PS Vita's Near and Other Social Features Explained

Gameplanet has a good run down on the social power lurking within Sony's PS Vita, as discussed at last week's Develop event. Not a million miles from what Nintendo offers on the 3DS, users can see what nearby gamers are up to, what games they play. The voice chat works as a casual intercom system and you can talk to people regardless of what game you, or they, are playing.

The idea of dropping and receiving gifts is pretty neat, but the whole bundle of features should create a thriving environment for gamers. Better that the one or two people I can usually find for a game of WipeOut Pulse on the PSP. With Sony Vita being put in the hands of gamers at both GamesCon and the Tokyo Games Show, (given that Sony said there were only five of the handhelds in Europe last week) anyone still hoping for a 2011 launch could be pleasantly surprised.