PS Vita TV announced

PS Vita TV is an Apple TV-esque box that connects to your TV, lets you access digital content, and also plays Vita games. Developing.

Andrew Yoon

September 9, 2013 1:47 AM

PS Vita TV is a tiny Apple TV-esque box that connects to your TV and lets you play PS Vita games, PSP games, and even lets you Remote Play PS4 games. Essentially, as the name implies, it is a tiny Vita that you connect to your TV.

Coming to Japan first this November, the 9480 yen device (~$95) will also let you access digital content off the PlayStation Network, making it a rather affordable TV-connected gaming device that also happens to play Netflix, movies, and TV shows.

Content played on a PS Vita TV will run in 480p, 720p, and 1080i--making it less-than-ideal for videophiles. Also, Sony points out that not all Vita games will work on PS Vita TV, as games that rely upon touch features won't work with DualShock 3 controllers. (PS Vita TV will also support DualShock 4 controllers for PS4 Remote Play.) Finally, the hardware has been announced for Japan only--but we expect a US announcement to follow in the coming months.

Andrew Yoon

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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Sony
Vita

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Shacknews

 reply
September 9, 2013 12:56 AM

Andrew Yoon posted a new article, PS Vita TV announced.

PS Vita TV is an Apple TV-esque box that connects to your TV, lets you access digital content, and also plays Vita games.

Developing.
- Vincent Grayson
  
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  September 9, 2013 1:23 AM
  
  Well shit, now I guess I wish I hadn't bought a Vita. I only ever use it at home anyway.
- kallanta
  
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  September 9, 2013 1:28 AM
  
  How does that work for games that use the Vita touch pads?
  
  Actually, I think I'm confused about the device as a whole.
  - [deleted] 355768971
    
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    September 9, 2013 1:33 AM
    
    [deleted]
  - AndrewYoon
    
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    September 9, 2013 1:34 AM
    
    Games that use the touch pads won't work on Vita TV.
    - kallanta
      
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      September 9, 2013 1:51 AM
      
      Reading-fail...
      
      Alright, so what are the must-play Vita games that don't use touch? Will this be how I finally get to play P4?
      - Vincent Grayson
        
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        September 9, 2013 3:24 AM
        
        Well, it also mentioned PSP, so you've got a huge library of JRPG and SRPGs to play if nothing else.
        
        I'm struggling to think of games I've played on Vita that *do* use the touch controls, but then I remember the only Vita-native titles I own are P4G and PJM.
        
        kallanta
        
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        September 9, 2013 8:33 AM
        
        Yep! I'm on board for all of the PSP games. I'm just trying to judge what I'd be missing out on by not owning a proper Vita.
        
        Really hoping they announce a US release soon. I think I'm actually more excited for this than I am the PS4 launch.
      - Rehevkor
        
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        September 9, 2013 6:13 AM
        
        Persona 4, definitely. Also Muramasa: Rebirth.
    - sleepytea
      
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      September 9, 2013 5:26 PM
      
      It won't support a dual shock 4?
  - David Craddock
    
     reply
    September 9, 2013 5:27 AM
    
    I wonder if it would be possible to play touchscreen-supported Vita games using a DualShock 4 controller through a patch released after the PS4's launch. I'd think the touchpad above the analog sticks could emulate the Vita screen's touch capabilities, but I ain't no programmer.
- Conan
  
   reply
  September 9, 2013 4:36 AM
  
  That's potentially interesting for people who can't shell out for a PS3 or 4. Curious to see what it ends up really supporting.
- wurt
  
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  September 9, 2013 5:48 AM
  
  Hm not sure about this. Would have much rather liked a hub that would allow an existing vita to connect toy our TV.
  - Conan
    
     reply
    September 9, 2013 5:58 AM
    
    My guess is this is a much lower cost device than that would be. This will probably be a sub-$100 thing, whereas what you describe would be a $200 vita plus an additional cost for the TV addon.
    - wurt
      
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      September 9, 2013 6:01 AM
      
      Yes looks like it's 99$. That's not bad at all. With a lot of the indie games coming out for vita this could be the final blow for poor ouya
- [deleted] 439710436
  
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  September 9, 2013 6:18 AM
  
  [deleted]
  - [deleted] 48042586
    
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    September 9, 2013 6:19 AM
    
    [deleted]
  - AndrewYoon
    
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    September 9, 2013 7:10 AM
    
    Yes. PSone classics also work on this device.
    - [deleted] 439710436
      
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      September 9, 2013 7:29 AM
      
      [deleted]
- XwingVmanX
  
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  September 9, 2013 6:27 AM
  
  At first I thought this was a stupid idea, but after thinking about it for a while, it would actually be pretty useful. At least once they have the PS4 streaming working with it.
- Dolemite
  
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  September 9, 2013 7:08 AM
  
  Honestly I think this thing would be really useful if you have multiple TVs in your house but only 1 PS4 on your downstairs TV or something like that. It would be cheaper than buying an upstairs console that is for sure.
  - AndrewYoon
    
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    September 9, 2013 7:11 AM
    
    Depends on the range, but yeah--it would be rather ideal.
    - cetra00
      
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      September 9, 2013 10:55 AM
      
      Remote play works over Ethernet/WI-FI so it's just a matter of getting it on your home network. It doesn't directly connect to the PS4.
- dpgagnon
  
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  September 9, 2013 7:14 AM
  
  I'm surprised by how much I want this. Day one!
- rtricoche
  
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  September 9, 2013 7:25 AM
  
  Who exactly is this device for?
  - exit button
    
     reply
    September 9, 2013 7:26 AM
    
    Cheap parents, Parents with a PS4 two TVs who want to watch TV, People who want to play their PS4 on a TV when they're out and about
    - rtricoche
      
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      September 9, 2013 7:41 AM
      
      hmm. I can see some of that, but I'm a bit weary of this product. Ill keep my eyes peeled to see what happens.
  - dpgagnon
    
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    September 9, 2013 7:30 AM
    
    - people who want to stream Netflix, music or whatever other media
    - people who want to play Vita/PSP/PS1 games on their TV
    - people who want to play PS4 in their bedroom
    - people who want to play Gaikai streamed PS3/PS4 games (coming 2014?)
  - [deleted] 1857631681
    
     reply
    September 9, 2013 7:57 AM
    
    [deleted]
    - dantastic
      
       reply
      September 9, 2013 9:31 AM
      
      curious to see if it will stream off of network shares and what formats it will play. i also assume you have access to rent new movie releases off of PSN which is handy for cable cutters
      - AndrewYoon
        
         reply
        September 9, 2013 10:55 AM
        
        Vita can natively play h.264 videos up to 1080p (although playback will be restricted to 1080i). In terms of networked videos, I don't believe there's support for that, except through nasne: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sony-computer-entertainment-to-launch-nasnea-new-networked-recorder-and-media-storage-device-147698415.html
  - Shivawn
    
     reply
    September 9, 2013 10:01 PM
    
    Anyone who wants an Apple TV but also wants to play some games on the side. Someone with one PS3/PS4 but wants to play games in different rooms. This seems like a really good invention for a lot of different kind of consumers.
- bigimp
  
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  September 9, 2013 7:55 AM
  
  Vita TV?
  
  Should have just called it Tiva...
- RomanMF
  
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  September 9, 2013 8:34 AM
  
  1080i? What fucking year is this?!
  - AndrewYoon
    
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    September 9, 2013 9:07 AM
    
    Given that Vita OS natively runs in 540p, it sorta makes sense that it would only go up to 1080i.
    - EnhancedInterrogator
      
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      September 9, 2013 2:16 PM
      
      Hm, so 1080i might be the best looking resolution for this thing, in that it would probably have the least scaling artifacts.
      - DinK
        
         reply
        September 9, 2013 6:14 PM
        
        If games run at 60fps it seems you could have interlacing artifacts though. It probably just doesn't have proper scaling hardware like how the PS3 was lacking. (It could scale horizontally but not vertically I think, and with the same limitation you could still do 540p -> 1080i)
    - Serpico74
      
       reply
      September 9, 2013 6:34 PM
      
      No 1080p doesn't make sense for PS4 mirroring though
- Sephiras
  
   reply
  September 9, 2013 8:35 AM
  
  I can finally play patapon now? Okay, I'm pretty on board for this.
- Krakn3Dfx
  
   reply
  September 9, 2013 9:19 AM
  
  Will pay $100 just to stream my PS4 to other TVs in the house. Where do I sign up.
- Ex-Morpheus
  
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  September 9, 2013 12:04 PM
  
  A HDMI port would have been smarter Sony.
  - dantastic
    
     reply
    September 9, 2013 2:50 PM
    
    freeze the video at the 1 minute mark. if you pause it you can see that it has an HDMI port, Ethernet port, power, maybe a USB port and some square looking thing that I don't know wtf
- ThomW
  
   reply
  September 9, 2013 6:35 PM
  
  I hope Sony lets people use their PS3 to stream games from the PS4 in the basement. ;)
- squeakychimp
  
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  September 9, 2013 7:04 PM
  
  20 years later and Sony is still finding ways for you to spend your money on PS1 games. Brilliant.
- apocreg
  
   reply
  September 12, 2013 3:55 AM
  
  Love it.