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In addition to announcing a Japanese release for the PS4 and a new, slimmer PS Vita model, Sony also announced something completely unexpected at their pre-Tokyo Game Show Conference. And, coincidentally, Sony's latest creation unites their two most recent consoles in some interesting ways.
So, what is this new device you ask? Well, it's called the PS Vita TV and it may just be the hottest new gaming device this side of a next-gen console.
Stay in the game 1. Play your favorite games on PS5 and PS4 consoles, pause the action and switch to another device on your broadband network, without being tied to the TV. PS Remote Play is available on Android smartphones and tablets, iPhone or iPad, Windows PC and Mac, as well as your PS5 and PS4 consoles. Remote Play on the updated PlayStation Vita 2000 was shown at Tokyo Game Show in 2013. PS4 firmware update 1.70 introduced full remote play functionality for the PlayStation TV, allowing users to play PS4 games in a separate room or house, on a television set with a PS TV device remotely connected to the PS4. . New game mechanics introduced with each world. Quick-fire platformer action This Cross-Buy product entitles you to download both PS4™ and PS Vita versions. Remote Play requires PS Vita system and sufficiently robust Wi-Fi connection. Terms of Use; PlayStation.com © 2020 Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. While Remote Play is a major component of the PS4’s architecture, when using the PS Vita and PS3 together, I found that it was hard to find out exactly what games would and wouldn’t work using the PS Vita’s Remote Play function.
The PS Vita TV is, in the simplest of terms, a console for playing Vita games on your TV. It boasts an HDMI output port, a slot for Vita cartridges, and a slot for the Vita's proprietary memory cards. In other words, it's a Vita without the screen and controls.
Obviously, any TV will replicate the Vita's screen, and as far as controls are concerned the PS Vita TV can sync with any DualShock 3 controller. Once everything is set-up (i.e. Vita TV plugged in and controller synced), gamers can play any Vita game, or any game a Vita can play (PS One Classic, PSP title) on their TV.
Moreover, the PS Vita TV serves as a decent substitute for an Apple TV or a Roku box in that it can handle a variety of streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. Gamers likely have plenty of solutions for their streaming needs, so what's one more?
But where the PS Vita TV will most impress gamers is with its Remote Play features. Although it won't be available at launch, the Vita TV can use Remote Play almost exactly like the handheld Vita will be able to, albeit with one key difference.
Instead of streaming PS4 games to the Vita's OLED screen, however, the Vita TV will stream games to an additional TV and will use the DualShock 4 for control. That means gamers can stream their PS4 console gameplay to another TV through the PS Vita TV. With this feature, the PS Vita TV ostensibly becomes a Slingbox for your PS4 gaming.
Unfortunately, there are two downsides to this very exciting PS Vita TV announcement. First, the device has only been announced for the Japanese market (launch date: November 14th). There's no reason to think Sony isn't developing a version for North America and Europe, but the announcement was specifically geared towards Japanese gamers.
The second downside to the announcement is that the Remote Play functionality will be added at a later date through a system update. It's unclear if that's because the PS4 launches much later in Japan on February 22nd, or if the functionality is still in development, so that's something to keep an eye on. We should know more about Remote Play's timeline when the PS4 hits North American store shelves on November 15th.
Overall, the PS Vita TV sounds like just the thing for gamers who were interested in the Vita's Remote Play features, but weren't sold on the Vita as a handheld. With this much cheaper device (about $100), gamers can access their PS4 from nearly any room in their house, and if the mood strikes they can check out what the Vita has to offer in terms of its own experiences.
Does the PS Vita TV sound like something you would be interested in? What do you think the device is missing/needs, if anything?
The PS Vita TV launches November 14, 2013 in Japan. No North American or European release dates have been announced.
UPDATE: Sony has confirmed our exclusive report about Vita Remote Play and PlayStation 4 games.
'Yes, it's true unless the game requires specific hardware like the camera,' Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida wrote on Twitter in response to a question from a follower. 'It will be great to play PS4 games on PS Vita.'
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ORIGINAL STORY: A trusted PlayStation 4 developer source with a proven track record for accuracy has told Digital Foundry that Sony has mandated Vita Remote Play for all upcoming PS4 games - except those that require the use of its bundled stereoscopic camera, the PS4 Eye.
The news is a shot in the arm for the beleaguered PlayStation Vita, which has failed to attract commercial success in line with Sony's hopes for the system, and sets the stage for the handheld to provide the same kind of off-TV play that makes the Wii U GamePad such a useful gadget for gaming around the home (and indeed elsewhere).
Remote Play works by downscaling the 1080p framebuffer to the Vita's native 960x544 resolution, using the PS4's in-built hardware h.264 video encoder to compress the image. This is then beamed out over WiFi to the Vita, which decodes the video and sends back controller inputs to the PlayStation 4. It's effectively OnLive cloud streaming technology relocated to the home - the difference being that image quality issues can be resolved through much higher-bandwidth video, while input latency is cut down considerably owing to the localised nature of the network.
'Downscaling the native 1080p image for the Vita screen will lose some detail, but on the plus side we should get some great 'built-in' SSAA from the downsampling effect.'
Play Vita Games On Ps4
Remote Play itself is nothing new of course - PSP and Vita had lacklustre, laggy support for a handful of PS3 games - but Vita itself has seen virtually no additional support, despite the introduction of a higher-quality 480p protocol. Indeed, those running hacked PS3 firmwares have had access to the most games. The problem is that PS3 Remote Play is based around software video encoding via the Cell's SPUs, and developers are not keen on sacrificing that CPU time for Remote Play support, while the technology itself is slow to respond, with dodgy image quality.
It's all change for PlayStation 4, which features bespoke hardware video encoding for Remote Play, gameplay recording and screen-sharing support with all the benefits of the Gaikai streaming technology. It's a feature built into the operating system itself, incurring no performance penalty to developers. Up until now, the question has been to what extent publishers would want the feature enabled - conceivably, opening up a new library of software for Vita could steal sales from games designed for the system. The news that Sony is mandating support for all titles that don't require the camera takes the choice away from the publishers and ensures a level of consistency in the features that the majority of games offer.
The lack of support for titles using the PlayStation 4 Eye isn't particularly surprising. While the Vita has its own cameras, they lack the resolution of the bundled PS4 camera (not to mention the stereoscopic elements), plus of course any video data acquired would need to be beamed back to the PS4 for processing - not at all friendly from a platform perspective. It can't be easily supported at all, so games utilising the PS4 Eye - which we expect to be a minimal amount - are exempt from the new mandate.
We're particularly eager to get hands-on with PS4's Vita Remote Play features and to put image quality and latency to the test. The news that the vast majority of titles should support Remote Play means we'll have an enviable library of test games available on day one once Sony's next-gen console launches later in the year...
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Vita Remote Play Ps4
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