The PlayStation Vita will hit Japan this year, but only just. At tonight's Tokyo Game Show Sony press conference, the company announced that the system is due on December 17. According to a leak just before the conference, 26 titles will be available for the PS Vita in Japan at launch.

North American and European launches are still set for after the new year.

In Japan, the 3G model costs ¥29,980 with service provided by NTT DoCoMo. According to the twitter feed from 8-4's Mark McDonald, the carrier will offer pre-paid plans of ¥980 per month for 20 hours of use and ¥4,980 per month for 100 hours. Pricing plans are only based on hourly plans.

The Wi-Fi-only model will retail for ¥24,980.