Sony unveils PS Vita TV set-top box for $100
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grumpy_new_yorker
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in IllGaming
In a surprise move Monday, Sony unveiled a cheap set-top box that will let users play PlayStation Vita games on their TV sets along with a slimmer, faster Vita, both due out this fall.
In a move that's already drawing comparisons to Apple TV, Sony's newest piece of hardware, the PS Vita TV, bridges the gap between the company's pricier high-end gaming hardware and the world of multi-purpose media streaming.
Like Apple TV or Google's new Chromecast device, the PS Vita TV is tiny both in its physical size (measuring just 6 x 10 cm, it's about the size of a pack of cards) and its sub-$100 price tag. The unique proposition Sony brings to the table, however, is that unlike these competing gadgets, the Vita TV also comes with an impressive library of video games.
So far, Sony has only announced plans to release the PS Vita TV in Japan, where it also said it will not be introducing the PlayStation 4 until February 2014. Despite the gap in timing, however, the company said it thinks the new device will bring added value to the PS4 ecosystem by allowing users to stream content from the PS4 onto another TV if they're fighting with family members for screen time, and will also act as second Vita system for multiplayer gaming.
While Sony said that the Vita TV will support some 1,300 games to start, it will not be universally compatible with all PS Vita games since it uses the company's DualShock 3 controller, which lacks some of the Vita's bells and whistles like touch-enabled screen and back panel. The PS Vita TV will also support regional Japanese video services including Hulu, Tsutaya TV, Nico Nico Douga, and the company's own Video Unlimited, and will also offer Vita-like apps for social media and e-reading.
Seeing as Sony recently announced that the PlayStation 4 will officially arrive Nov. 15 and that the company is also dropping the starting price of the PS Vita by $50 to $199, the timing of the PS Vita TV's announcement might seem peculiar. But Michael Pachter, a game industry analyst at Wedbush Securities, told NBC News that the new device could help generate interest in the Vita from gamers and game developers alike.
"I think it’s intended to keep the Vita relevant, encourage more games for Vita, and have a multi-functional use in the home," Pachter told NBC News.
Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games at IHS Electronics and Media, agrees, telling NBC News that Sony is making the new device to compete not just with Google and Apple, but also to secure its position in the TV-based gaming space against up-and-coming competitors like Ouya and PlayJam, whose smaller and cheaper "microconsoles" threaten to usurp the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One's position atop the console gaming food chain. And when it comes to games, Sony has a key advantage against all of these competitors: decades of experience.
"Where Sony's device differs from the independent competition is in its extensive back catalogue of games, its entertainment offering, the strength of the PlayStation brand and its interoperability with other consoles in Sony's lineup," Harding-Rolls told NBC News.
Sony also announced a new version of the PS Vita that's 20 percent thinner and 60 percent lighter (219 grams, or slightly less than half a pound) than the original version. At $200, the new version doesn't change much about the actual hardware or performance of the Vita except to add another hour to its battery life, bringing the total to six, and making it available in six new colors: white, black, blue, yellow, pink, and olive green. The company is also cutting the price of the Vita's propriety memory cards in Japan and introducing a new 64GB card, up from the current maximum of 32GB.
The new PlayStation Vita launches in Japan on Oct. 10, Sony said, with no details about an international release. The PS Vita TV launches on Nov. 14 for ¥9,954, or roughly $100. The company will also offer a bundle that comes with a DualShock 3 controller for ¥14,994, or about $150.
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/sonys-unveils-ps-vita-tv-set-top-box-100-8C11114403
Comments
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LOL @ Vita
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being able to remote play your ps4 on another tv in another room is worth it alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyRSpxJtfGcLOL @ Vita
if microsoft came out with a handheld you'd be all over it like white on rice. -
I'll be coppin....the vita is the best piece of handheld tech on the market and it ain't even close....
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You know sony and nintendo all ways gonna pull this, might as well wait.
"along with a slimmer, faster Vita, both due out this fall."
"dropping the starting price of the PS Vita by $50 to $199"
Might as well wait a year, unless you got cash to burn, cause it's going to happen again. -
ParallelRhymes wrote: »I want to see how it handles the apps and what not. This could really change the game up if it performs well with the apps and has the ability to game appropriately without the use of touchscreen like the vita.
How much do you think this move has to do with the Ouya picking up so much steam online?
the ouya is done. that ? got panned by critics when it got released. the ouya failed.
sony could always update the firmware and make the box compatible with ps4 controllers to compensate certain touch screen features.
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Too bad it wont sell alot
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vageneral08 wrote: »Too bad it wont sell alot
no ? given.... -
vageneral08 wrote: »Too bad it wont sell alot
PlayStation Vita TV Already Sold Out on Amazon Japan
Yesterday Sony Computer Entertainment surprised pretty much everyone by announcing the PlayStation Vita TV, that was almost immediately available for preorder in Japan. How did Japanese gamers react? Looks like they bought it in droves.
At the moment the Vita-powered microconsole is already sold out on Amazon Japan in both its incarnations (stand alone and value pack including a DualShock 3 controller and an 8 GB memory card).
Below you can check out a screencap of both offerings. If the initial impression is to be believed, looks like Sony has a winner here, at least in Japan. We’ll have to wait to see what the reaction in the west will be.
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Lol of course it will sell in japan they're into alot of newest tech ? ....let me know if it sells out in americavageneral08 wrote: »Too bad it wont sell alot
PlayStation Vita TV Already Sold Out on Amazon Japan
Yesterday Sony Computer Entertainment surprised pretty much everyone by announcing the PlayStation Vita TV, that was almost immediately available for preorder in Japan. How did Japanese gamers react? Looks like they bought it in droves.
At the moment the Vita-powered microconsole is already sold out on Amazon Japan in both its incarnations (stand alone and value pack including a DualShock 3 controller and an 8 GB memory card).
Below you can check out a screencap of both offerings. If the initial impression is to be believed, looks like Sony has a winner here, at least in Japan. We’ll have to wait to see what the reaction in the west will be.
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You know sony and nintendo all ways gonna pull this, might as well wait.
"along with a slimmer, faster Vita, both due out this fall."
"dropping the starting price of the PS Vita by $50 to $199"
Might as well wait a year, unless you got cash to burn, cause it's going to happen again.
If you wait a year that's a whole year of not having one. If you want it, get it. -
vageneral08 wrote: »
Lol of course it will sell in japan they're into alot of newest tech ? ....let me know if it sells out in americavageneral08 wrote: »Too bad it wont sell alot
PlayStation Vita TV Already Sold Out on Amazon Japan
Yesterday Sony Computer Entertainment surprised pretty much everyone by announcing the PlayStation Vita TV, that was almost immediately available for preorder in Japan. How did Japanese gamers react? Looks like they bought it in droves.
At the moment the Vita-powered microconsole is already sold out on Amazon Japan in both its incarnations (stand alone and value pack including a DualShock 3 controller and an 8 GB memory card).
Below you can check out a screencap of both offerings. If the initial impression is to be believed, looks like Sony has a winner here, at least in Japan. We’ll have to wait to see what the reaction in the west will be.
Guess America takes time to catch up to the rest of the world re tech .... according to your statement -
Smart move by Sony.
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I would probably ? with it if its cheap.
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Not having to move my PS3/PS4 from the living room to the bedroom....
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? . I want a PS4 now.
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Imagine if this little bastard gets hacked and plays emulators.
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earth two superman wrote: »Imagine if this little bastard gets hacked and plays emulators.
It WILL get hacked ? inevitable nowadays. -
Vita hasnt yet.
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PS Vita TV Targeting Casual Players, Release in EU/US Uncertain
Maybe in 2014?
Sony's PlayStation Vita TV, which lets you play portable games on a television, launches in Japan this November, but Sony currently has no plans to bring the device to the West. In a roundtable discussion, Sony's Andrew House stressed that Vita TV is aiming at China, South Korea, and Japan.
Its future in the United States and Europe remain uncertain.
The expectation inside Sony is that casual players will take advantage of the device, while the PlayStation 4 will gain the attention of the ? . We've asked Sony for a comment and elaboration on House's comments.
Would you use Vita TV if it released in the West?
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Damn I guess it won't sell at all here lol
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I'll just buy it off ebay...Sony's ? is region free....
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correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't this hurry the vitas sales? of i buy 1 for 100 and a game for lets say 40 that would be cheaper than buying a $200 vita then the game....i didn't read the whole article
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nvm I'm pretty sure you have to connect the vita to that ? ...like an adapter.........
