Sony's PS Vita wants to gamify your life with social features [Video]

Living life in reality is so 2010. According to Sony's new handheld, the PlayStation Vita, all you need is a lather of game to spice things up. The handheld, poised for a Western release this month, will bring with it a host of social features that look to ensure that it never leaves your side. While we wouldn't consider this a "social gaming revolution," some features sound neat-o.

Take one of the Near (the Vita's location-based social app) additions to Wipeout 2048, the futuristic racing launch game for the console, for instance. Players can "drop" game challenges on specific geographic locations. When other players walk into those challenge locations, they can download the challenge and send their score automatically to the player that posted it.

Despite some seriously intriguing social features--many of which inspired by the social and mobile game world--and a strong launch lineup, the PS Vita isn't doing so hot, at least in Japan. Perhaps it's the $250 to $300 price tag or those pricey proprietary memory cards. We'll see whether nifty bullet points like Near are enough to look past the costs after February 22.

[Via Kotaku]

Do you plan on picking up a PS Vita? What do you think of the upcoming handheld's social features? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.