Sony has announced a Feb. 2012 launch date for the PlayStation Vita, its next-generation portable console, SCEA's chief executive said at the Web 2.0 Summit on Tuesday. You can pre-order one now.

Sony previously said that the PlayStation Vita would launch Dec. 17 in Asia and Japan in time for the holidays. Hundreds of people lined up in Tokyo just to get in line for the presale.

"But today, we're announcing that it will be available in North America, Latin America and Europe on Feb. 22, just four months away," said Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment of America. Sony will price the Vita at $249 for the Wi-Fi version and $299 for the Wi-Fi/3G version, Tretton said.

Sony executives said previously that the Vita would miss the winter holidays for the North American market.

The Vita will be available with a data plan from AT&T in the United States and 29,980 yen ($390 USD) with a data plan from DoCoMo in Japan, Sony has previously said.

Upcoming titles for the Vita are Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter x Tekken, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Modnation Racers, Super Monkey Ball Vita, and numerous remakes from the PlayStation 2 era, including the Metal Gear Solid Collection, Zone of the Enders 1 and 2, Final Fantasy X HD, and Persona 4 the Golden.

Sony unveiled the PlayStation Vita at this year's E3 gaming conference. Last month, the company said the Vita will include a number of downloadable social apps, including those for Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Skype.

According to Tretton, users will be able to take pictures and viceo from within games like the Vita's version of Uncharted 3 (which a Sony employee demonstrated) and share them with friends, including posting them to YouTube. In addition, the built-in GPS capabilities may allow publishers to tack on a bit of downloadable content (DLC) by visiting a particular retailer or location in the real world.

This article, written by Mark Hachman, originally appeared on PCMag.com and is republished on Gear Live with the permission of Ziff Davis, Inc.