Sony’s PS Vita TV may have just sent shockwaves through Apple’s camp as the first real product that might challenge the Apple TV for the living room and media distribution.
Despite Apple TV always being referred to as ‘a hobby’, it has been extremely successful in invading consumers living rooms acting as a media consumption device by allowing content to be streamed easily from iOS devices. However, Sony have now announced the PS Vita TV in an event at Japan, which takes what the Apple TV offers and offers one better.
That’s because this $100 little PS Vita TV will play PS Vita Games, and also hook into Music and Video Unlimited services, along with a whole bunch of other propriety content and functionality. It’s due to launch in Japan on November 14th with worldwide availability not yet announced.
PS Vita TV
The PS Vita TV also provides access to Twitter and Hulu through the TV, as well as the necessary components to hook up to your TV without any adapters – HDMI, USB, Ethernet. In addition, there are slots for PS Vita Memory Cards, as well as a slot to insert PS Vita games. Perhaps more exciting is the remote play functionality, that allows the PS Vita TV to hook into a PlayStation 4 and act as a secondary terminal to play games away from the main console with a PlayStation controller.
The PS Vita TV explores the area that has been long rumoured for the Apple TV – Gaming. Sure, you can AirPlay your screen to Apple TV to mirror your device, but it’s not the same as native gaming, using a hardware controller.
Has this just made the PS Vita that little bit more attractive, or is it just an unnecessary feature that offers no real function? Does Apple TV reign supreme for you? Let us know in the comments below.