Looking back on the initial hype surrounding the OUYA, I cannot help but feel foolish. I thought that an affordable portable game box with Tegra 3 technology could have been viable. It wasn’t until after release that a number of build and interface problems became apparent. Perhaps it was the portability that caught my attention before I was ultimately struck by a harsher reality. Even so, my intrigue in gaming experiences within the hand has not waned.
Looking back on the initial hype surrounding the OUYA, I cannot help but feel foolish. I thought that an affordable portable game box with Tegra 3 technology could have been viable. It wasn’t until after release that a number of build and interface problems became apparent. Perhaps it was the portability that caught my attention before I was ultimately struck by a harsher reality. Even so, my intrigue in gaming experiences within the hand has not waned.
Recently announced by Sony at its pre-TGS press conference, the PS Vita TV seems to be something of a companion piece for the PlayStation 4. What the Vita TV allows you to do is all in the name: you can run PlayStation Vita games on your television. While there is far more to the idea than that – video streaming like Hulu being one side feature to speak of – I cannot help but wonder whether this idea will be impactful in the long run.
There are three main talking points I’d like to go over.
1. Are the proprietary memory cards still an issue?
Prior to the Vita’s release last year, many fans cried foul at the idea of having to purchase Sony’s own memory cards, unable to use cheaper alternatives from third parties like SanDisk or Kingston. This is a reasonable point to make; for example, it’s easy enough to go on Amazon and purchase a 32G SDHC card for less than $20 used. Even after the price drop announcement for the Vita last month, Sony’s 32G Vita card goes for a taller retail price of $79.99. It’s likely that many gamers would have purchased the Vita had the option of third party memory solutions existed.
2. Is game compatibility going to be a problem?
The Vita has a touchscreen and that very feature is implemented in a number of titles, the gameplay practically depending on it. Killzone: Mercenary, for example, uses the screen in order to pull off certain melee attacks. Gravity Rush put the screen into implementation for the sake of dodging. To say that these are integral to the game would be akin to saying that gasoline is integral to run a Taurus. It’s been debated whether or not the developers will issue patches to account for this. If not, Vita TV has a tremendous downside.
3. Are there enough Vita users – current and prospective – to warrant the device?
It’s no secret that Sony has been slacking in terms of advertisement for the Vita and I have to wonder whether a strong social media agency might have helped last year. It’s not like the system, as it stands, is short on games but how often are they showcased in commercials? Software ultimately makes the hardware profitable and it is a fair assumption to make that the Vita simply does not have enough informed consumers ready to put down $100.
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