Vodafone is Sony's "preferred partner" for 3G Vita in UK

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 21 November, 2011

UPDATE: 3G connectivity is not locked to Vodafone.

UPDATE: 3G connectivity is not locked to Vodafone. Vodafone is the only network that's been fully quality-assured by PlayStation, however.

ORIGINAL STORY: Vodafone is the "preferred provider" of 3G connectivity for PlayStation Vita in the UK, Sony has announced.

This deal extends to Ireland, Italy, Germany, Span, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands. In France the preferred partner is SFR, as Vodafone is known there.

The Vita 3G/WI-Fi model comes with a Vodafone SIM card so you can immediately use social gaming features when out and about. These include "near", an application that lets you discover other Vita users who are in your surrounding area and gift virtual items, such as costumes and treasures, to them at the locations they have visited.

3G also enables Party, a pre-installed app that enables communication features during online gaming or web browsing. You can update your gaming status via the Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare apps.

You can also buy the PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi model direct from Vodafone online and in shops. If you connect with Vodafone you get a PlayStation Network voucher to download WipEout 2048 from the PlayStation Store.

"Data plans will be flexible meeting the needs of all users," Sony said. Additional details about Vodafone data plans and pricing will be announced by Vodafone at a later date.

"With social gaming and connectivity at the heart of PlayStation Vita it is important that we partner with a market leading network provider, to ensure users have a high quality 3G experience." Said Sony Computer Entertainment boss Jim Ryan.

"Partnering with Vodafone will enable PS Vita users in the selected countries to always be connected with their PlayStation life, friends and games, wherever they are."

"We want our customers to have the best choice of devices and PlayStation Vita is a great addition to our range," Patrick Chomet, Vodafone's Group Terminals Director, added.

"We know from our application downloads that games are hugely popular with our customers, so we're delighted to be SCEE's preferred connectivity partner for 3G Vita devices sold across Europe and other selected regional markets. Using the device over Vodafone's high-performance network with extensive 3G reach and market leading download speeds brings a reliable 'anywhere anytime' dimension to gaming."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

You may also like...

Comments (40) Latest comment 2h ago

Log in or register to post a comment!

  • Spielo #1 3d ago

    In France the preferred partner is SFR.
    (SFR is the name Vodafone goes by in France).

  • Eraysor #2 3d ago

    I wonder what the Vita's killer app will be now Monster Hunter appears to have jumped ship to the 3DS. Unless it just becomes a home for PS2 remakes.

  • uiruki #3 3d ago

    But is it SIM locked?

  • GamesProgrammer Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #4 3d ago

    @Eraysor

    Well its launching with Uncharted, so it could do worse, for killer launch apps.

    Verified

  • nemesisND1derboy #5 3d ago

    @uiruki Nope, MusterBuster confirmed it's not locked to VodaFone, but that's their preferred partner. Presumably you won;t get the the free WipEout 2048 voucher with another company though.

  • uiruki #6 3d ago

    @nemesisND1derboy Cheers, that's good news. Depending on how the account system works I might not be able to use that Wipeout download anyway - I plan to use it to download Japanese games, while getting anything from the UK on cards. Hopefully it's like the PS3 and not the PSP in that regard.

  • nemesisND1derboy #7 3d ago

    @uiruki Well if you can have multiple accounts on it, á la PS3, you could presumably enter the voucher code via PSN on on your PS3 and still have the free game as well as a Japanese account :)

  • overcorpse #8 3d ago

    Oh really Sony and how much did Vodafone pay for that privilege,because its a well known fact that 3 has the best 3g network in the UK what with its hspa+ rollout and all.

  • MattEdWithCheese #9 3d ago

    I assume they're better than AT&T; at least...

  • asphaltcowboy #10 3d ago

    @overcorpse I imagine all their unpaid tax money helped greatly!

    Edited by 1 at 21/11/11 @ 14:36

  • TonyHarrison #11 2d ago

    When they announced the American 3G partner, the American audience laughed. I didn't understand at the time, but my experience with Vodafone means I'm laughing at this as well.

  • patch #12 2d ago

    @overcorpse Is hspa+ confirmed for the Vita? Thought it was 3G only?

  • Razz #13 2d ago

    I'm confused, I thought the 3G would be free like the Kindle

  • jonbwfc #14 2d ago

    @patch - In the UK a lot of the '3G' services are HSPDA+ already. IIRC my 3 mifi already claims it connects as HSPDA+.

    @Razz - that was never, ever going to happen.

    Edited by 2 at 21/11/11 @ 15:00

  • Toothball #15 2d ago

    Oh, so does this mean we'll be able to use whatever data package comes along, rather than having to use something like the Pay as you Go option they're getting in Japan? That's not too bad, might be able to get a cheap data only plan for it and work from there.

    Curious that they've picked Vodafone. I was thinking of abandoning them for someone with better data rates as that's mostly what I use these days. GiffGaff are sounding quite tempting for that but they are fairly new. I've got a few months left on my contract so that should be plenty of time to find out.

  • woodyrulesok #16 2d ago

    @Toothball I've been with Giff Gaff since January. My experience has been good so far.
    I went with them as their data usage is unlimited rather than some companies that do "unlimited data" when it's not.

  • Lamb #17 2d ago

    I went with a half-price HTC Flyer and Wi-Fi is my assured partner! :P :D

  • jonbwfc #18 2d ago

    Company response on the EU blog says

    "HSDPA/HSUPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE specifications are supported."

    SO no HSDPA+ apparently. However, I'm not sure what you'd do on a vita where the '+' is that big a deal. if you want to download some gigabyte size file, find a wifi hotspot...

    Jon

  • gruntboy #19 2d ago

    Wesley, so many typos/spelling mistakes. Have a care!

  • wayn3h #20 2d ago

    If you've got a phone that supports wi-fi tethering and you're on a network that has unlimited usage like 3, you might as well just do it that way. That's what I'm going to do anyway.

  • jonno394 #21 2d ago

    Ok, now all we need are pricing plan information, is it the same as the ipad data only sims?

  • NewbieZilla #22 2d ago

    Fuck Vodafone.

  • Spazdarn #23 2d ago

    3g is Ireland is still terrible.

  • Chrisw373 #24 2d ago

    Everywhere I have lived Vodafone have been by far the best for signal coverage so I'm pleased. Lived a few places in Yorkshire and Voda always has signal. Others like Orange, 3 and T Mobile have been patchy at best.

  • Quixz #25 2d ago

    Vodafone's 3G is SUPA CRAP! :confused:

  • Toothball #26 2d ago

    @woodyrulesok

    Yeah,the reports so far have been positive and I like the sound of their unlimited data offering. There's still that chance that they could become oversubscribed though so I'm a little wary of the gold rush period. My flatmate signed up last month so I'll keep an ear out for complaints and/or praise. Certainly at the moment they seem very appealing.

  • overcorpse #27 2d ago

    I was on 3's unlimited deal before i moved back into a town that had LLU and i can say first hand that it is fantastic if you cant get a landline.I was pretty much using it as i would a normal ADSL connection,played a TON of killzone 3 just fine on it as well.

    Edited by 1 at 21/11/11 @ 18:56

  • MrFlump #28 2d ago

    I'm planning using my iphone4s as a wireless hotspot on three with my unlimited data for this. Quite frankly Vodafone signal in the north of Scotland is a disgrace but im glad that it's not locked to one network on principle!

  • Hellion83 #29 2d ago

    Isly29 no one gives a damn about your crappy probably stolen crap.. and as for Vodaphone they are a terrible company.

  • crickson #30 2d ago

    Ae SFR going to bring down their charges for 3G access then? It's 1 euro per HOUR on SFRs iPad tarriff.

  • Nephirion #31 2d ago

    The Brick returns!!!!!

  • knocker #32 8h ago

    "Vodafone is the only network that's been fully quality-assured by PlayStation, however."

    I wonder if quality assurance involves analysis of latency, bandwidth, cell availability, cell handover or ... A few quid and some marketing partnership agreement.

  • lsslaa93 #33 2h ago

    Hello,everybody,the good shopping place,the new season approaching, click in. Let's facelift bar!
    ===== http://www.imadeshopping.com/ ===

    Air jordan(1-24)shoes $30

    ugg BOOT $50

    Nike (R4,NZ,OZ,TL1,TL2,TL3) $33

    Handbags(Coach lv fendi d&g;) $33

    Tshirts (Polo ,ed hardy,lacoste) $16

    Jean(True Religion,ed hardy,coogi) $30

    Sunglasses(Oakey,coach,gucci,Armaini) $12

    New era cap $9

    Bikini (Ed hardy,polo) $18

    FREE SHiPPING
    http://www.imadeshopping.com/
    Cheapest Max Shoes,Discount Brand Purses,Wholesale A&F; Clothing