THE BUZZ: Sony is kicking off the PlayStation Vita Mall Tour, where lucky people in five cities around the United States can get their hands on the upcoming handheld and try it for themselves.

From now until December 30th, be on the look-out for these fantastical new portable gaming systems at the following locations:

• Third Street Promenade – Santa Monica, CA
• Discovery Mills Mall – Lawrenceville, GA
• Gurnee Mills Mall – Gurnee, IL
• Potomac Mills Mall – Woodbridge, VA
• Grapevine Mills Mall – Grapevine, TX

EGM’s TAKE: I’ve played the Vita. Like four separate times now, in fact. One time was even in Japan!

Okay, okay, sorry… I’m just bragging now. But really, the Vita is a pretty impressive piece of hardware, so if you’re near any of these locations, you should go check it out for yourself. Although I do have to say that the choices in cities seems a bit peculiar.