New slim PS Vita coming to UK on Feb. 7

At a London press conference today, Sony announced plans to release a slim version of PlayStation Vita to the U.K. on Feb. 7, for a suggested retail price of £180.

The PS Vita PCH-2000 series features a re-designed system that is 20 percent slimmer and 15 percent lighter than current models. Likewise, the new release will replace existing PS Vita PCH-1000 models with older models set to run their course before being removed from retail.

The slimmer model also includes a high-definition five-inch LCD screen, allows for up to six hours of gameplay and replaces the earlier proprietary charging cable with a micro USB cable.

Sony released this same system in Japan in October of last year.

The newly announced PS Vita is available to pre-order starting today. Sony made no official announcements regarding a North American release, telling Polygon that each region will deal with the PS Vita individually.