Vita Delayed Until 2012 (and other Gamescom rumors)

For the past few years or so, Sony has been the only first-party to have a major prevalence at Gamescom, the games convention held in Cologne, Germany every summer. This year, rumors have been pointing to juicy bits of info from Sony, in particular for the Vita and PS3. According to the rumor, the PS3 will be dropped 20 Euros in Europe from 200 to 180. The rumor also states that the Vita will retain its fall launch date in North America and Japan, but will be bumped up to early 2012 in Europe, which goes against the ShopTo rumor earlier this month.

Rumor: Vita Launching in UK November 4th, but shot down by Sony

ShopTo, an online UK retailer, has put November 2nd as the Vita’s launch date. The site also offers a discount off of the Vita’s £230 price point, offering a little over a pound off. Better than nothing, we suppose.

UPDATE: Sony dismisses the launch date as “pure speculation”, the typical not-a-confirmation-nor-denial response.

UPDATE 2: ShopTo has moved the launch date two days ahead, to Nov. 4th.

Rumor: Skype coming to Vita

We have this image, reportedly from a Sony Brazil press conference, during a section about the Vita. During the features demonstration, a Skype logo came on the screen, spawning this rumor. While this is entirely possible (Skype was available on the PSP, mind you), its current credibility is lowered because of Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Skype. On the other hand, having an Xbox, Windows, and Windows Phone-only Skype would probably not be good for Microsoft as far as profits go. We’ll keep an eye on this rumor as we reach closer to the Vita’s launch.