Gamers across the UK, Europe, and America, all have February 22nd marked in their diaries. That’s the launch date for arguably the most ambitious mobile gaming platform yet – the Sony PS Vita.

Unlike multi-function devices that have been swept to success on a wave of low-priced casual games, the PS Vita is built around gaming. Yes it will have video playback, media streaming, a web browser, GPS enabled social network features, but let’s not kid ourselves. This is a hot rod of a games machine, with dual analogue controllers, accelerometer controls, field digital buttons, touch screens front and back, and a 16:9 ratio 5 inch screen.

This is a machine for the hardcore gamer, and Sony are gambling that they’ll adopt this machine as their totem.

The questions that everyone have are a simple ones. Will people actually buy it? Why would people spend up to £45 on a game when they can get an episode of ‘Angry Birds’ for 79p in the iTunes store? Is Sony reaching too far with the traditional console plus retail games model in a world of subsidised smartphones?