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PlayStation Vita TV hack gives you a way to play more games
If you have a PlayStation TV collecting dust in a cabinet somewhere, this might make it useful again. A user called "mr.gas" from the Hackinformer forum has detailed how you can tweak the device to play games that it's currently not compatible with. The best thing about the procedure is it's actually doable, even if you're not that adept at hacking hardware. You only need to send PS TV a message from your email app with the writer.eml file attached (a download link can be found on the source's website) and renamed as #0 without an extension.
How would you change Sony's PlayStation Vita TV?
It's a PlayStation Vita that you can connect to your TV, but that doesn't mean you should automatically go out and buy one. When we reviewed the hardware last year, we found that the low price and ability to play retro games were great, but the media streaming let the side down. That said, it was a much better crafted piece of hardware than some Android-powered consoles our reviewer could have mentioned. So, what we want to know is do you like your Vita TV and if so, why? Hop over into our forum and share the love, the hatred and everything in between.
The DekaVita is a seven-inch 'handheld' with a Vita TV slid into the back
When the not-exactly-small five-inch PlayStation Vita just isn't enough handheld for your... hands, it's time for the DekaVita 7 -- literally "huge Vita 7". Gametech has managed to make the Vita TV portable, by attaching HDMI and AC connectors, buttons and a seven-inch IPS screen to the miniconsole. (Why?) The result is something approaching a slightly smaller Wii U GamePad, although there's no touchscreen -- because there isn't any compatibility with the Vita TV. (Seriously, why?) It'll cost 23,000 yen when it launches sometime in Spring 2015, although early preorders will get a 4,000 yen discount. Japan residents can do that here. Just, why?
PlayStation TV launches October 14th in US and Canada
Sony will be releasing its PlayStation TV here in the US and in Canada on October 14th. What's more, as it looks to get people amped up for it, the company also let it be known that the mini console is set to have nearly 700 playable games from day one, giving interested folks Stateside and in The Great White North something to look forward to come launch day. That amount of games, naturally, is made possible thanks to the PlayStation TV's flexibility -- it provides access to a variety of content in different ways, including through PS Vita titles, PlayStation Now and via Remote Play with a PlayStation 4. The PlayStation TV is going to be available for $99 (system-only), or you also have the option to get a $140 bundle which includes a DualShock 3 controller, 8GB memory card and The Lego Movie Videogame.
Sony's PlayStation TV is coming to Europe on November 14th
Microsoft's already taken the stage at Gamescom to show us what's next for Xbox, and now it is Sony's turn to do the same with PlayStation. Today, in Cologne, Germany, the Japanese outfit announced that its micro-console, the PlayStation TV, will be available in Europe starting November 14th. SCEE worldwide studios SVP Michael Denny said PlayStation TV, also known as PS Vita TV, is set to hit European shelves bundled with three digital games, priced at 99 euros. According to Sony's teaser video, which you can watch after the break, the titles included are OlliOlli, Velocity Ultra and Worms Revolution Extreme. The tiny streaming box was released in Japan on November 14th of last year, so it has taken Sony quite a while to bring it to The Old Continent. Earlier, Sony revealed it has now sold over 10 million PS4s to date, making it obvious that demand for the console hasn't slowed down a bit since its debut.
With the PlayStation TV, Sony's going after families with young kids
The PlayStation TV is a curious oddity. The $100 device, a rebranded Vita TV that's slated to launch in North America and Europe later this fall, is Sony's direct answer to the Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV streaming boxes currently flooding the market. It's also the only box of the bunch capable of offering a video game experience that goes beyond just casual gaming. In fact, the PlayStation TV's library of titles spans several platforms: the PS Vita, PSP, PS One, PS3 (via PS Now's cloud streaming) and PS4 over Remote Play. It'll also offer consumers the ability to stream video content. But with the PS4 occupying the top spot in the PlayStation totem pole, we have to wonder: Just who is the PlayStation TV for?
PlayStation Vita TV review: Sony's first mini-console has some growing pains
Sony had a tiny surprise to share just ahead of the Tokyo Games Show: the PS Vita TV, appearing from inside SCE President Andrew House's jacket pocket. Having already announced a new, slender PS Vita handheld less than an hour earlier, Sony showed off this minute console -- roughly the same footprint as a smartphone -- that plays Vita games, PlayStation games and streams video content, as well as music and video from Sony's own store. It can also connect with multiple PS3 DualShock controllers, allowing for proper, responsive gaming -- something we're not quite used to getting from something so tiny. You could see it as a brutal counterstrike from the PlayStation team against the cheap, mini-console likes of OUYA and GameStick, even Huawei. Aside from contemporary Vita titles and indie games, you can also tap into an ever-increasing catalog of hits from yesteryear -- something that the Android and iOS platforms also dip their feet into, but with the peace of mind (read: stability) of PlayStation hardware, and the ability to steer the action with a DualShock controller. Sound like something you'd like to try out? Well, unfortunately, unlike the new PS Vita, this is currently a Japan-only deal. What's more, availability in Nihon is directly tied to compatibility there, too; you'll need a Japanese PSN account to even use it. We're still getting a vague line from SCE on whether it will eventually arrive outside of Japan. (It would be a convenient bit of hardware to sell alongside Sony's PlayStation Now streaming-game service, set to launch in the US later this year, right?) So, is this just a tenuous experiment or a whole new console line for PlayStation? Or, given that it's practically got all the same internals, would you be better off just buying a Vita?
Sony teases 'slimmest' PlayStation device coming to the UK on January 30th
We've had a lucky run with product teasers recently. Instead of being totally vague, they've deliberately given us some inkling of what to expect, and we're hoping that the Sony flyer above -- summoning us to a PlayStation event in London -- does so too. We're told the briefing will introduce UK journalists to the "slimmest" PlayStation device, but we're not told that we're definitely going to witness the launch of a whole new product, which -- to our minds, at least -- suggests we might be looking at the UK launch of the PlayStation Vita TV. At just 13.6mm thick, the Vita TV is the thinnest PS device that we know of and it's currently only available in Japan, so a launch in the UK (or anywhere outside of Asia) could potentially be a big deal. We're gonna go ahead and rule out a super slim PlayStation 4 already, but the other plausible alternative is that the flyer is technically wrong, and that this is the UK launch of the slimmer version of the PlayStation Vita handheld -- in other words, the 2013 Japanese model, which has an LCD screen instead of OLED, better battery life and which is just 15mm thick (20 percent skinnier than the current UK model). In any case, we'll be there at the event on January 30th, with a flask of coffee and a pair of calipers.
PlayStation Vita TV seeing 'strong response' outside of Japan, Sony looking into EU / US launch
As if it weren't already expected enough, PlayStation Vita TV is almost certainly headed to territories outside of Japan. "During the presentation yesterday, the European / American users showed a very strong response, more than we expected, and there has been a strong inquiry / request / demand that they want the product," SVP and Division President of Business Division 1 at Sony Computer Entertainment Masayasu Ito told Engadget in an interview today. "Of course we are thinking of launching in the EU and US, but in terms of timing we have to watch the timing and watch the environment carefully," he added. That echoes statements made by Sony, who told us "We are considering every opportunity, but have nothing to announce at this time" a few weeks back. What Ito expanded on, though, was how the system might change before heading to other regions. "If we have to add further services or not. It's not that we have decided, but cloud gaming services, how can we work on that? So we are looking at each of the possible items before launching in Europe or the United States," he told us. Interesting indeed, especially considering the upcoming Gaikai game streaming functionality for PlayStation game consoles. It sounds like the rest of the world won't see Vita TV this year, but rest assured, it's almost certainly on the way. Check out all our Tokyo Game Show 2013 coverage right here at our hub!
Hands-on with the PlayStation Vita TV, Sony's $100 microconsole (update: video!)
The PlayStation Vita TV is an aberration, but it's also another smart move from a company that's been on the gaming offensive since its February kickoff event for the PlayStation 4. In short, Vita TV is a Vita without a screen, encased in a small white plastic box and meant to plug into your home entertainment system. It plays Vita games, it runs Vita game carts, and it does all the other Vita stuff (media streaming, PSOne games, etc.). The Vita TV's only major difference from the handheld version is that Vita TV streams PlayStation 4 games from within the same WiFi under its "PS4 link" app, while it still goes under the Remote Play moniker on the portable iteration. We didn't get hands-on time with Vita TV at its coming out event in Tokyo last week, but we did today at the Tokyo Game Show. Sadly, though the PS4 streaming was demonstrated on-stage by Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida earlier in the day, we couldn't try it out ourselves. We did get to check out the UI, though, and we spent our time playing UmJammer Lammy (sequel to staff favorite PaRappa the Rapper). Head below for our thoughts on the time we spent with Vita TV.
Sony's PS Vita TV launching in Asia in January, regional pricing TBA
Earlier this month, SCEJA president Hiroshi Kawano announced that the PlayStation 4 would hit Japan on February 22nd, a full three months after the console's mid-November launch in the US. To help ease that pain, however, Sony introduced a new product at the same event: the $100 PS Vita TV. The compact device, which offers Vita-like functionality but with a DualShock 3 controller and TV output, is scheduled to launch in Japan on November 14th. Now, at a pre-Tokyo Game Show event in Japan, we've received word that the same box will hit stores in other Asian countries, such as China and Korea, come January 2014, with pricing for those countries yet to be announced. Sadly, it's still unlikely that the Vita TV will debut in Europe or North America.
PS Vita TV can 'technically' support PS3 games through the cloud, according to SCE CEO
We know that the PS Vita TV will play PSP, PSOne and Vita titles, and will even (eventually) be able to stream PS4 titles once both devices are on sale. But how about PS3? Andrew House, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO, explained in a round-table interview that the tiny streaming set is "technically" capable of supporting PS3 titles through the same cloud-based streaming that will bring PS3 titles to its successor. It makes sense, (if it can stream fancier games from the PS4, titles from console iteration no.3 should be a cinch, right?) but it's the first time we've heard that Sony is considering it. We're hoping the feature eventually makes it, if only to make amends for the confusing backwards-compatibility saga that the PS3 previously suffered.
Breaking down the PS Vita TV: Why Sony's $100 set-top box is more than a consolation prize
Late last night / very early this morning, Sony's PlayStation team finally unveiled a release date for the PlayStation 4 in Japan: February 22, 2014. That's just short of 100 days after the company's new game console launches in the US, and nearly as far away from the console's arrival on European shores -- a far cry from the PlayStation 3's launch strategy, which put the console in Japanese gamers' hands first. Instead, Sony's got another idea for Japanese gamers this holiday in the PlayStation Vita TV. The $100 set-top Vita hooks up to televisions and functions as a Vita does, albeit with a DualShock 3 paired for control. It'll even act as a Remote Play device for the PlayStation 4 when that console eventually launches in Japan. Unlike some Japan-only PlayStation hardware from Sony's past (PS3's Torne DVR device, for instance), Vita TV seems bound for an international release. In Sony's official PR, the company says, "PS Vita TV will be available first in Japan prior to any other regions, on November 14, 2013." Prior to any other regions, eh? PlayStation's US counterparts are keeping coy. We asked if the console was being considered for release in North America and were told, "We are considering every opportunity, but have nothing to announce at this time," by an SCEA rep.
Sony's new PlayStation Vita TV won't run all Vita games
Sony's mini-console has certainly got our attention. It's a bold and relatively cheap new way of entering the world of PlayStation, but it won't work with all your Vita games. The company has published a list of compatible titles and we can already spot that the likes of Gravity Rush, Wipeout and Uncharted are absent from it. Fortunately, the list of Japanese titles we'll be able to play on the $100 device is still pretty lengthy, and some exceptions were to be expected in any case -- the Vita TV is controlled with a a DualShock which lacks the Vita handheld's touchpanels. Check out the full list of compatible titles at the source below, but remember -- these are Japan-only details for now, and the list could well grow by the time there's a global launch (assuming that one is indeed on the way).
New PlayStation Vita and PS Vita TV eyes-on
Two new devices from Sony today -- and we're still a little shocked. Alongside a thinner, improved PS Vita, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House took to the stage to introduce a little TV-connected device called the PS Vita TV. It's capable of playing Vita games, handling Connected Play with your future PS4 and running a whole host of media and streaming services. We weren't allowed to touch either device (though we admit we did handle the new Vita's controls a little bit, sorry Sony...) so you'll have to make do with our gallery of angles just below. Full hands-on impressions, it seems, will have to wait until next week.
PS Vita TV is a mini console that brings games and services to your TV, arrives November for around $100 (video)
This tiny 60mm x 100mm wonder is the PlayStation Vita TV. Not only is it a miniature console that plays Vita games and connects to PlayStation controllers, it also offers access to Sony's Music Unlimited, Video Unlimited service, karaoke and more -- all for 9,954 yen (around $100). It's a knowing nod to the likes of Ouya, NVIDIA's Shield, and even Google's Chromecast although it's a little bit different again, attempting to broach both gaming and online media consumption. Other services ready for the PS Vita TV include Twitter (through Sony's own client), Hulu and NicoNico Douga, with even more media providers signing up to offer their services on the new device, at least in Japan. Up close, you can see it includes HDMI output, space for a (proprietary Vita) memory card, a slot for Vita games (on the side), plus USB, power and ethernet ports. You will also be able to buy a set with a controller and storage card for 14,995 yen ($150) and it's set to go on sale (in Japan at least) on the 14th of November. And there's another key feature: the PS Vita TV will also allow you to connect to PlayStation 4 (when it arrives) for remote play, acting as a secondary terminal for gaming when you're not in the same room as your next-gen console. You'll find a promo video showing off the new device right after the break.
