Why PS Vita TV Could Be a Game Changer

IGN: "Is the set-top box one of Sony's most exciting new products?"

[darthv72]

im excited for it. After playing a game on my vita i can pop my memory card or vita game card into the vita tv and pick up the controller to keep on playing.

like the old days of the turboexpress/tg16 and the nomad/genesis or the more recent days of the gba/gamecube w/gba player.

[ohiostatesman]

This reminds me about how people were so excited for the original vita. But it didn't pan out well at all for the handheld. Getting the same vibes.

[iamnsuperman]

I think it was because the core gaming community was excited by a relatively cheap but strong gaming machine but didn't want to put down a lot of money for a handheld. Then the average consumer didn't want to do the same either. Handhelds are increasingly hard to sell because of the rise of mobile gaming. Looking at both the Vita and 3DS shows both suffered with what was seen as a good price point but in reality it wasn't viable.

This is different because it is cheap. Cheap streaming (media) boxes are becoming more and more popular. What sets this apart from its main competitors is that it can play games and still for a cheap price (while connecting/doing stuff with Playstation devices)

[mushroomwig]

'Getting the same vibes'

Based on what exactly? We're talking about a $100 that can play Vita/PSP games and can also double as a remote PS4. Same vibes? I seriously doubt it.

[PoSTedUP]

@ ohiostatesman:
a $300 handheld with no games isnt suppose to do well in its first year. now with the price drop and more games... the brillant minds at sony wouldnt have come out with this as well as a new vita sku if they didnt see it picking up the pace, let alone just have pure faith in it. if its really tanking and doing that bad they would just say "ok we're done, we're not gonna stupidly keep loosing money if its really doing bad", but as you can see, that is not the case.

[ohiostatesman]

Sony has been willing to lose money on lots of products though. This is why they were billions in debt. Because they took too many losses. Original Vita was 249 not 299. Please read up more about it if you want to respond accurately.

[badz149]

Yeah, the excitement about it is kinda similar but it's a totally different playground now. The excitement for the Vita was high when they announced the $250 pricetag - same with 3DS, as it's clearly a steal considering how powerful it is at the time of unveiling. Nintendo kinda killed the hype when they dropped their price significantly and suddenly the Vita was deemed "too expensive". Lack of original high profile games were not helping the Vita too.

But now, this Vita TV is a Vita but is totally not aiming to beat the 3DS or 2DS alone. It's practically a portable PS4 that you can play anywhere you want (with a TV, of course!). Priced at $99, sure the 2DS can't undercut it THAT easily now like before but it still offer something the 3DS will never be able to do its whole lifetime. Sure, many native Vita games are currently not gonna work due to input constrain but like I said, Sony are aiming this for the console crowd first in mind.

It's an alternative to the Vita that does a little less at 1/2 the price. As a sure owner of the PS4 myself, I'm excited to get the Vita TV as the vision of having a portable PS4 is too hard to pass.

[XB1_PS4]

I'm not trying to sound negative here, but I just don't see this thing being that successful in the hardcore market. If you're buying a PS4, with or without having a Vita, you probably won't want to play vita games on tv. Considering that you have a PS4 that has way better graphics. I don't really want one, and I own a vita.

PS: This is going off of the assumption that the Gaikai service's latency is a burden. If the latency is low enough, then this thing will fly off of the shelves considering that you can have an actual Portable PS4.

With that being said, The only market I see this successful on is the same market as the OUYA. With the budget game machine, and people who want to legally own old PS games.. Or people that want to watch Netflix.

I hope it does succeed though, it's a cool addition to the PS army.

[UltimateMaster]

It's good to remote-play your PS4 on a second TV.
Or bring your PS Vita TV to a friend and Remote Play your PS4 without the need to bring the big console because you don't want to break it.

And it plays Vita games along with PSP and PS1 games.

[ohiostatesman]

I like MS idea better for remote streaming. All you need is your phone or tablet to do it. No need to spend another 150-200 dollars.

[PoSTedUP]

a lil over $280 with tax, the $300 one came out to $350, still a lot of money. everything is sold at a loss. its how well it's recouporating that determines the continuation of support. and as you can see, the support is increasing big time as opposed to earlier on where it was a big question mark. now its clear and evident obviously.

[UltimateMaster]

@ohiostatesman
Totally missed the point.

[kingPoS]

I don't get is your complete failure to mention how the Vita is doing everywhere else. Contrary to popular belief... US Vita sales does not equal the rest of world.
.
.
I blame loss of context. Do you need a dose of context?

[Gamer1982]

This will increase games for the vita as there will be technically more vita owners to sell games to. However this will kill actual vita sales or maybe not as people may want to continue there games on the go. Though I don't get why you would want the remote play feature on this? Switch from your tv to.. your tv? switching from one tv to another is fine but you would lose a bit of quality so might as well just move console and get full quality..

[Protagonist]

I think most would agree the PS Vita Tv is one hella exciting product.

[Lord_Frieza]

i've got ps vita already and i'm gonna this as well
i'm so excited for the ps vita tv mainly because it's a games console for £100 from sony

[Perjoss]

It would be fantastic if certain games that are not compatible with Vita TV (because of the touch screen controls) could be easily patched so that the touch control methods could be mapped to other buttons instead.

Would be a real shame if games like Uncharted Golden Abyss and Killzone Mercenary would be left off the list of titles compatible with Vita TV.

[nyobzoo]

I think it's a great idea, play your vita games on your TV, able to play 2 players on PS1 games and when Gaikai can stream PS3 games, all of it for $100 is a great deal

[Lord_Frieza]

i've got a ps3 to play ps3 games with
i want Gaikai to stream ps2 games on it

[KwietStorm_BLM]

I'll just say this again..

I think it's a pretty big deal, moving forward. You have to look at Apple TV and Google TV. This is Sony's move, and it "just so happens" to include damn near full PlayStation functionality, as far as straight forward gaming goes. Couple that with the internet multimedia streaming, whether it be their music service, video service, or their new initiatives like the deal with Viacom and their Gaikai purchase, this could potentially be something huge, and in a small and cheap package.

[_cyrax]

Now this is an all-in-one system which intends to control your living room

[SniperControl]

This is a major game changer, if this is aimed at the casual market, Sony have won it hands down.

[RicardJulianti]

It's a cool device, I'll give it that.

However, unless you own a PS3, PS4 (when it's out and supported) or a Vita, it is completely worthless out of the box.

$100 gets you the PSVTV, an HDMI cable, power cable and adapter, and the manual. That is it. If you want to actually use it, you'll need a DS3, DS4 or the Vita...and a game....that doesn't need the touchscreen....and possibly a memory card since there is only 1GB of space. KZ Mercenary has a Day 1 patch bigger than that.

What Sony SHOULD have done, is announced games for the system. Reveal this and a new exclusive Vita title and you've got one hell of a proposition.

It'll be awesome for those that already have what they need, but unless you get the bundle (that may or may not release elsewhere, and may be limited)....you are still spending $200 just to use it.

[Quicktopick]

It's not worthless. U can play the vita games without the Vita, basically this is a vita without a screen for a cheaper price

[RicardJulianti]

You can't do anything with it out of the box. It doesn't come with a controller unless you buy the $150 bundle.

If you don't already have at least a DS3 laying around, or buy one....you literally cannot control the PSVita TV.

That's all I'm saying.

[Lord_Frieza]

kaz hirai this is all because of you
I love you man.... I would sacrifice an xbox one in your honour

[Protagonist]

LOL ;))))

Most did already by getting the PS4 instead.

[alb1899]

What I can see from this is that Microsoft has reason when they say X1 has more value for your money because to for the ps4 do what the X1 can do......you have to buy the SONY camera, the vita tv and the ps4 and won't be the same because the kinect is better than the SONY'S CAMERA.

And don't come here and say that you can play Vita games......who cares!

[r21]

Yes, Kinect is truly the device that every gamer in the world wants. Also, the PS VitaTV doesnt only play vita games, it plays PS1,PSP games, streams certain PS3 games and most PS4 games. It also has TV apps like Netflix.

[alb1899]

Why will I want to see in big screen games of psp and vita......what is the point.....it most be ugly as hell!

Now the ps4 is more expensive than the x1 if you want the whole experience.

[tiffac008]

Bro, no need to make a spin out of it. Its clear which side you have already aligned yourself with and there is nothing wrong with that

However, you do not need the VTV for the full PS4 functionality. I think you need to research that a little before spreading false information.

[DivineAssault]

i think its going to work great.. I had my doubts about the wii u & the gamepad streaming but it works.. I personally think nintendo has cheap hardware so i believe this will be amazing since its built to stream.. Not an added feature like w PSP/PSV & PS3.. PS4 is built to work with vita too so theres greatness to be seen