Yoshida: Vita "3G is our investment in the future"

The Vita's 3G connectivity may seem like something of a novelty now, but Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida says it future proofs-the portable.

"3G is our investment in the future. I hope some consumers will believe in that investment of their money for the future," Yoshida told IndustryGamers.

"These systems last many years, and we will upgrade firmware, add new features, but it's not easy to update hardware."

Yoshida admitted that Sony is still exploring how 3G might be used with a portable gaming system, but said there's no time like the present to find out.

"Unless we have the system in the market and developers can try things and get feedback from consumers..." he said.

"It takes years to experiment and find a new way to use it, but unless we start somewhere we cannot even experiment."

In the meantime, 3G does have one obvious purpose which Sony is very keen on.

"The main purpose we believe in for having 3G in PS Vita is the social connectivity features that we have put at the center of PS Vita," the executive added.

"When you open a game, you don't automatically start a game, but you're taken to one page which is constantly updated from publishers as well as your friends doing activities or giving you in-game items. So all that social connectivity is enabled by the 3G."

The Vita launches on February 22 in the US and Europe and February 23 in Australia. Two more sleeps.

Thanks, CVG.