Sony executive Andrew House presents one lucky gamer with the world's first PlayStation Vita.

Almost 12 months after Sony unveiled its "Next Generation Portable" to the world, the platform holder has released the PlayStation Vita to much fanfare in Japan.

Despite the inclement weather, gamers in their hundreds gathered outside Japanese retailers to get their hands on the new system. Something that makes us green with envy. According to a report on Famitsu, Tokyo's Yodibashi Camera garnered lines of 500 or 600 before opening at 08:00AM Japanese time.

The fan at the front of the Yodibashi Camera line claimed to have been in line since 21:00PM the evening before. He was rewarded by being one of the first people in the world to officially own a PlayStation Vita.

Lines were less sizable elsewhere in Japan, but still broke the hundreds. Many waiters cited concerns about memory card stock shortages as the reason for braving the cold.

As for software, the Bic Camera in Ikebukuro revealed that Hot Shots Golf 6 and Uncharted: Golden Abyss were the unsurprising favourites.

Andriasang's compiled a collection of photographs from the launch overnight. Yesterday Sony said that it had shipped 700,000 units to retailers. We're still not sure how big the system's opening was, but numbers should emerge out of Japan in the coming days.

If you're eager for impressions, there's plenty of discussion about the system on the NeoGAF message boards. Definitely a good read while you're eating your breakfast.

Welcome to the family, PlayStation Vita.