Where to find the cheapest PS Vita and games

With the PS Vita launching in Europe and the US next week, it's just about your last chance to place a pre-order for Sony's successor to the PSP.

And why wouldn't you? It's a lovely piece of kit, and there are plenty of launch games available to dive straight into - although some are better than others, as demonstrated by the range of scores awarded to them by Pocket Gamer.

If you've finally caught Vita fever and are looking to find the cheapest deals going, look no further. We've scoured the web for hours on end and now present to you the best deals going for both the console itself and its launch games.

Whether you're looking for the Wi-Fi version of the Vita or the Wi-Fi + 3G model, there's a good price here for you.

Amazon offers by far the best deal on the Vita unit price: the Wi-Fi version is available for £209.99, and the 3G version is £259.99.

However, that's not all you get - grab a Vita from Amazon and you get a free 8GB memory card. Memory cards are essential to the Vita experience, and can be very expensive - the 8GB card normally retails at an eye-popping £27.99.

Finally, you can also add one of the selected games below to your order for £15. The games on offer are:

Not the most inspiring list of software, we admit, but it's definitely worth grabbing Rayman Origins at that reduced price if you haven't already played it on home consoles. Lumines Electronic Symphony is looking mighty fine, too.

All in, that Amazon 'bundle' - comprising a PS Vita, an 8GB card, and a launch game - will set you back £224 (Wi-Fi-only Vita) or £275 (3G Vita). Depending on the game you choose to add to your basket, you can save as much as £45 on the whole shebang.

If those games don't inspire you, then look towards Play.com. Here you can grab a Wi-Fi-only Vita with a free 8GB memory card for £212.99 - and get a pre-order pack thrown in.

The pre-order package includes a pair of Vita in-ear headphones; a £5 discount on Little Deviants, Super Stardust Delta, Hustle Kings, or Escape Plan (downloadable from the PlayStation Store); and early access to Frobisher Says.

If you're choosing between Amazon and Play.com and you don't want one of the £15 games, you've got to decide if the contents of the pre-order pack are worth an extra £3.

The other place worth considering grabbing a PS Vita from is ShopTo. This online console superstore has a huge selection of Vita packages up on its site, ranging from the console with a discounted game, to huge bundles that features multiple games and a memory card.

For example, you can purchase the Wi-Fi Vita model with a 4GB memory card, Dungeon Hunter Alliance, Lumines Electronic Symphony, and Rayman Origins for £269.86. A bit of a bargain if you fancy those particular games.

ShopTo will add the pre-order pack (in-ear headphones, early access to Frobisher Says, a £5 discount on selected titles, and an exclusive avatar for PSN) to every Vita, but note that not all of the bundles come with free memory cards. You will need one to save your progress, so factor that into the cost.

Now, let's look at the cheapest prices you can pay for the bigger Vita launch games.

First up: Uncharted: Golden Abyss. You can pre-order Drake's next adventure for £34.85 from ShopTo - still pretty expensive, but the best deal we could find.

You're best off visiting ShopTo for Rayman Origins, too, where you can find it for £29.85. If you desperately, desperately want Rayman Origins, though, you should definitely take advantage of one of the abovementioned bundles.

In fact, ShopTo can't really be beaten for prices on its Vita games by anyone. Lumines Electronic Symphony is £29.86, and Army Corps of Hell is £19.85.

However, you'll want to visit Zavvi for certain games. You can grab WipEout 2048 for £27.95, Unit 13 for £29.95, Ridge Racer for £14.95, and Everybody's Golf for £27.95.