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Sony Unveils the PS Vita TV and Slimmer Vita Handheld
Dave Knott writes "Sony today announced the PS Vita TV box. Measuring 6.5cm by 10.5cm, it can play Vita games on your television, stream content via HDMI or wirelessly, and play all the existing PlayStation Network content available on the standard Vita platform. This is seen by some analysts as an attempt by Sony to compete with such devices as the Ouya and Apple TV. The PS Vita TV is so far announced for a Japan-only release in early 2014 at a price of approximately $100 US. In related news, Sony also announced a lighter, slimmer, more colorful iteration of the standard Vita handheld console."
The $100 model does not come with a controller; a $150 model was also announced that will include a Dualshock 3 and an 8G memory card.
Dying handhelds are a thing of the NA and EU (I don't like the "west" generalization). In Japan, handhelds are the main platforms. The thing is that for a global company like sony to release a region exclusive console simply doesn't make sense in the big picture(specially now under the "One Sony" plan). That is why in my opinion the VitaTV can potentially be a stroke of genius.
1) In Japan there are these popular PS3 accessories called Nasne and Torne which help integrate the PS3 and the TV more allowing TV show recording alongside a few other minor features. The vita TV seems to be the PS4 version of these devices.
2) In the US and EU, handheld is not as popular anymore and, as a result, many devs don't have that much of interest in them either. On the other hand, smartTV boxes are a hot topic and there is no killer product in the market yet. A playstation smartTV could be the killer device in this still underexploited market as it is the only one the fuses a huge variety of game genres, media consumption and affordable price. If it succeeds it could attract devs to the vita platform even if they are not directly targeting the vita handheld. Japanese devs would be more likely to bring their games overseas (the Vita has a very good library in Japan), American and European devs their own Vita exclusives games.
3) Developing countries. The PS4 and the Vita are just too expensive for the average citizen of countries like China/Brazil/India/Russia/etc(for many reasons including local politics). A cheap PS2 level home console that could still play newly released games could help sony get a huge share in these regions.
If wasn't for the proprietary memory, the vita ecosystem could easily dominate the market.
A lot of people are harping on about how lame this is without noticing the most important feature of this device.
This device can do anything a Vita can do, *INCLUDING PS4 REMOTE PLAY*. IE, with this device you can play your PS4 on your bedroom TV while the PS4 is in the basement. This is a huge feature because it basically makes you able to extend your PS4 to any room in the house for $100.
Furthermore, this works over the internet, just like the Vita. So you can bring this tiny little box on trips and hook it up to the hotel TV to play your PS4 games on the road.
It is a HUGE product. I think Sony is not marketing it properly because no one is understanding all the features.