Sony is going to apparently stick with what worked on the PSP with the release of the PlayStation Vita portable. According to a number of sources and later seemly confirmed by Michael Denny of Sony Europe, the Vita will not be Region Locked.

If it turns out that the Vita is Region-Free, this could turn out to be a very big deal for Sony. Many people are turned off to the Nintendo 3DS region locking, as it does not allow the system to play games from outside the region where the unit was sold.

Apparently, according to what we have been hearing, to the best of everyone’s knowledge there is no plan to make the Vita region locked at this time. While Nintendo does not see the Vita as a direct competitor to the 3DS, we think that because people who want to explore games outside their region will be able to do so with the Vita, it could be a feature that really helps the device gain some traction.

Region independence could serve another purpose, which is to help build a larger game library more quickly, as the Vita will be able to play more titles since it isn’t region locked. It is all about software, and that will be the make or break for the Vita.