European PS Vita Box Revealed, Launch Apps Detailed

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PlayStation Vita won’t be launching in North America and Europe until sometime in 2012, but I know you’re anxious to see what kind of box the Vita is going to come in. After all, you’re going to be staring at the box the whole way home, so it better be pretty. Luckily, the European PlayStation Blog has revealed what it’ll look like and it makes me happy to report that this box is the coolest console box I’ve ever seen.

Of course, the fact of the matter is that this is just a box, and you’re going to rip it to shreds as soon as you walk through the door of your home. Because of this, it doesn’t really matter what the PlayStation Vita’s box look like, but there’s already many around the internet offering their scathing critiques on things like the color scheme. Would we expect anything less from the internet? Sadly, no.

In any case, while the box may provide the header image for this post, it’s far from the meat and potatoes. The European PlayStation Blog also revealed (and breifly described) the apps that will be installed on the PlayStation Vita when it launches. Have a look, won’t you?

• Welcome Park – We invite you to the Welcome Park to explore and discover all of the brilliant features packed into PS Vita through a series of mini-games.
• Party – Fancy a chat while you’re gaming? Speak with your friends anytime you like with Party. The voice and text chat application allows you to talk to up to eight party members, no matter what you’re doing.
• PlayStation Store - A direct link to PlayStation Store where you will be able to download all PS Vita games, trailers, DLC and apps.
• Group Messaging - Another great way to contact your PlayStation Network friends is with a PSN Message. Send them an update or even a picture you’ve taken with your PS Vita to let them know what’s going on.
• Photos - PS Vita allows you to capture photos and this is the direct link to the camera and also the photo viewer application.
• Near - An exclusive location based gaming network for PS Vita. With near you can stay connected to all of your PlayStation Network friends and make new ones by sharing information about yourself, based on your location. Press the Update button and find new people based on where you are, challenge them to games or play cooperatively and enjoy a completely unique gaming experience on PS Vita.
• Trophies - PS Vita games will support Trophies and this app will store and track your Trophies earned on both PS Vita and PS3. It also allows you to compare your Trophies with your friends.
• Music - A music player that will allow you to play your own tunes transferred to PS Vita via a computer or PS3.
• Friends - Your Friends List will allow you to search and keep in touch with your PSN Friends. Click on a friend’s profile to see what game they are playing on either PS Vita or PlayStation 3. You can join their game, take a look at what you’ve played together recently or compare your trophy collections.
• Internet Browser - With the 5″ OLED Touchscreen, PS Vita will offer a great web browsing experience over Wi-Fi and 3G.

So there you have it. While we can’t confirm that these same apps will launch with the PlayStation Vita in North America, there probably won’t be much of a difference between regions. A more in depth description of some of the apps can be found over at the European PlayStation Blog, and be sure to keep it tuned here to TFTS for more information about the PlayStation Vita and its launch!