Sony PlayStation Vita hits stores

Sony's long-awaited PlayStation Vita portable game machine hit stores in Japan on Saturday as thousands of game enthusiasts lined up early in the morning to be among the first to buy it.

Sony is predicting brisk sales, even though the December 17 launch may have missed most of the holiday season.

File photo: Sony President Hiroshi Kawano introduces the PlayStation Vita during a press conference in Tokyo on September 14.

The company projects a loss of more than $1 billion for the 2011-12 financial year, which would be its fourth straight annual loss.

File photo: Visitors crowding Sony's booth at the Tokyo Game Show on September 15, for checking out the PlayStation Vita.

A successful debut would help the company offset the rest of its struggling business.

The Sony PlayStation Vita is a touch-interface and motion-sensitive handheld seen as a successor to the PlayStation Portable. Gamers can connect over cellphone networks and Wi-Fi hotspots, and use GPS location-tracking technology.