Minecraft December update released for PS3 and Vita in North America; still delayed on PS4

In a final message before taking a break for the holidays, developer 4J Studios has confirmed that the massive December update for Minecraft has now been released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in North America. The PS4 version, unfortunately, is still not out yet. What's worse, we don't know when it's expected to release.

The update was first released on Xbox platforms earlier this month, and then last week on PlayStation platforms in Europe. It adds all sorts of new features including the ability to ride and tame horses, new items like Hardened and Stained Clay,  and new mobs such as Witches and Bats.

The full patch notes appear to be the same for all PlayStation platforms, so here they are in case you missed it the first time:

Added new items

• Hardened Clay
• Stained Clay
• Block of Coal
• Hay Bale
• Activator Rail
• Block of Redstone
• Daylight Sensor
• Dropper
• Hopper
• Minecart with Hopper
• Minecart with TNT
• Redstone Comparator
• Weighted Pressure Plate
• Beacon
• Trapped Chest
• Firework Rocket
• Firework Star
• Nether Star
• Lead
• Horse Armor
• Name Tag
• Horse Spawn Egg

Added new Mobs

• Wither
• Wither Skeletons
• Witches
• Bats
• Horses
• Donkeys
• Mules

• Added new terrain generation features – Witch Huts.
• Replaced the Tutorial World with a new world containing some new mini-tutorials for the new functionality.
• Added Beacon interface.
• Added Horse interface.
• Added Hopper interface.
• Added Fireworks – Fireworks interface is accessible from the Crafting Table when you have the ingredients to craft a Firework Star or Firework Rocket.
• Added 'Adventure Mode' – You can only break blocks with the correct tools.
• Added lots of new sounds.
• Mobs, items and projectiles can now pass through portals.
• Repeaters can now be locked by powering their sides with another Repeater.
• Zombies and Skeletons can now spawn with different weapons and armor.
• New death messages.
• Name mobs with a Name Tag, and rename containers to change the title when the menu is open.
• Bonemeal no longer instantly grows everything to full size, and instead randomly grows in stages.
• A Redstone signal describing the contents of Chests, Brewing Stands, Dispensers and Jukeboxes can be detected by placing a Redstone Comparator directly against them.
• Dispensers can face in any direction.
• Eating a Golden Apple gives the player extra "absorption" health for a short period.
• The longer you remain in an area the harder the monsters that spawn in that area will be.
• New Game and Host options (Daylight Cycle, Keep Inventory, Mob options, Tile drop and a Regeneration option)