Sony finally confirmed that its next generation handheld the PlayStation Vita will be coming to gamers in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Australia on February 22, 2012.

"For those looking to get their hands on the ultimate in handheld entertainment, I'm thrilled to let you know that starting on February 22, 2012,PS Vita will be available at major retailers in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe," said Jack Tretton, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO told the crowd at the Web 2.0 conference.

Sony has been close mouthed about the release date of its new handheld console only releasing the official launch date of the PlayStation Vita in Japan on December 17, 2011. Analysts and hopeful gamers have wondered if the Vita would be released by March or April 2012. Thankfully the Vita will now be in the hands of eager gamers a few weeks earlier than expected.

The PlayStation Vita has been touted by Sony as the ultimate in handheld entertainment and looking at its specs alone that claim seems to have some truth in it. The Vita has a touch-screen and a touch-sensitive panel on the back. It has two cameras and Sixaxis-like motion controls. The PlayStation Vita will be running on an ARM A9 4-core processor and built in GPS support.

Dedicated gamers unlucky enough not to be in Japan for the December 17 launch can always wait until February but for those impatient ones who want their Vita in December there is a way. Sony has confirmed that the Vita will be region-free meaning gamers can import one from Japan in December and play both Japanese and American games on the Vita. Of course if your Japanese is cursory and all you know are vocabulary gleaned from watching anime, it would be better to wait for the international release.

Sony is pinning a lot on the PlayStation Vita. The company has had a rough year with stock market losses due to the security breaches back in May and increasing competition in the gaming industry by traditional rivals Nintendo and Microsoft and encroaching smartphone competitors like Apple and Samsung. The PlayStation Vita is Sony's latest and best attempt, at least until a new PlayStation console comes out, at consolidating its gaming base and remaining ahead of Nintendo.