PS Vita Firmware Update Brings Maps, Mac Support and More

The PlayStation Vita hasn’t even been released in North America yet and Sony is already sweetening the pot with a new firmware update that adds new features, including video recording and a new Maps app, to the device. The update, announced Monday, will go live for Japanese PS Vita owners on February 8th. Presumably the new features will be available on North American Vita units at launch.

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In addition to adding video recording capability to the PlayStation Vita’s camera app (which was previously limited to still photos), the new 1.6 firmware update will bring a new Maps app to the console. Users will be able to access the new app from their home screen and should get access to all the usual goodies we’ve come to expect from our location-aware devices, including guided navigation for walking or driving as well as access to satellite photography.

PlayStation Vita Firmware Update — Sony's PlayStation Vita now includes a new Maps app.

Sony has also released a Mac OS version of their creatively named Content Management Assistant for PlayStation. Vita owners need to use the Content Management Assistant for PlayStation (or “CMAP” as I’m calling it, mostly just to sound cool; Feel free to use that one, Sony) to sync up data between their computer and their PlayStation Vita. Until now only Windows users could access the CMAP, and Apple loyalists were left scrambling to find some way to sync their computer’s photos and music with a small handheld device.

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There’s no word yet on if the update will be immediately available to US users at launch. If you want to try all this out for yourself (and don’t want to spring for an incredibly expensive imported console from Japan) you can pick up a PlayStation Vita when it launches in North America and Europe on Febuary 22nd. Personally, I'll be contributing to the slow death of mobile gaming by rocking out to the new Sleigh Bells album (which drops the day before) on my smartphone.

[PlayStation Vita Firmware Details Courtesy of Andriasang]