The Vita TV, as it was previously called, debuted in 2013 at the Tokyo Game Show. It didn't make a big splash then, but the proposition is different now: Sony described its PlayStation TV as a box that would be an affordable conduit not just to Vita games, but stream PS4 console games to another TV. It's also a way to access the PlayStation Now streaming game service without buying a PS4 or Sony-branded TV.
Three ways to play games
Indeed, Sony pledged "hundreds" of PS3 games on the PlayStation TV via the PlayStation Now streaming service, as well as "access to video and music streaming services." The PlayStation TV will also access 1,000 games out of the box when it debuts, according to Sony, adding up games in the Vita, PS One, and PSP downloadable catalogues already on the PlayStation Store. The PlayStation TV will treat itself like another Vita device as far as connecting to your PSN account, and download games or apps from your collection.
We still don't know the pricing of PlayStation Now, which could factor into how good a deal the PlayStation TV seems to be. And you'll need to invest in at least one controller and a memory card, too -- included in the $139 bundle, but you might want to pay even more to store enough games.
Specs and features
The PlayStation TV has a solid set of hardware features for its size: a Cortex A9 processor, Ethernet, USB 2.0 and HDMI ports, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.
Unfortunately, Sony's PlayStation TV is cursed with a storage problem. There's only 1GB of internal storage, just like the Vita Slim, and to add more -- which will most certainly will need to -- requires Vita memory cards. Yes, it means you can swap in Vita memory cards and play them seamlessly on the PlayStation TV, but it also means you can't use regular SD or microSD, or even Memory Sticks, to add on storage for game or movie downloads. Vita memory cards are proprietary and still really expensive.
