Sony Unveils the PS Vita TV and Slimmer Vita Handheld

Dave Knott writes "Sony today announced the PS Vita TV box. Measuring 6.5cm by 10.5cm, it can play Vita games on your television, stream content via HDMI or wirelessly, and play all the existing PlayStation Network content available on the standard Vita platform. This is seen by some analysts as an attempt by Sony to compete with such devices as the Ouya and Apple TV. The PS Vita TV is so far announced for a Japan-only release in early 2014 at a price of approximately $100 US. In related news, Sony also announced a lighter, slimmer, more colorful iteration of the standard Vita handheld console." The $100 model does not come with a controller; a $150 model was also announced that will include a Dualshock 3 and an 8G memory card.

multiple account support!

[neuro88]

I think this is a great idea if they can finally start allowing your vita to have multiple accounts at once. Currently, the only way to switch accounts is to reset the thing to factory defaults (which involves watching an annoying video when it starts for the "first" time), as well as format your memory card. This is pretty inconvenient on a portable, but would be flat out ridiculous on more of a home console type system.

Dying handhelds

[TJamieson]

This seems to be Sony's hedging of their bets that maybe handheld gaming devices are in their dying days. They get to turn the Vita into a pseudo-console/PS4 accessory and keep developers on the Vita platform in general. Maybe this is what Nintendo should be doing instead of a 2DS?

Re:multiple account support!

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Try to adopt a historical perspective:

The last time we were peasants who paid our feudal masters for the right to toil on his lands for a pittance and own next to nothing, we had bubonic plague and didn't have cable TV. Truly, a triumph of the human spirit!