Sony announces a new, more casual PS Vita model

Sony has just announced a new PS Vita model at its Tokyo Game Show conference, as it aims to pull in more casual gamers with an "easy-to-use" model.

The new PCH-2000 series of the PS Vita is thinner and lighter, and comes with 1GB memory built-in. The battery level has been expanded by one hour, and the handheld uses micro-USB. The Vita's OLED screen is gone, replaced with an LCD screen instead that is five inches, 16:9 aspect ratio, and multi-touch.

The handheld is now more rounded and trimmed down, and the PS, Start and Select buttons are now more round and convex in shape, to make them more easy to press. Elsewhere, the handheld will come with a new charging dock, in which the Vita can be stood.

Sony says that this new version of the handheld is a more casual edition, aimed at bringing more casual players in. Sony noted that it hopes more women will buy a PS Vita as a result.

The new console will also come in a whole host of new colours, including yellow, blue, pink and grey. A new 64GB memory card will also be made available for the system -- and the existing memory cards will see a price drop of around a third the original prices.

The handheld will be released on October 10, and will cost a base price of 18,980 yen ($190.33). There is no word as of yet of when this model will released in the West.