As rumoured, Sony's PlayStation Vita will launch in Japan in the lead-up to Christmas and will boast 26 launch games.

Though U.S. and European release dates are still to be confirmed, Sony's new hand-held will launch in Japan on 17 December, 2011 and will cost 24,980 Yen (approximately £206) for the standard WFi-only unit.

Among the launch titles are Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Metal Gear Solid HD, Ridge Racer and WipEout 2048. Sony says that 100 titles will be available for Vita in the unspecified launch window.

PlayStation Vita sports dual analog sticks, front and rear cameras, front multi-touch display, multi-touch rear pad, GPS, six-axis motion sensors, and a three-axis electronic compass.

A U.K. release date is expected in early 2012.

The complete game line-up for launch day is

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend
Project N.O.E.L.S.
Fish On
Dynasty Warriors Next
WipEout 2048
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Lord of Apocalypse (Square Enix)
F1 2011
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Army Corpse of Hell (Square Enix)
Michael Jackson: The Experience (Ubisoft)
Shinobido 2: Tales of a Ninja (Acquire)
Virtua Tennis 4 (Sega)
Uncharted: Golden Abyss (SCE)
Hot Shots Golf 6 (SCE)
Gyokugen Dasshutsu Adv: Zennin Shiboudesu (Chunsoft)
Dream Club Zero Portable (D3 Publisher)
Disgaea 3: Return (NIS)
Dark Quest: Alliance (Ubisoft)
Ridge Racer (Namco Bandai)
Tales of Innocence
Gravity Daze
Metal Gear Solid HD (Konami)
FIFA 12 (EA)