was introduced earlier this year, Sony called it the Next Generation Portable, or NGP. However, the company noted this was only a code name and likely not what it would be called when it came out by the end of 2011.
Now, as we start to approach the biggest video game trade show of the year, E3, what could ne its final name has been leaked. According to the website Gamespundit.com, which claims to have received information from an unnamed source, the device will be officially titled the Playstation Vita.
The new name is already drawing criticism from video game analysts and media, but there always seems to be a backlash when new console names are announced (see: Wii, Gamecube, Xbox 360).
That being said, it’s not unheard of for a device to go through a couple different code names before a final one is announced. It is still several months before the new Sony gadget hits the manufacturing plants, so clearly nothing is set in stone yet.
It would be a departure for Sony to come up with a brand new name. Many had expected that any sort of new handheld would just be called the PSP2, given the history of names for Sony’s home consoles.
TG Daily will be at Sony’s E3 media briefing on June 6, where we are sure to see many more details about what we can only refer to for now as the PSP’s successor.
