One of the best announcements that came out of E3 last year was Sly Cooper getting a fourth game. At the time, it was announced as a PS3 exclusive. Considering that the PlayStation Vita is pretty much a tiny PS3, it was only a matter of time before it was announced for the portable. It seems that time is now.

Over on the PlayStation blog, Sony announced a Vita version of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. The announcement is definitely news enough, but Sony was kind enough to provide a gameplay demo as well. From the video, it’s pretty clear that the Vita is still the powerful machine that I love it for. The Vita version of Thieves in Time will also take advantage of all the prerequisite features that are found on the Vita including the accelerometer and touch screen.

Sly Cooper on Vita probably signals the beginning of Sony’s new strategy with the handheld that other publishers have started to take advantage of as well. You’re going to start seeing more and more PS3 games being announced for the Vita. This means that the players can transfer their saves between the two systems and take the PS3 game with them on the go. I don’t know how many people are going to want to buy the same game on both the PS3 and the Vita, but the more platforms the better.

Check out the debut gameplay below and see for yourself what the Vita is capable of: