Most of the games I own are physical cartridge; as I have a severe problem with Sony's digital download business model (more on this another day). However, I do own a few digital downloads thanks to a flash sale here-and-there as well as the Scion Motorstom RC promotion; which by the way is a surprisingly fun game online
.I watched the UPS tracking in excitement for my new toy. By the time it came in, I ripped it out of the box, slammed it into the HDMI port of my TV and immediately put in Wipeout [cart] to prepare myself for some high-speed stakes!
Of course I was a little upset. But lo and behold, a possible solution says Sony: "update the application". Of course thats the reason the game isn't working
. So I back out and proceed to put in my wifi and them update the application, and then it struck me: The game is incompatible with the PSTV. Even though I am frustrated at this point I decided to move on and try my other games. Metal Gear (port), Little Big Planet, Ninja Gaiden and even my Motorstorm RC DDL didn't work! (By the way, Motorstorm RC is compatible with the PSTV, but not the 'free' one by Scion. They are two separate downloads)AAAARRRGGG
I should have known. It was only at this point that the article of the PSTV whitelist became hot in my mind just sitting in my memory recall center http://wololo.net/2015/09/26/pstv-white ... eps-video/. How could I have been so shortsighted? However, after thinking for a while I realized that this was not my fault. Sony could have done so much better.
If someone buys a PSTV, and I do mean the average consumer [not us in the hacker community], Sony should make a few things more apparent and seamless:
- Vita only games should list on the back "not compatible with PSTV" as a logo (no fine print!)
- incompatible games should NOT show up on the dashboard of the PSTV (aka the "installing...")
- Why in the world can you download a Vita-only game to a PSTV but not a PS3 game to the PSTV? Treat it as a different system Sony! After all, it is.
- Similar as above, rebranding should occur from the PSN to even a sticker on games "PSTV". No more "Vita games for PSTV". The laymen's confusion will be the end (if not already) to this device.
- Advanced user option to play any Vita game on PSTV despite incompatibility. Even if this means only buying games on the PC, Sony prompting you about the PSTV incompatibility and you accepting the override. Most of the problems reside in cartridge bought games or pre-owned digital assets that cannot be used. (unfortunately these extensive measures would be necessary so Sony doesn't refund games all days to the laymen users)
Do keep in mind that you can find the official Sony list of compatible games here: https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/ ... VVITAGAMES
After my frustration I decided to go on a hunt for a low-firmware PSTV in which to do the whitelist hack with. It only took me 2 hours of kindly asking eBay sellers to go out of their way to check their system settings screen. One seller was so astonished with my polite asking that they commended me and the type of person that I am
(anyone who eBay sells will realize there are some crazy people out there). If you decide to do this as well, kill them with kindness. It only took two more days and I held in my hands a 3.35 PSTV. It is still, to this day, unactivated as I do not have a PS3, however after performing the whitelist hack, I am able to play all my cartridge based games. When the day comes that I can activate my system, I will then be able to side-load my PSN downloads [as long as they are <=3.35]. Now THIS was a worthy investment
. I decided to keep my PSTV 3.55+ as well as my 3.35 so I can rock both the PSN as well as the 'offline' Vita-Only gaming 
.So where does this leave us? Well lets compare:
If game playing is NOT an issue, as I have found with my 3.35 whitelist hacked PSTV, the comparison is a no contest. The PSTV is a amazing media playing device if you want to play games. The Ouya is now dead and will play android games, but un-intuitively. However, the PSTV does not play the great assortment of media like XBMC or 'sticking in a flash drive' of any codec & filetype. If your primary purpose is gaming on the cheap with some Netflix watching, the $35 PSTV [used] is the way to go! Lets look at some redeeming qualities that counteract the bad:
- Smart TV player (Netflix, movies, music, rentals, ect)
- PSP player (The list is massive on the store)
- Vita game player (w/Whitelist hack, or simply the long list of compatibles by Sony)
- Can be found for as little as $35!
- More power than the Chromecast for the same price (nix the slinging video feat.)
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