TGS 2011: Akihiro Hino thinks that the PS Vita is “Like the Space Battleship Yamato”

Giuseppe Nelva September 17, 2011 11:49 AM EST

During the Play LIVE event hosted by Sony at Tokyo Game Show, Level-5 President and CEO Akihiro Hino has been asked to describe the PS Vita. His answer was quite interesting and colorful: “Hard Like a Battleship”. He went on comparing the large variety of weapons carried by a battleships with the variety of features present on the PS Vita and concluded “Almost Like the Space Battleship Yamato“.

For those not familiar with Anime and Manga, Space Battleship Yamato (Uchu Senkan Yamato, aired in the US and Europe as Star Blazers) is an absolute legend in Japan. One of the most loved if not the most loved manga and anime series (multiple series actually, plus movies, both animated and live action, and games) of all times. Created by the legendary mangaka Leiji Matsumoto, it follows the adventures of the crew of the space battleship created by the restoration of the World War II battleship Yamato to save a dying Earth, and strikes all kinds of chords in a Japanese heart.

For a Japanese man in his early forties like Hino comparing anything to the Space Battleship Yamato is a big deal. He likes the new portable by Sony, no doubt about it.

As we learned earlier this week, a new JRPG by Level-5 is already being developed for the PS Vita and I can’t wait to see what Hino and his team can do with the Wave Motion Cannon.