Unity Technologies, the company behind the indie-friendly (or really, everyone-friendly) Unity game engine, is officially up and running on the PlayStation Vita with the release of Unity 4.3. It’s the product of a partnership the company struck in March 2013 with Sony that was designed to bring its development tools into the PlayStation family.
As long as you’ve got a licensed developer agreement for the PS Vita from Sony Computer Entertainment, you’re good to create content for the handheld. The Unity 4.3 update is designed to support all of the Vita’s unique features, including the touchscreen, rear touchpad, built-in motion sensors, dual analog sticks, and front/rear cameras. The engine now also offers support for Sony platform-specific features like Trophies, Friends, and matchmaking.
Unity has seen a wide embrace in the development community due to its ease of use and its flexibility. Its arrival on the PS Vita opens up a whole new realm of content creation opportunities, especially with Sony’s extremely developer-friendly attitude toward self-publishing. The first Unity game for PlayStation is already out; Unity notes that Zoink!’s Stick It To The Man – which appears to be a psychedelic-ish platformer (with some awesome trailer music) – is now available for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita.
