PlayStation TV Launches In North America This October
I’m curious how PlayStation TV will fare outside of Japan. The little device allows you to play almost 700 digital games on your TV, from PS Vita, PSP, and PS1, as well as some Vita game cards that generally don’t require touch controls. In addition, you can use PlayStation Now to rent streaming PS3 games, as well as stream your PS4 console to the device in another room. It’s a neat little device, but I’m wondering how many people will pick one up in the US and Canada for $99.99 on October 14. The standalone system doesn’t come with a DualShock 3, which is required to play, so that price point is mainly appealing to those who own a controller already (likely from their PS3). But if you don’t have a controller, you can get the system, a controller, an 8GB memory card, and The LEGO Movie Videogame for $139.99. (Buy that bundle at Wal-Mart to get Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time added for no extra cost!) In Europe, the box is releasing for £85/€100 on November 14, with OlliOlli, Velocity Ultra, and Worms Revolution Extreme included for free.
My concern is that PlayStation TV seems slightly niche in the current market. The person who is going to get the most out of this system is one who already has a DualShock 3 (and possibly a PS3 as a result), a PS4, likely a PS Vita with some games, and some digital PS1 games. And when you’ve got all those things, do you really need a PlayStation TV? (Especially if you can simply buy PS3 games instead of paying high prices to rent PS3 games via PlayStation Now.) It’s mainly duplicating things your current tech can do, just offering you a cheap way to bring your existing content onto another TV in the house for an affordable price.
You could make the argument that this is a boon for those who want to play Vita games but don’t want a handheld system. (Indeed, the system is sold in Japan as the PlayStation Vita TV.) But sadly, the Vita library still has not taken off, aiming more towards niche games and ports from consoles as opposed to the wide variety found on the Nintendo 3DS. I hope the hardware does okay, and I could see myself picking one up. But considering how much difficulty the Vita has had selling in the US, I have a feeling that the PlayStation TV won’t exactly be flying off shelves.
Source: PlayStation Blog