Amidst news of Sony's PlayStation Vita including price point and cool new features (the future is in cloud saving), came the announcement that for the 3G version of the Vita the official service provider will be AT&T. Though this received groans, Sony supported their partnership with AT&T by touting the company's tremendous amount of Wi-Fi hot spots.

It might not have been the smartest move on Sony's part to align with AT&T in a lot of gamers' minds, but it's hard to refute the fact that AT&T is always at the forefront of high profile partnerships -- first with Apple and the iPhone and now with Sony and Vita.

Obviously Vita's appeal doesn't rest solely in its online capabilities, but being able to reap the full experience from the handheld will require, we imagine, a contract with AT&T -- although at this point the data plans and what not are unknown.

3G is just one of those "extra" features that it seems are being added to hot tech for the gamer-on-the-go, but it's far from becoming a needed addition. Being able to play titles like WipEout 2048 online with friends on both other Vitas and PS3s, as well as moving from the handheld to a console with the newly unveiled Ruin, are concepts that don't necessarily need 3G, but sometimes they may add a needed boost.

Still, it's very early for both E3 2011 and PS Vita news, so don't pass judgment on this AT&T partnership until full details come out. The console is definitely a hot topic of the Expo, and it's got some cool features to boot.

Stick tuned to Game Rant for our hands-on impressions of the PlayStation Vita and more E3 2011 news.

What do you think of Sony's partnership with AT&T for 3G service on PlayStation Vita? Will this affect gamers' opinion of the handheld?