Sony's new handheld--the Sony Vita (live blog)

Sony took the stage Monday evening at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles to give a preview of what would be on retailers' shelves, and we were there.

Transcript starts here

5:17 p.m.: Sony begins with a video tour to extremely loud music of Sony's "3D World."

5:20 p.m.: Jack Tretton, president of SCEA, takes the stage. He welcomes us, says he's glad to have us here. Besides 6,000 people here in the building, he says lots of people online are watching too.

5:22 p.m.: Tretton personally addresses "the elephant in the room. To all our esteemed members of the press I say 'you're welcome,'" he jokes. "To our third-party publisher partners, I know the outage was costly to you. We appreciate your support," he adds. He thanks retailers for shelf space in their stores.

5:23 p.m.: To consumers, he says, "without you there is not PlayStation. I want to apologize personally and on behalf of the company to you." Network activity is at 90 percent from original levels before PSN outage. "We don't take that lightly," he says.

5:24 p.m.: For those who left, we hope the next 90 minutes will convince you why PS is stronger than ever. He's stresses all the services PSN has: Netflix, Vudu, Hulu Plus etc. A new partner they're adding this year: free access to Cinema Now.

5:26 p.m.: He begins talking about Uncharted. Co-presidents of Naughty Dog join him on stage for a demo.

5:34 p.m.: During October, Uncharted fans can get early access to the game from Subway.

5:16 p.m.: Tretton is back on stage, says Uncharted 3 is "one of his favorite games."

5:37 p.m.: Now Insomniac Games gets its turn to show Resistance 3. A Resistance 3 sharpshooter bundle will have the game, PS Move, PS Eye camera.

5:43 p.m.: Sony is releasing God of War Origins collections and Ico and Shadow of the Colossus coming this September.

5:43 p.m.: We're going to break the mold on pricing with 3D this year, he says. Today there wll be two new 3D hardware products for PS. A PS-branded 24-inch 3D display specifically to have affordable way to watch and play 3D. Two people playing can see unique 3D images, rather than split screen.

5:45 p.m.: The second thing: This fall current 3D TV owners can get active 3D glasses that will work with a "Variety" of displays. Glasses, 3D game, and HDMI cable will be bundled with monitor for $499. Glasses alone cost $70. It's about broadening the 3D market, Tretton says.

5:46 p.m.: PlayStation Move has sold 8.8 million units, he says.

5:46 p.m.: And it's coming to more brands. 2K Sports is up now. New feature in NBA 2K12 called NBA on the Move.

5:48 p.m.: You can use the Move controller to pass, play defense, steal, block, etc. Advanced and casual users can use right away, they say.

5:48 p.m.: Kobe Bryant comes out to help demo. "This is the Lake Show's house," Kobe says, picking up a controller. Kobe giggles when he has trouble with the controller.

5:51 p.m.: "All jokes aside, it's so realistic it's frightening," Kobe says before leaving the stage.

5:52 p.m.: A new title coming this fall, Medieval Moves: Deadman's Quest. It's integrated with PS Move. Everything is dependent on motion to control the game.

5:57 p.m.: Gamers want choice, says Tretton. Move will have lots of choice, he stresses. This fall, Infamous 2 will let players create own online missions with PS move.

6 p.m.: In September, Move functionality will come to LIttle Big Planet 2 also.

6:02 p.m.: Now up on screen video demo of Starhawk.

6:03 p.m.: Tretton gets "hundreds of emails" every year about a certain game he's about to discuss.

6:05 p.m.: Next up, CCP Games CEO Hilmar Petursson. He announces that Dust is going to be exclusive to PS3 and it will also support Move.

6:10 p.m.: Lots of applause for Bioshock Infinite. Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games, which makes Bioshock, appears on stage. He says he may have said some "uncharitable things" about motion control in an interview earlier.

6:12 p.m.: "We don't do" motion control, he says he told them. But they said it's about "removing the barrier of entry to your game." He says he got a Move controller and got over the initial anxiety about whether it would translate well with his game.

6:14 p.m.: He holds up an NGP. "This is going to be interesting too."

6:15 p.m.: Saints Row will also get Move functionality. Star Trek next year will also be compatible with Move.

6:18 p.m.: Now, EA games for PS3. SSX, Need For Speed: The Run. And in the fall, Battlefield 3, with exclusive for PS3 Battlefield 1943 content.

6:20 p.m.: Kaz Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, comes out on stage. "How about that tie," Kaz says about Tretton's outfit.

6:20 p.m.: Networked Entertainment has changed since we launched PSP, Hirai says. Sony has learned a lot during the recent outage, he says. Most importantly about the trust and loyalty of consumers.

6:22 p.m.: Mobile devices are ready for a PS experience, he says. PlayStationSuite makes PS content available on non-PS hardware, starting with Android phones and tablets. More details will come in "the very near future," Hirai says.

6:23 p.m.: We have high expectations for the PSP for years to come, he says. The next-generation portable has new ways to interact with friends and entertainment. It'll have dual touchpad, dual cameras, OLED screen. Augmented reality too.

6:24 p.m.: The successor to the PSP, is officially named PlayStation Vita. Vita means "life," he explains.

6:25 p.m.: It has two analog sticks, multi-touch 5-inch OLED screen, front and rear touchpads, front and rear cameras for augmented reality. And 3G through AT&T (members of the audience laugh and boo.)

6:26 p.m.: "A truly unique social experience," he says. Users in the same game room can voice chat live over mic or headsets no matter where they are or what game they're playing. Social connection tool called "near" lets you connect to people that are, uh, near you to play and recommend games.

6:28 p.m.: SVP of Worldwide Studios North America Scott Rohde is going to demo for us. Uncharted Golden Abyss is the first demo for Vita.

6:31 p.m.: They're showing how you can play how you want: use the stick, buttons, or tap the screen.

6:34 p.m.: A "social action RPG" for the Vita and is compatible with PS3. It's called Ruin. Ruin will work seamlessly with a PS3. You save your progress on Vita and pick up where you left off on PS3.

6:39 p.m.: ModNation Racers for Vita gets its demo time now. Not a port of another version, but made specifically for Vita. You draw on the screen to draw your own track. You can also edit the track with the touch screen feature. Decent amount of applause for that one.

6:44 p.m.:Wipeout 2048 will also have cross platform functionality.

6:45 p.m.: Little Big Planet on Vita demo up now.

6:48 p.m.: Capcom here to talk Street Fighter X Tekken. Since announcing it last year, they're here today to say that Capcom is making a Vita version of it.

6:50 p.m.: With Sucker Punch, Cole from Infamous is joining the fighters on the roster.

6:53 p.m.: More titles for Vita coming from all the major publishers.

6:56 p.m.: Vita for holiday season 2011. Wi-Fi only will sell for $250, 3G for $300, Kaz confirms.

6:58 p.m.: That's it for Kaz. Tretton back on stage. "We hope you're as excited as we are," Tretton says, signing off.

7 p.m.: Back to the bone-rattling video and music. The screen lifts to reveal the source: taiko drummers live in person.

7:02 p.m.: That's the cue for us to be done. Thanks everyone for sticking with us this long! Check back for lots of analysis and hands on stuff from our team.

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The original, bare-bones version of this story was posted June 3 at 2:45 p.m. PT.