Sony has announced the Vita TV – a new take on the already available PS Vita. It brings portable gaming and media to people’s living rooms. Measuring only 6.5cm by 10.5cm, the small, screen-less system keeps the portable size of the Vita while offering entertainment, not just from the Vita catalog, but also the PSP and other classic PlayStation titles.
It launches in Japan for 9,954 yen (£64 / $100 USD) on November 14th and comes in a package including a DualShock 3 controller and an 8GB memory card.
The system will not be able to play all current Vita games due to some needing the touch screen, however, you will be able to play PS4 games on the system when it releases later this year via remote play (You’ll need to own a PS4 to do this).
Sony have pledged to continue to add updates, which will “continuously evolve” its system. What worries me is the fact that a lot of the best Sony Vita games use features like touch screen and motion sensing, such as Gravity Rush and Uncharted: Golden Abyss. So if the Vita TV doesn’t have either of these functions then one has to wonder, what games will actually be available to purchase?
One of the main selling points of the Vita was the way you could use both front and rear touch functions in games. It makes the system exceptionally unique and changes the way you think and play. But by introducing this new product, it could be possible that newer Vita games will dumb down on these features so both consoles can play new releases. This, in my opinion, would be a complete step backwards.
As a gamer, I long for new experiences and challenges in games. If new releases in any way start to hold back, I personally will not be buying them. You can overcome this problem if you already own the PS Vita portable console, since Vita and Vita TV work in conjunction with each other, creating a sort of Wii U-type experience, but in all honesty, is there a point?
Just last week, Sony also announced a new PS Vita model. Its lighter and thinner then the current version and is more “affordable” according to Sony. It will contain 1GB of internal storage and be available in Japan on October 10th for 18,980 Yen (£120/$190). No announcement on if or when it will make it over to the west yet, though.
It’s become clear how Sony plan to attack the living room. While Apple have changed things with their Apple TV, the Vita comes with a huge back catalog of games to play, as well as the TV media.
Earlier in the year, Microsoft were rumored to be bringing out a Xbox 360 which would act the same way Vita TV does: no disk drive and only working with DLC. Could Microsoft be taking a back seat to see how the Vita TV does, and then perhaps unleashing their own model onto the market? Is the future of gaming completely digital?
Keep it locked to ExpansiveDLC for more future developments.
Below are the full specifications for the PS Vita TV system.
- Mass: Approx. 110g
- CPU: ARM Cortex-A9 core (4core)
- GPU: IMG SGX543MP4+
Main slots and connectors:
– PlayStation Vita card slot
– Memory card slot
– USB connector (USB 2.0 Type A)
– HDMI output port (HDMI-CEC)
– LAN port (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX)
Wireless communication
– IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n=1×1) (Wi-Fi)
– Bluetooth 2.1＋EDR (A2DP,AVRCP,HSP,HID)
Internal memory card: 1GB
AV output: 720p, 1080i, 480p
Sound output: LPCM 2ch
Power: AC adaptor: DC 5V
Maximum rated power consumption: Approx. 2.8W
Included:
– PlayStation Vita TV × 1
– HDMI cable × 1
– AC adaptor × 1
– Power cord × 1
– Printed materials × 1