Sony Announces PS Vita Redesign, PS Vita TV
If you didn’t get the memo, Sony really, really wants you to buy a PlayStation Vita. The ailing handheld is in desperate need of a good install base. In Japan, they just announced two new products that will hopefully help turn the tide for the system. The first is the PCH-2000, a slightly redesigned Vita that is 20% thinner, 15% lighter, and comes in six colors. The battery now lasts for 6 hours, you can charge it via micro USB, and it comes with 1GB of storage, though you’ll want to consider buying a memory card, like the new 64GB one that costs about $100. A key difference is that this redesign sports a LCD screen instead of an OLED screen, which is sure to help battery life and screen consistency, but is a shame for those of us who love the current OLED screen. This WiFi-only Vita will be out on October 10 and cost the same amount as the current model. But the bigger news is their other big Vita announcement.
It seems that Sony doesn’t really care where you play your Vita games as long as you’re playing them. Introducing the PS Vita TV, a 6cm x 10 cm box that lets you play Vita games (on card or digital) on your TV, as well as digital PSP games, downloaded PS1 games, and other Vita apps. It’s basically a Vita without the screen or controls, which is okay, because it outputs in up to 1080i and uses a DualShock 3 controller (the PS3 controller). That means that some games requiring the touchscreen won’t play on it, but it still supports the majority of the games. Sony is also putting more of their Gaikai streaming technology to use, allowing you to synch it with your upcoming PS4 so that you can play in a different room if someone else is using the TV the PS4 is connected to. (There’s no word on whether you can use the PS Vita TV for PS3/PS4 remote play via streaming like you can with the actual handheld.)
If you’re in Japan, you can buy the PS Vita TV on November 15 for about $150 with a controller. But if you already have a controller from your PS3, then you can just buy the box for about $100! It’s a pretty cool device that gives you more options on how to play your handheld games, especially now that they can look as good as Vita games. Now Sony just needs more killer apps for the platform!