With its PlayStation 4 due for release in a couple of months, Sony could be forgiven for being a little preoccupied. In fact, we’d even forgive the Japanese firm from almost forgetting all about its portable games console, at least in the short term. At a press conference today though, Sony showed that it’s not just well aware of its portable machine, but is also working to make it as popular as possible.

Sony’s focus must no doubt be on its upcoming PlayStation 4 release in a few short months, but that doesn’t mean that the Japanese firm isn’t keeping an eye on its other product lines at the same time, and its recent announcement of a price drop for the PlayStation Vita is a prime example of that fact.

The PS Vita, despite being a relatively powerful device, has continued to struggle in a market where mobile devices are making it easier for consumers to enjoy good standards of gaming on their smartphones and tablets. Despite this, Sony remains determined to plug its handheld marvel, and today, a new firmware iteration brings some much-needed updates. As well as enhanced streaming support, version 2.60 brings some slick alterations to the user interface. Details after the break.

Attention PlayStation Vita owners. If you didn’t already know, then it might be the time to power on that little portable gaming machine and update the device as Sony has made the 1.80 software update available for all owners. If you happen to keep abreast of these things, then a lot of the functionality and upgrades within the update will already be known to you, but it does offer one or two little additional inclusions that may just bring a smile to even the most entitled Vita owner.

It wasn’t that long ago when we brought you the news that YouTube was planning on bringing their services to PlayStation Vita owners through the simple download of an official app. Considering the insane popularity which YouTube enjoys and the fact that it is the number one video viewing website in the world, an official app for the Vita was always going to go down a storm with those handheld owners who want to transcend the device’s gaming capabilities.

The next-generation PlayStation Portable, known as the PlayStation Vita, was announced at this year’s E3 conference on Monday. The new handheld includes new features such as a 5-inch OLED touch screen display and analog sticks that work as controllers.