PS Vita TV

[Tempest]

So how do you play PSP games on the Vita? Do you have to download them onto the machine somehow? I assume my existing PSP 'discs' would be useless.

[Atariboy]

Unless the outside chance of an external UMD drive happens for the Japanese marketplace that would connect to this via the USB port to enable full PSP compatibility that North American gamers could hopefully import and connect to a domestic version of the PS Vita TV, you unfortunately are assuming correctly. Japan loves the PSP so this doesn't seem outlandish to hope for and strikes me as far more realistic than had we been talking about a consolized Vita 48 hours ago.

 

It's not even 100% compatible with PSP compatible downloads available on the digital Playstation Store. The best compatibility list was just posted on the previous page and would give you a good idea of the compatibility status of each available download. It's pretty good for the most part especially with UMD downloads but some games aren't supported like Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play. And some games require a workaround with a PS3 to get them onto a Vita which might not even be possible with the Vita TV.

 

And judging by their absence on that list, I assume that TurboGrafx-16 & Neo Geo downloads aren't supported. [Edit: They're just intermixed in the PSP category and at least some of them are supported]

Edited September 10, 2013 by Atariboy

[cimerians]

So how do you play PSP games on the Vita? Do you have to download them onto the machine somehow? I assume my existing PSP 'discs' would be useless.

 

 

Check this:

 

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/281768-complete-list-of-pspminispsone-games-playable-on-vita/

 

Click on the PSP spoiler and notice the color codes. They can either be downloaded directly from the PSN store (green) using the Vita or some need to be downloaded to the PS3 first and then xfered to the Vita (blue).

 

 

----

I can confirm this as I was confused as well when I first tried it. You would think Sony would be more informative about this but I sure as hell went through a hard time trying to figure out why I couldn't download a PSP game that I own directly from the Vita itself. Some I had to use the PS3 and others I didnt. When I figured it out I was a bit annoyed as you can tell.

 

No discs. I keep my PSP around because of that.

Edited September 10, 2013 by cimerians

[Atariboy]

Too bad a moderator over there wouldn't edit that post and fix the color coding tags.

[cimerians]

Yeah I know its pretty crappy...at least it gives an idea of what works.

[Atariboy]

It's also slightly out of date but that's a minor point I suppose when probably 95% of PSP downloadable content is covered there. I noticed some later Minis not listed, I'm sure the PS1 list is similarly out of date, and there still seems to be regular PSP downloads once in a while so a few late releases aren't covered.

[cimerians]

In all honesty I felt that downloading from the PSN store on the Vita was a huge chore. Sometimes it wouldnt work other times it did. It took me a while to get my Plus content downloaded and of course having a few Vita disc based downloads eats up a TON of space even on a 32GB card. The biggest negatives on an otherwise really nice system.

[theredlineboss]

Certainly didn't expect something like this...I have to say that I'm kind of interested in the device and I've already got a Vita . If it only supported an external drive rather than the proprietary memory cards...

 

-Rob

[DaytonaUSA]

I can confirm that WRC 3 is a great game. If you're a racing game fan it's the game for you.

[yarjr]

Id rather buy it than the handheld. IMO Other companies need to give up and bow to Nintendo in that arena.

[DaytonaUSA]

Id rather buy it than the handheld. IMO Other companies need to give up and bow to Nintendo in that arena.

I agree that Nintendo seems to be the only company able to make a serious dent, but to be fair Sony is doing something here that Nintendo should have done first. The Wii u is more than capable of running 3ds games, and since Nintendo doesn't see 3d as terribly crucial to the games' success, it's not like it would hurt to play them in 2d at home.

 

In fact Nintendo could honestly one up Sony in this case if they allowed the system to play downloadable games on the Wii u without any "3ds" attachment. Or heck, a 20 dollar 3ds cart reader that plugs in via USB.

[Skarrj]

I agree that Nintendo seems to be the only company able to make a serious dent, but to be fair Sony is doing something here that Nintendo should have done first. The Wii u is more than capable of running 3ds games, and since Nintendo doesn't see 3d as terribly crucial to the games' success, it's not like it would hurt to play them in 2d at home.

In fact Nintendo could honestly one up Sony in this case if they allowed the system to play downloadable games on the Wii u without any "3ds" attachment. Or heck, a 20 dollar 3ds cart reader that plugs in via USB.

Look to the future, after the heavy hitters come out. Why would they want you to play mario kart 7 now when mk u is on the way. I could see a device released in the future though.

[EricBall]

I agree that Nintendo seems to be the only company able to make a serious dent, but to be fair Sony is doing something here that Nintendo should have done first. The Wii u is more than capable of running 3ds games, and since Nintendo doesn't see 3d as terribly crucial to the games' success, it's not like it would hurt to play them in 2d at home.

 

In fact Nintendo could honestly one up Sony in this case if they allowed the system to play downloadable games on the Wii u without any "3ds" attachment. Or heck, a 20 dollar 3ds cart reader that plugs in via USB.

 

Hmm... use the Wii U GamePad for the bottom touch screen & controls and have the Wii U show the top screen on the HDTV. It would work for some games, but others wouldn't. Fer instance Dream Team has you turn the 3DS sideways for some of the boss fights. Other games use both screens to show double-height graphics.

[EricBall]

Thinking more about the Vita TV I think the biggest problem is going to be if Sony doesn't scale the PSP/Vita games to the HDTV panel resolution (720p, 1080i and 1080p). If it tops out at 1080i then a 1080p display is going to look worse than a native 720p display.

 

And while Remote View may be cool for some, I don't know whether the PS4 is going to be sending a full 1080p signal or a quarter (960x540) which matches the Vita's resolution.

 

There's also the naming. While Vita TV is good because it reflects the ability to play (some) Vita games, it may have been better to give it a different brand, like Playstation Mini, so games could be clearly marked as "Vita & PS Mini compatible".

[Atariboy]

Look to the future, after the heavy hitters come out. Why would they want you to play mario kart 7 now when mk u is on the way. I could see a device released in the future though.

Why would they want you not to? I really doubt that suddenly being able to play Mario Kart 7 on a HDTV would put any sort of a dent on Mario Kart 8's sales. Yet a 3DS Player attachment for the Wii U would please many players, sell more handheld software, and probably would sell a fair number of Wii U's in the process and get those people also buying Wii U software as a consequence.

 

I was reading a thread at NeoGaf a couple of days back after the PS Vita TV announcement about just such of a device. Many were proclaiming that the resolution of the 3DS screen would look awful blown up on a HDTV. But if one plays something like Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, a pillarboxed 240p Genesis game has almost as much pixel density in a given area on your HDTV as a 16:9 3DS game would.

 

Yet games like Street of Rage 2 look beautiful on the 360. Especially when you turn the blurring filters off and such. So even that isn't a problem in my opinion.

 

Hmm... use the Wii U GamePad for the bottom touch screen & controls and have the Wii U show the top screen on the HDTV. It would work for some games, but others wouldn't. Fer instance Dream Team has you turn the 3DS sideways for some of the boss fights. Other games use both screens to show double-height graphics.

A variety of selectable screen options would be necessary that would allow both screens to be stacked on top of each other on your HDTV for games with a playfield spread across both, rotation options (And re-configurable controls), etc.

 

Some games with the action centered around the touch screen wouldn't translate very well since you'd barely ever be looking at your HDTV such as in the DS Zelda games. But considering that native Wii U software are being released that keeps your focus on the gamepad screen most of the time like Scribblenauts, I don't even see that as being much of an issue.

Edited September 12, 2013 by Atariboy

[Reaperman]

So, this would probably be a Q1/Q2 US release if anybody had to guess? They wouldn't want to kill their ps4 sales.

[Atariboy]

I doubt they're worried about it killing their PS4 sales.

 

I imagine that's logical though so their focus can be on the PS4 and so the Vita TV isn't overshadowed by it. And come later winter or spring, they probably could pick up a fair number of sales of this device just for use as a PS4 extender as early adapters look to improve their PS4 experience.

[Skarrj]

Why would they want you not to? I really doubt that suddenly being able to play Mario Kart 7 on a HDTV would put any sort of a dent on Mario Kart 8's sales. Yet a 3DS Player attachment for the Wii U would please many players, sell more handheld software, and probably would sell a fair number of Wii U's in the process and get those people also buying Wii U software as a consequence.

.

 

You apply actual logic instead of nintendo logic

[Algus]

So, this would probably be a Q1/Q2 US release if anybody had to guess? They wouldn't want to kill their ps4 sales.

 

Some of the media are talking like it might not come out here. Hope that isn't the case but this might be one that it's worth trying to snag on Play-Asia

[Atariboy]

I'm betting it comes out over here.

 

I hope it includes a Dual Shock 4 out of the box when/if it is released in North America. Seems logical if PS4 streaming is to be important for maximum compatibility and from what I hear, the controller is much more comfortable and I never much cared for the earlier Dual Shocks.

 

And then there's the possibility that the DS4 touch pad would open up greater Vita compatibility in games like Uncharted that won't work as it stands right now.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Atariboy

[+CyranoJ]

Uncharted needs the camera..... 'Point the vita at a light source!'

[Atariboy]

Since there has been a bit of discussion on the possibility of a 3DS console option and since two of the commonly cited issues have already been mentioned (Resolution & 3D support), two other peculiar roadblocks some think stand in the way of a 3DS Player are "Nintendo doesn't want you to not have to buy a 3DS" and "what about Streetpass?".

 

Apparently some gamers think that playing 3DS software on your Wii U would be free or just carry a nominal price tag and would cheat Nintendo out of the profit from the sale of a 3DS handheld Yet I'm quite sure that past accessories like the Super Game Boy and Game Boy Player had similar profit margins as their console counterparts and likely many gamers double dipped as well. Plus, the real money is in selling games.

 

And anyone that actually thinks that the inability to utilize Streetpass is some sort of issue must be the same type that got giddy the other day when Nintendo announced that Miiverse was coming to the 3DS. I'm sure Streetpass is neat enough but it's hardly critical to the 3DS experience and it's a given that a console option would be unsuitable for it just like the Game Boy Player was unsuitable for motion games. So it's hardly a mark against it.

 

The only issue I see where a 3DS Player is concerned is that a great idea that a good number of people obviously want and something Nintendo has traditionally delivered with past generations of hardware has so far been ignored by Nintendo.

 

Uncharted needs the camera..... 'Point the vita at a light source!'

Sony was as bad as Nintendo with that game from the sounds of it. Perhaps it will get a patch to address such issues, but I suspect the only way Uncharted will be able to be enjoyed on a HDTV will be with a proper console port.

 

Perhaps they will allow a handheld Vita to sync with the console and serve as a controller. The Vita TV would have to be able to send out a video stream (The handheld can't due to the lack of a video encoder), but it would at least provide a workaround for a situation such as this although it stinks for the minority such as myself that will just own a Vita TV.

 

I have little interest in the handheld since this controller/tv option was revealed and will stick with it.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Atariboy

[Algus]

I don't know about all DS games but some of my jrpgs like Etrian Odyssey would be brill on Wii U using the controller for mapping. Consolized 3DS games are a pipe dream of mine for sure.

[DaytonaUSA]

I'd enjoy using the game pad on the wii u for 3ds games simply for the already available dual joysticks for games like Monster Hunter.

[Algus]

They put the only in Japan rumor to bed fast. I wonder if Sony released info on the Vita TV this way just to gauge interest outside of Japan. Makes me happy that they're hearing America and Europe are interested in it too.