Sony spending $50 million to market PlayStation Vita

The launch of Sony’s next handheld, the PlayStation Vita, is just around the corner, and it looks like Sony is going to spend quite a bit of money to convince you that the PS Vita is worth your hard-earned money.

Speaking to The New York Times, John Koller, the senior director for PlayStation hand-held consoles, said that the launch of the PlayStation Vita will be the “largest platform launch in terms of marketing investment we’ve ever had.”

The target audience for the PlayStation Vita, according to NYT’s report, are men in their 20s that invest eight or more hours a week into gaming. Sony wants that audience so much that they’re willing to spend a reported $50 million in marketing to do so.

The theme for Sony’s expensive marketing campaign will be “Never Stop Playing,” and you can expect to see it in all sorts of advertisements, TV and otherwise. Additionally, Sony will be going in hard with social networking as well; the company is starting the “#gamechanger” hashtag to promote the PS Vita, and you can bet there will be even more Vita-related hashtags down the line.

The PlayStation Vita is due out in North America on February 22.