Slimmer, cheaper PS Vita on its way to the West

Newsbrief: Sony said today that its slimmer PS Vita model, originally unveiled and launched in Japan late last year, will now get a Western release at a cheaper price than the current Vita model. The PS Vita Slim will launch in the UK on February 7, with a price tag of £180 ($298) -- around £50 ($83) less than the price of the first model, according to Pocket-Lint. Gamasutra is waiting for confirmation that the device will also launch in the U.S. around the same time. The updated device comes with 1GB memory built-in, while the battery level has been expanded by one hour, and the handheld uses micro-USB. The Vita's OLED screen is gone, replaced with an LCD screen instead that is five inches, 16:9 aspect ratio, and multi-touch.