Sony has a new console -- and it's smaller than a DVD case.
The PlayStation TV, formerly called the Vita TV, is tiny. It costs $99. It plays Vita games. It streams PlayStation Now games. It can act as a remote hub for your PS4 to play in another room. And it might be the latest example of the next trend in gaming: the micro-console.
Amazon Fire TV, launched this past spring, cost a similar amount: $99, plus extra for a controller. Sony's newly-renamed PlayStation TV will have a similar type of bundle for $139, with a Dual Shock 3 controller, an 8GB memory card and a copy of the Lego Movie Vita game.
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 to not just play Vita games, but bridge PS4 console games to another TV and be a way to access the PlayStation Now streaming game service without buying a PS4 or Sony-branded TV. 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 be available in the fall in the US, Canada, and Europe (it's already out in Japan). It'll enter the arena alongside Amazon's Fire TV, albeit with a much better game library than Amazon's tiny box. Whether it will also be going up against a next-gen Apple TV -- possibly one with enhanced gaming abilities -- is anyone's guess.
For those who can't afford $400 consoles, these microconsoles could be interesting. But it really isn't clear how fun, or flexible, the PlayStation TV will feel when it's finally ready to play here in the US.
We'll try to grab some hands-on time with the PlayStation TV later this week at the E3 show in Los Angeles.
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