When Sony's Next Generation Portable was officially unveiled as the PlayStation Vita at the E3 Expo in June, we more or less expected that Australia wouldn't see the device until some time next year, but now Sony have confirmed that European and North America markets will be left waiting.

The rumour-mill was running full-steam at a probable October release for the device in the USA, as news that the Vita had received FCC approval came in. Managing our expectations however, Sony Executive Vice President Kaz Harai has now confirmed that while the Vita will be ready for Christmas 2011 in Japan, North American and European markets won't be launched until "early 2012".

According to an associated press report, Harai also expressed commitment to the Vita's announcement pricing, despite the recent significant drops of the Nintendo 3DS

"We packed so much into the device and made it very affordable," Hirai told reporters at Sony's Tokyo headquarters. "There is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price."

No official price points have still been confirmed for the Australian market, however we've been told to expect them to be equivalent to European pricing. The announcement prices are USD$249, EUR$249, GBP$229 or JPY$24,980 for the Wifi only version and USD$299, EUR$299, GBP$279 or JPY$29,980 for the 3G-enabled model.