Long before I’d purchased a PlayStation 4, I was more excited than I probably should have been for Sony’s PlayStation TV. PS TV is a small, $99 device that promises to not only play Vita cartridges on your television via its included slot and a DualShock controller, but also allow access to video content the way an Apple TV, Fire TV, or Roku typically would. As a fan of Vita’s small but high-quality library (particularly its visual novel selection), I looked forward to not only enjoying its games on the big screen in 720p, but sharing gaming experiences that I’d otherwise have kept to myself on a handheld. For my unique needs, it sounded pretty perfect.
Flash forward to this week, and you may have heard some pretty nasty remarks about PS TV. It launched just three days ago, and in that span there have already been reports stating the device is horrible, a waste of time, and plenty of other embellished means of dismissal.
Now, there’s no doubt that PS TV’s lack of Netflix support at launch is troubling, and I won’t pretend that it isn’t. Still, the situation isn’t hopeless; Hulu and Sony are in talks to remedy the situation with their existing Vita app, while Crackle and Sony’s own video store are already working. More important is how PS TV functions and performs as an overall media and entertainment device, and that’s the perspective I feel is being drastically overlooked.
Killzone: Mercenary is an example of a Vita title that looks great on the big screen.
Fire TV and Apple TV promise a machine that can be used for gaming and video, yet one category sorely outperforms the other. Do you recall a compelling gaming experience on either of those devices that lasted for more than ten hours? I don’t. PS TV, meanwhile, also promises gaming and video, and also sorely outperforms in one category over the other. It just so happens that this time the situation is flipped, and gaming is the far superior experience.
I’ll admit there are still downsides to the PS TV’s gaming chops, but if you own a PS4 already then you can’t expect a $99 console to deliver on current-gen standards. Less than a year ago we were all just fine with 720p native graphics on PS3, and now suddenly 720p is unacceptable? Sure, Vita titles run at less than 720p natively, but the ones that run at the maximum native 960×544 (like Killzone: Mercenary) ought to look just fine on the big screen. Initial reports are already claiming just that, specifically about Killzone — just check out any review of the device if you don’t believe me.
Also see: There Will Be Almost 700 Games Compatible with PlayStation TV
For the rest of Vita’s library I think it’s important to be reasonable, and regard the device as more of a console-independant Game Boy Player than a miniaturized PS4. GameCube did its best to upscale those GBA titles for huge TVs, but there’s simply no existing means of magically boosting the quality stored on a cartridge, nor has there ever been. It’s true that some disc-based games store HD assets even when the host console can’t display them (Super Mario Galaxy 2 looks gorgeous emulated in 720p and 60fps, for example), but until handhelds reach that stage or simply merge with home consoles altogether (rendering the future PS4s, Vitas, and PS TVs of the world a single device), it doesn’t seem like a very logical thing to complain about.
Many Vita titles deserve more attention than they get, and PS TV can help.
To me, the strength of PS TV will be playing Killzone: Mercenary, a very pretty and very fun AAA first-person shooter, locally with friends for a fraction of the cost of a similar experience on PS4. Or playing titles like Virtue’s Last Reward and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc on a communal television, introducing friends and family to a new and very valid gaming genre. Or, on a less a less reflective note, maybe certain buyers just don’t have the cash for next-gen gaming and everything that comes with it. A budget-priced smart TV, PS TV, and a Dual Shock 3 controller can all be had for approximately the same total cost of PS4 or Xbox One alone, and Vita games are a whole lot cheaper than their console counterparts — especially when bought used. A smart TV solves any gaping video content holes the PS TV may have, and you can bet that Sony’s $99 package offers a gaming experience you sure won’t find with Amazon or Roku anytime soon. To me, that sounds like a pretty impressive value.
Related: Check out PlayStation TV’s New Trailer
I’ll admit that the above scenario isn’t extremely common, but with the right mindset PS TV is more viable than the internet is giving it credit for. Additionally, an investment in PS TV represents an investment in the future. If Netflix shows up on this thing in a month or two then 80% of people’s complaints are solved, and when PlayStation Now finally leaves beta (hopefully with a reasonable pricing structure), suddenly PS TV becomes one of the best values in entertainment, period. Imagine a PS TV with a jacked-up PlayStation Plus subscription, allowing all-you-can-eat access to not just the standard Plus perks, but the entire PS Now library. Even if said membership cost $100 per year, you could make a solid argument it’d be worth the cost, especially when a mere $99 barrier of entry grants unfettered access.
At the end of the day I’m giving Sony the benefit of the doubt, but even if nothing I’ve described comes to pass, I feel PS TV is still a respectable deal for the price. Existing streaming solutions are great for video but less than ideal for gaming — what’s wrong with a company trying the reverse for a change?
