Playstation TV now available for preorder, already a bestseller
The US/Europe release of the VitaTV, a.k.a. PlaystationTV was probably the biggest piece of news related to the Vita at E3 2014. Many gamers in the US had been waiting for the device to be made available in North America, and apparently this shows: Amazon made the device available for preorder right after the announcement, and it instantly climbed to the Best Seller list.
The VitaTV in Japan had had the same kind of pattern when it got released for preorder, with preorder prices skyrocketting to twice the price within a few days as it quickly ran out of stock. People who have an interest in the PlaystationTV might want to preorder it now to avoid overpaying for it through a 3rd party reseller.
The PlaystationTV comes in two versions: The device itself, available for $99, or a Bundle including a Dualshock 3 controller, an 8GB memory stick, and a copy of the the “Lego – the movie” videogame for Vita. The Bundle is available for $139.99.
In Many cases, the Bundle is a no brainer: your Playstation TV will need a controller and a memory card. So unless you have those lying around, better go with the bundle than purchase them separately. The Lego game is just icing on the cake for the price.
What is Playstation TV and what does it do?
The features of the Playstation TV and its exact limitations are not fully known as of now. The Playstation TV is basically a PS Vita that doesn’t have a screen and plugs to your TV instead. I’ve already given a few first impressions and details on the Playstation TV here. Below are a few of the features of the Playstation TV, and I’ll try to explain some of the limitations as well.
PS4 Remote Play: The Playstation TV can be used to remote play the PS4 (basically letting you play the PS4 on another TV, useful if someone in your family is using the main TV when you want to play). This is a feature that exists today on the Vita and on the VitaTV, is known to work well, and there’s no reason to believe it will work differently on the Playstation TV. Most of the features and games of the ps4 work with remote play.
Vita Games compatibility: The Playstation TV will be compatible with a subset of PS Vita games, as well as PSP games and PS1 classics. Sony haven’t published a compatibility list yet, but be careful: In Japan, the VitaTV is compatible with only 17% of Vita games. Sony announced at E3 that the Playstation TV would be compatible with “most” Vita games, but take this with a grain of salt as they had said the same of the Vita TV.
Movies/Music: Sony have announced that the PlaystationTV will have access to a range of Movie and Music streaming services. It is likely these will be the same that are available on the PS Vita, but be careful: Youtube is not compatible with the VitaTV as of now, and there is a risk it might not be compatible with the PlaystationTV either, until an update is provided. The Vita does not support Amazon Instant Video, etc… Overall, my advice is to not get a Playstation TV if you expect it to replace your set top box. Not until we know more about actual streaming services available.
Playstation Now: This is Sony’s upcoming Games streaming service. The PlaystationTV will let you play a selection of PS3 games. The service is currently under beta test and there is no information on how many games will be available for it. It will be a rental mechanism, and the prices are announced to vary between $2.99 and $19.99. In other words: wait and see.
Homebrews and emulators: emulators and homebrews are the “added value” that we will provide here for the PlaystationTV at wololo.net 🙂 The exploits we release for the PS Vita will be compatible with the VitaTV, assuming the exploited games are part of its compatibility list. This will unlock homebrews and emulators for the device. (check here for a comprehensive list of emulators). Exploits have been released and tested in the past on the VitaTV (see here), which is exactly the same device as the PlaystationTV based on the public specs, so I am confident we will have exploits available for the Playstation TV when it is out.
Disclaimer: the Amazon links above are affiliate links. You don’t pay more if you purchase through those links, but I get a percentage of the sale. Thanks for your support.
You got a typo here near the end of the pasted text: “It is likely these will be the same that are available on the PS Vita, but be careful: Youtube is not compatiblle with the VitaTV” 🙂
Thanks, fixed
Great news, thanks Wololo
As much as I love my Vita, it being called Playstation TV instead in the states is definitely a smart choice. I pre-ordered for sure having a PS4 and Vita with plenty of memory cards.
Wololo have u noticed a lot of websites are claiming pstv will run ps1 AND ps2 classics, in addition to remote ps3 streaming.
Could it be that sony is going to launch a ps2 emulator for vita? Is it possible or is it a typo?
What? Vita can already run PS1/2 classics from PSN store. I do not know what are you getting at.
no,u got it wrong,only ps1
Yeah, it can’t run PS2 games, they aren’t available for download or anything. Not saying it can’t in the future, but for right now, PS2 Classics are NOT supported on the VITA in any fashion, unless it is a game like Crash Tag Team Racing or GTA: Liberty City Stories…Games that were available on the PS2/PSP, but they are the PSP version.
Playstation Now is supposed to include PS2 games, they’re probably talking about that.
Thanks for the info Wololo, I’ll definitely be buying this one! I skipped the “original” handheld version of the Vita, ’cause I already had a handheld (that is the PSP) and I don’t really need another one.
Great news! I’d buy it day one if the shipping werent expensive for my country ;_;
Do you think that the Playstation TV would be a solution so we could capture footage of the Vita via an Elgato device and we won´t have to buy a PS Vita with capture card?
Yes, since it has HDMI output, you should be able to use any capture device like the Elgato
Yeah, the device does have HDCP enabled, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be recorded by other means. Elgato should not work Wololo. I don’t have my own experience on this, just citations by others, including Japanese websites and such. I’d love if you could test it. But is does have HDCP enabled for the device, at least with the VITA TV version.
Hey People PlayStation Australia confirmed its coming to Australia on there Facebook Page
Another “be careful”- Sony has not shown positive proof of a Vita game card slot on this US/EU version. If you need that I would wait until orders start shipping and see user reviews for this device.
http://gamingeverything.com/playstation-tv-photos/?pid=34943
well i would like blops declassified on my tv
so i’ll wait for the specs on the cartridge
It does support the gamecards. They have pics of it. This is just people thinking they dropped for some reason that makes no sense. But yeah. there is proof. It has a VITA game card slot.
Question, what are you using to display your vita tv on the alienware (or any other laptop)? I’m interested in making my laptop a “tv”.
I’d probably buy one if I can use a dual shock 4 for touch screen input. Would be so nice just getting home, remove the memory card from the vita and plug it into the vita tv and continue playing on the tv.
Lol at it being a best seller. The same thing happened on the Japanese release for VitaTV and you learned nothing.
Amazon’s position means nothing until you know the numbers.
How were you able to stream the PSTV to your laptop? Is this a feature that will happen naturally?