Sony Unveils ‘PlayStation Vita TV,’ a Tiny, Sub-$100 Game Console
wired.com
wired.com
Sony seems to be putting some really strong ideas forward at the moment, it's interesting to see.
Roku has been around for years and everyone that wants your list already bought one (or a competitor). Other than a slightly fancier controller cannibalizing higher end sales yet not being completely compatible with the higher end, and a much larger ad budget, I'm not sure what if anything Sony brings to the table better than the numerous established competitors in exactly the same space.
Its the "memory stick" of streaming boxes.
If I was in the market, I'd probably be more likely to purchase one of those generic android PCs with HDMI out, so I have the same apps my phone and tablet have on my TV, or buy yet another Roku, which has worked well for many years for me doing the exact same tasks being claimed as "new" by the sony device.
Back in the industrial era there was this car called the Edsel which tried to wedge itself into a ecological niche too small for it to fit in, and it became a legend. Not a good legend BTW.
What they're bringing is two things. Game quality and quantity, ranging from a classic like Final Fantasy 7 through to modern PS Vita games. There's very literally something for all the family, with some strongly recognised titles. The next thing they're bringing is not just access to Netflix, but most likely access to the Sony Entertainment library. That's a big ol' collection of entertainment that they can leverage against.
What Sony brings is brand name recognition, and most likely worldwide distribution. If they promote it well they'll sell a lot.
That's a problem. Root kits. Memory sticks. MD Minidiscs. Beta video cassette recorders. Something will inevitably be "wrong" with this new Sony product; they all inevitably disappoint.
They've had some hits, they've had some misses, they still have a significantly bigger presence than Roku. There's plenty of Sony Centres open in the UK just as a product outlet.
I hope the marketplace has room for both devices. But yeah, Ouya will have to take this as a serious challenge - they'll have to move fast and get any outstanding flaws in their devices and libraries locked down.
I hope this makes the microconsole guys sit up, take notice, and start pumping money into some of these indie studios if they want to compete with this device. One can dream, right? Hy
There's always the option to connect it via HDMI to whatever TV streaming box is out there. But I'd rather not connect another device and have another remote, etc.
The Wii made a mint betting on casual usage and I'm constantly shocked nobody has jumped in. Sony is right on the money here.
I think that Apples reluctance to add gampad/app support is because of the experience. Apple knows that all its devices sell on the seamlesness experience they provide. Assuming that the Apple TV has lower end hardware, they're only going to be able to provide a sub-par experience, which will essentially be a loss to them, brand wise.
EDIT: Ok, so the processor is the A5, with 512Mb of RAM. This (like I said) is only really good enough for fairly simple games, or poor quality complex ones. Definitely not what you'd expect to play on a "big" screen, so a degraded experience, and not one able to compete with the other big players in the market.
Consider the possibilities:
1) Apple implements amazing support for games on the Apple TV. Consumers who want to play AAA games on their TV won't buy it - they'll get a traditional console instead. Consumers who play the kinds of games that the iPhone/iPad/iPod support also won't be drawn to it, as they've already got their iPod/iPad/iPhone, so why would they want to play the game using a worse interface, slower, and when they could be watching TV.
2) Apple implements mediocre support for games on the Apple TV. This (like I said) will muddy their brand, as well as possibly taking personnel away from the core focus of the device - streaming, and again muddying their brand.
Either way, it's really not worth it for Apple. In the first case, the fraction of consumers they attract is really so tiny that it's not worth it for them to implement gaming. In the second case it's a net loss for them, both in terms of effort/payoff, and in terms of damage to the brand.
I think there is a miscomprehension of the iOS gaming market, or casual gaming on mobiles in general. People don't play Angry Birds or Temple Run because they are fans of the games (in the same way you'd play Halo or Civilization), they do it to kill time.
Mobile games are intentional time-wasters for when you're standing in line, riding a bus, sitting in the doctor's office, etc. This is diametrically opposite to AAA-console gaming where users actively seek it out as something to do and dedicate time towards it. Platforms like the PS Vita straddle this weird middle ground - and it's arguable that Apple could potentially capture this middle ground also.
Either way, an AppleTV/Mac Mini fusion device wouldn't.
So if next week they release a new apple TV with the A6, it should be doable.
It seems to me Apple might have plans to pull the trigger on this at a strategic moment, i.e. when it would be most "disruptive" (or to put it another way, have the greatest chance of success and do the most damage to rivals). If so, I think this is the moment -- we're about to see a console platform transition, Wii U has failed. Imagine if Apple releases an A7X-powered AppleTV with bluetooth controller support tomorrow -- or in the next month.
[Disclaimer: I don't speak Japanese]
Base package for 9,954 yen includes the console, 2m HDMI cable, AC adapter. "Wireless Controller (DualShock 3) is necessary".
Value Pack for 14,994 yen additionally includes one DualShock3 "PlayStation Vita TV edition (white)" plus USB connector and an 8GB PSVita memory card.
The controller is also available separately for 5,500 yen.
The system features a 1 GB "Built-in memory card" and "maximum power usage"(?) of 2.8W.
In the video an ethernet port is visible, but the site does not specify whether the system actually has builtin WiFi (though I'd guess so, considering the PS4 streaming).
Looks like it's still going to use proprietary memory cards then. It's too bad, if it took an SD card or supports a USB mass storage device it would have been an easy sell for me (assuming it comes to the NA market.) Having to factor in the cost of an overpriced memory card makes it a harder sell.
As the article mentioned, ps4 games are supposed to allow remote play on a vita device, so this will actually be useful in my household where the tv with the ps4 is being occupied, but that seems like niche problem to solve.
Being able to add to the installed base of the Vita is a good thing for sony which will drive more game development, and if they can work out how not to cannibalize ps4 sales by offering gaikai direct (assuming it really works; color me skeptical that it will be a lag free experience), plus the video services like netflix, this may turn out to be a nice device for Sony.
This is certainly a niche use (and Sony may not see it as being in its interest since it might cost them a small number of full PS4 sales), but it would be pretty cool and Sony has done plenty of nichey things in the past like using 3D tvs to do full screen co-op where each user sees a different image on the same tv.
I can see this as a pre-emptive strike on Apple and some kind of controller for the apple tv.
The back catalogue of PSOne games and vita games is a great idea, Sony just need to make sure their online services are up to scratch.
Very nice move from Sony, the low price makes their games available to those not wanting to spend the extra money in their 'big' consoles.
I know that there are a lot of PS2 games in the PSN store, but I was under the impression that those were actually recompiled for the PS3 and did not use emulation. Are those actually emulated?
Many of the later ones are actually emulated. I think they're called "PS2 Classics" or some such.
FYI, Vita is capable of playing PS3 titles through Gaikai.
While we're on the subject, when the heck is Nintendo going to release 3DS support for the Wii U?!? I'd like to finally retire my GameCube w/GameBoy player.
A shame they didn't have the forsight to demand that all Vita games should be completable solely with the buttons.
Why do you think so? What VITA game is not playable without touch/motion controls? Uncharted you mentioned is perfectly playable without either, I know because I played it.
There had been an issue with the OS that did not support buttons in the system dialogs but it's been fixed in one of the first updates more than a year ago.
One of the things I really like about my PSP Go is the docking station that allows for easy TV play.
Yes please.
Sony had some other certification program previously as well and even made a nice little psp phone on top of Android but they just let the whole concept rot last time.
Edit: you can browse all ~60 games released under this new initiative here - http://us.playstation.com/ps-products/BrowseGames?&sortOrder...
It's still the same initiative/system, the Sony Ericsson Play was the first Playstation Certified Android phone.
It is only an issue for hobby developers.
I get this feeling that in US especially, people will be more reluctant to join the "Sony ecosystem" precisely because it's not much of an "ecosystem".
Having deep integration with Android and Google's ecosystem to fight against Microsoft, would've been the superior strategy in my opinion. Who will want to use "Sony apps" or "Sony services", or "Sony video-chat"? I can tell you a lot fewer people than if they were "Google apps, Google services, Google video-chat", etc.
It's good to see Sony innovating and being disruptive with this $100 console, but I think whatever they're doing now could've been amplified many times over by being part of a much larger ecosystem. Unless you think the 3 main ecosystems right now are already too big, and they should be more decentralized, and less powerful? That could be a good argument for consumers, but either way Sony will be fighting an uphill battle.
Imagine a single unified Sony ecosystem - make a small and large phone/PSP (small like Xperia Play, large like PSP) device and sell both in phone and wifi-only versions. Then bring in the set-top device.
You could make the native remote for your set-top a Move, then you get good interaction with touch-oriented apps.
Personally, if I were Sony I'd just be forking Android and making a de-Google'd form. Then use Sony's massive media and gaming assets to have the mother of all e-shops.
Not to mention the overhead of Android and maintenance burden of using an OS that has to support so many other devices and functions. This might be your reason for not liking the Vita but I doubt it applies to many others. There are countless Android console style devices and judging by their lack of mainstream success, I seriously doubt this would have caused the Vita to fare much better than it has.
http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/sony...
I'd pick a pure gaming platform game over an Android / iOS based game any day. 100% Controller support for all games, and the games are generally of higher quality.
Sony having 100% control of the underlying platform for the device for 100% integration with their other devices (PS4, PS3, etc) is far more important than supporting Android games.
I think this is pretty much the end for Ouya, come to think of it. Android is just too fragile as a pure gaming device compared to something that was built from the ground up for that sole purpose.
Other than just gaming, the ability to watch movies, listen to music, stream PS4 to another TV, instead of purchasing 2 PS4's, (e.g. one for the bedroom and one for the living room), are excellent features. Each of which on their own are excellent selling points, except you get all of them for the same price.
I think a lot of people may be underestimating this product. If successful, they are literally taking Apple's Apple TV and Ouya's market at the same time, as well as creating a new market themselves.
My wife does not want all that stuff dangling from my television, but what she really hates is a game console hanging from my television. If my game console can be in my basement, and I can duct tape this to the back of my TV upstairs, then we both get what we want.